Get yourself up from the floor with ease
Almost everyone can become better at getting up and down with a little bit of work
One of the things that we take for granted when we are young and/or fit is the ability to move our bodies anyway we like. Going up and down stairs, getting in and out of a chair and, especially, getting up and down from the floor are movements that are important and necessary to live a comfortable life.
When we lose these abilities, things like climbing stairs, getting into a car, getting up from a toilet or playing with kids on the ground become exercises in futility. When you can no longer do these things, your world shrinks, your daily options become limited and you start losing your independence.
Many of the people I’ve been meeting lately are finding it hard to get down to the floor and back up again. The reasons for this are varied and include limiting pain from arthritis in the knees and hips, degenerative joint disease in the back, lack of muscle strength in the thighs, abdomen, triceps and buttocks, lack of flexibility through the hips and the challenge of lifting excessive body weight. The good news is that most everyone can get better at getting up and down with a little bit of work.
One of the assessments I do in my initial consultation with clients is called the “Stand to Lie to Stand” test. I simply measure how many times someone can go from standing to lying on their back to standing again in 60 seconds. Over time, we’ll retest to mark their improvement. If getting down and up again is especially difficult for someone, taking more than 60 seconds, then I will time how long it takes for them to complete one single up-downup cycle. One of my clients initially completed a single repetition in two minutes
and 27 seconds and then, after several months of training, he was able to do the same thing in under 30 seconds — a huge accomplishment.
There are four specific steps involved in getting back up from the floor once you are down. Improving your ability to do each of them, by exercising, is the key to making them easier. The four steps are:
1. Getting into an “all fours” position, balancing on the hands and knees. This position requires strong muscles in the core and the back of the arms for stability.
2. Bracing with one leg and one hand. From the all-fours position, move the foot of your strongest leg forward so that it is flat on the ground while you remain kneeling with the other leg. The hand on the same side as your kneeling leg remains in contact with the floor while your other hand is placed on the thigh of the front leg with the foot on the floor. This move requires flexibility in the hip and back.
3. Kneeling on one knee, with one leg bent and two hands on your upper thigh. From the braced position above, raise
your torso until you are completely upright as you remain kneeling on one knee. Getting to this position requires lower back and buttock strength.
4. Going from kneeling to standing, using a combination of lower body only or lower and upper body muscles. From the kneeling position above, you will engage the muscles of your front (strong) leg to rise to a standing position.
Using your hands to brace against your thigh can be helpful for support. You may also find that you need to support yourself even further by holding onto a chair or table or someone else’s hands. This step requires the most pure strength from the thighs, buttocks and upper back.
Taking into consideration the specific physical requirements to make a smooth transition back up from the floor, I’ve put together a simple six-exercise introductory circuit workout that can be helpful for beginning exercisers trying to become stronger and more agile.
It requires no equipment, other than a chair and a wall. Look for it in next week’s Fitness Solutions column.