Help with Upper Body Split for my GF

Canis Lupus

Hey,

My GF is currently recovering from a hip replacement (problem from birth, she's 28). She is 2 months after the operation and has recovered a tonne of mobility back and her physio has her doing bodyweight squats and lunges (as deep as is comfortable obviously).

She's put on a few pounds since the op and is starting to stress about it so she has started to return to the gym doing light swimming and cycling but wants to get involved in freeweights. Unfortuantely any leg related is out and that puts out the usual SS lifts so no proper squatting, DL'ing or standing press etc etc.

I'd like to give her something to do incorporating the compounds she can do ie benching, chins and pull ups along with seated overhead pressing but I'm slightly unsure as to what else to possibly incorporate and in what order.

I was going to roughly follow SS so perhaps someone could fill in any gaps?

Monday:
Bench press
Pull ups
Something else?

Weds:
Seated dumbell press
Dips?
At a slight loss for Wednesdays

Friday:
Bench press
Chinups
Something else?

Alternating the bench and the press each week and including planking/core work if comfortable for her as well.

Really appreciate any further suggestions.

A.

J-Fit

Is she restricted in terms of being able to use a stability ball for exercises such as DB bench presses or shoulder presses? Given that she cannot do lower body exercises these could add a little bit more of a stabilisation challenge in recruiting the core musculature. I would continue with planks, progressing to stability ball or even ab-wheel rollouts if she is able for them. Pull-ups would be absolutely brilliant and I would also throw in some inverted rows if she can do them. If she is already doing bodyweight lunges and squats that can often be enough and I am presuming that the physio has a handle on the rehab process and is eventually going to encourage her to load those patterns?

Personally I'd stay away from any heavily loaded standing vertical pressing movements until the hip is fully rehabed. If she doesn't have good control of this area she will be likely to substitute lumbar extension for hip drive. Foam rolling and stretching of the hip flexors/rotators should be on the menu on a very regular basis from now on.

EDIT: I forgot to add that even though she may not be able to do heavily loaded lower body stuff, there are a variety of supine hip extension movements that can be both challenging and minimally loaded (bodyweight) but obviously this is all subject to her having medical clearence to do so.