Yes, my uneducated guess is that it’s down to two main things:
- Is the individual experienced enough to be confident deviating from the ‘official’ recommendations set out by their governing body which are presumably written with average sedentary people in mind (the nurse at my pre-op assessment told me for 6 weeks I shouldn’t put more water in the electric kettle than I absolutely need so it’s not too heavy).
- How much understanding does the individual have of cycling and cycle training? The consultant who told me absolutely no riding for 6 weeks said that even indoors he was concerned about the possibility of falling over, so it was clear he’s never seen a current-gen wheel-off smart trainer before. The (much younger) surgeon who did the op was the one that brought the words ‘indoor trainer’ into the conversation when I told him I was a cyclist, so I’m sure he has a much better grasp of what’s involved. I suspect understanding ERG mode (or even just power meters) is another level of comprehension that a surprising amount of medical professionals lack - for me this seems hugely important when assessing whether a patient is likely to get carried away and overdo it.
FYI I’ve been logging some of my experiences on the hernia repair ghost thread here in case you want to know more. Will try to leave this thread focused on OPs situation though.