One of the most important stages of returning to life after service is restoring one's physical and psychological resources. It is important for veterans not to remain passive: everyday activities, even 15 minutes of simple physical exercises every day or a new healthy habit, have a powerful rehabilitative effect.
We explain how to strengthen your body without going to the gym, why willpower is so important, and what exercises you can do at home.
How to develop everyday resilience and why it is so important for recovery
Physical activity is very important for our everyday resilience. What is this resilience? Each of us has certain daily tasks and challenges in our everyday lives: we have to bend down to tie our shoes, pick up a child, reach for a plate on the top shelf, lift a bucket of water, or climb several flights of stairs.
If some of our functions have become limited due to age, injury, or illness, these challenges feel more intense: what used to be easy may now require more effort.
"If you don't get enough exercise, you don't get enough positive stress factors (when you have to bend over, work, lift something), then, first of all, you lose your energy, because your body produces less energy," explains Maksym Dolzhenko, director of the Educational and Scientific Center for Physical and Medical Rehabilitation of War Veterans and Students at Bohdan Khmelnytsky National University. "Muscle tone decreases. This directly affects your hormonal balance and joint health, because joints are meant to move; that's how they are designed."
Maksym Dolzhenko conducts classes for veterans at the Educational and Scientific Center for Physical and Medical Rehabilitation at Bohdan Khmelnytsky National University of Cherkasy. Photo provided by Maksym
What can you do to keep everyday tasks under control? Train your endurance with simple physical exercises. If you find it difficult to bend over, include daily warm-ups with bending exercises. If your back "shoots" when you lift a bag of groceries, do exercises with dumbbells or water bottles.
How does regular light exercise help you become stronger?
Your overall physical condition improves. "Even small amounts of exercise help restore muscles and joints and reduce stiffness," says physical therapist Diana Hrymakivska.
Your mood stabilizes. The specialist explains that this is because movement stimulates the production of endorphins, which reduce stress and anxiety.
Prevention of complications. Medical experts believe that regular activity reduces the risk of developing or exacerbating cardiovascular problems, diabetes, and obesity.
A sense of control. Regular exercise or other physical activities restore a sense of strength in your body and self-confidence. And keeping a promise to yourself, such as walking every day, gives you a sense of control over your own life and helps you establish a rhythm.
"People often perceive physical rehabilitation as something purely medical and complicated," says Maksym Dolzhenko. "At the same time, you can improve your own functionality and mobility on your own. Consistency and discipline are much better than one-off opportunities, even at the best centers."
Maksym Dolzhenko is a war veteran himself. And now he is engaged in physical rehabilitation not only of veterans who come to the Center for Physical and Medical Rehabilitation of War Veterans and Students of Chernivtsi National University, but also of himself.
"I almost lost my fine motor skills, so now I'm training them because I might drop a pen, knife, or something else," Maxim shares.
But the veteran doesn't give himself any breaks: he not only develops his finger motor skills with special exercises, but is also learning to fly drones. He says that playing the guitar or computer games, where joystick control requires many different movements, will also be effective for restoring motor skills.
When there is a volitional effort, the brain "programs" new possibilities for the body.
Humans have the ability to proprioception, which means they can perceive the position of their body, movements, and muscle contraction strength without visual control. Proprioception is what ensures the coordination of our movements, balance, and orientation in space.
Maksym Dolzhenko explains: "The brain knows the position of different parts of our body in space without visual analysis. That is, if we clench our hand into a fist behind our back and then straighten two fingers, we will know exactly how many fingers we are showing, even without seeing them. This is how proprioception works."
This ability can be impaired as a result of trauma or certain neurological diseases. But guess what? It can also be trained!
When we perform strength exercises based on overcoming resistance or gravity (barbell squats, push-ups, planks, swings, etc.), we work on coordinating our muscles with our brain.
When performing exercises that require significant physical and mental effort, a large number of muscle fibers are activated. The brain has to coordinate them all somehow, so it becomes more active and develops cognitive abilities.
