Getting Started

As of Wednesday I will be 6 weeks post op and I'm ready to start working out some.

I'm already riding my bike, though up to this point not more than an hour at a time and at a slower pace, usually 3-4 times a week, both for pleasure and for exercise.

I am thinking about doing c25k, but I'm not sure I'm up to starting it yet since I'm not sure what kind of shape I should be in to start with.  I've currently been walking and have access to a fairly loaded gym that I plan to use. 

So I ask all you gurus out there, how should I start off?  It has been bloody hot lately, so though I can do some stuff outside, I also have access to the normal indoor equipment.

Thanks ahead of time.

Start out by walking a bit and see how you feel. Once you get up to maybe 2 miles, throw in some running segments and see how you feel. If it feels okay then you can start adding to the running. I would just start out walking to see how you feel and go from there.

I agree with Scott but make sure you do some strength training as soon as you are cleared for it. Try to keep as much lean mass as possible while you are losing fat. I wouldn't go at the weights heavy but make sure you get some higher reps at lower weights to try to keep some of what you have.

According to my surgeon I have been cleared for what ever I want to do.  I've been walking a couple of miles for the past couple of weeks.  I've been riding 12-16 road miles at a time for the past few weeks, and 35-45 minutes on mountain bike trails 3 times a week starting last week.

My intentions going forward are to add swimming and regular treadmill or elliptical work in as well.  I will now start adding some strength training in as well per your suggestion.

I honestly have no idea which would be better for me for now the treadmill or the elliptical.

It depends on what your body will tolerate.
I can't do the elliptical, it hurts my hips.  I have tried and tried, but I actually get less stress from the treadmill than I do the elliptical.

However they are both going to give you a good workout.  It's going to be all about the intensity and duration you put into your workouts.

100% start with the weights to keep from losing too much muscle.  I didn't follow that advice and focused entirely on cardio.  Yeah I dropped weight quick, but now building that muscle back up is much harder than maintaining it would have been.

Scott

I started Couch to 5K right about this point. It's more than half the walking the first day anyway so you can always start it and, if it seems a bit much, just do the first week for 2 weeks or cut it short for a while until you are up to it.