When to Start Basic Cardio Exercises After Breast Augmentation?

Thank you for your question. You definitely want to follow your own surgeon's post-op activity instructions. This is a general guide I give to my patients:
1) No heavy lifting or strenous activity for 6 weeks.
2) Resume walking at a leisurely pace right after surgery (e.g. 2 mph)
3) At 2 weeks, you can walk 2 miles at 2mph
4) At 3 weeks, you can walk 3 miles at 3mph
5) At 4 weeks, you can walk 4 miles at 4mph
6) At 5 weeks, you can jog 5 miles at 5mph
7) At 6 weeks, you can resume all activities, but listen to your body and use discomfort or tightness as a guide so you don't over do it.

Breast augmentation is a short surgery which is typically performed as an outpatient. I prefer the patients take a week off from work. At that point they can return to work or school, but should refrain from all vigorous physical activity. At 1 month, they can resume cardio typo exercises. At 2 months they can engage in more vigorous activity.

Thanks for your question!
No vigorous exercise or lifting greater than 10 lbs for 3 weeks. Check with your surgeon for his/her guidelines/restrictions. Best wishes!

Thanks for the question. After 6 weeks your surgery area is totally healed and yes you can do gym and also do other activities. I wish you all the best.

Hello SoCalfitgirl,
At our practice, we boast a 24-hour rapid recovery program. Usually with our patients, we recommend resuming low impact lower body exercises after two weeks and resuming high impact lower body exercising after four weeks (i.e. running, cardio). After six weeks, usually our patients are resuming normal upper and lower body activities.
It is always best to check with your plastic surgeon for your specific recovery process.
Good luck with everything.
Best,
Dr. Christopher Chang, MD
Washington DC, Maryland and Virigina

It would be best to consult with your surgeon as he may have different recommendations, but my personal advice to my patients is to start walking (NOT power walking) as much as they want AFTER the first week. To resume sports, cardio, heavy lifting, or any other strenuous activity, after 4-6 weeks.

I advise them to wear extra high impact sports bra for adequate support, when exercising, and to start gently and gradually build up to the level they were before they had the surgery.

After the initial 6 weeks, depending on your healing process, you should be able to resume all activities that you used to do, before surgery, but you should still be careful and avoid activities such as contact sports for a few months to come. Although you may feel fully recovered, your breast and chest area is still healing and any trauma against your breasts could result in unnecessary complications.


It is important to allow your body to heal and not rush through the recovery. After all, you have had the surgery and would like to enjoy of your results without any unnecessary complications.

Thanks for your question. I tell all my breast augmentation patients (and my technique involves placing the implants under the muscle) that they can resume "cardio" or aerobic exercise at 2 weeks after surgery as long as they wear a well-supported sports bra during the exercise.  This would include spinning, running, and eliptical classes.  This would not include kickboxing because of the impact/contact/sparring nature of it.  This also would not include weight lifting or some types of "cross fit" training because of the heavy weights, etc.  I also think "squats" can be started at 2 weeks because it works the quads, but no "burpies" or push-ups still.  Push-ups usually take at least 6 weeks in most cases if the breast augmentation is under the muscle because push-ups isolate a lot of pectoralis strain and force.  I typically say light weights (5 - 10 lbs at most) at 4 weeks and full weights (and push-ups) at 6 weeks after the surgery. This way you you can do "aerobic" exercise at 2 weeks after surgery and not "get out of shape" without straining the pec muscle. Good luck!

Thank you for your question. You should follow the advice of your surgeon, because she/he knows the details of your case. What I recommend to my patients is to wait two weeks to give things a chance to heal. Then, I tell them that they can start gentle cardio in a supportive sports bra. I recommend activities that are not going to put a lot of stress on the breasts. I would put spin class into that "gentle cardio" category. Good luck with your surgery!

I provide all my patients with basic guidelines regarding when they can return various exercise activities.- You can walk from day one post op. - At 2 weeks you can sit on a stationary bike
and do some cardio work to burn some calories and maintain some cardio
conditioning. So a "light" spin class will be ok, but generally speaking you should remain seated on the bike to avoid too much pressure standing up and holding onto the the handle bars.- You can slowly return to running at the four
week mark. You must wear a bra or often two that helps prevent your breasts
from bouncing up and down. If your breasts are bouncing up and down while you
are running, then your wearing the wrong bras!- For those who love the gym you can slowly
return to that at the four week mark. However, as you would know four weeks is
a long time away from the gym and you decondition a lot. Also, you've had chest
surgery so will still have some discomfort from this. So when you do go back to
the gym, start with very light short sessions and be guided by your body.
Slowly and gradually build yourself up to normal training over the following
weeks and months. However, unlike normal training pain where you "push
through", experiencing pain in a post-surgical state means you need to
pull back a little. It's your body saying it's not quite ready to be pushed
that hard.- Going to the gym prior to four weeks to do
"just legs" is not allowed. Any leg work requires core and upper body
for stabilization etc so it's still forbidden.- For those crossfit junkies - you have no
chance of doing this for at least two months after surgery. Go to the gym at 4
weeks post op, gradually build yourself up, and when you feel your crossfit
ready (typically no sooner than two months post-op), then you can get back to
it. The same goes for such sports like kickboxing.

Exercise after breast augmentation like cardio is something you should care about. For the early period of recovery, that means two - three weeks post op, light exercise like walking outdoors is the best. I usually permit moderate exercise, if done with big caution after 4 weeks. Heavy exercise should be completely avoided for 8 weeks following a breast augmentation. I ask my patients to postpone all phisical activities at least until the pain and inflammation from surgery are fully resolved.Even after two months post op it is best to focus on lower body workouts. Any exercise that focuses on the chest, rotates the chest, or involves in working the pectorial muscles, as push-ups and weight training, should be avoided for at least 8 weeks, as they can significantly interfire with healing.I hope this helps, best of luck!

In my practice, I tell women that they can start basic cardio exercises after 2 weeks. This would include brisk walking, light treadmill, exercise bike or elliptical if you are not moving your arms, but only your legs. Heavy exercises with weights, weight machines, heavy cardio exercising like yoga or spin would require women to wait for 4-6 weeks.