Lifting Advice Post Op

[ColoWayno]

Hey Jordan, hope you are well.

I just had my 16 week follow up after rotator cuff and bicep tendon surgery. The surgeon said I was ahead of schedule and, to my surprise (based on what he had said before this), told me I didn’t need more follow up appointments.

As he watched me move my arm around it almost seemed like he was trying to figure out if I was really the guy he operated on a few months ago.

Of course I’ve been doing some lifting on the sly. I tried to keep some heavy stuff going with leg presses and back Extensions (on a machine), but I’ve also been conservatively doing the main Lifts. Yesterday I did 3x8x75lbs OH presses. I’ve mostly been doing the main Lifts once per week to allow time for the soreness to fade (which it does very nicely). Another reference point, I just did a set of 5 dead Lifts at 155 lbs. This seemed easy.

My question is, should I go to doing the main Lifts 2x per week with less weight so I can recover more quickly? I’ve been tentatively trying to add a second day where I bench, but bench is progressing the slowest right now, and I’ve skipped it More often than not. Also, i’ve Only been able to squat for 6 weeks or so as the shoulder flexibility took a while to return. That’s going nicely now.

Vitals:
Age 54, 5’10”, 205lbs.

Bests Lifts last year (ballpark)
Dead Lift: 405
Squat: 350
OH Press: 165
Bench: 250

Cheers,

Wayne.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

I take it your surgeon has now cleared you to train?

My main concern would be potential damage of the repair, though it is probably slight at 16 weeks post op. That said, without the surgeon's blessing that you are good to go, I'm not sure I could give you the green light on my own accord.

[ColoWayno]

He did at the last visit, although I had been conservatively lifting before that, really since about 6 weeks post op. I’m sure I’m Lifting less conservatively than he would recommend, but less agressively than several videos on this site seem to suggest.

I’d say I split the difference between the often recommended (especially on this site) “make it heal” approach and following my surgeon and PT’s advice, about 80% in favor of the medical professionals advice.

I’m trying to evaluate what I’m doing every few weeks, figuring out what the new normal is and what works.