Working Out After Breast Augmentation: Important Facts To Consider

Before we get into working out after breast augmentation, lets take a look at our society. Females have to deal with their bodies constantly being a point of discussion. There is intense pressure within society to be skinny with big features (boobs and butt). 

This has sparked a debate about the prevalence of plastic surgery — and breast augmentation, more specifically — in the fitness community.

Here’s what you need to know before going under the knife.

Are Breast Implants Right For You?

The pressure for females to go under the knife is often unspoken but is quite clear to most. The new culture of fitness has essentially made breast implants an expectation for females.

A breast augmentation may be an emotional experience. Opting to get implants to enhance your feminine features is an entirely personal choice. 

As an athlete, you should keep in mind that breast augmentation might not be a one-shot deal.  Females who work out put much more stress on their implants than the average patient.

As such, you should expect that you may need additional surgeries within the first ten years due to movement, rippling, or shifting.

The majority of women who have negative feelings after surgery admit that they made the decision too quickly, and for the wrong reasons.

When you first start thinking about implants, experts recommend that you wait six months before acting. This gives you time to think about the decision and weigh your options.

Choosing The Right Breast Implants

Years of strenuous physical work and dieting drastically affects the composition and appearance of the female body. It can even have an impact on your body’s hormonal balance, in some cases affecting your menstrual cycle and ovulation.

Most commonly, breast size is reduced in females whose regimens include the following:

• Intense endurance training
• Resistance training
• Upper-body mass building exercises
• Elite athletic sports like Cross-Fit
• Extended periods of strict dieting

Most doctors recommend that females get their breast implants under the pectoral muscle. If you’re into fitness then it is likely you have less body fat than others. This means you probably want to get implants under the muscle as well.

Sub muscular implants appear more natural, helping to compensate for a lack of fatty tissue.

Many people, along with judges and bodybuilders, tend to prefer a softer, natural look. Implants that are too large can appear unnatural and unbalanced.

Furthermore, silicone implants are typically the preferred choice, as saline implants can ripple in women who do not have sufficient fatty tissue to secure the implants.

Many females choose smaller silicone implants. However, your size and shape are determined with the help of your cosmetic surgeon to find the best fit for your individual frame.

Smaller implants are a good match for muscular women with low body fat, but some women will require larger implants to provide more aesthetically pleasing proportions.

Working Out After Breast Augmentation

I’m sure you want to know how soon you can start working out after breast augmentation. Exercising your chest muscles can only resume after your fully healed — it’s crucial to give your chest muscles time to recover before putting any strain on them. 

The typical recovery period is six to eight weeks after surgery.

You can gradually increase exercising as your energy levels come back. Normally this takes between 1-2 weeks for your normal energy levels to come back. 

Low Impact Cardio 

If 1-2 weeks is just too long for you, then light cardio activities, like walking around outside or on a slow setting on the treadmill is fine.  

Make sure while working out after breast augmentation (first 2 weeks) to not elevate your heart rate too much. Keep it below 50% maximum effort. You can use the elliptical, but with no arms!

As the scar tissue from the implant is forming, about 4 weeks after surgery, you should avoid overusing the pectoral muscles. This means not lifting, pulling, or pushing anything heavier than 10 pounds. 

Avoid push-ups, pull-ups, dips, certain yoga poses and pilates moves that rely on balancing body weight with the arms. You may have some discomfort when you resume working out after breast augmentation and it’s important not to push too hard, too fast. 

Since working out after breast augmentation isn’t allowed during the recovery period, you may experience a minor, temporary loss of strength. This should come back rather quickly once the training regimen is resumed.

Lunge It Out

When working out after breast augmentation, you should start slow with mostly body weight.

Lunges are a great way to tone your legs and incorporating different types of lunges will help you feel the burn.

This is a great exercise when working out after breast augmentation. Because lunges target large muscle groups of your lower body, they are very effective in strengthening your legs and buttocks.

Leg Press

If you want a big butt then this is the exercise for you! Your glutes are the main group of muscles in your buttocks.

This exercise, if done right, will fully engage these muscles and strengthen them. Hence, growing your booty. 

Your hamstrings, which are below your glutes, are also being engaged during this exercise. 

Abductor & Adductor

If you haven’t done these, then now’s the time to try them! You’ll definitely feel the burn during the exercise. 

Since these muscles are important and often forgot about, they can leave you feeling pretty sore after working them out. 

Hip abduction exercises will help you get a tight and toned backside. Doing this exercise will also help prevent and treat any pain you might have in your hips and knees.

Butt Lift (Bridge)

The main muscle used in this exercise is your gluteus maximus, the largest one in your buttocks.

This will not only tone your butt, but it will also give you the shape you want. 

These glute bridges will give you great posture, strengthen your core, help with lower back pain, and strengthen your back. If you’re trying to squat or deadlift more weight, this exercise will definitely help you get there.

History Of Female Bodybuilding

In 2015, the Ms. Olympia title didn’t get awarded to anyone, it got dropped, dealing a serious blow to women’s bodybuilding. Despite this, the female bodybuilding scene has grown significantly in recent years, from a small sub-sector of the fit community to a worldwide association of diverse athletes. 

Women can currently compete in bikini, figure, fitness, physique, and bodybuilding competitions. The requirements are different for each category, but the main difference is muscular size.

The bikini contest has gained popularity for several reasons — mainly that people like women in bikinis (no surprise here).

Criticism of female bodybuilders has long focused on contestants’ masculine appearance, whereas bikini contest participants look more like models, with manicures and contoured eyebrows. Since the bikini category got introduced in 2010, the number of professional competitors has quadrupled.

With this industry shift towards bikini contests, competitors are becoming more concerned about the appearance of their most feminine features — particularly their breasts.

Simply put, in the bikini category, ample breasts are an asset. As such, more and more female bodybuilders are turning to breast implants to improve their scores and odds of winning.

Conclusion

If you’re a fitness junkie then I’m sure you’re going to want to resume your workouts as soon as possible. But they’re many things to consider before working out after breast augmentation.

Before getting implants, you should make sure they’re right for you. Then, you need to decide with your doctor if going under the pectoral muscle is the best decision and how big you would like the implants.

Once you get the procedure done, you need to be very careful not to raise your heart rate too much during the first two weeks. Some doctors say light cardio or activity is fine, but make sure you consult your doctor before doing this.

Working out after breast augmentation is usually fine after two weeks. By working out I mean only your lower body. Doing lunges, leg press, abductor & adductor, and butt bridges are great exercises while you wait for your chest to heal.

About the author: Emelina Vigier is a freelance health and wellness writer. She’s also a self avowed gym rat, with a passion for Cross-Fit and freelitics