Get on the Floor & Body Positivity

Weekly Resource Roundup

Get On The Floor

70% of people 70 and older can’t get up off the floor…….at all.  If we’re unable to get up from the floor it means we’re lacking strength, mobility, and flexibility. Sitting on the floor is good conditioning for the lower body. If you have the ability to get on the floor, do it regularly. Ditch chairs and become friends with the floor. If getting down onto the floor is difficult, here are 5 exercises to improve knee and hip mobility that will help condition the body for getting onto the floor. Already comfortable getting on the floor? Try these moves to work on shifting weight and explore how many ways you can get up from the floor without using your hands.
Someone’s ability to get up from the floor is a predictor of all-cause mortality. The Sitting-Rising Test (SRT) assesses if people were able to get up off the floor without assistance. the goal is to lower onto the floor into a seated position and then stand back up without the assistance of the hands, knees, forearms, or sides of the legs. There is a 10-point scale and one point is subtracted each time a hand or knee is used for support. .5 points are subtracted for loss of balance. Each point deducted on the SRT scale correlated with a 21% decrease in all-cause mortality. 

Movement to Try

Supine spinal twist helps with low back pain and improving thoracic (mid-back) mobility. 

Resources to Stay Active

Full body controlled articulate rotations (CARS) routine for joint mobility. This 10-minute routine will go through the range of motion for all of your joints. A great way to start the day and lubricate the joints. 

To Try

Celebrating our bodies instead of judging them. Patricia at Fierce After 45 writes about Body Positivity and Body Neutrality. This is a refreshing approach instead of trying to constantly strive for the “perfect” body.