Every surgeon has their own recommendations on this topic. For my patients, as they start to feel better (within the first two to seven days), they may increase their level of activity, such as walking around the mall or going to the office to do desk work. At four weeks, they can begin light, non-impact cardio exercise, such a recumbent (sitting back) bicycle or an elliptical. At five to six weeks after surgery they will be released to ease back into full exercise activity. The internal healing process takes longer than you think, so it is important that you return to your regular exercise routine slowly and carefully. When you resume an exercise you have not done in a while, try it in a small dose and see how you feel the next day. If you are sore, you probably pushed yourself too hard. Let your body be your guide to what is the right amount of exercise. Running and high impact exercises are the hardest on your body and you may need to put these off for a couple of months (i.e. an elliptical machine is better than jogging on a treadmill). For breast augmentation patients, it is also better to avoid or minimize pushups and bench press exercises after surgery (long-term) because these can distort the appearance of your implants and stretch out the breast pockets over time.