Exercise for tummy tuck

The best option is the be fit and have strong abdominal muscles before surgery. This will help with surgery and recovery.

This does not mean that you have to do abdominal exercise before surgery, but will help. (Kamran Khoobehi, MD, New Orleans Plastic Surgeon)

Prior to tummy tuck or any cosmetic procedure for that matter, is pays dividends to stick to a pattern of a healthy diet, and an active life style that includes exercise.

The investment in yourself should begin long before surgery and will help ensure the best results and the fastest recovery.

We suggest reaching your ideal body weight, and reaching a baseline level of fitness. Aerobic fitness is best and can include running, stationary bike, swimming, elliptical training, or aerobic classes.

Exercise for tummy tuck image

By strengthening your ‘core’, you will also achieve a good degree of abdominal tone and good posture which will improve your tummy tuck for the long term. Start early and you will finish strong. (Peter E. Johnson, MD, Chicago Plastic Surgeon)

There is also no need to perform the exercises after surgery as well. The surgery itself will tighten things up. (Farbod Esmailian, MD, Orange County Plastic Surgeon)

Muscle strengthening before tummy tuck?

If you have muscle separation called rectus diastasis, strengthening those muscles before surgery may be near impossible. In fact, if those muscles are working in the wrong position, you may actually cause a widening of the separation by working them too hard.

Exercise for tummy tuck muscles

In short, wait until after your tummy tuck to work those muscles. The effort you make then will be much more efficient and safe. (Elizabeth Slass Lee, MD, Bay Area Plastic Surgeon)

Muscle strengthening for tummy tuck

Not every tummy tuck requires a muscle repair. In my opinion, those patients who have a diastasis or separation of the large vertically oriented muscles, can not be corrected by exercise alone. For this condition tummy tuck provides spectacular results often creating a completely new waistline. It is not uncommon that longstanding backpain is markedly minimized with this procedure due to improved support. (Stanley G. Poulos, MD, Greenbrae Plastic Surgeon)

Exercise for tummy tuck before surgery

It helps at any time to improve your muscle tone. I recommend that my patients undergo a course of core strengthening using a Pilates or Yoga style regimen. I believe this produces the best overall contour for the abdomen and will reinforce the repair. I often recommend that patients resume gentle excercises ab out 3 weeks after surgery. (Otto Joseph Placik, MD, Chicago Plastic Surgeon)

Muscle building and tummy tuck

It really should make no difference except that some of the improvement that you have made in your muscle strength will be lost because you will not be able to exercise during the recovery.

Exercise for tummy tuck photo patient

You should note that the treatment of the muscle layer during a tummy tuck is not really treating the muscle but the covering of the muscle called the fascia. This is what stretches out with pregnancy and weight gain and is the layer that needs to be tightened. (John P. Stratis, MD, Harrisburg Plastic Surgeon)

If you can strengthen your abdominal muscles prior to surgery, you will improve the cosmetic result. After surgery you will need to hold on exercises for a few weeks, so I’d recommend doing it now. (Nina S. Naidu, MD, FACS, New York Plastic Surgeon)

It’s always better to be in good physical shape before your surgery, so it wouldn’t hurt to continue strengthening your abs before your tummy tuck. (Jerome Edelstein, MD, Toronto Plastic Surgeon)

I feel that toning the abdominal muscles helps the result, and being cardio-fit speeds recovery. I tell patients that I’d rather operate on a 50-year old spin-class queen than a 25-year old couch potato! (John LoMonaco, MD, FACS, Houston Plastic Surgeon)