My LASIK Journey: Post-Surgery Exercise

In 2013, a few months after turning 18, I underwent LASIK eye surgery—and I’ll eventually share how I managed my exercise routine post-surgery for those curious.

Reflecting on it, I never deeply considered the surgery beforehand. After a severe accident, I received some compensation. One day, my mum asked how I wanted to use the money. Spontaneously, I expressed a want for laser eye surgery, a decision I made on impulse but felt confident about.

We soon visited Optical Express Laser Eye Surgery in London's Shaftesbury Avenue to discuss and schedule the procedure. Looking back, I was pretty rash, doing no prior research and ignoring acquaintances' advice against the surgery due to the slight chance of an incident occurring.

Fortunately, the procedure was successful.

I won't talk about specifics during the surgery because, to be frank, it was one of the oddest experiences of my life, but they suggested I wear sunglasses for the two weeks following due to increased light sensitivity—and you can imagine I looked odd walking around London with them on during a cold November.

Two other crucial post-surgery instructions were to avoid getting sweat in my eyes, for which I wore blue-tinted goggles during exercise and that impact sports were off-limits.

At the time, my routine included thrice-weekly strength training and weekly tag rugby.

Post-surgery, I halved the intensity of my gym workouts, maintaining movement without exerting myself much. For instance, I reduced what I did by 50%, such as my dumbbell bench presses from 30kg to 15kg and halving the sets—although rep ranges remained consistent. The goggles might have looked odd to others at the gym, but that didn't concern me.

While some might worry about doing lighter sessions at the gym for their fitness “in case they lose everything they worked hard for”, it was only a temporary scale-back for two weeks, which was insignificant in the long run.

I continued playing tag rugby while wearing the goggles, feeling like the tag rugby Edgar Davids. Looking back, it was slightly risky since the game's unpredictable nature could increase sweat—unlike my gym workouts, I had teammates to think about and an opponent to worry about. The coach and I agreed I'd play only a third of each game. While disappointing, as I enjoyed the sport, it was a necessary precaution. 

With careful attention to my activity levels, I recovered well and still enjoy the benefits of improved vision. Opting for laser eye surgery remains one of my life's best decisions.

If you need a workout routine pre-surgery or one after you've comfortably recovered post-surgery, click here to grab a free workout plan, complete with video examples, so you'll know exactly what to do at the gym.

Speak soon,

Leo

P.S. This isn’t medical advice or suggestions to follow; I’m solely explaining what I did.

P.P.S. The below picture is of me during secondary school and when I used to wear glasses.