Swimming?

Hello,

I am getting my surgery in October.  About 2 months ago I started swimming laps (1 hr, 4 times a week)  I also do 2 one hour strength training workouts a week.

I'm wondering how things are going to go after my surgery?  How soon will I be able to swim again.  Will I still be able to swim as much?  What do I need to do to make sure that I don't lose muscle mass and get the most out of my workouts?

Is there something about swimming that is better than other exercises?  I'm really looking for someone who knows their stuff so that I can get some good information.

Thank you,
Lisa

Lisa,

I start off by saying that I am not a swimming expert - I won't drown but I would be lucky to swim one lap without stops...lol. I am planning to start lessons in Sept.

It is great that you are exercising as much as you are prior to surgery. The better shape you are in, the easier your recovery will be.

You will want to check with your surgeon about when you can swim again after surgery. You will probably start out walking the first couple of weeks, but every surgeon has different protocols. You will likely find that you will not have as much energy immediately following the surgery and will probably have to take a little time to work up to an hour of swimming at a time.

Best of luck to you. I hope your surgery in uneventful and you have a speedy recovery.

Mary

You are going to love swimming!  I also took lessons before I started.  That is the only way to go if you ask me.  I have lost 10 pounds in 2 months and I have not changed a thing about my eating.  I love how you don't get hot like you do with other cardio!  The things that I have learned since I started swimming that you may want to know are...

With surgery you hair is going to become very brittle for a while.  Chlorine is very hard on your hair as well.  So you should, wash your hair in the shower right after you are done swimming with Chlorine shampoo.  The best and cheapers stuff I have found is at walgreens and it's called Ultra Swim.  I also do a once a week treatment where I take a hand full of baking soda and just 1 part shampoo (any shampoo).  I massage that all into my hair and then rince it out with white vinigar.  Then I wash my hair again with just shampoo to get the vinigar out.  Your hair will feel GREAT after this.

I haven't hade my surgery yet either.  But I have also heard that there is a shampoo that a lot of people use to help with add protien to the hair.  I am also planning on using that after surgery.  I can't remember what that is called right now though.

Hope you enjoy swimming and good luck with your surgery :)

Lisa

Absolutely right, swimming is a very good exercise. But i can't swim. Thanks for sharing your story.

You won't be able to swim until your incisions heal. This varies but is often 3-4 weeks out from surgery.

You won't be able to strength train until you are cleared to lift a certain amount of weight. Most programs don't want you to lift 25 lb. or more for the first 4-6 weeks.

But that's okay. You aren't going to lose significant muscle mass in a month's time. Just do what you can do and you should be fine.

Most people find anything but walking to be too much the first week. A lot of us went back to the gym at 2 weeks but some surgeons want you to wait longer than that.

I think swimming is a great exercise, myself. Though I burn less calories now that my stroke is more efficient. Oh well.