Can you train with breast implants?

Last November, I finally took the plunge (after YEARS of soul searching and deliberation) and got a boob job. (see next day pic below!)

And I am not ashamed to admit that the reason I agonised for years over the decision, was because I was ashamed!

I was ashamed that I didn’t love my body enough just the way it was.

I also struggled with questions such as:

Will I be able to train just as hard after the operation?

What will people say?

What kind of message am I sending to my daughter (who is 9) and other young girls?

Will they be safe?

Will I love my body MORE with them, than I do now?

But truly, it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

After 9 days I was back in the gym training legs and biceps.

After 2 weeks I was training legs, biceps and triceps.

After 3 weeks I was training legs, biceps, triceps and shoulders.

And after only 6 weeks I was back training chest with my full weights.

There seems to be a lot of differing opinions around whether you should train chest after implants.

Some doctors say you shouldn’t, and others (like mine) say wait only 6 weeks and you’ll be grand.

And while I cannot give you any medical advice, what I can give you is the benefit of my personal experience.

In this episode of Strong & Sculpted I take you into the gym with me to talk about training after implants.

I also show you the exact chest workout I use to grow chests, not breasts.

It’s important for a woman to train chest as it provides balance over the entire body.  If you only ever train your back and not your chest, you can end up pulling the spine more on one side of the body.

Also, the more muscle you have in your body, the higher your metabolism and the more fat your body will burn!  

Don’t forget, the best conversations happen in the blog so after you’ve watched the episode, leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts!

