The sitting rising test

[old_windbag]

Not sure if anyone watched the "How to stay young" program on BBC1 thursday 9pm. On there they had a sitting-rising test which suggests increased risk of death when you are poor at it. Anyway you firstly sit down in a cross legged postion and get 5 points for perfect( no hands on floor or falling over ), then you rise up to standing, again no hands or use of knees or sides of leg. This if perfect is 5 points. The resultant score if 8-10 is good, if lower then take out a funeral bond and make sure your will is in order . Heres a link to the general test to perform.

https://youtu.be/oQIbffQj2xM

I did it and depressed myself, I found sitting ok'ish I'd have got probably 4.5-5. On the rise though I found it very awkward( doing it as the lady in the video ). I wasn't consistent but would still have probably got 4-4.5( no hands down ). It's supposed to indicate muscle strength, balance and flexibility. I wasn't very happy at all, I cycle for miles at reasonable average speed, happily cycle up hills, comfortably do 100 situps, 200 press-ups, hold a plank for 2.5-3 mins, walk for miles without issue, do dumbbell weights, low resting HR. But it seems I'm decrepid, all in all a strange test. Some of you may have tried this already, if not you may wish to give it a go.

[Paulatic]

I tried it last night. My knees cannot bend sufficiently to get my bum any nearer than a 10" drop to the floor. Getting back up, no way, getting out if a seat is hard enough.
Resting heart rate this morning 41 bpm. Doctor always tells me it's an athletes heart just a shame about the limbs that's connected to it. They've had a hard life. [emoji1]

[DaveP]

Imagine how I feel - I bend quite well in some directions but I haven't possessed the flexibility to sit cross legged for years and years. I wouldn't even try to drop into the posture, it would hurt too much.
Perhaps I'm a zombie these days...

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
Well.............
Get someone to sit on your lap whilst you sit on the floor and get up with just your feet..........Tick.
Hold breath for more than 3 minutes........................................................................Tick.
Do one handed press-ups.......................................................................................Tick.
Sit and get off floor with one foot only touching the ground............................................Tick.
Do pull ups with just your fingertips.........................................................................Tick.
Do a press-up whilst standing on your hands....even stand on your hands.............................Tick.
Upward facing bow pose........................................................................................Tick.
Climb rope with just hands....................................................................................Tick.
Lift body weight above head from floor.....................................................................Tick.
Bite toe nails............................................................ ..................................Tick.

How many I could do today

With a bit of physiotherapy we could recover some of what we used to do but is it necessary............

Sitting test I did but only after a few attempts........must be my tummy
Blipping up to 9 mph on treadmill last week..............should of bought a faster one
Highly unlikely I will ever run at 10 mph for 15 miles ever again.

[Mick F]

I've never been able to sit crossed-legs on the floor.
I mean that I can't remember ever being able to do it. Mrs Mick F often sits on the settee crossed-legs and finds it comfortable. I can't ...... it hurts my thighs. It must be something to do with musculature.

[axel_knutt]

It's interesting that dancing is better exercise than the usual sport activities, and that most on this thread struggle with the sit test. I recall starting a thread on here donkeys years ago after I noticed that I felt fitter after doing DIY and decorating than I did from cycling. I've never in my life been able to do a single press-up, so I could no more do the sit test than fly to the moon.

[old_windbag]

I think that for regular cyclists it is perhaps a side effect that we may be less flexible in certain leg orientations. I notice that the ligaments/tendons around my knee are very strong/solid and maybe detrimental to then trying to bend out of the up/down plane. I know they reccomend stretching I think the achilles tendon? as your ankles can end with limited movement, using a slant board when dishwashing sort of thing. I can stand from sitting no hands, but it seems a bit clumsy, I feel perhaps yoga or is it plyometrics may have been beneficial to bendiness. It's not too late to do those and sitting cross legged is fine.
On the TV there were people in their 60's dropping down and getting up with a little wobble but quickly in one movement. My balance has always been a weak point, not age related it was poor in my twenties. I find cycling at slow pace through obstacles difficult, always have, I'm better now than when I started out.... but if I practiced it often that should improve. As it is I don't as I'm most often on road at a healthy pace.

