Exercise after tummy tuck surgery: how long should I wait to resume my workouts?

It is extremely important to get complete rest in the first two weeks following surgery.  I usually see my patient weekly during the first three weeks and if there is no evidence of delayed wound healing they may return to office work at that time.    Final healing occurs at 6 weeks and no heavy lifting should be done prior to that time.  As for improving core strength I recommend starting with planks instead to situps/crunches.

Depending on your occupation and activity level you may return to work and light activity around two weeks. At around 6 weeks you can generally resume your usual activities and restart your exercise routines. Generally my patients start slowly and gradually increase the intensity of their workouts starting at 6 weeks. Please consult your surgeon first though.

After a tummy tuck procedure with muscle tightening , a gentle start to exercise can be done at 2-3 weeks with walks and treadmill and gradually build up. any weights should be used after nearly 3 months to give time for muscle repair to settle down.

Thank you for your question. I always recommend to my patients to start exercises tend six weeks after PO, gradually: first, gentle walks without sweating, then, you can go to the gym to do aerobics, and, after four months you can stats with machines exercise and start with light weights, and, if there are no problems, only six months after PO may charge "free weights".
Respectfully,Dr. Emmanuel Mallol Cotes.

It is super important to be up and walking every two hours following Tummy Tuck and one week after the drain is out (average 1 week), so starting about week two when I have patients beginning to walk for exercise and then gradually increasing activity to full impact activity at 6 weeks.  I do not recommend formal sit ups except in yoga etc and tell patients there is nothing that will improve the look of your tummy that you can do, more than what we do in surgery.All my BestBrad Bengtson, MD FACS

The muscle repair takes a good 6-8 weeks to have enough strength to do vigorous exercise.  Also, I tell my patients no heavy lifting greater than 10 lbs until 6 weeks because I want the muscle tightening sutures to hold. 

 Thank you for your question! For my patients having a tummy tuck procedure, I recommend that they wait three weeks before resuming any cardio exercises and six weeks before resuming any core exercises, weightlifting, or yoga. I recommend discussing specific post operative instructions with your board-certified plastic surgeon. Best of luck!

Thank you for your question,
I usually recommend to my patients start their physical activities after the sixth to eighth week depending on how they feel. But it should be your surgeon who tells you how soon he recommends you start.
good luck! 

Hello. This is a very good question but the answer is not that simple. It will depend on the patient and on their speed of recovery. It also depends on what exactly was type of Tummy Tuck was performed. I like to perform full back, flanks and waist lipo with muscle repair on basically all my TTs. This might mean a longer recovery time.
Their is no point in over doing it with physical activity before you are properly healed. Most surgeons suggest to start light aerobic exercise after about 45 days. But be sure to keep an eye on swelling. Patients that have liposuction with their TT may have some swelling for up to 3 months. You can increase the intensity depending on how you feel week by week. There is now way of knowing when it would be ok for strength training. Maybe around 4 months, but it should be assed on a case by case basis considering each particular patients recovery process.
Best of luck,
Dr. Miguel Mota

Thank you for your question.
Before all of that, It is very important to get complete rest in the first two weeks following surgery because a tummy tuck usually includes tightening of the muscles, and doing strenuous exercises will definitely have negative effects on your tummy tuck results.

In my practice, I recommend my patients to hold off on strenuous exercise for 6 weeks to allow the tissues to heal. Except that, you can start light exercise typically after about 3 weeks which involves walking and light upper body work.

Assuming my patients are compliant with their post-care, I allow patients to resume exercise 6 weeks following a tummy tuck. The primary limiting factor is the muscle repair. If you begin strenuous contractions of your abdominal muscles too soon, you can tear the sutures, creating a complication that will need to be addressed immediately.  Your best bet would be to follow all of your plastic surgeon's post-operative instructions and communicate your desires to resume exercise with him/her, as they likely have a specific plan for your case and recovery.