Intense Exercise and a new tattoo

[khubilai]

I've had some issues healing new work. It tends to mostly be line work on me that stays raised for up to 6 months. Anyway, I just got some new work and was wondering if I got sweaty for a few hours this Monday ( the work would be 48 hrs old by that point) if that would affect my healing. I recently joined an Olympic weightlifting club, and really would rather not miss the practice. I was thinking shower before, and as soon as I got home. Just thought I'd through this question out there for the hell of it.

[Ursula]

In my experience washing before and after seems to do the trick. When I was getting my back worked on in the Florida summer I would get super super sweaty while walking home or waiting for the bus after. It didn't notice any major problems as long as I washed up after. Weightlifting could be a little different just because of how hard you're exerting yourself, vs just getting hot walking in the sun.

[Scott R]

@khubilai I dont have any knoweldge of doing damage to the tattoo by working out but I would skip. I was going to wkt thursday after tuesday tattoo but something came up and glad I waited till saturday to do a light workout. piece of mind and being comfortable so your able to have good workout

[RoryQ]

For the first day or two infection is what I'd be worried about more than sweating excessively, necessarily. Some gyms can be pretty gnarly if they're proper black iron weightlifting gyms or MMA / judo gyms etc. At the best of times some of the tatami mats in martial arts places can be chock full of interesting bugs no matter how many times they are cleaned - it's just the nature of the beast, if you have 30 guys on their rolling around several nights of the week.

I guess a lot depends on the location of the tattoo and the size, but to be honest I don't see a reason you could turn up at the gym do, do a dynamic warm-up (without getting yourself into a completely sweaty mess) and then do some light lifting. If you're oly lifting I mean just do some skill work with weights that are sub maximal and aren't going to really mess you up. The snatch and the clean and jerk shouldn't potentially be dragging across any fresh tattoo unless the tattoo is on your shins, thighs or upper chest, right?

I wouldn't do something like circuit training, BJJ/Judo etc. with fresh work, though.

[hogg]

@Hrubarb got a few tats on his shin from @Scott Sylvia Friday afternoon. I told him, "No deadlifting for 2 weeks." I'm still waiting to hear if he made it to his workout session the next morning.

I've had some bad experiences working out with an unhealed tattoo, mostly due to the omnipresence of staph in commercial gyms. You probably want to keep the tattooed area completely covered in the gym, and like @RoryQ said, don't do anything that would come into contact with it (i.e. shin-scraping deadlifts).

[khubilai]

Thanks for the responses guys. The tattoo is on my right forearm, so I was thinking of simply wearing a long sleeve t-shirt. It will only be my third day of learning these lifts, so the weights are submaximal anyway, but the fact that they are new means they are challenging in a different way, thus the excessive sweating and my concern. Infection was a concern as well, so I guess a shower before, wear a long sleeve shirt, and shower after should be OK.

[Kev]

Wrap that sucker and you should be fine in that area. Your own sweat/bacteria isn't the issue (IMO)- it's freaking MSRA and various crap other people get everywhere :shudder:

[RoryQ]

I heard somewhere that after you train at a busy gym doing anything on the ground (especially a BJJ / wrestling place) you have probably actually got a few bugs like staph on your skin afterwards. When you shower properly you wash 'em off. But if you've got an open wound, even a small cut, all bets are off.

And staph is some serious shit!

[Hogrider]

Interesting thread. So if you exercise in your home you should be OK?

[Cork]

When I got my chest done, the skin was very tight and sensitive. I had an upper body day scheduled after my tattoo but I couldn't go through with it because any motion that put any kind of stretch on the pec felt like it was tearing the skin. I couldn't even do push ups.

Being that the tattoo is on your forearm, there isn't a lot of skin stretching in that area, so you would probably be fine. Just keep it clean!

[kylegrey]

I feel a lifting thread brewing ,what heavy objects are being thrown around ?

