September 26, 2022
Undergoing surgery can affect your mobility in various ways. Though different surgeries are concerned with different body parts/tissue/organs, they all come with a post-operative rehabilitation phase that is aimed at helping patients resume normal physical activities. Getting your muscles back in shape demands an understanding of the difference between two of the most recommended exercising regimes – Aerobics & Weight Training. Continue reading as we look at how the different exercise regimes can be beneficial during the post-surgery phase.
Importance of lifestyle changes post-surgery
Comprehensive post-operative therapy is vital in fine-tuning the muscles to get them back in shape. When you consult a weight loss surgeon in Dallas, TX to discuss your eligibility for available surgical bariatric procedures, your ability to commit to lifestyle changes is an important consideration. Bariatric surgery alters the structure of your stomach, requiring you to make dietary changes, exercise, and practice controlled breathing. This is instrumental in helping you gain the momentum to resume daily life activities as well as maintain the weight loss.
Exercise – Aerobic vs Weights
Exercise is indispensable when looking to attain your weight-loss goals and sustain the results. After bariatric surgery, the objective is not to reduce a patient’s BMI, but to develop muscle memory to help them regain lost momentum.
Aerobics
As the name suggests, aerobics means ‘with oxygen. Aerobics exercises provide cardiovascular conditioning. The exercises regulate the amount of oxygen that gets to the muscles, helping them move and burn fuel.
Weight Training
Weight training is a type of exercise that helps develop the strength and size of skeletal muscles by deploying weights for resistance. It applies stress on muscles, causing micro-tears that help them grow stronger.
Benefits
Both aerobics and weight training have their benefits. While the former emphasizes cardiovascular conditioning, the latter is instrumental in growing muscles stronger to expedite the recovery process.
Tips to avoid injuries during weight training
When it comes to postoperative therapy, it is vital to perform exercises with proper form and strict vigilance. Some of the tips to avoid injuries during weight training are:
- Include warm-ups and cooldowns: Warm-ups and cooldowns are necessary for an injury-free workout session. When put through sudden stress without a warm-up or stretching exercises, you can experience cramps, muscle tears, and torn ligaments, all of which can compromise the recovery process.
- Don’t rush between sets: One of the fundamental rules of weight training is to ‘go slow’. Rushing the sets can result in bad form, muscle imbalance, and even injuries or fractures to limbs.
Final Word
When it comes to postoperative therapy for bariatric surgeries, timing is everything. The general approach is to increase the cardiovascular endurance of the patient, and after a week, focus on muscle conditioning through weight training. You must aim to attain a balance. Weight loss isn’t a one-step process, as it calls for total commitment to appropriate lifestyle changes. DFW Bariatrics and General Surgery provides comprehensive weight-loss solutions, including surgical & non-surgical procedures and postoperative therapies. We provide robotic bariatric surgery with state-of-the-art machinery, ensuring complete patient comfort, safety, and recovery. To book an appointment, call 469-620-0222 or fill out our contact form.