Surgery in a few days. Will be out for months. Any tips on keeping size and keeping from going stir crazy?

[Quadlife]

So I had the surgery consult with the Ortho. Turns out, the tear in my labrum was not from working out. It's a genetic deformity, the head of my femur isn't shaped correctly and is leading to bone on bone grinding with my hip and that caused the tear. Going under to have the bone shaved down so everything fits like it's suppose to and have the labrum stitched up.

Healing time is 3-6 months. No upper or lower body workouts for a few months unless i'm healing ahead of schedule. I always shrink down considerably after surgery so up for hearing any tips / advice. I'll be on low dose test and thats it. I stocked up on EAAs / protein powder and going to do my best on getting the calories in. Im sure there's not much more I can do other than keeping calories high enough to maintain size, but no so high where I come out of this a fatty.

Yea you pretty much mentioned all the good tips. I ate the same diet for over 5 months off. I used that time to focus on business and things I enjoy like poker and other avenues you might not get to focus on during your usual routine .

 

[cage99]

I was out for several months a lil while back with my rib injuries. I didn’t worry abt anything, just focused on recovering. You’ll get everything back. After a 3-4 months back in the gym you’ll be close to your original size!

Cage

 

[bbxtreme]

Sorry to hear about the surgery, but in the end it sounds like it’s a good move for long term progress.

I would embrace the recovery period and use it to my advantage as much as it will suck being out of the gym.

If it were me I would do test/primo at a 1:1 low dosage and 2-4 units of HGH (maybe T4 if using HGH). Along with TB and BPC.

4-5 meals daily and I would keep carbs low, clean fats and focus on adding things like bone broth to a few meals per day to help promote gut health and healing.

 

[Doitagain]

When I had to take a forced break for a few months, Clen helped immensely to keep an excellent body composition.
That and very high Protein, moderate fat and low carbs mostly from veggies and small servings of potatoes and berries.

 

[Virtuous]

I had a major surgery (well, multiple, including a 2 week ICU stay) that involved an open operation on my torso. Was supposed to be out 6 months, was back in the gym in a month lol.

It helped a lot. I just did super light machines, cardio, etc- but moving your body helps it heal. Firm believer in that. If you lay up on a couch for months, you’ll take months to get active again. Get moving as soon as you can. Safely, of course.

 

[Golden]

I often wonder if the thought of an enforced extended lay off is worse than actually going through it

 

[buck]

Every Sports medicine ortho i have been to has supported staying reasonable active after surgery. All the studies i have seen seem to support that. After i had my shoulder replaced they stared my on stretching within hours of the surgery. Reintegrating lifting weights with in a few weeks. But i was ahead of that schedule as they well knew and didn't suggest i slow down as i was ahead of the curve.

Merits of exercise therapy before and after major surgery

Advances in medical care have led to an increasing elderly population. Elderly individuals should be able to participate in society as long as possible. However, with an increasing age their adaptive capacity gradually decreases, specially before and ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[LK3]

had a cpl surgeries the past few years, knife fight and some other damaging accidents all that resulted in time out of gym and healing. for recovery i stay with trt. a cpl times i added small amounts of npp for inflammation. less then 100mg wk 50 may up to 70. my thinking was that carbs are also important. so i usually ease up on the diet eat foods that might be eaiser or more fun, and dont worry about getting a little fat if i want to keep muscle. if i dont care about keeping muscle or maybe nee to loose some then i would simple eat less and cleaner. depends on your goal. also you can prob get back to things faster then they say. even if you just used the top part of an air bike for a while. doing light activity to help with circulation can help.

 

[Hyperemia]

TB500, BPC 157, GH.
Focus on recovery instead of maintaining, also why no upper body?

Good advice! But ya, speaking from personal experience, everything is connected to the hip bone basically

Every Sports medicine ortho i have been to has supported staying reasonable active after surgery. All the studies i have seen seem to support that. After i had my shoulder replaced they stared my on stretching within hours of the surgery. Reintegrating lifting weights with in a few weeks. But i was ahead of that schedule as they well knew and didn't suggest i slow down as i was ahead of the curve.