[Scott R]

I would just say missing one or two workouts wont change anything so just be cautious. staph is no bueno. Lifting with fresh work could be uncomfortable so just recover and hit it hard the next week

[RoryQ]

I feel a lifting thread brewing ,what heavy objects are being thrown around ?

Start a thread and I'm sure it'll run for a bit.

I started lifting through CrossFit, managed to get through that phase without chronically injuring myself (unlike some friends) and competed in Oly lifting for a bit. Then I started just doing some general messing around ... Went through a phase of following WS4SB (West side for skinny bastards) and now I've been reading a lot of Mike Boyle stuff on functional training and kind of going down that route.

In the beginning I started lifting to improve my strength and conditioning for competing in BJJ, but at this point it's become an end in itself. The BJJ has kind of gone by the wayside and I just lift 3-4 times a week.

I more or less took a month off because of a BJJ injury affecting my neck / c-spine, and coming back to training now (gently) I amn't as far behind as I'd worried I would be. A week or even just a few days to let a tattoo heal is no problem.

In fact breaks are probably good for letting your CNS recover if you're doing a lot of olympic lifting.

[Colored Guy]

I agree that infection is the most important thing to be aware of. If I have fresh ink in an exposed area, I'll put some neosporin over it, go to the gym and wash it off once I get home. I've had some discomfort lifting with my shoulder and chest tattoo work, so i just took it a little easy for a few days.

CG

[GeeKay]

Hey I'm wondering the same thing. I got a half sleeve done 4 days ago and I'm concerned about lifting. I like to lift heavy so i'm worried about the excessive stretching and will it damage my new work?

[Cork]

Hey I'm wondering the same thing. I got a half sleeve done 4 days ago and I'm concerned about lifting. I like to lift heavy so i'm worried about the excessive stretching and will it damage my new work?

Just take a few days off. If you are a heavy lifter, I'm sure you could use the deload anyhow.

[Our Endless Days]

i do jiu jitsu and mauy thai. i stayed out of the gym for a week after i was tattooed in may. i'm super anal about my tattoos healing, so i may take what i say with a grain of salt.

[hogg]

i do jiu jitsu and mauy thai. i stayed out of the gym for a week after i was tattooed in may. i'm super anal about my tattoos healing, so i may take what i say with a grain of salt.

Taking a week-long break from rolling around on staph-covered mats doesn't sound like a terrible idea.

[Pleadco]

Taking a week-long break from rolling around on staph-covered mats doesn't sound like a terrible idea.

Agreed. The healing on my left arm took 1/3 as long compared as my right because I took over a week off. No matter how much you clean those mats, any wound you have becomes an infection magnet. Also, the use of full length rash guard shirt and leggings will help act as a mild barrier for a young tattoo.--- according to the nurse who goes to my gym.

- - - Updated - - -

Har

"

[Our Endless Days]

Taking a week-long break from rolling around on staph-covered mats doesn't sound like a terrible idea.

there are dudes that i train with that are back in the gym the next day. fucking insane! they're looking to get that shit infected.

[Cork]

there are dudes that i train with that are back in the gym the next day. fucking insane! they're looking to get that shit infected.

They must not workout very hard.

[jesgri]

I waited two weeks after my half sleeve on my forearm. I do parkour and free running, so there is a huge risk of cutting/scraping/scratching that part of the arm.

[Our Endless Days]

They must not workout very hard.

dude's a pretty good fighter

[Nathanb19]

I was thinking of this the other day.. I work in a warehouse that's 100+... I guess I should book my appointments into decemeber since Texas is hot as hell right now. I hate waiting lol

[ShawnB]

I was wondering something similar regarding exercise. I just climbed Mt Fuji Yesterday. It's been a full 24 hours since I finished. I'm stretched, a little sore but not that bad. Today is one of the last days I can get a tattoo started before I leave. Any potential damage or reasons why I shouldn't get a tattoo done on my lower leg? Are the muscles swollen that long after exercise to make a difference in the outcome of the tattoo? I know it will likely be more painful and that's a consideration, but not a deal breaker. I just want to know if throws off the size and color of the tattoo or even quality of color. Thanks.