"Those moments during training when you feel like you can't go on, that it's all over, and you push yourself or run only through moral and volitional effort — those are very valuable," emphasizes Maksym Dolzhenko.
The physical rehabilitation specialist explains that volitional effort is no less important than physical effort. Otherwise, we could completely replace exercise with some kind of influence on our muscles, such as electrostimulation. But when there is a moment of willpower, "I can do it," and we continue the exercise despite fatigue or muscle pain, the brain updates the "data" about the capabilities of the body it controls.
"The brain encodes all these movements like an IT specialist. It records the 'successful' ones and erases the unsuccessful ones. A very important process of reconfiguring the entire body takes place. It's as if a software update is being installed: 'I can now do this,'" Maxim smiles.
He could only take 10 steps, but in a year he became a strongman champion: the story of Vitaliy Veres
Veteran Vitaliy Veres is a striking example of how much willpower and the desire to be independent mean in the recovery process.
He volunteered for the military at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. He fought in the National Guard's assault unit and participated in the liberation of the Kharkiv region.
In February 2023, during the defense of Bakhmut, Veres's group was hit by an anti-tank guided missile. Vitaliy was seriously wounded, losing his sight and part of his hearing.
Vitaliy Veres came out of a coma and learned that he had completely lost his sight as a result of his injury. Photo provided by Vitaliy
"When I came out of a coma and stood up for the first time after intensive care, I could only walk 10 meters," recalls the veteran.
Vitaliy has been involved in sports since childhood and cannot imagine his life without physical activity. So as soon as he was able to stand more or less firmly on his feet, he began to squat, holding onto a chair. Then he went further: he learned to do his favorite exercises and cook new dishes blindfolded.
"It's inconvenient without sight, but my goal was complete independence and self-reliance. I poured thousands of cups until I got it right. I burned my fingers until I figured out how to center the pan," says Vitaliy.
The veteran began sharing his achievements in training and sports, as well as his culinary vlogs, on social media, where he now has 43,000 followers. Through his example, Veres wants to break down social stereotypes about blind people and inspire those who have also suffered serious injuries or wounds.
Veteran Vitaliy Veres, strongman and shot put champion. Photo provided by Vitaliy
"On February 14, 2023, I completely lost my sight and partially lost my hearing. In the war. In October 24, I became the world champion in strongman, and in July 2025, I became the world champion in shot put. Sport is something that helps you believe in yourself and your strengths, both psychologically and emotionally. It helps you understand that despite serious injuries, you can still lead an active life. My mission is to inspire hope and show that nothing is impossible," smiles the veteran.
The path to regaining your mobility and strength does not have to be through sport or physical exercise alone. Take at least short walks in the fresh air, get off public transport one stop earlier and walk the rest of the way, and choose stairs over elevators or escalators whenever possible. It is very important to find an activity that you enjoy: jogging, Nordic walking, computer games that require fine motor skills, or playing with children or pets.
Four-legged rehabilitation specialist: how a dog rescued from Donetsk Oblast is helping a veteran recover from a stroke
Volodymyr Vyryovkin from Cherkasy went to war as a volunteer when he was 63. A professional soldier, he could not sit idly by when the enemy invaded Ukrainian territory. He defended Donetsk and Luhansk regions. After his first concussion, he recovered and returned to the ranks. After the second, he suffered an ischemic stroke. The man spent six months in hospitals. The right side of his body almost lost mobility.
The veteran worked with a rehabilitation specialist, but he also needed to add daily walks to help his body recover faster. It was difficult because his body did not want to obey. Everything changed when Oscar the dog joined the family.
"My daughter saw a story on the internet about a Cane Corso dog that had been evacuated from Donetsk Oblast. We had a dog of this breed in our family for many years, and we all loved him very much," says Volodymyr.
