Strengthen Abdominal Muscles Before Tummy Tuck?

It will not make a significant difference in your result if you strengthen your abdominal muscles before having a tummy tuck procedure. The space between the muscles (diastasis) is what really needs to be addressed during the surgery. The muscles themselves do not have much impact on the fianl contour. Of course, the stronger your muscles, the stronger your abdominal wall will be and if you can get your percent body fat low enough, you'll have a better chance at having a six pack.
Best wishes,
Dr. Bruno

Thank you for your question regarding whether it's beneficial to strengthen your abdominal muscles before having a tummy tuck. In general, it can be very helpful to work on core strength prior to your surgery, as it may improve your overall fitness and help you recover more quickly after the procedure. Strengthening your abdominal muscles can enhance your posture and make it easier to get back to your routine after surgery.

However, it's important to note that the muscle repair part of a tummy tuck, known as rectus abdominis muscle plication, is done to address muscle separation that often occurs after weight gain or pregnancy. Even with well-toned abdominal muscles, the surgery will likely involve tightening these muscles with sutures to bring them back together. This means that while pre-surgery strengthening can be beneficial, it won't prevent the need for muscle repair during a tummy tuck.

After your tummy tuck, you will need to avoid strenuous exercises for several weeks, especially any activity that puts pressure on your abdominal area. Once you’ve fully healed, your plastic surgeon will guide you on when it’s safe to resume exercises like core strengthening.

In short, strengthening your abdominal muscles before surgery can certainly help with recovery and overall fitness, but the tummy tuck itself will take care of repairing separated muscles if that’s an issue.

Sincerely,
Dr. Katzen

It's always better to be in good physical shape before your surgery, so it wouldn't hurt to continue strengthening your abs before your tummy tuck. 

A tummy tuck operation consists of removing extra skin, tightening of the rectus "sheath" and placement of a new belly button. The rectus sheath is the firm tissue (fascia) covering the muscle...this is the tissue we as surgeons use to tighten your frame and hour-glass your figure. The muscles live underneath and, big or small, firm or loose, are only passangers as we pull the fascia together....so maintaining your fitness is paramount as it will improve your recovery and results. I have patients wait at least 1 year after a tummy tuck to "strengthen" their muscles.
I hope this helps!
Dr. C

There is nothing wrong with your muscles. After pregnancy, it is the fascia (the connective tissue that houses the muscles) that becomes lax. Also this is seen after major weight loss. All the exercise in the world will not fix the damage to this tissue. The surgery does nothing to the muscle, although the perception is that the operation "fixes" the muscle. In reality , the fascia is fixed, the muscle is left alone.
vz

I feel that toning the abdominal muscles helps the result, and being cardio-fit speeds recovery.  I tell patients that I'd rather operate on a 50-year old spin-class queen than a 25-year old couch potato !

There is no benefit to perform abdominal exercises before your surgery.  There is also no need to perform the exercises after surgery as well.  The surgery itself will tighten things up.
Hope that helps.

If you have muscle separation called rectus diastasis, strengthening those muscles before surgery may be near impossible. In fact, if those muscles are working in the wrong position, you may actually cause a widening of the separation by working them too hard. In short, wait until after your tummy tuck to work those muscles. The effort you make then will be much more efficient and safe.

It helps at any time to improve your muscle tone. I recommend that my patients undergo a course of core strengthening using a Pilates or Yoga style regimen. I believe this produces the best overall contour for the abdomen and will reinforce the repair. I often recommend that patients resume gentle excercises ab out 3 weeks after surgery.

Hi Jill,
Tummy tuck results can be spectacular in patients who have really worked on strengthening their abdominal wall muscles prior to surgery. Although ab exercises won't fix the diastasis (separation) often times present in women after pregnancy, they certainly add bulk and substance the abdominal wall muscles. When the muscle plication (tightening) is performed during tummy tuck, the results tend to be quite durable and long lasting.
Hope this helps. Best of luck.