Low-Impact Exercises After
Weight Loss Surgery
After surgery, getting your body moving again is an important part of recovery — but it doesn't have to be intense. These gentle, low-impact activities build strength and confidence without taxing your body.
After undergoing weight loss surgery, your body needs a break from strenuous activity. Taking good care of yourself is your number one priority. However, after following your surgeon's guidance for recovery time, it will become important to start moving again — to strengthen your body and prepare for the exercise regimens you will eventually adopt.
Starting an exercise regimen, particularly if recovery has been difficult or if you were not accustomed to exercise prior to surgery, can be an adjustment. The following low-impact exercises provide excellent, strengthening workouts without taxing your body.
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1Walking
Walking is stress-free, relaxing, and an excellent way to get your body moving, increase your heart rate, and gently strengthen muscles. Over time, you can incorporate ankle or wrist weights or dumbbells to increase your strength and cardiovascular fitness.
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2Swimming
Making a splash is a great, low-impact way to get cardio and strength-building benefits. Swimming not only revs your heart rate but tones your shoulders and legs and improves your lung function — all without putting pressure on your bones and joints.
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3Water Aerobics
Love the water but tired of laps? Try a water aerobics class, or encourage your fitness center to host one session per week in the pool. Adding an aerobic element to your swim time — like tossing a beach ball with a friend — makes it a fun, low-impact challenge.
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4Yoga
It's relaxing and low-impact — and it genuinely builds strength. Yoga is not merely a sequence of movements that tones the body but a way of life that includes healthful eating, positive thoughts, and gentleness, as well as providing strength-building and mind-soothing benefits.
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5Playing Outside
Playing in the yard with your kids or grandkids, gardening, or simply spending time outdoors doing something you enjoy is always a wonderful option. The benefits of fresh air and sunlight — combined with finding movement that feels like fun rather than exercise — are enormous.
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6Golf
Getting outside and walking the course combines the benefits of several of the above: walking, lifting light weights, and fluid movement — all while being outside. Learning the rules of the game also adds an intellectual and competitive element that makes it genuinely engaging and fun.