Hello has anyone found gym work outs beneficial post stroke to aid recovery?
3 Likes
Hi Peter here I go to gym twice a week I canât get the running action because of my left leg but walk 4miles in an hour , followed by 4mins of good stretching . If Iâm not too tired I do reps for arms doesnât have to be heavy but 4x 20 on each arm. Two times a week is good sometimes three I find just going there is for your own motivation .
2 Likes
Annie you have to try and stick at it , I want to use it to try and get stronger to combat the fatigue or tiredness
2 Likes
Hard to recover without gym. I exercise at home
2 Likes
I think it is probably beneficial as long as you chose the right exercises for you. @EmeraldEyes is a regular gym goer & iâm sure willbe along to share her experiences.
1 Like
Hi @Annie1 - I go to the gym three times a week and have found it invaluable.
My stroke was six years ago and I was lucky enough to do a stroke rehab course a few months afterwards. From there I moved into a programme at the gym that was specifically for people with health issues, mostly cardiac, but some other types of conditions too. It was (and still is) run by a trainer qualified in dealing with health issues. I now exercise with a group of people I met there but doing our own thing in the gym.
If you have a local gym that does something similar I would definitely recommend it. My gym is run by the local authority so it might be worth finding out if yours has anything like that.
Best wishes
2 Likes
I go to the gym once a week. Itâs important to stretch properly before and after. I also find Aquarobics and Pilates is beneficial. I do stretches and exercise with weights at home every morning is helpful.
2 Likes
I wholeheartedly agree with everyone and as @pando says, âhard to recover without gymâ, either at home or in a gym 
I go to Strength & Balance class on a Monday, run by AgeUK,. Every district is different but well worth checking out if they do something similar in your area.
Tuesdays I go walking for a couple hours with a group as part of our local councils âget activeâ initiative. Again, thatâs something you might find similar with your own local council.
Wednesday I do a Wellbeing Workout (circuit training) funded by AgeUK but run at a gym by the gym trainers themselves.
Thursday and Friday I do my own 2hr workouts down at my local gym both cardio and resistance training.
So, if you have access to a gym itâs well worth giving it a try. There also the social aspect to benefit from; you meet a lot of wonderful people who gradually become new friends you also like to socialise with outside of the gym. The benefits are numerous so I wonât bore any further by listing them 
5 Likes
Good to know JSCAPM, I am very nervous as still have no use of left arm, so my programme will be slightly more difficult as I need to strengthen the muscles in my weak side, I also still walk with a tripod, so feel I will be disabled compared to other gym users, my gym does rehab work and I will have my own PT.
Need to build up strength to help me walk independently.
Kind regards
2 Likes
Thank you for your reply, very encouraging 
1 Like
Thank you EEâs, I have signed up for strength and balance classes but still waiting to hear.
I am only 9 months on from my event, so still using tripod stick and heamaplegic in left arm.
So hoping the rehab team at the gym can really help me.
1 Like
Hopefully you wonât you wonât have to wait too long. I inadvertently cut out the middle man when I joined. I just walked in at the start of class and joined directly there and then. Never realised at the time that I should apply online 
Anyway, lockdowns had just ended and apparently that day was their first day back, Niall was more than happy to sign me on 
Back to exercises themselves, squats and seated leg curls (thatâs my favourite machine at the gym ), and basically any exercises that concentrate on exercising the backs your legs, including you butt, are a must. Because thatâs where you take on the most weight baring in any leg action, particularly when coming to a stand. Because you shouldnât be locking your knees up ridgedâŚunless youâre on the parade ground standing to attention 
The backs of the legs are taking on the whole weight of your whole body from the hip joint up, so the backs of legs need to be strong.
And squats are the one you can be doing daily at home, even while your waiting for a kettle to boil. All you need is a chair under you if you canât do them free standing yet.
Sit upright in a chair
Lean forward from the hips as you would to stand up
Push your heals down into the floor
and push yourself up to a stand.
Then you can sit back downâŚand go again
Work your way up to 10 repetitions at a time
If/when youâre able work up to doing 3 sets of 10 reps. And do them twice daily if you can, the more the merrier in the end.
Clenching and unclenching your buttocks is a good one to do, each night when your sitting watching tv for instance. Do 3 sets of 10, rest a minute and go again.