Merits of exercise therapy before and after major surgery

Advances in medical care have led to an increasing elderly population. Elderly individuals should be able to participate in society as long as possible. However, with an increasing age their adaptive capacity gradually decreases, specially before and ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Appreciate the input fellas. As @Js118 said, everything seems to affect the hip. When I initially thought I just had a strain, I tried to work through it. I had the most pain from seated rows and seated chest flys. Everything else I did caused pain / discomfort as well, but those were the standouts. The hip, in my case at least, seems to be effected from anything weight bearing. With a shoulder or knee injury, if you immobilize those appendages, you can work around them. I havn't been able to do anything without some degree of pain. At this point, I can't stand or even sit for any considerable amount of time without being in pain. My recliner is really the only place where it quiets down enough to where I almost forget about it. When we were discussing recovery, my ortho said basically what @Js118 said, nearly everything affects the hip. So I'm just following his plan, nothing is set in stone, we'll adjust depending on how fast we're getting through the recovery process.

 

[Hyperemia]

I have had 1 shoulder rebuilt from 2 rotators torn off the bone and a ruptured bicep fixed. And another surgery with the shoulder replaced. Still could train 3 appendages and a torso. So was back in the gym in days. And the surgeons agreed. Lost very little size. As firing off nerves in one side still activates the nerves to a degree in the other. Was still natural for the first and was on Dr prescribed TRT and self prescribed HGH for the second. healed ahead of schedule on both. Diet is paramount i beleive.

Glad to hear you healed up well and ahead of schedule.

Same here. Had double knee replacement.. was out of commission for a couple of months .. just did my trt and low dose hgh.. ate my usual diet but less carbs.. didn't lose near as much as I was guessing I would.. of course lifting for 40 years it's not going to leave as rapidly

Wow, double knee, that sounds rough.Glad to hear everything went well and you didn't lose much of anything.

Yea you pretty much mentioned all the good tips. I ate the same diet for over 5 months off. I used that time to focus on business and things I enjoy like poker and other avenues you might not get to focus on during your usual routine .

Thanks man. I just went through your thread and that is one hell of a journey. You went through hell and back and still reached your really impressive goal of becoming an IFBB Pro.

I was out for several months a lil while back with my rib injuries. I didn’t worry abt anything, just focused on recovering. You’ll get everything back. After a 3-4 months back in the gym you’ll be close to your original size!

Cage

That's my plan. Im just trying to focus on recovery and maintain what I can through diet. Aside from a high protein diet helping keep size, it's suppose to help speed up recovery as well. Appreciate the words of encouragement!

 

[Hyperemia]

If it were ME. I would add low dose tren.

Maybe thymalin to keep your immune system tip top because you’ll be sedentary

You're trying to set me up for divorce aren't you? Home all day, getting agitated with my wife over not making my protein shakes correctly... kidding. Tren fucks with my sleep too much, I've been getting such better rest since I came off of it. I envy you, if you're able to run it low dose without any side effects. I've never heard of thymalin, looking into it now. Thank bro.

@Quadlife spoke about his experience regarding limiting muscle loss in his thread

That was a great thread, thanks for pointing me in that direction.

 

[Hyperemia]

Sorry to hear about the surgery, but in the end it sounds like it’s a good move for long term progress.

I would embrace the recovery period and use it to my advantage as much as it will suck being out of the gym.

If it were me I would do test/primo at a 1:1 low dosage and 2-4 units of HGH (maybe T4 if using HGH). Along with TB and BPC.

4-5 meals daily and I would keep carbs low, clean fats and focus on adding things like bone broth to a few meals per day to help promote gut health and healing.

When I had to take a forced break for a few months, Clen helped immensely to keep an excellent body composition.
That and very high Protein, moderate fat and low carbs mostly from veggies and small servings of potatoes and berries.

Im seeing that a lot of guys are going low carbs and moderate fats when they're healing. If calories remain equal, is there an advantage of going in that direction instead of say, moderate carbs and low fats? I've only ever dropped carbs and raised fats when being behind schedule and needing to speed up weight loss.

