Well repo-man -

Only thing that comes to mind is if your scar is stretched much it will be to the detriment of a plentiful harvest. Instead of having a thinner scar and more grafts with the harvest, assuming the surgeon's swatch will be the same width in either case, with a stretched scar you'll be getting more scar and less grafts, make sense??

I'm likely going back into the chair for my 3rd HT at the end of the month and am reviewing my weightlifting strategy post-surgery. That's one of the downsides, the layoff, for me I'm close to being in the best shape I've ever been in so I kind of hate it.............but the visions of working out with more hair on my head later this year make it palatable!

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Hairbank

1st HT 1-18-05 - 1200 FUT's
2nd HT 2-15-06 - 3886 FUT's Dr. Wong
3rd HT 4-24-08 - 2415 FUT's Dr. Wong

GRAND TOTAL: 7501 GRAFTS

current regimen: 1.25mg finasteride every other day

My Hair Loss Weblog

Disclaimer: I'm not a Doctor (and have never played one on TV ) and have no medical training. Any information I share here is in an effort to help those who don't like hair loss.

Hairbank,

Thanks for the post, makes complete sense. Since you've had two HTs and the experience of getting back into the gym post-op, what was your strategy in the past and has it translated into a thin scar?

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Dr. Feller - 3,168 grafts on 3/27/08

http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com....asp?WebID=689

Post-op first HT, I took about two weeks off, then resumed close to my normal routine with lighter weight. Right or wrong, I started back full-steam at 1 month and really had no problems. Scar was only so-so, but I don't believe it was due to the weights, more the surgeon. He was good, just not great and didn't use trichophytic closure with hair growing through the scar.

Post-op 2nd HT I had taken a bit of a layoff from lifting so it wasn't an issue. I believe I did start lifing again around 2 months after............scar is great!!

Assuming I go ahead with HT #3 at the end of this month, I'm thinking I'll take one week off, no lifting whatsoever. Then, 2nd week do very light reps with most all exercises........maybe follow through with that routine through week 4. I'd like to be back to normal pretty much by week 5 but maybe that's too optimistic.

You're a little over 2 weeks out, right? Have you tried any kind of lifting yet?

__________________
Hairbank

1st HT 1-18-05 - 1200 FUT's
2nd HT 2-15-06 - 3886 FUT's Dr. Wong
3rd HT 4-24-08 - 2415 FUT's Dr. Wong

GRAND TOTAL: 7501 GRAFTS

current regimen: 1.25mg finasteride every other day

My Hair Loss Weblog

Disclaimer: I'm not a Doctor (and have never played one on TV ) and have no medical training. Any information I share here is in an effort to help those who don't like hair loss.

Hairbank,

I haven't start any exercises whatsoever. I'm trying to be as cautious as possible, but go about my daily business. Starting tomorrow (Sunday), I am going to start doing some cardio. I'm going to see how I feel and take it from there. I really want to get back in the gym and lift a bit, but I understand that I have to ease into and that is what I'm plannig on doing.

Do you have any exercises that you would recommend to stay away from, based on your personal experience? I've heard that squats and benching can put strain on the scar, so I'm going to stay away from those for a bit. How about something like pull-ups and dips?

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Dr. Feller - 3,168 grafts on 3/27/08

http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com....asp?WebID=689

I really don't. I think anything that you're lifting heavier weight is probably suspect......like bench or squats!

I think you can probably base much of your decision on how it feels when you lift. I remember from HT #1 I pretty much went full tilt at 1 month and really I felt fine.

Just ease your way into it and start moving up. You'll probably just need to continue with it and see how you feel as you go!

__________________
Hairbank

1st HT 1-18-05 - 1200 FUT's
2nd HT 2-15-06 - 3886 FUT's Dr. Wong
3rd HT 4-24-08 - 2415 FUT's Dr. Wong

GRAND TOTAL: 7501 GRAFTS

current regimen: 1.25mg finasteride every other day

My Hair Loss Weblog

Disclaimer: I'm not a Doctor (and have never played one on TV ) and have no medical training. Any information I share here is in an effort to help those who don't like hair loss.

Thanks for the advice. I just got back from a cardio session. Did the elliptical for about 20 minutes. I noticed that if I look down too often, the area would feel a little tight. I just kept my head to the sky for the entire workout. It definetly feels good to get back into the mix of things and break a sweat!

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Dr. Feller - 3,168 grafts on 3/27/08

http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com....asp?WebID=689

Sorry to revive this thread, but I am wondering the same thing about returning to the gym. I had my surgery OCT 9th and think I am lucky enough to never have to go back for another.

What type of exercises and how long after surgery did you guys generally wait? I play volleyball and softball and my teammates are mad that I am not playing with them now.

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My Hair Loss Blog - Hair Transplant with Dr. Keene