Strength Training for surgeons

Most people are introduced to the idea of fitness because they want to “look better” or to “lose/gain weight.” But what if you could use fitness to actually feel better? Don’t worry, the looks will follow.

There are some professions where whether you like it or not, there is no getting around the awkward positions that you will need to hold.

Nobody knows this better than surgeons. It’s not like you can take a break mid surgery to just stretch out, you’ve got to wait until the job is done and any breaks in position could literally mean the difference between life and death.

So what can you do?

After working with several surgeons throughout the years, there have been several things that I’ve noticed about not just their jobs but their lives.

Physically, the toll that surgical procedures take on the body of patients are pretty well known. What about the individuals who perform those procedures?

From tight shoulders and hips, to nagging wrists and ankles, to the life altering back pain-the average aches and pains are that much more exaggerated for surgeons.

While nothing can beat a personalized program developed by a good coach, here are several exercises (and why) that can help reduce some of the added aches and pains that come from long days operating.

Deadlifts

I know, I know, this is one of those exercises that have gotten a reputation for being dangerous and something to be avoided. But hear me out. Being in a profession that places so much emphasis on maintaining anterior recruitment, developing your posterior chain is crucial for combatting and creating more balance. And, when done properly, the deadlift works your entire posterior chain from head to toe….literally. It is both a lower and upper body exercises with serious core recruitment.

The Glutes (Maximus, Medius, and Minimus), Hamstring complex, Latissimus Dorsi, Rear Deltoids, Trapezius, Rhomboids, Transverse Abdominis, Obliques, Erector Spinae, and all of the various muscles surround the pelvis are called into play during a properly executed deadlift.  Hitting all of these muscles in one movement is the reason that the deadlift is a movement that should not be avoided.

That doesn’t mean to just find a barbell and start to lift heavy weights. There are many progressions of this movement. Using the main movement pattern of a hip hinge, the deadlift is an exercises that is initiated from driving the pelvis back and maintaining a neutral spine from the lift off all the way to the drop back down. A cue I will frequently use with my clients is to drive your butt into the wall as the weight lowers and then to press the floor away as the weight is coming back up.

From dumbbells to kettlebells, to conventional barbells, hex bars, and deadlift machines-the hip hinge pattern can be loaded up in countless ways and the variations are endless.

Pulldowns

Strengthening your back is an important way to start the process of reducing tension and pain. The weaker a muscle group is, the more discomfort and pressure the skeletal structure will be placed under. So strengthening your back is pretty important at helping to combat that. While many exercises hit the back, a pulldown is extremely effective and uses the Latissimus Dorsi, Trapezius, and Rhomboids through their full range of motion from lengthening to shortening. On top of that, all the muscles that comprise the lower back are activated in order to provide the stability to the body that is needed.

Plus, putting your arms up overhead will be a welcome relief on the back thanks to all of the time spent hunched in precarious positions with your arms reaching out in front of you. Done on a cable or a machine, the pulldown is a great exercise that can be done by anyone that is able to put their arms up overhead (and can even be modified for those who cannot).

While a Pull-Up is an extremely effective exercise, it is a more challenging bodyweight movement that requires not just skill but a lot of strength and practice to be performed properly. And despite what social media will say, if you don’t use it you lose it and most adults, including males, put more of their effort and attention into their jobs, families, and other hobbies rather than keeping a pull-up bar in their door frame.

Start where you are ready. If you can perform a pull-up then wonderful. Since only about 20-30% of American adults can, the pulldown is a great exercises that will allow you to still strengthen those muscles.

Farmers Carry

Have you ever wondered why people at the gym walk around with holding either one or two heavy weights with good posture? Believe it or not it’s not to look cool and strong, even though they do for those in the know. Using weights that are heavy enough to force you to tighten up your core region, those muscles that include your Transverse Abdominis, Obliques, as well as the various muscles that surround the pelvis and lower back, would fall under this category.

That doesn’t mean as heavy of a weight are you capable of holding. Think about it like you’re doing a standing weighted plank. If you let your back dip or raise your hips during a plank are you technically doing the exercise? Yes. Are you doing it effectively for results? No. So farmers carries fall under this same concept.

Keep your shoulders pulled back, maintain upright posture with a neutral spine, and move without the weights swinging around. They could be done with heavy weights held at your side, either two or one, or with lighter weights in either a racked position, held near your shoulder, or overhead. No matter the variation, when done properly these movements can bulletproof your core and lower back.

Face Pulls

One way to alleviate pain in your lower back or to offset time spent reaching out in front of you, it’s pretty important to develop the stabilizing muscles at the top of your back. The muscles we’re talking about here are the Rear Deltoids,Trapezius, Rhomboids, and Elevator Scapulae.

And going off the theme of reducing tension in joints by making the muscles around them stronger, let’s not forget the Triceps, Biceps, and the various muscles that make up the forearm.

The Face Pull, when done on either a cable or a band, can be performed at various heights and target all of the muscles that will help balance your over worked, reaching shoulders and arms. And context clues, yes you are pulling the handles or attachment towards your face. A cue I like to use with my clients is to lead with their elbows to allow the Rear Delts to be recruited. And keep your elbows at about shoulder height when you pull back. Also…don’t let it actually touch your face because that’s just gross.

Shoulder Press

Holding your arms out in front of you at weird angles for hours on end will definitely place strain on the Glenohumeral Joint. One way to reduce tension in a joint, though, is to strengthen the muscles around the joint to alleviate the strain that it is under while in use. Of the hundreds of different shoulder exercise variations that you will find on social media, there is very few that beat the standard Dumbbell Shoulder Press.

As a compound movement, this exercise works multiple muscle groups including the Deltoids, the Triceps, the Trapezius, and the Core (similar to the overhead farmers carry I mentioned earlier). Using dumbbells instead of a barbell will also reduce risk to the shoulders and lower back while providing a greater range of motion.

How to Actually Use these Movements

This is not an exhaustive list and every muscle group is worth strengthening. But these are five exercises that I have found to be extremely beneficial to help eliminate the strain that surgeons face. There are plenty of positions surgeons fine themselves  in that are not “ideal” for posture but unavoidable due to the nature of the profession. But there are ways to reduce the short and long term strain.

There are plenty of excellent videos online that demonstrate proper form and coaches that provide online programs that you can follow along with (cough cough, shameless plug for myself). In all seriousness though, consider contacting a well educated personal trainer or coach that will listen to your needs and help provide the one-on-one guidance that goes a LONG way in terms of exercise form and understanding. Plus they will be able to develop the variation or modifications you need to help you start without the risk of injury.

A key takeaway is building strength with a well thought out program that focuses on form, consistency, and progressive overload rather than burning as many calories as possible will provide you with the blueprint for strength and help to relieve pain.