You should begin walking in moderation after your surgery and do this regularly, every day after you get home. Walking stimulates the return of bowel function and will get you back on the road to regaining the muscle you lost while in hospital. Whatever sports you may have played in the past, you can enjoy them again with few exceptions. If you have questions – ask your NSWOC. It is imperative to know that you cannot jump back into training or exercise at the same level you left. You must refrain from heavy stress on your core during the weeks following surgery. Unless you had laparoscopic surgery, your abdominal muscles would have weakened by incisions and require adequate healing time. Improper lifting or lifting too heavy a weight too soon could cause a hernia.

Avoid all lifting, including laundry hampers and vacuums, for those first few weeks. Introduce light loads gradually and carefully. Still, it would help if you avoided abdominal exercises for a while and then only introduced these in gradual, gentle amounts.