How long before working out?

How long should a person wait before returning to the gym before working out? I know it should be covered so it won't be infected and no movements that would cause rubbing on the tattoo. A buddy of mine went to the gym 2 days later and his tattoo turned reddish ( I'm guessing blood raised to the skin do to the pressure) it did fade within a day or 2. Could this cause permanent damage to the tattoo quality?

i would wait until the tattoo is healed, atleast until all the scabs have come off (by itself).. depending where the tattoo is, to much movement can cause the scabs to crack, making the healing time even longer, and possibly even cause permanent and ugly scarring.. also too much sweat is never good, can only cause problems.. the tattoo will be there for a looong time, so what is another week or two..

well ya dont want to over stretch skin area what i usually tell my clients is that for the first week they need to do a very light work out or better known as burn work wher you lift very light and easy untuil the muscle begins to burn.this way you are not overworking your area keep it simple and go easy ya dont want to over do the caoallieries and such. week 2 go with a medium work out mixed with burn week 3 stay with medium and lack off the burn some by week 4 you should be able to be modifying your workout back to normal.but yes excessive sweating and working out can cause a bleed out from tattoo can also tear skin and such and its not fun for us to fix up just because ya couldnt relax for a week or so lol best of luck don

Coming to ask this same question...im getting a sleeve...so im guessing i should wait until its healed?....but then ill be going for my second sitting...and then prolly my third after thats healed.....so im thinking doing cardio until im all healed up? any precautions i could take?i see you wrote about the sweating..i dont sweat to much around my shoulder/arm...maybe just cardio 3 times a week? man this blows....gotta get back in beach shape!!

I enjoy lifting weights and getting tattoos. when i proposed my question of "can i work out while its healing?" i received a simple answer that made perfect sense, "if it doesnt feel right, dont do it." I am in the middle of having a sleeve done as well and have been lifting regularly throughout. My main word of caution is to wait a few days immediately after and when you do return to the weight room try to keep your ink uncovered, plenty moisturized to prevent cracking, and wash with soap and warm water both before and after your workout. Happy lifitng and happy inking!!

Thanks a lot man....it does make perfect sense

Boo- we have many clients who work out heavily and some who work in very sweatty jobs and it doesn't seem to have any affect at all if you don't go crazy with it...moderation is the key! Now if you have scabs ( which in most cases if you follow aftercare instructions and your artist knows what they are doing , you won't scab up anyway!) but if ya DO have heavy scabbing I would hold off on stretching the skin!