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Original poster

How many of you can get off the floor...

146 replies

BillieEilish · 08/10/2019 12:13

without using your hands/a hand?

Because I can't. You're supposed to be able to.

Ideally I'd like answers not from the super fit gym goers/marathon runners but ordinarily fairly active late 40's? Grin

What exercises would help does anyone know? (I'm not overweight), was very ill in bed for 5 months 4 years ago and just haven't been the same since and it's really depressing me.

OP posts:
FatherFintanFay · 08/10/2019 17:47

I can, and I'm a fat old woman with no core strength and creaky knees. You don't want to be looking to me for longevity tips.

Seriously, does it matter how you get up as long as you can? So what if you need to use a hand or go onto one knee first? I would have thought it's only a big concern for people who are liable to fall and then not be able to get themselves up again.

musicalkitten · 08/10/2019 19:40

I can! Although my ankle twisted so much I thought I'd broken it Grin in conclusion I shall continue to use my hands Wink

AwkwardSquad · 08/10/2019 19:47

I can, fairly easily, except in that blasted crossed leg position. I can get down, but I can’t get up without one point of contact. And it’s hard, dammit.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Exercise & fitness Fitness
TroysMammy · 08/10/2019 20:02

No even though my back, knees and everything else are fine. I have never been able to touch my toes either but I can stand on one leg to tie my shoelaces. I'm 51.

RhinoskinhaveI · 08/10/2019 23:51

Mid 50s fitness fanatic, I can do the spring up from cross legged pretty easily

RhinoskinhaveI · 09/10/2019 00:12

Whilst I agree that this is probably a good rule of thumb guide to flexibility and muscle strength I think it also probably has a lot to do with things that you can't change, eg individual biomechanics...all other things being equal there will be an optimum musculoskeletal arrangement which allows for getting up off the floor like this

soulrunner · 09/10/2019 01:03

It was the inability to get up FROM A CHAIR that was the predictor of an early death.

Nope. New test.

www.today.com/health/how-long-will-i-live-simple-sitting-test-predicts-longevity-t102943

soulrunner · 09/10/2019 01:06

But at the same time correlation doesn’t equal cause and effect and doesn’t mean it’s always the case. The rule is probably generally true and there are obvious reasons why but at the same time mobility differences mean that some people with excellent CV and metabolic health can’t do it and some people with poor CV and metabolic health can.

shearwater · 09/10/2019 03:07

Well, that article just proves it's utter tosh.

Jocasta2018 · 09/10/2019 03:18

Ive always been able to raise myself up from a cross-legged position without using my arms. Now at 47, it's a lot slower & much harder now - just given it a try, the joys of insomnia, heart going nuts as though I've done a ton of cardio - and I've just farted but I don't know if the two are linked?

We used to have to do an exercise in PE where we had to sit cross-legged and stand up/sit down 10 times so maybe that's muscle memory for you!

steppemum · 09/10/2019 07:39

the thing about this is, I cannot see why it is an indicator of fitness? Surely it is an ndicator or strength or flexibility or something which is THEN an indicator of fitness?

I cannot remember ever being able to do this. But I walk the dog eveyr day, brisk walk, 5 km. I am 52 and am overweight, but at my 50 health check I had excellent markers for everything - cholesterol, fitness, blood pressure etc etc. Only my weight was off.

I am pretty strong, for years I could 'sit' in a squat, that comes from living for a while in Asia. But the cross legged thing? Nope.

HepzibahGreen · 09/10/2019 08:05

It's a marker of good knees. That's all!

Shodan · 09/10/2019 08:17

I can, but only by swinging my legs around til they're nearly tucked under my bottom and pushing up with one knee. I'm 50.

I also tried the cross-legged sit down thing. Everything went swimmingly on the sitting down part, but the standing up was a complete no-go Grin

Interestingly, I've been doing karate for 16 years so I'm v flexible, have excellent core muscles, but still lack something in the thigh muscles. We do what I call standy-uppy-sitty-downy exercises (no doubt there's a more technical term) where you work with a partner, one standing with feet wedged under the thighs of their sitting partner, and I am still spectacularly shit at those. I maintain it's because I have too much ballast in the bottom area Grin

I can still a fab cartwheel though.

