I'm recovering from shoulder surgery, 2nd one. Torn rotator cuff and bicep tendon, I have been off work for 12 weeks and I go back Monday. I'm a mason by trade so my shoulders are not the best, really my upper body has a lot of wear and tear. I've tried to maintain a balance by lifting, sometimes hard and sometimes taking it easy but I always lifted to some point in my basement. I have 415lbs of plate, squat rack, lat pull down machine with 200lbs of plates, dumbbells up to 65 lbs, treadmill, heavy bag...a decent home gym which I've built up over time.

Everyone is saying that I need to switch to something easier on my body like a cable machine, less weight and more reps and such and such. I have never worked out in a gym really besides a gym I had by my house that was a very small one that had almost exactly what I had. I had a key to it and I went any7 time I wanted and gave him $25 a month. Rarely was anyone there. But, then I moved.

I guess what I'm asking is, where do I start? How do you get a good workout and be easy on yourself at the same time? Do I look at something like a Tonal Gym you see on TV? They seem like gimmicky crap that's overpriced.