Training after umbilical hernia

[Joey1231]

Hi all,
I compete in triathlons and a couple of days ago I had my umbilical hernia repaired. I am thinking that I will have to take 6 weeks off training to make sure it repairs fully. My question is can I just jump straight back in? Will it be totally repaired by then? How will I know how hard I can push? I have the Noosa Triathlon 2 months after my 6 week recovery so will need to get my fitness back pretty quick.
Has anyone had any experience with training after this operation?
Thanks!

[HillSlugger]

I had a hernia repaired years ago. I wasn't doing triathlon at the time, but I was rock climbing. I definitely had to take it easy for a while when I got back on the rock. I think you will need to expect some loss in fitness. Maybe you can do some easy pedaling on the trainer and some deep water running after the incision heals (about 2 weeks probably).

Good luck.

[OakLeaf]

I don't have any knowledge of the surgery, but I did a fair amount of deep water running in the past year, and it does not sound like a good idea to me, unless you are already adept at beltless DWR. The belt will chafe intact skin, and it has to be fastened very tight to keep it from riding up over your ribcage. As for beltless DWR, I never mastered that, and I definitely would not want to try to learn when my abdominal muscles were healing. That is pretty much all core strength, trying to keep from sinking or being flipped upside down by the footies.

Good luck with your recovery.