ScribblyGum · 09/10/2019 08:21

Here is a link to the research paper the linked to ABC news article is referencing (highlighting not my own).

This is interesting and after I’ve finished my cup of tea and got on and off the floor without using my hands I'm going to read it again with my academic hat on.

I'm a physio working in falls and frailty and we know that age related muscle loss (sarcopenia) is a major contributor to increased falls risk in older people. In my area of work, seeing people who have already fallen, its unlikely that I would ask them to perform this test. However I can see its use in a clinical setting as part of a health screening assessment for people (40+) as a means of starting a conversation about how much exercise someone is doing, and the importance of doing regular strength training as well as cardiovascular exercise, as per Public Heath England's recent guidelines for physical activity.

ScribblyGum · 09/10/2019 08:31

Gov UK recommendations for weekly activity

In summary we all should be doing 150 minutes of moderate activity, or 75 mins of vigorous activity (or a mixture of both) every week and undertake muscle strengthening activities at least two days a week.

The message about regular exercise for cardiovascular health has got through to the public, but the importance of regular strength training for adults (not just older people) is not so widely known. If this simple stand to sit to stand from the floor test helps people to think about their strength as opposed to their fitness and encourages them to do some regular strength training then that's a good thing.

ScribblyGum · 09/10/2019 08:36

Correction, the Today.com news article that soulrunner linked to.

OMGshefoundmeout · 09/10/2019 08:47

I can but one knee at a time. I can’t spring up from cross legged like my yoga teacher does. But my yoga teacher can’t do a full lotus and I can - everybodys body is different.

I’m 58 and my two ambitions are to be able to do the cross legged spring up thing and a full head stand before I turn 60. Even if I don’t achieve them hopefully the trying will do me good.

I would also like to do that flop down and bounce straight back up move (I’m sure there’s a proper name for it) that street dancers do but that might necessitate practicing until I’m about 80.

nakedavengeragain · 09/10/2019 08:57

No. But my ankles have severely damaged ligaments and If I tried that they'd both dislocate. If that tells me I'm destined for an early grave then fuck it so be it.

AutumnRose1 · 09/10/2019 16:30

I'm with the poster who would have been dead at 20.

I don't know why it's so important. I can get up from a sit up position but I just can't fathom the cross legged bit.

Someone said it's an indication of knee strength? My knees are fine but I've broken my ankle in the past and the cross legged seems to put more weight on ankles?

I don't care about longevity, I don't want it, but I'm annoyed at not being able to do it!

shearwater · 09/10/2019 16:42

I definitely do at least 150 minutes of exercise, though definitely only moderate, I used to do more strenuous exercise but was far less active overall. My yoga teacher looks amazing, all she does is yoga (admittedly a lot of that and all the tricky stuff on her own I imagine) and walking her dog.

shearwater · 09/10/2019 16:46

I just tried it again from cross-legged and rocked myself smoothly onto my knees and up without using my hands in about a second, and same getting down again. Not bad for being two stone overweight, though I do yoga regularly. 4/5 on the test probably which will do for me.

Underyoursky · 09/10/2019 16:47

I can but need to put my arms out in front of me not like the video (age 56.)

IncrediblySadToo · 09/10/2019 17:04

I’m celebrating getting up from the floor without a hoist - without a hand, no fucking way.

Not sure where to start with the list of injuries...

I’m sure Pilates would help, well I think it would, but I need a teacher that doesn’t have you getting up & down on the floor every few minutes.

I need something that will stretch my legs and core muscles

Apparently my knee pain is due to over tight leg muscles.

Tanaqui · 09/10/2019 17:25

I'm not sure what you guys mean by spring up - I can go down and up again crosslegged, it doesn't put pressure on my knees but a little through the ankles. But is the spring up also from cross legged? Google is not helping!

AutumnRose1 · 09/10/2019 18:11

Tanaqui

The cross legged thing is here

m.youtube.com/watch?v=1tdtHWURId0