Post-Liposuction Exercise: What You Should Know

Liposuction is a rewarding procedure that is one of the few ways to target unwanted fat. Usually, by the time a person consults with a plastic surgeon about liposuction, they have tried to sculpt their body by eating well and exercising often. A lack of results after devoting time and effort into physical improvements can be frustrating. Liposuction is a proven solution to this problem. Knowing that exercise continues to play a vital role in maintaining liposuction results, though, patients are often anxious to get back to their normal routine after surgery. Here, we discuss the importance of timing. 

Resuming Exercise after Liposuction

There are several things to love about liposuction. One of them is how this procedure achieves immediately gratifying results. Even with post-surgical swelling and compression garments, patients can see an improvement in the shape of their body. Also, even with swelling and mild soreness, liposuction recovery is relatively easy. Many patients are ready to go back to work in about a week. That said, work does not equate to exercise. When it comes to resuming your normal workouts, it’s likely that you’ll be advised to wait. When exercise does resume, it should be only at about one-quarter of your norm. This should increase very slowly over several days or weeks to ensure that you do not compromise your surgical recovery. 

Exercise is Exercise after Surgery

We often categorize exercise into various boxes. For example, we place cardio exercise into one box, strength training into another. Then, in those boxes, the types of exercise that get the heart pumping or muscles moving vary widely, too. The thing about post-liposuction exercise is that, in terms of timing, they’re all the same. Your surgeon will likely advise you to give your body two weeks to recover. During that time, you may walk. A nice, moderate walk, not a get-your-heart racing power walk. Think circulation more than slimming. 

About two weeks after liposuction, you may start to engage in focused exercise again, but not at your usual intensity and frequency. Your cardio may increase from a brief walk around the block to a longer, faster jaunt. You may get on a stationary bike for 30 minutes or so. At this time, you may also begin strength training again, starting light and slow and increasing gradually as your body tolerates. Any sign of discomfort, though, and you should stop for a day or two. 

Exercise and liposuction make great partners for a beautiful body. To learn more about this procedure and what to expect during recovery, call our Cincinnati office at 513.985.0850.