Weightlifting post sternotomy

Medical Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hello,

Hope everyone’s well. I have a question regarding taking back weightlifting after a long medically-induced break, here goes:

  • background: 26 y/o, 6ft, 170 pounds, started being fairly active 5 years ago through running, lifting (big 3 + machine work) and cycling. Was never able to truly go through a proper linear progression due to fatigue from malfunctioning valve and shoulder pains.
  • 3 months ago (8th of July) I underwent an aortic valve replacement through open heart surgery (median sternotomy). Everything went well!
  • I then went to rehab for a month and have been working out within given guidelines for the next 2 months : max. 5-10 lb depending on the machines + cycling to max 165 bpm.
  • Had an vo2 max test with a sports cardiologist a month ago → all clear to resume cardiovascular exercise, all caps lifted.
  • All tests with my cardiologist were good, the new valve is functioning great.

My aim short term is to put on some muscle mass (around 10 pounds) and be fully functional again. Long term would be to go through a form of linear progression, now that there’s no contraindications. I would like to know what type of strength protocol you would recommend, given that my upper body is severely detrained from about 6 months away from training (virtually no muscle stimulation in the past 3 months according to guidelines + limited use in the 3 months prior to surgery given my past condition).

Happy to provide more info if needed.

Thanks a lot and best regards,

JD

2

Hi there,

It sounds like you’ve been through a lot. Great job getting back to activity so far. It sounds like you’re clear without restrictions from the cardiovascular / conditioning standpoint, so standard guidelines would apply there.

As far as resistance training goes, I would be following a beginner-type programming approach, within the recommendations you’ve received from your physicians. A limitation to a max of 5-10 lbs sounds excessive at 4 months out from the procedure, but I am not in a position to contradict those from the forum here. We have both general guidelines for getting back to the gym (here) as well as a beginner programming approach (here), although this may require some modifications based on your particular situation and restrictions.