Love Kim x

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Kim: Hey guys welcome to another episode of Strong and Sculpted, we are training today with Mr Mark Getty as usual. A lot of the questions I get asked are about training after breast implants because as many of you know, I actually got breast implants about 11 weeks ago now. I got back to heavy training pretty much straight away but I didn’t actually train chest, it took me about 6 weeks to train chest, what we did was we just trained legs, biceps, what else did we train Mark, legs and biceps?
Mark: Legs, biceps, I think we tried triceps [0:00:40 unclear] was easy enough as well and back as well.
Kim: Yeah shoulders and back after 3 weeks.
Mark: I think the only thing was chest and tri’s.
Kim: We didn’t train chest until 6 weeks, I think it was and even then my strength had really gone down but today I just wanted to show you what training that we do. Even though I’ve had breast implants, I’m 11 weeks post training, we don’t ease up on weights do we Mark?
Mark: Not anymore.
Kim: Not anymore, we still train heavy and hard and I know that’s a common concern that a lot of women have. So yeah come join in on the training session and let me know what you think. The amount of people that say to me I always hear Mark’s voice in my head when I’m pushing on my last reps going easy, easy come on, that’s all they hear.
[Training Session] Kim: So this is, what is this Mark?
Mark: Just a plain chest press, this is more for the upper pec so it is and obviously the top of your shoulders as well. You can’t really isolate the chest fully [0:01:43 unclear] …Bodybuilding especially for men, the part of the chest where I would say most people are working is the upper pec, do you know what I mean, so this is where I would always start with something upper.
Kim: Is that the one that you balance us?
Mark: That’s the one you can balance a pint glass on.
Kim: Mark can balance a pint glass on.
Mark: So it is but that’s the bit that’s always weak, do you know what I mean? I’ve never heard anyone say they’re weak around here so it’s always up here, so that’s why you start with an upper, do you know what I mean?
Kim: Will it lift the breast implant up do you think, I’ll walk like this all the time?
Mark: It lifts the breast implants up.
Kim: So what’s this 15kg each side plus the machine 20 kgs?
Mark: It’s one of the heaviest machines, let’s go, come on, easy peasy.
Kim: You see he always says easy peasy.
[Training Session] Machine Flat Chest Press – 4 sets 10 – 12 reps.
Kim: I’m actually back to my full lifting weights, I only started training chest again about 4 weeks ago or something, 3 weeks, I think this is the third week.
Mark: It wasn’t that long ago.
Kim: Fourth week training chest so I’m only 4 weeks after starting back to chest, I’m only 10 – 11 weeks I think it is, post op and I’m back to my full training weights so it just shows how quickly it comes back.
Mark: I think even the first couple of weeks Kim you were a little bit nervous putting the weights on.
Kim: I was on.
Mark: Just in case something puffed up do you know what I mean?
Kim: I can bounce them, I can my bounce my pecs like a man.
Mark: I think the first couple of weeks it was just feeling out the process and making sure everything definitely was healed and you were happy enough to go forward you know so even at that you didn’t want to lift something heavy but the last 2 – 3 weeks …
Kim: And so many women are afraid of working their chest after they get breast implants and they say to me, oh my doctor told me not to work chest and I said to Mark why not work chest and he was like I don’t see why not.
Mark: I think it’s common misconception with injuries, people and doctors especially like they tell people to take 12 weeks off or 6 months off and I think a lot of these people buy into the general, you know the medical professional knows best, for me it’s about going about how your body [0:04:16 unclear].
Kim: Right.
Mark: You know, you found yourself, you recovered very quickly with what you were eating and your training etc., etc., and you knew in your own head when you were ready to do it and I think that’s the problem. There’s the people that want to get back to it too quick and there’s the people who just want a reason not to go back and it’s finding that balance and making sure that you sort of let your body tell you that when you’re ready to go back, you kind of know when you’re ready to go back.
Kim: Well there’s also a bit of this Mark.
Mark: There is, there is, there’s a big bit of that, that’s what I’m saying about, that’s the difference between 12 weeks and 16 weeks, people want an excuse not to do things and therefore if the medical boy says you’re out of it for 6 months, a lot of people like pulling down the big girl pants and decide to give it the full 6 months, you know.
Kim: No not me.
Mark: Suck it up and get on with it.
Kim: Suck it up buttercup.
[Training Session] Dips Chest Version – 4 sets x 10 – 12 reps.
Kim: Last week I got 10. I’m always comparing, last week I got 10, last week I did this and Mark’s like, last week didn’t matter, it’s not anymore, it’s gone. A lot of women don’t train chest, why do you think it’s important, like we train chest quite comprehensively, why is it important for women to train chest?
Mark: I think every muscle should be trained, do you know what I mean? It’s like most are going to train legs …
Kim: Or glutes, I said to Rory today have you ever done a [0:05:51 unclear] …
Mark: I think muscles with muscles, muscles work, some are just and you have a bicep and a tricep and a chest and your back, even if it’s just for functionality or posture, if you’re not training chest, a lot of people tend to have their shoulders roll backwards, do you know what I mean and if you train more of your back and your shoulders, you see all the guys run around [0:06:11 unclear] so even something as simple as posture, function, form you know, every muscle worked properly you know, just keeps all this even. Even if you don’t want a bigger chest or anything else, even just the functionality and the posture, things like that, it is important.
Kim: I can bench 60kg.
Mark: Yeah.
Kim: I don’t have an unsightly chest do i?
Mark: People think as well …A lot of women I think have the misconception, whenever people are saying to build muscle, the come to me and they go I want to get toned, they don’t want to get bulky, they go I don’t want to look like you and I’m like if I could make you look like me in 6 months, I’d be a multi-millionaire. The bottom end of it is, you’re going to grow muscle in relation to your genetic potential so no woman is going to walk into a gym and look like me after a month unless there’s something shockingly major going on and at that point, I’d be going to her, what’s she doing, do you know what I mean and so and that’s the same when it comes to the chest, when people do the chest, people do it right, keep the exercise right, all they’re going to build is something nice in their physique, they’re not going to build something that’s going to be unsightly or stupid looking.
Kim: I love that I’ve got broad shoulders.
Mark: Some of them have shape and flow, most women’s physiques, it’s all about shapes and flow and for me if you’re lacking a muscle grip, you’re lacking in the flow and obviously your posture is going to be knocked out a bit as well which will again knock the flow. I just think if you’re in the gym you should be training heavy.
Kim: I agree and also the more muscle you have in your body, the higher your metabolism, the more fat you burn, it’s a win win.
Mark: When people say to me about weak body parts, train everything.
Kim: I get it all the time, I have weak legs, should I train legs more often, no, just train legs twice a week and train everything else as well.
Mark: Let’s go.
[Training Session] Triceps Push Downs – 4 sets x 10 – 12 reps.
Cable Overhead Triceps Extensions – 4 sets x 10 – 12 reps.
Rope Triceps Push Downs – 4 sets x 10 – 12 reps.
Kim: So that’s the end of chest and tricep workout, so hopefully you can see that even if you’ve had breast implants or you’re thinking about getting breast implants, you don’t need to be worried about training chest, I mean that was a pretty heavy chest workout.
Mark: Just like they all are Kim.
Kim: Just like they all are. I mean, as Mark says, you need muscle all over your body to balance your body, you don’t want to always training back and never be training chest and the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism, the more fat your body will burn, the more you can eat.
Mark: It’s just endless. The benefits are endless for health even later when you get older, you’re going to have more benefits with posture, as I said earlier on, general health. Studies have been done now to show that a bit more muscle mass on your frame is beneficial for you across the board so I think the stereotype of skinny and all this is starting to move in the right direction and all forms of them and all forms of benefits to health, not only [0:09:57 unclear] …or whatever you want to call it but also …
Kim: No you’re right, I mean it is nice to look shit hot but it’s also nice to be healthy at the same time.
Mark: Well it’s nice to know that by looking shit hot, you’re going to be healthy as well, you see what I mean, so there’s nothing, the whole statement of grow old gracefully, do you know what I mean, there’s nothing better growing old gracefully …
Kim: And a nice set of perky tits.
Mark: And a nice arse you know what I mean.
Kim: So listen if you guys have any questions, if you want to ask Mark any questions, just drop them below in the comments, Mark will be happy to answer any questions, I can ask him for the answers and then give the answers to you or if you want to know what kind of training we do, if you want any advice on what you should avoid or what you should not avoid, we can only give you our experience, we’re certainly not doctors or medical practitioners but certainly, any questions at all, ask them below and we will see you in the next episode of strong and sculpted.
Mark: Take care.
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