[Vantage]

Can't even get off the couch without needing a push from my arms.
Doubt I'll make it to retirement age.

[cotterpins]

I noticed the chap on you tube did a lot of prattling-on, but, he didn't do it himself!
and I certainly couldn't get down on the floor like the YOUNG lady did.

[531colin]

Its just another stupid "indicator" isn't it? dreamed up by somebody with a background in Pilates or Yoga.
I went for my flu jab or something, they were doing a survey looking for active pensioners. 3 club runs a week didn't qualify as being "active", I had to do 2 forms of exercise. Walking to the shop for a loaf of bread counted, so I was then "active".
Somebody who did the hoovering and played carpet bowls every week is active, somebody cycling 100 miles a week is inactive. Farcical!

[Vantage]

Somebody who did the hoovering and played carpet bowls every week is active, somebody cycling 100 miles a week is inactive. Farcical!

Yebbut those folk are on their feet and using their legs whereas we cyclists spend our time coasting down lanes sat on our increasingly bulging backsides and enjoying the scenery. Add in all the cake stops and we're just asking for a heart attack!

[horizon]

and that most on this thread struggle with the sit test.

I'm not bragging (and I watched the video and did the test again this morning to make sure I was doing it correctly) but I went down with ease - really effortless. Getting up was more difficult so I used the fingertips of one hand - then it was a breeze. That supposedly gives me a score of 9 (I ought to video myself to prove it). I'm 63 in a couple of weeks' time.

Update: I tested going up and down multiple times to bum 4 " above the floor - that's very easy and getting up from 4 " is a breeze (no hands). I'm wondering if it isn't just a happy coincidence of the right muscles.

So I'm not sure what it is supposed to show. My only exercise is cycling and I'm no fitness freak. I'm wondering if on its own it really doesn't say very much (of course I'd love that not to be the case).

[Mick F]

I've just tried it.
I can get down, but I nearly fall over backwards as I get down ............ and there's no way that I can get back up without hands.

The problem is that my legs/ankles can't get near to my bum. If they could, my centre of gravity would be further forwards and I could then stand unaided. There's no way on God's earth that I could stand unaided from that position.

I'm as fit as a flea, and not overweight at all. It's just that my legs can't do that test.

[old_windbag]

But a flea would have leapt up from sitting and ended off about 100 times it height away.

I think the test can show reduced flexibility, muscle strength and reduced balance. These can indicate the extent of natural ageing but as pointed out the reduced balance can lead to falls in old age. These could be very injurious or fatal so that is part of the mortality stat they quote I think( score 3 or less and 6 times more likely to die etc ). I had a table of probabilities of surviving the next year by age( sort of an actuarial table ) but cannot link to it. But the link below has similar tables and data for the uk, it can make sober reading, but instead get out and use the time wisely .

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20160105160709/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-257453

[Mick F]

But a flea would have leapt up from sitting and ended off about 100 times it height away.

I think the test can show reduced flexibility, muscle strength and reduced balance. These can indicate the extent of natural ageing but as pointed out the reduced balance can lead to falls in old age.

Yes, fleas are tremendously strong and agile!
Just a bit like me then?

Yes too, reduced flexibility. I think I've always suffered from that. Well, since becoming an adult, though sitting crossed legs has always been difficult.

Here's a picture from my early school days from 1960 in Wigan.

The lads at the front are sitting crossed legs. Notice how the three of them sit differently? Geoffrey on the left had difficulty and so (to a lesser degree) has John on the right, but Ian in the middle is perfect.

BTW, I'm second from the left on the back row. Teacher is Mr Simcock.