Most gyms now have whatâs called a TRX
Which is basically a two ropes attached to something stable like a wall or beam. But theyâre great to for doing squats when balance is still poor. You could use this one handed for assisted squats but I think that maybe something youâd have to work up to.
I dare say your trainer at the gym will know whatâs best for your condition anyway. Good Luck with it all, onwards and upwards 
1 Like
Youâve been given good advice in the proceeding posts 
If you want some exercises to do at home then look at whichever level suits you best out of
Seated only
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfIwAi5z-XqcVOTvU9BS-CB5p2V5WkPj-&si=UHJlLwSQIvGUQF3E
Able to stand a bit
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfIwAi5z-XqdcpGevmHFE2mcINSc90_-l&si=X-RQlQIrn0-MnuN5
Mobile
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfIwAi5z-Xqe80rc_QgC5MUyyD8GKRKp-&si=aF4RKGc_h7lZ0Tkj
If you want some company while you do them then you should check out
https://www.stroke.org.uk/webform/online-stroke-activities-hub
(Youd think that theyâd integrate the services wouldnât you! 
especially since the same person is managing both)
You mentioned youâve got no movement in your arm.
While your brain cannot communicate with your muscles if they are not being used the tendons and nerves & muscles will be shortening as well as weakening. This is a bad thing. Either passively move the arm with your good arm or get someone to help you or use FES [1] - the medical staff never tell us that this should start within a couple of weeks of our strokes the fact that it didnât should be now ignored and you should start taking every opportunity to move it.
The more you move it the more you will be able to move it.
you want to have targets that are 1% above what you can currently do and you want to shift those targets every month week or day.
Youâll also be building the neuroplastic habit of ignoring your bad arm in favour of your good and that is something you need to fight hard against so always try whatever youâre trying to do with the affected arm before using the able arm
Caio
functional electrical stimulation âŠď¸
1 Like
Hi @Annie1 - please donât be nervous, you might find that there are other gym users with disabilities.
Today was one of my gym days and I had a chat with someone I know who had a stroke and has very little use of one arm/hand. Heâs stuck at it and has really improved over the couple of years Iâve known him. I also opened the gate for someone else coming in and who looked to me as if heâd lost the use of his arm.
Before going to the gym I had this preconception that it was all fit young people and that Iâd feel out of place. In reality, going during the day, the majority of people are older.
Hope it is as beneficial for you as it has been for me.
2 Likes
The local gym I go to is full of old cripples like me (many of them much older).if anything, they admire my resilient attitude and theyâre a friendly bunch. A lot have some medical complaint or other, so thereâs no need to feel self conscious. Donât overdo things to start with. Build it up gradually and you will see the benefits in due course.
1 Like
Thank you for this valuable information and advice, I will let you know how I get on
2 Likes
Thank you Simon, really appreciate your positive response, I was made aware of never to neglect the weak arm by my physio team and although not much use, apparently it isnât dead either, have been concentrating on leg first in order to get independently mobile, shuffling back and forth with my stick is very tiring.
2 Likes
Hi @Annie1
All very understandable
You donât need to focus on your leg in the same way as your arm because itâs thoroughly impractical to hop everywhere for the rest of your life
So the leg will get challenged at the level of intensity required very much more easily than the arm.
So maybe focus on the arm consciously because the subconscious focus on the leg is ever present
3¢
1 Like
You will be surprised by the variety of clientel at gyms these days. Yes you have your classic body builders, both male and female and all seem very happy to share their knowledge and experience.
You have the young fit male and female "gym bunnyâs but they tend to appear when its busy where they can seen by the most. And you also have the students who tend to appear evenings, weekends and holidays when theyre from university.
You see, the ones with mental health issues, been through some majorly scary events in their lives, some wear their scars with confidence, some hide them behind tattoos.
You certainly see a lot of over 50s any time of day. And every one of them will be fighting to stay as fit and healthy as they can. The majority will have some form of health condition from blood pressure to recovering from heart, stroke, cancer illnesses.
In my Wednesday class alone, we have a 2 aged 90, and a woman in her 80s who is permanently hooked up to a portable oxygen tank which ahe has to take where ever she goes.
So walk in with your tripod and your head held high because you have been through a life threatening event yourself and not only survived but fit enough to fight back. I think youâll find that you are admired for your efforts to take back your life so just go for it
3 Likes
Wow, hopefully hope for me then 
2 Likes