Avoid heavy chest-focused exercises early on.
One of the biggest concerns for active ladies is losing their fitness routine as a result of surgery. No matter if you’re into weightlifting, running, or yoga, you probably want to know how your breast implants will impact your performance. There is a widespread misunderstanding that breast implants mean that you have to treat your body like fragile glass forever. This is a false idea; you can actually be very active. What’s more, your chest wall mechanics have changed, so if you don’t pay attention to this, you can get problems with the looks, such as displacement or faster sagging.
The question of “What exercises should I avoid?” is largely influenced by implant placement. For example, if you have your implants Sub-Muscular (under the pectoralis muscle) you will need to be very careful with the workout that drastically contracts your chest muscles. The consequences of not considering these changes are having a ‘widened’ chest and the implant pocket shape being distorted. At Lin Europe Clinic, we not only give you a personalized ‘Return to Gym’ plan but also guide you through the changes in the movements that will help you to stay strong while preserving the beautiful line of your new chest.
The “Danger Zone”:The First 6 Weeks of Recovery
It is important to note, before we talk about the different changes you will adopt to your lifestyle, that the most crucial period is the first six weeks post-surgery. Your rule to stop doing exercise in the first six weeks is a very strict one and not up for discussion. Blood pressure should remain unchanged during this time in order to avoid bleeding (hematoma) and the implants should be getting fixed to the chest wall with the scar tissue inside the forming capsule.
If your heart rate goes up too much, any physical activity-even a brisk walk uphill-can lead to an increase in swelling and the formation of fluid (seroma). To make matters worse, any type of movement that includes bouncing or energetic arm swinging can cause physically the implants to move before your body has created the scar tissue that holds them securely. Gentle walking should be your only physical activity at this time. The repercussions of ignoring these instructions may lead not only to a setback but also to a surgical emergency.
The “Chest Day” Dilemma: Push-Ups and Bench Press
Of all the things that change when you have breast implants, the one that will probably affect you the most is the direct isolating chest exercises like heavy bench press, push-ups and pectoral fly. Under-the-muscle implant means that each time you involve your pec muscles in an exercise, they will be contracting and pressing the implant down. From regular and heavy chest workouts, you’ll get these two problems: Lateral Displacement (the implant under the muscle is pushed toward the armpits by the constant closing) and Animation Deformity (you’ll get a puckering or jumping of the breast when you flex your muscles).
That does not mean your next push-up even has to be ruled out, but you should ask ‘Why am I doing that?’ in retrospect anyway. A lot of women work out their chest to get a better lift for their breasts, but with implants, the volume is already there. We typically discourage patients from using heavy ‘Pec Deck’ machines or doing hefty weighted chest flys since besides the shearing force, which is the maximum, pushing the implant pocket is also put on the pocket. Go for shoulder presses (deltoids) and triceps only for upper body strength without going directly for the pectoralis major.
High-Impact Cardio: The Gravity Problem
Running, CrossFit, and High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) are wonderful for the heart, though they can challenge your aesthetic results due to gravity. An addition of a pair of 400cc breast implants to the chest means almost a kilogram of extra weight at the front. This weight, when running or jumping as in G-force, will get multiplied and this results in the skin and the internal ligaments getting a very high level of strain.
No matter if you love running, make sure it is always done in a high-impact, encapsulation-style sports bra. Your “bouncing” is your enemy if you want your implants to last longer; therefore, if you manage to minimize this bounce, you reduce the damage
Yoga and Pilates: The Deep Stretch
Generally speaking, yoga and pilates are safe and effective, however, there are some positions which may need to be avoided or approached more gently depending on one’s condition. Poses where the full body weight is supported on the arms while the chest is stretched such as “Chaturanga” or deep downward dogs can cause the incisions to feel tight or even aggravate them in the first few months.
Besides that, if the skin on the top of the implants is already tight, then extreme backbends or poses which stretch the front line of the body quite intensely may be uncomfortable. You need to be very careful with what your body is telling you. At the moment, if there is a “tearing” feeling of the tissue or tightness in the area of the breasts, you should stop doing the same immediately. The result of overstretching the capsule can be from time to time an inflammatory reaction or tissue thinning along with the loss of tissue coverage.
Fitness Guidance in Turkey
In Turkey at Lin Europe Clinic, we are fully aware that a major part of our patients are sport lovers. The gym shouldn’t be a scary place for you. Share your favorite sport with us when coming for a consultation. Should you be a competitive bodybuilder or a CrossFit athlete, then we can suggest a Sub-Glandular (over the muscle) placement or a smaller implant profile so that your post-op period is not compromised by the dysfunction of your muscles.
Besides, we give you professional instruction on how to care for your bodysuit. You will be demonstrated on cardio, how you can tie up your chest correctly and how you can work with modifications in your lifting technique. We want to make your fitness and implant journeys merging as your goals in both areas can be achieved without one interfering the other.
Frequently Asked Questions About Exercise
Yes, you physically can do push-ups after you are fully healed (typically after 3-4 months); however, many women report that they find them quite uncomfortable and attribute that to the muscle squeezing the implant, so they tend to modify their push-ups (e.g., knee push-ups).
No, doing exercises for your chest helps the muscle behind the implant grow, which might push it forward a bit, but that won’t lift your breast tissue or skin; actually, very intense chest exercises might make your implants move a bit to the side.
You need to wait 6-8 weeks before you can start running again, which is a high-impact activity, to make sure the internal capsule is well-formed and sealed so you don’t get fluid buildup.
There are no studies showing that weightlifting directly causes contracture, but doing too much too soon (before 6 weeks) might result in inflammation and bleeding, which are proven factors that increase the chances of forming a very hard scar tissue.
Indeed, planks are considered safer than push-ups since they are isometric (i.e., holding the pose) thus, there is no rhythmic contraction that keeps squeezing the implant. However, get your surgeon’s green light first.
Macnamara, S., et al. (2015). The effect of breast augmentation on pectoral muscle function. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
Spear, S. L., & Baker, J. L. (2012). Animation deformity in the subpectoral breast augmentation patient. Aesthetic Surgery Journal.
