My cycling was a convenient gauge for how close I was getting to surgery. Slower and slower, more and more pain, more and more medicine... :-/ It's been 8 months since mine and I'm pretty nearly back to normal. Normal load of chores and work. I'm not doing push-ups, though. Very rarely get some soreness or a little stab on sudden breath intake. And cardio wise, I'm a LOT better though still don't feel perfect. I guess my worst day now is about like my best day before.