CAN A DIY TEST REVEAL YOUR AGE?

THE SIT AND STAND CHALLENGE

This challenge has been all over social media recently. Devised by Brazilian researchers to test longevity, it involves you putting one foot behind the other, sitting down on the floor crosslegged and then getting back up without using your hands or knees. If you can manage that, you score a perfect 10 (five points for sitting unaided and five for getting back up the same way), but you deduct a point for each time you wobble, lose control or need to use extra support. The study found those who scored zero to three points were five to six times more likely to die in the next six years than those who scored eight to 10 points.

SHOULD YOU BE WORRIED IF YOU STRUGGLE?

No. While it’s an indicator of your strength and flexibility, it’s worth remembering that the people with the lowest scores were in the 76-80 age range, so may have been more likely to have mobility issues than testers who were younger.

CAN YOU GET BETTER AT IT?

Yes. As with any exercise, you can improve, explains physiotherapist and fitness instructor Dr Bhanu Ramaswamy OBE. ‘Start by sitting on the first step of a staircase. Stand backwards next to the stair, then sit back down on it and raise yourself back to standing. It’s easier because you aren’t in such a deep flexed position, so you can practise doing this until you’ve built up enough core and lower-body strength to try doing it from the floor.’

ANY OTHER TESTS YOU CAN TRY?

‘To age well, we need strength, balance, endurance, co-ordination and flexibility of both body and mind, and there are several tests that can reveal this. It’s a good idea to do them now and again to test all those different components, so you know what might be useful to work on,’ says Dr Ramaswamy.

THE CHAIR TEST

‘Sit on a kitchen or dining-room chair with your bottom against the chair back, your feet comfortably on the ground and your arms crossed. Now stand up and sit down as many times as you can in 30 seconds, keeping your knees parallel and hip-distance apart. If you’re in your 40s or 50s, you should be aiming to do 20-plus, so you’re sitting and standing every second and a half.’

CHALLENGE YOUR BALANCE

‘Practise standing on one leg for 20 seconds. Keep your head up, eyes looking forward and your hands on your hips. Any touches, wobbles or dropping your hip is a sign your balance needs work. If you find this easy, shut your eyes for 10 seconds. When you open your eyes, your gaze shouldn’t have dropped to the floor, as this shows you’re relying on your eyes to help with your balance.’

TRACK YOUR WALK

‘This helps check your endurance and aerobic capacity. Do a timed six-minute walk around the block at a good pace and use a tracking app to see how far you get. You should be able to cover 600 metres in that time.’

CHECK YOUR FLEXIBILITY

‘Warm up first by shrugging your shoulders and swinging your arms a few times in both directions. Lift your right arm, bend it and place your hand over your right shoulder on to your back. Then reach your left arm behind your back, bending it to reach your left hand upwards to see if your fingertips will touch. Repeat on the other side. With age, you might find an increasing gap between the fingers.’

Challenge yourself regularly to help you stay healthier for longer. Pilates, yoga and tai chi are all great for building balance, strength and flexibility.