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Sit to Rise Test: Think You’re Fit?
sit to rise test

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

  1. Stand in comfortable clothes in your bare feet, with clear space around you
  2. Without leaning on anything, lower yourself to a sitting position on the floor
  3. 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

Are you dealing with pain?

We understand that struggling with the stress and strain of pain can be tough…Whether it’s waking up feeling stiff or severe tension after walking, running, or playing, no one wants to spend each day dealing with the soreness that pain brings. While many people choose surgery or injections for pain relief, at ProActive Rehabilitation & Wellness, we offer non-surgical therapies which prevents patients from going under the knife.

 

If you’d like to book a pain consultation now, with one of our top clinicians, click the button bellow or have your provider fax over a referral. We only book a limited amount of these consultations each month, so act quickly before they’re gone.

Rafi Salazar OT

Rafael E. Salazar II, MHS, OTR/L (Rafi) is the CEO & President of Proactive Rehabilitation & Wellness, as well as the Principal Owner of Rehab U Practice Solutions and the host of The Better Outcomes Show. Rafi’s career trajectory includes 10+ years of experience in healthcare management, clinical operations, programmatic development, marketing & business development. He even spent some time as an Assistant Professor in a Graduate Program of Occupational Therapy and has served on numerous boards and regulatory committees. Today, Rafi helps innovative healthcare companies humanize healthcare through his consulting workHe also leverages his experience as a professor and academic to speak and train on the topics around humanizing the healthcare experience.

Rafi also authored the book Better Outcomes: A Guide to Humanizing Healthcare.