Testing Your Physical Fitness & Health with the Sit to Rise Test
Did you know that physical fitness plays a significant role in mortality rates (ie. death!) of people between the ages of 51-80 years old? There’s also an easy way to test your physical fitness. It’s called the Sit to Rise Test (SRT). You can download a free PDF that shows you how to complete/score the test here.
Research shows that the sit to rise test, which is influenced by muscular strength and flexibility, in general health examinations can add relevant information regarding functional capabilities and outcomes in non-hospitalized adults [1]. In other words, using this test can help gauge your own physical fitness and health.
Overall, according to the research, each point increase in the SRT score was associated with a 21% decrease in mortality from all causes [1]. Hopefully, this information can help get more older people walking through the doors of a gym rather than rolling into an emergency room.
How to Complete the Sit to Rise Test
In this short video, Rafael E. Salazar II, MHS, OTR/L (Rafi) demonstrates the sit to rise test:
Here’s the link to download the free handout that goes with this video.
The research shows that musculoskeletal fitness, as assessed by SRT, was a significant predictor of mortality in 51–80-year-old subjects [1].
How to Complete the Test
Try it
- Stand in comfortable clothes in your bare feet, with clear space around you
- Without leaning on anything, lower yourself to a sitting position on the floor
- Now stand back up, trying not to use your hands, knees, forearms or sides of your legs to help.
Scoring the Sit to Rise Test
The two basic movements in the sitting-rising test — lowering to the floor and standing back up — are each scored on a 1-to-5 scale, with one point subtracted each time a hand or knee is used for support and 0.5 points subtracted for loss of balance; this yields a single 10-point scale.
So you start with a score of 10. You then subtract 0.5-1 point for each of the following:
- Loss of balance (wobble): -0.5 point
- Knee used for support: -1 point
- Hand used for support: -1 point
- Forearm used for support: -1
- One hand placed on knee or thigh for support: -1 point
- Side of leg used for support: -1 point
At the end, subtract your totals from 10, and that gives you your score.
Here’s another video with a little bit more background information and a detailed explanation of scoring:
Summary
Ok, maybe you fell short of a perfect 10 on this sit to rise test. That’s OK! In fact, one of our team member‘s spouses tried this test and was surprised by how much of a challenge it truly is. We’ve recently published articles on the importance of exercise and how much control you have over your physical health and fitness. The main point? You have a lot of control over your physical health and fitness. In fact, simply incorporating a few minutes of exercise into your regular routine helps improve fitness, mobility, function, and decreases pain.
If you want help to create your own home exercise program, you can check out our course on exercise here. Or, if you experience pain or limitations with your mobility or function schedule an appointment with us today!
References
[1] Barreto de, L. B., Ricardo, D. R., Mendes Soares, D. S., Santos Ramos, P., Myers, J., & Soares de, C. G. (2014). Ability to sit and rise from the floor as a predictor of all-cause mortality. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, 21(7), 892–898. https://doi.org/10.1177/2047487312471759