Oscar's story impressed the veteran: the dog had been locked in a house for a month, and when volunteers found him, he was aggressive and uncontrollable. What happened to his owners is unknown. Volunteers tried to find a family for Oscar, but no one wanted to take him. And just when the question of putting the uncontrollable dog down was being considered, Volodymyr and his family came for him.
"Oscar immediately trusted us and became attached to us," the veteran smiles.
Now Vladimir can't miss his daily walk; in fact, he has to walk at least twice a day.
Veteran Volodymyr Vyryovkin and his dog Oscar on a walk, photo by Oleksandr Yakymovych.
"My rehabilitation specialist is very pleased because he also sees the results of these walks. Before, I could barely walk 50-100 meters, but now I walk 4 km every day," Vladimir says happily.
Oscar is also unrecognizable: the dog has finally gained weight and looks completely happy.
After serious injuries, we return to exercise only with a specialist
Physical activity can indeed be integrated into everyday life even without going to the gym: it can be walking, light flexibility exercises, breathing techniques, etc.
However, specialists emphasize that when it comes to comprehensive recovery after serious injuries or wounds, any exercises should be selected individually, depending on the state of health and existing limitations.
"We cannot provide a general 'universal' set of exercises and guarantee safety or results," says Vitaliy Marchenko, a leading physical therapist at the Superhumans medical center. "The most effective and safest solution is an individual program that is tailored to the patient's condition and goals, as well as monitoring its implementation to ensure that the recovery process is as safe and effective as possible."
Vitaliy Marchenko, leading physical therapist at the Superhumans medical center, and veteran Petro Buryak. Photo by Marco Valentino Pereira
A set of exercises for training at home
If your health and well-being allow you to train at home, this set of exercises from rehabilitation specialist Maksym Dolzhenko will come in handy. To watch the video tutorial, click on the name of the exercise.
Joint warm-up: a type of physical warm-up that can be useful for everyone and can be modified to suit your individual abilities.
If you want to warm up at a slower pace, try this exercise.
Classic squats, see the technique here. You can do 3-4 sets, starting with 10 repetitions and gradually increasing to 30, depending on your physical abilities, adds Maksym Dolzhenko.
Split squats are a more difficult technique, but they are well suited for back problems or for training one leg. Up to 25 repetitions per set are recommended, but it is better to start with 10.
Arm raises with additional weight – this exercise strengthens the arms and shoulders and can be performed while sitting. Use dumbbells or plastic bottles filled with water for weight.
Where to find motivation?
Internal motivation is an important factor in the recovery process. It directly affects the regularity of exercise or other activities, and therefore the result.
"Notice small changes: less pain, easier to get up from a chair, walking 10 steps more, or taking your first independent walk in a wheelchair. Understanding that small steps also move you toward your goal is very important," emphasizes physical therapist Diana Hrymakivska.
Physical therapist Diana Hrymakivska works with a veteran in the rehabilitation department of the Kamianets-Podilskyi City Hospital. Photo provided by Diana
In addition to internal motivation, external support is also necessary: praise and encouragement from loved ones give the feeling that the effort is not in vain. Suggest joint workouts or walks to your relatives or friends who are veterans. Or organize a friendly challenge: who can maintain a certain level of activity for a month without missing a day.
Group classes or walks are useful for socialization. Movement becomes a way of communicating and supporting each other.
Special apps or exercise diaries can also help maintain discipline. If it's difficult to set aside 40 minutes for a full workout, break it down into four 10-minute sessions, or combine simple exercises with your routine: do squats while the kettle is boiling or stretch while watching a TV series," advises the therapist.
You can also add an incentive. After completing your exercises, treat yourself to something nice: a cup of tea, relaxation, your favorite music, etc.
Think of recovery not as a temporary obligation, but as a new lifestyle. Remember: every step, even the smallest one, brings you closer to strength and independence.
The "Opportunities for Veterans" information campaign is being implemented as part of a partnership between the Ministry of Veterans Affairs and the Veterans Reintegration Program, which is being implemented by IREX with the support of the U.S. Department of State.