 

[Hyperemia]

I had a major surgery (well, multiple, including a 2 week ICU stay) that involved an open operation on my torso. Was supposed to be out 6 months, was back in the gym in a month lol.

It helped a lot. I just did super light machines, cardio, etc- but moving your body helps it heal. Firm believer in that. If you lay up on a couch for months, you’ll take months to get active again. Get moving as soon as you can. Safely, of course.

Thanks man. Ive read some of your stories about the shit you've been through. Glad to see you came out better on the other side of it all.

 

[SouthernMuscle]

You're trying to set me up for divorce aren't you? Home all day, getting agitated with my wife over not making my protein shakes correctly... kidding. Tren fucks with my sleep too much, I've been getting such better rest since I came off of it. I envy you, if you're able to run it low dose without any side effects. I've never heard of thymalin, looking into it now. Thank bro.

just sayin. Probably the best thing for retaining muscle esp on lowered cals

 

[AllOkJumpmaster]

TB500, BPC 157, GH.
Focus on recovery instead of maintaining, also why no upper body?

do you think that IGF-1 LRF would be a good peptide to add to the TB/BPC combo meal?

 

[AllOkJumpmaster]

calories are not just going to be important for keeping size, but also calories are needed to go injury healing and recovery. Lyle McDonald wrote a book on ideal caloric intake for injury recovery.

as for stir-crazy, this is the perfect time to pick up a new hobby / skill or online education / pro development type of stuff. You can easily get a PMP cert in 3 months. Or learn to play guitar or some shit like that, or both.

 

[Quadlife]

Thanks man. I just went through your thread and that is one hell of a journey. You went through hell and back and still reached your really impressive goal of becoming an IFBB Pro.

Appreciate that man! You’ll make it, just gotta stay positive I should say that’s the most important thing.

 

[alfresco]

The theory of contrary opinion.

Will probably going to get a ton of shit over this but here goes . . .

First, get the best therapist / rehab person you can afford. And listen to him or her.

I would adapt a holistic approach; take the time to do a deep dive into the mind and the body (not weights).

Personally, if it were me, I would do ~ three thirty minute walks per day.

Stretch (yoga, whatever) for and an hour a day.

Meditate in two, twenty minute sits a day. (More if you can; the magic starts at about an hour.)

All this the time you probably spend in the gym each week so me thinks you have the but perhaps not the inclination

I would return to a more balanced diet, ‘normal’ diet with a reduction in protein, and up your fruit and veggies.

Drugs. I would do a straight, honest TRT. All the other stuff is up to you but I would keeps things as ‘normal’ as possible, let your body heal itself, this is what it does best without throwing the kitchen sink at it.

And any muscle you lose will be gained back faster than you can possibly imagine. You are well built, heaps of muscle accumulated over a long period of time so your body will quickly regain anything you lost in the interim.

Reduce as much stress in your life as possible. Stress, anxiety, depression takes a horrible toll on the body . . . you do not need this now. Wait till you get back on the juice than you can go on a hunting spree

Not knocking everyone else’s recommendations, this is just my opinion.

I wish you a speedy, full and fast recovery which I am sure you are more than capable of. Your a smart guy, now get after it.

 

[bbxtreme]

Im seeing that a lot of guys are going low carbs and moderate fats when they're healing. If calories remain equal, is there an advantage of going in that direction instead of say, moderate carbs and low fats? I've only ever dropped carbs and raised fats when being behind schedule and needing to speed up weight loss.

You’re not going to be doing as much activity so that’s why I personally would keep them lower and fats higher. You want to keep insulin sensitivity good.

And when I say fats I would use olive oil, Mac oil and healthy fats as they will be healing as well. But in the end of the day the day it’s CICO. How you work the macros for the benefits is up to you really.

 

[Hyperemia]

You’re not going to be doing as much activity so that’s why I personally would keep them lower and fats higher. You want to keep insulin sensitivity good.

And when I say fats I would use olive oil, Mac oil and healthy fats as they will be healing as well. But in the end of the day the day it’s CICO. How you work the macros for the benefits is up to you really.

That was a really good explanation, so good, it makes me feel dumb for not realizing it.

Thanks BBX.