Longevity Test #2- Sit to Stand

Longevity Predictor Sit to Rise Off the Floor

Why this test:
The Sit to Rise test is a creative way to gauge more than one aspect of fitness. Range of motion, mobility around joints, and your ability to have flexion, extension, and rotation in your body are what lay the groundwork for developing a sustainable fitness and strength practice. This assessment tests stability, balance, strength, and mobility, all skills that can sometimes be overlooked when testing for fitness capacity. These skills are necessary not only to develop a deeper fitness level and prevent injury, but the research around the ability to sit on the floor and stand up using no hands shows a strong correlation to longevity.

Purpose:
Test strength, mobility, balance and stability.

History and Research:
In 2012, a Brazilian team of researchers led by Dr. Claudio Gil Araujo published a Sit to Rise study in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention. In their study, 2000 people ages 50-80 were asked to perform the sit-to-rise test. All participants were followed for six years. 159 of the 2000 participants died during those six years, and out of those, only two had passed the sit-to-rise test.  From this study, we can draw a correlation between longevity and the skill of sitting on the floor and rising without the assistance of hands and other appendages and joints. If you can sit and rise with no hands does not mean you will live to be 100, of course, but I am convinced that this research adds a lot to your Fit Score and the breadth and scope of how you need to start to look at your fitness. This test requires more than a single element of fitness and it’s functional because it is a way of getting up and down off the ground, which becomes a very important skill as we age.

Pros-
Easy to understand. Any flat surface will work.
Cons-
More challenging than it seems.
Protocol:
Start standing and lower yourself to the ground in a crisscross position. To score 5 points, you cannot use your hands, arms, knees, or sides of your legs. Then, stand back up the same way for another 5 points. You get a 1-point deduction for each appendage or joint with which you touch the ground.
What to watch out for:
 Please make sure you are warmed up before doing this test.

How to Score:
5 points for sitting without using hands, arms, knees or the side of your legs. 5 points for standing back up in the same way.
1 point deduction for each appendage or joint you touch the ground with.

Alternative:
None

See you in the gym,

Aaron Leventhal
CSCS, PN1