I am 9 weeks post op (LBHR). I have progressed well I think and am walking daily about 2-3 miles (for last 5 weeks or so) and contiue some PT as well. I am 55 years old and not really an athlete but reside in country at about 8500 ft. in elevation. My walking is going great but recently tried some biking on a smooth surface (although inclined some) and noted it was extremely difficult, even though I was using a mountain bike with lower gearing., and its fitted to me properly,.... I could barely bike 2 miles without being exhausted....not so much leg fatigue but very winded.....I'm puzzled as I get a very aerobic walk for nearly an hour almost every day, so I was dissappointed with my biking performance. Felt like I hadn't been doing what I should have to get my body in order after surgery....very depressed. Any comments from high altitude bikers out there.
Jeff
Hey Jeff, it's time the normal person learns how hard biking is. If you walk you don't exert many muscles in your body just legs. But when you bike, of course your legs do alot of work, but you got basically every muscle in your body working when you bike, from your hands shoulders, back, keeping you upright and on handlebars, to your quads, and calves engaged to your biceps pulling when you bike. Now you might have an appreciation of those athletes that do the major bike races like Tour De France, biking kicks your ass, whether you have a bum hip or not.
I'm 9.5 weeks post-op from right hip resurfacing and I started cycling at about 7 weeks post-op; the improvement in my hip mobility was dramatic and instant! The landscape where I cycle is flat with gentle undulations and I can cycle for about an hour or so with no ill effects.
I do some biking at around 6000 feet at various intervals after my surgery. Don't get depressed, just look at this as the next positive step in your fitness program after your aerobic walking. There is no doubt that biking involves many more muscles through greater ranges of motion than walking, so this will be a great next step in your progress in conditioning.