Down and Out

[JeremyM07201978]

I found out recently that I require surgery (on my inner ear of all things)...which is bad enough news. The kicker though, is that post-op, I can't lift anything heavier than 20 lbs., can't do any running, or anything else that is strenuous for 4 weeks. Pretty big bummer for anyone and I'm no exception.

I fully plan to follow the Dr's orders on this and will just plan on walking during the times I would have been lifting or doing other cardio. As I've had time to process this I've had a lot of questions come to mind and would appreciate any opinions.

For example...Will I lose a lot of the mobility I have worked hard to get with no workouts for a month? It was hard work to get to proper form due to hip and shoulder mobility issues, so I'm worried about this. Another question is obviously, will I lose much strength and muscle mass with no weight stimulation? I know some loss is inevitable, and I won't be stuck in a bed for a month so I will be at least getting some light exercise, but just walking is nowhere near my 5 days a week PPL with cardio. Will I lose endurance (running)? I think the answer I'm seeing is probably some but I will get it back fast. Once I start up again fully healed (I WILL start back) I assume I ease into it to avoid injury, but how soon should I begin pushing myself after a month off?

Any advise is greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time.

[kimm4]

Nothing drastic happens in 4 weeks time. Eat at maintenance calories and let your body heal. First week back start with a simple full body routine and before you know it you're back to normal. Trust me it doesn't take long at all.

[John Prophet]

probably a blessing in disguise. Train hard up to that point then just enjoy the time off. You wont lose anything u cant get back quickly enough.

the stress of worrying about it is probably worse than the thing itself

IIRC Ronnie Coleman says he took THREE MONTHS off after winning in 98 and he probably did the same after that. pretty sure back in Arnolds day they did a lot of half assing after a contest until like late spring or summer then they kicked it in to get ready for sept/oct shows

The old Soviet era lifters would deload every 4th week or so and probably take nearly a week off after a major contest but then at the end of the season a lot of them simply took a month off



A month is nothing.

[tblodg15]

Good luck with the surgery! Once you start back it’s possible that the fresh start may give some momentum to become stronger than you are now.

[JeremyM07201978]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I think there might just be a silver lining to some time off - as mentioned, I can heal up and come back strong. Hopefully it flies by.

[drkelly74]

I injured my neck about 4.5 years ago and had to stop lifting all weights for about 3.5-4 months. I then had to start back slowly with light weights. After about 4 months, I was back to where I was before the injury. In the grand scheme of things taking time off is no big deal.