Recovering your arm and shoulder movement after a stroke can be challenging. If you can’t easily grasp and release objects, move your arms forward, or use your arms to support your weight or you’re just starting your recovery with a Saebo solution, it’s important to incorporate helpful shoulder exercises for stroke recovery into your daily routine at home. To create a workout using these moves, you can choose to use all 12 or even just select 4-6 for a great circuit workout. Intervals are a great option with these moves although they can also be done for reps based on your goals. You will need two dish or hand towels and a smooth floor surface. Sliders work well, or in a pinch, you can even use two paper plates on a smooth floor.

To do Slider Ab Extensions, place a slider under each hand and set up as if you’re doing a push up from your knees.Start by calculating how many people will be using the bathroom. Is it for one person or for the entire family? Then, consider the space. If you have a larger bathroom, there might be room for multiple towel rails. If it’s a smaller one, maybe you need to focus on smaller solutions. With your legs out straight behind you and your hands about outside your chest, perform a push up, dropping your chest to the ground. Do not let your elbows flare way up. Create an arrow shape with your body.

To do the Slider Sit Thru, place a slider under one foot with the ball of your foot in the middle of the slider. Because your foot will rotate onto the side, you may want to put your foot slightly toward the side of the slider you’ll be sliding toward. Set up in the high plank position with your hands about under your shoulders and your legs out straight behind you about hip-width to shoulder-width apart. Have you ever come out of the shower, reached for your towel, and discovered it’s not there? Where could it be? Probably on a chair in the kitchen, on a stool in the bedroom, or maybe even in the laundry. And now you have to go and get it, all wet, cold and dripping. Get a towel and sit down at a table, desk, or other flat surface. Fold or spread the towel, and make sure it’s on the table immediately in front of you. Now, place your affected hand on the towel and put your unaffected hand directly on top of it. Apply enough pressure to keep your hands together, then use your hand to slide the towel away from you, toward the middle of the table. Including core exercises into your regular training routine helps maintain a stable position on the bike for the duration of your rides, says Amber Rees, senior trainer at Barry's in New York City and cofounder of the Brave Body Project.

For a great interval workout design using these, select 4-6 moves based on what you want to work that day and set a timer for 30 seconds on, 15 seconds off. Move from one exercise to the next, resting only the 15 seconds between moves. Complete 4-6 rounds through the circuit of moves. Beginners may rest an extra 30 seconds between rounds if needed. As you lower you will slide one leg up and out to the side. You can also wait until at the bottom of the push up to perform the wiper, sweeping one leg out to the side and up toward your shoulder. Do not let your hips drop toward the ground as you extend. You want to keep your abs and butt engaged the entire time as you slowly alternate sides. To do Slider Plank Circles, place a slider under each and with your hands under your chest and below your shoulders. You can place them slightly closer together so that you’ll create more of a tripod position with your feet to help you fight rotation.

If you have completely or partially lost function – or even sensation – in one side of your body after your stroke, you still have a very powerful tool at your disposal: the other side of your body. The first exercise will help you use your functioning hand to stretch and stimulate your shoulder muscles. The second focuses on your shoulders themselves, specifically the muscles that allow you to move your shoulder blade on the unaffected side of your body.Perform a push up, dropping your chest to a few inches off the ground. Make sure your body moves as one unit as you lower. Do not let your hips sag or butt go up in the air. Work your lats, abs and even your glutes with this great move! You’ll feel all around your rib cage working and even your arms too! To make the move a bit easier, do the wiper at the top of the push up and even perform the push up from your knees. You can also remove a push up and do a wiper to each side between push ups. On the surface, a towel may seem way too simple to offer much in terms of a useful workout. But there are actually a lot of exercises you can do with just a simple towel. And as an added bonus, you can use it to wipe off sweat in-between sets! Sliders [or towels] are like having a megaformer machine right inside your home,” Rees says. “Sliders [or towels] help you to improve stability; they force you to slow down; and they enhance your overall body awareness. They’re high-intensity and low-impact, and they will make your core strength better than ever.”