Free Inquiry – March 9

bam790

Hi All,

I have bad news. Unfortunately I have fallen off on my stretching routine! I know, I know, it’s incredibly disappointing. I do have an excuse though. My family has been out for the last 10 days and we have been fairly busy. The routine also hurts so maybe my excuse is a convenient cop out. Not to worry, I plan on getting back into it. For this week, however, we will focus on the other part of my inquiry – the sit to stand exercise.

Sit To Stand

Recall from the beginning that the sit to stand exercise involves 3 basic steps:

  1. from standing, the individual crosses their feet
  2. with feet crossed, the individual proceeds to sit cross legged on the floor
  3. from the cross legged sitting position, the individual then rises to a standing position

A perfect score results from completing these 3 steps without using hands for assistance and maintaining perfect balance throughout. Points are deducted if the individual loses balance, uses their hands, or uses one knee to stand. This exercise has been shown to be a predictor of long term physical health and longevity. It requires considerable strength, flexibility and balance to achieve a perfect score but it is something that most people can achieve with the right amount of training.

My initial score was around an 8 – not bad, but not great either. The scoring system is definitely subjective but my goal was to do the exercise without using my hands and while maintaining relative balance. I’m doing relatively well and I believe I have improved but I am still not able to achieve a perfect score. It’s time to see what else I should be doing outside of flexibility stretches.

Supportive Exercises

For this week’s video, I’m going to focus on what the elderly can do to help their score. Strength based exercises are necessary to prevent the natural loss of muscle (sarcopenia) as people reach a certain age. Older adults also have higher incidences of knee or hip joint ailments that can affect one’s ability to maintain leg muscle. Squats are some of the best exercises to help maintain these areas. This link, https://thenoteninjas.com/blog/f/exercises-to-improve-30-seconds-sit-to-stand-test, provides a quick guide to some simple exercises that anyone can do. I’ve included a Youtube video that is designed for seniors. It outlines some very simple but important exercises that absolutely anyone can do to get started.