How Long After A Small Tattoo Can I Workout?
48 hours How long do you have to wait? After finishing your tattoo, your tattoo artist will most likely suggest that you wait at least 48 hours before strenuous physical activity and heavy sweating. The important words are ‘at least. ‘ It generally takes 4 to 6 weeks for a wound to heal.
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How long should you wait to exercise after getting a tattoo?
Use Your Clothes to Cover Up—or Find Some Better Options – Once you’re comfortable to get in the gym, make sure that your healing ink is protected. “A great way to limit direct contact with the gym equipment and floor is clothing,” Areseneau says. “Typically, it is recommended to wear loose fitting clothing over a fresh tattoo.
This will ease the irritation caused by rubbing of clothing. Most athletic gear is pretty tight, but you’re also usually not wearing it all day. ” Just make sure to clean and moisturize the area as soon as you’re done, he advises.
But there are more options for eager exercisers, if you’re willing to get some more aftercare materials. Tegaderm and Saniderm , two types of adhesive dressings, can help to cover the tattooed area as you heal. Arseneau says they’re great options to serve as barriers against germs for medium and small-sized tattoos.
“A good way to use those products is to apply them to the cleaned, dry tattoo the day after you get it,” he advises. “When you take the absorbent bandage off in the morning, clean and dry the tattoo as recommended.
But don’t apply any Aquaphor. Just immediately place the Tegaderm or Saniderm over the fresh tattoo. It stays on for three to four days and you don’t have to do anything special to it at all. It just heals itself like magic. ” Just make sure that you don’t put the dressing on without prepping the tattooed spot first (unless your artist immediately applies the dressing, as that is also becoming a more common practice).
“I recommend applying the day after because your body will be pushing out plasma to try and form a protective scab over the tattoo (that’s another reason to be good about washing it—you’re constantly flushing all that scabbing material away),” Arseneau says.
“If you put the Tegaderm on immediately after getting the tattoo, all of that plasma will be trapped and will blister under the fake skin. You definitely don’t want that to pop or leak out at the gym!” 
Brett Williams, a fitness editor at Men’s Health, is a NASM-CPT certified trainer and former pro football player and tech reporter who splits his workout time between strength and conditioning training, martial arts, and running. You can find his work elsewhere at Mashable, Thrillist, and other outlets. This content is imported from OpenWeb. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site..
How long should you stay out of the Sun after tattooing?
Don’t swim – Most tattooists will suggest you avoid swimming for at least 2 weeks. Soaking your new tattoo before it has healed can break down the ink. Swimming in chemically treated pools can result in infection and irritation. Swimming in lakes, oceans, and other natural bodies of water can expose the open skin of your new tattoo to harmful bacteria.
How long does it take to take care of a tattoo?
I heard tattoos need to heal. Do I have to stop training if I get one? – Not necessarily—though you do have to allow it to heal. Think back to your last intense, heavy leg workout. Remember how you felt the next day? Well, just as your muscles require recovery after trauma, so does your skin.
In fact, the way you take care of a new tattoo the first 10-15 days is more important than the way you take care of it for the next 10-15 years. Just as your physique is not guaranteed when you leave the gym, that new piece is not guaranteed when you leave the studio.
Keep it clean and moisturized, and stay out of the sun. 
I also recommend not training the freshly inked area for at least 2-3 days. This doesn’t mean you need to stop working out altogether; just be smart about it. If a sleeve is healing on your arm, train your legs. If you just tattooed your thigh, work on your abs and do some pull-ups. That said, regardless of any new tattoos, if you feel particularly debilitated, drained or tired, then I encourage you to listen to your body.
Will My Tattoo look different if I don’t exercise?
I want a tattoo on my arm, but I’m about to get huge! Won’t the tattoo get stretched out? – The short answer is no. You see, when skin stretches, there are only certain areas from which the stretching occurs. The biceps/triceps area is not one of them. When your arms grow, it’s the skin around the armpit that shows the evidence.
- For proof, take a look at the location of stretch marks on people who have had rapid changes in their weight;
- They’re almost always around the pits;
- (And, unless you’re me, it’s unlikely you will get tattooed there!) Even with substantial muscular growth, there is only so much your tattoo can realistically enlarge;
A difference of a few inches in circumference would be astronomical on your arm’s appearance, yet would be virtually unnoticeable to the actual look of the tattoo. Hell, whether you work out or not, skin changes over the years. That’s just life. So if you want that biceps piece, just get it!.
