Upper body workouts 2 years post sub-muscular breast implants.

Dear Loveyourselffirst,2 years after the surgery, there should be no restrictions. If you have no complications, feel free to exercise your upper body and lift weights. Daniel Barrett, MD, MHA, MS 
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery  
Member, Am. Society of Plastic Surgery

Dear Lebanese lady,    At 2 years after breasts augmentation surgery, the implants completed their settling down and the capsule is very strong. You should not have any concerns about your work out routine, however, you have to take 2 issues into consideration:1. Capsule contracture. If you already have severe capsule contracture, intense weight lifting, even after 2 years can cause significant pain and discomfort. The solution for that problem, if you do not want to give up on your weight lifting exercise , is to have capsulotomy (scar release), which will soften up the breasts and make your exercise comfortable. Obviously, after surgery, you will have to avoid strenuous activity for one month.2. Avoid abrupt weight lifting and do it gradually, so that you avoid tear in the muscle and consequently bleeding , which might cause capsule contracture. In my 30 years of practice I had few patients who developed capsule contracture,  few years after breasts augmentation surgery and reported to me about chest trauma (like lifting suitcase in the airport etc.)  before it happened. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.    Best of luck at the gym,                                   Dr Widder

No worries. I have a couple triple crown body builders, who began their competitive workouts as early as eight weeks after surgery, with no problems. Go for it! Hope this information is reassuring.Dr. Ted Eisenberg, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon and Author

Thank you for the question. There is no restriction in activities, including upper body workout after the early post op period. By 2 months after breast augmentation, you can do lifting and other activities with no major concern. Best,Pej Aflaki, M.D.Johns Hopkins- trained plastic surgeon

It's a great question. I would speak with your surgeon about their specific recommendations. In my office I don't have restrictions on chest exercises once my patients have healed fully. I do recommend that my patients not focus too much on developing their pec muscles. Flexing the pectoralis major muscle repeatedly will push implants down and over time can cause some stretching of the lower portion of the breast. However, there are no issues with other exercises like planks, downward dog, spinning, etc.

Thank you for your question. It is normal to feel uncomfortable when doing chest training with implants. If your body does not adjust, it may be best to avoid those exercises due to discomfort. 

Hi, and thank you for your question. It is not unusual to feel concerned when exercising after any type of surgery, although after two years, you can feel more confident that unless you are partaking in rough physical activity where your chest and therefore your implants were potentially facing a risk of rupture or a tear in the ‘pocket’ where the implant is placed under the muscle (for example, boxing), you should be fine to exercise – although if you experience any sharp pains, heat or redness in the area of the implant, I would suggest alerting your surgeon straight away for advice. However, I would add that in the case of someone who has sub-muscular breast implants, I don’t see that there is any benefit to exercising the pectoral muscles and, in fact, as the muscle covers only a portion of the implant, it could cause the implant to move slightly. Instead of pectoral exercises, perhaps you could focus your upper body workouts focus on your arms and shoulders. All the best!

At two years out there are really no restrictions to working after breast augmentation.  There may be some animation of your breasts due to the muscle contractions but other than that you should be fine.

While there are no appreciable risks to the implant, there is some potential for implant malposition.  For example, excessive exercises of the chest muscles (i.e. pectoralis major muscles) may cause lateral displacement of the implants as the implants, during workout, are being pressed upon in a lateral direction (toward the armpit) by the pectoralis muscles.  Over time, this can cause a widened clefting of the breast and more fullness in the armpits.

This does not constitute an exam or treatment recommendations, and it does not replace a thorough consultation with a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon.

Resuming upper body workouts, including weight training, will not have any negative impact on your submuscular implants at this point.  Although you may experience a bit of an odd feeling from a bit of movement of the implants, no harm will come to them or the overlying muscle.  The implants are very strong--see the video below.