How are your getter-uppers
 

So, I read somewhere that getting up out of your chair is a good indication of how long you're going to live. There's a test where standing up from a chair as many times as possible tests your longevity. Of course, it doesn't take into account bad knees and such.

I've been thinking about this because my sister, who is only 75, can barely get up off the toilet sometimes and I'm really concerned for her.

So I tested myself and I managed to get up 33 times in 60 seconds. Yay! It was a good workout for the quads, let me tell you! I think I'm going to continue doing this so I don't end up like my sis.

Tip: Use a dining room chair and try not to use your arms.

I was truly wondering if I had lost any upper body strength last time I went horseback riding and I told the ladies so before I went out to ride.

Funny because everyone's normal is different. I was handed a very tall house, taller than I've been use to through the years.

Ladies were ready to help lift but I put one foot way up into the stirrup and up and over I went with no hesitation. YAY, no problemo....

I think my memory of grabbing a horses mane and flying up with no saddle is what my old normal was, Which is above and beyond what most people can ever think of doing so it's served me well through the years in keeping everything functioning..

Not saying I won't start falling apart but not so far...

I'm getting concerned about my lower body strength, so started cross training program. I still have all my old workout tapes so chose Susan Powder.

She does 3 minutes of cardio and 1 minute of strength, then immediately goes 3 minute cardio and 1 minute strength again for a good half hour. I don't bother with her floor exercises though my stomach could use some tightening and toning. I think getting myself up from the floor might get easier.

The Scientific Seven Minute workout has a Wall Sit, Squats, and then Lunges to work on those getter-uppers.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/...e-workout/?_r=0

I stopped after 40 reps cause my heart was pounding and my quads were screeching! So less than an entire minute, but I figure it was close to 60 seconds.

BTW, the mini-trampoline very mild bouncing (most of the time without the feet leaving the surface) has greatly improved my arthritis and my circulation. I'm sold on this. Even though there's no way to tell if it is actually strengthening my immune system and my lymph drainage, it has already proven valuable for me. I no longer have to use my electronic foot massage machine at all and have no strange tinglies on the bottoms of my feet.

40 is great! Maybe I'll have to get out the trampoline again. Unless I gave it away.

It has made huge difference for me, and since you already have one, why not? Nothing to lose, right?

Have to say that this little exercise was an eye opener for me. I'm adding getter-uppers to my daily regime, maybe just slow down a bit at first.
Thanks for this.

Yeah... not with my knees! That looks like something meant for someone 20 years younger.

Even better, try getting up from the floor to a standing position repeatedly. Or from a lying down position.

Me too on the knees Nancy.
I don't know what the heck happened. Normally I could squat down to the lowest shelve at Walgreens pharmacy to look at make-up and all of a sudden one day I realized that I was much better off bending from the waist down. That bottom shelve is a killer, almost on the floor.

where is this test?
 

ok, help me out here. i googled this topic - rising from a chair to predict life span - and only could find a similar test, but rising from sitting ON THE FLOOR to predict how long you will live. As here -> http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-w...g-you-will-live

I didn't find anything about a test of how many times you could rise from a chair in 1 minute. where is that information, please?

If it's rising from the floor, I'm totally screwed.

I don't know which version Nancy saw, but there was a study in the BMJ that included a chair test of how long to do 10 "rises", balancing on one leg, and grip strength. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/hea...-longevity.html
http://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g2219

And here is a 30 second chair test from the US CDC. http://www.cdc.gov/steadi/pdf/30_se...tand_test-a.pdf

That floor version would have been impossible for me at any age :)

My two cents: a lot of those if you can do X then you will live longer tests are bogus.

AARP newsletter had a thing about grip strength, one time. All well and good, if you do NOT have arthritis at the base of your thumbs.

And anyone who has keyboarded long enough, whether for a job or pleasure, will most likely have arthritis in that area.

You could be the picture of health, able rise gracefully from the floor, and have sugar coated arteries and blocked vessels in your heart and brain.

You could need a gripper to open even the loosest jar lid, and still be able to run a 6 minute mile.

What does a lift, a grip or a stand test measure? Your ability to live life more easily, and participate more fully in activity. Now, THAT'S a good thing to encourage. But length of life?

I don't think so. There may be some correlation, on some basis. But correlation does not equal causation. If you CAN'T do it, it doesn't mean you are at death's door. And if you CAN, it doesn't mean that you are are not welcoming in the Grim Reaper.

Well said MickiSue. So much of this seems like fear mongering to me. There are foundational practices that optimize health, namely eating real foods and staying active, along with getting better at managing stress which includes not making yourself crazy every time some new indicator of health and longevity is promoted.

I have no trouble standing up from a chair but I can't get up from the floor without using a hand to help. So in one instance I'm doing good and the other not so good. I guess they even each other out and I am just going to live as long as I live. Don't worry, be happy.

Jean

Yep! I am only concerned about my quality of life, not my length of life.