getting down and getting up exercise

[Riva]

Does anyone remember the name of the man that has an exercise program that consists of "getting down on the floor Somehow" and "getting up off the floor Somehow"? And then there are variation on it?

Thanks!

Riva

[GeoffreyLevens]

Jay Armstrong~Simplified Fitness

[dailycarbs]

Jay Armstrong~Simplified Fitness

Anyone who can do 10 reps of that routine is ready for the armed forces.

[GeoffreyLevens]

Anyone who can do 10 reps of that routine is ready for the armed forces.

I think mostly aimed at complete non-exercisers and the very out of shape. Now Turkish Getups using body weight dumbbells or kettlebells for 10 reps each side? Yeah armed forces material

[wade4veg]

I think mostly aimed at complete non-exercisers and the very out of shape.l

Actually, a gradually incorporated daily routine of this "get up... get down" method would be of great value to anyone 65+...
Done gradually such that by age 70, 75, 80 and 85 you would be able to do it routinely. Though perhaps cutting the reps down from 50 as you age past 70 or so.

Imagine a 85+ individual still being able to do a dozen of these get up , get down from the carpet each day.
I dare say, not one octogenarian in twenty can do such.
They are terrified of the floor and seldom get lower than a chair. Getting stiffer and stiffer as the years unfold.

I think this guy's approach is valuable and would enable those millions of "I've fallen (stumbled) and I can't get up" elders to simply get themselves off the floor without pushing the LifeAlert button.

No need for them to add in kettle bells or any weights.

[GeoffreyLevens]

Wade, totally agree though no need to arbitrarily cut back on reps. I think that is how people slide into decrepitude. Better to just do as many as you can minus a couple i.e. always stop when you still feel good and like you could do more. That way least likelihood of injury etc and enough to generate progress. Might get a bit boring though so once into the habit of daily exercise, lots of great bodyweight kalos sthenos type exercises one can do for variation. just pick compound exercises that use as many muscle groups at once as possible

[wade4veg]

Wade, totally agree though no need to arbitrarily cut back on reps. I think that is how people slide into decrepitude. Better to just do as many as you can minus a couple i.e. always stop when you still feel good and like you could do more.

Having folks 65+ doing even a few each day, keeps them from falling under the threshold of not being able to do even one.
Loads of seniors, especially those with some excess weight, are like beached whales, unable to make even minimal movements to get up. The fear of falling and being stuck on the floor is what sends seniors over the edge of independent living.
Often there is no injury involved, they just can't get off the floor. Or they are totally tied to needing a piece of furniture to assist them. Take folks over 75 and place them out in a open lawn and the majority of them are helpless if they find themselves on the ground.
I"ve had to rescue neighbors where the wife will call me to help the husband off the ground... he, only on the ground because he tipped over while gardening.. Not even a fall... just keeled over slo-mo onto his hip. Then he/she uses the worst possible method to get up and expends all their energy in incorrect efforts... resulting in me trying to upright a bag of potatoes.

So, seniors need to learn and practice simple getting up and down from the prone position without having anything to hang on.
Its half a skill and half muscle power.
I travel in rural Asia and the elderly are much more skilled at such. Mostly because they regularly are squatting in their use of the "toilet".. or just resting in a squatting position.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2546/397 ... c51ba7.jpg

[GeoffreyLevens]

Wade I totally get that; you just described my father during his last years. But there you are talking really about ADDING reps not taking them away! You do what you can do, and if as you get older less feels right then go for it. But I really do not think people should just arbitrarily say , "oh well I'm older now so I should do less". If you do not work gently against your limitations your body will adapt to them and you will own them.

[dailycarbs]

This is an interesting discussion. The ability to sit/stand and get up off the floor easily from a variety of positions is something that I take seriously as a strong indicator of overall health.

http://discovermagazine.com/2013/nov/05-sit-down

[wade4veg]

This is an interesting discussion. The ability to sit/stand and get up off the floor easily from a variety of positions is something that I take seriously as a strong indicator of overall health.

http://discovermagazine.com/2013/nov/05-sit-down

I remember this so-called test from a few years ago.
Seemed to me it was a poor test that endangered people.
I tried it and could do very well... but only by putting undue stress on some of my joints, ligaments and tendons.
I was able to rise cross legged and such, but only by putting extreme stress on those joints
Fine doing such at age 30, but attempting to do such at age 60+, not having had years of practice making such limbs flexible and strong is asking for trouble as you "prove" to yourself how long you will live.

If you give this test to a thousand people will it give semi-correct ideas on how long they will live? Perhaps, but it is a crude measure of such longevity. The poor guy who hasn't the flexibility or strength may go away feeling he is doomed,.. even if in all other areas he is quite healthy.

Getting up, and getting down.. is a simple and great exercise. Especially for those who are not otherwise very active.
Having those same people take the "test" is unwise and tells very little about many other aspects of a individual's health.

[GeoffreyLevens]

[Getting up, and getting down.. is a simple and great exercise. Especially for those who are not otherwise very active.
Having those same people take the "test" is unwise and tells very little about many other aspects of a individual's health.

Yes! Thank you for saying this. One of the beauties of the get down/get back up exercise is that for those with mobility issues, say a "bad knee", or "bad back", it teaches you how to most effectively work with and around them. If you can find a way, do it and it does not matter how it looks or how long it takes to do it once, just do it. And repeat. And over time it will get easier and most of the time, limitations will become less and less.

[dailycarbs]

.. even if in all other areas he is quite healthy.

This reminds me of the bmi objection. People think that they are healthy in "all other areas" despite their obesity. "Well, I'm obese but my cholesterol and some other numbers seem 'normal.' I must be fine."

When a marker is shown to predict all cause mortality, it is doing exactly that. Getting "good scores in other areas does not invalidate the test. The test is a simple reality check—same as measuring your BP. Once they see the result, people can bury their heads in the sand or take action.

As for people hurting their joints, your assessment that there's more risk than suddenly taking on exercise (such as the video in question) is simply your opinion based on no facts. Anyone who is not trim and fit won't be able to do this sit/stand test as shown and will have to enlist, knees, hands, elbows, etc, to complete it. That's pretty much what the video we are discussing says they should do for exercise.

[MINNIE]

Riva, Geoffrey, thank you for this topic! It makes my day .

Now I have some more ammunition to use against arguments from people my age who say they don't have time for "all that exercise" they supposedly need to achieve fitness.

FWIW I am going on 70 and have loved exercise all my life. I am so thankful that I have no mobility problems and can "get up and get down" anytime I want.

While I always felt driven to go beyond the minimum exercise needed for health, that's just my personality. Most people would do fine with just the minimum.

If they would do it!

That's why it saddens/astounds/mystifies me that so many people in our society don't realize that movement is life. But we can spread the word and hope that people realize that they can make small changes and get big results

P.S. If you need a sound track for this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZfMpbcI1NQ

[GeoffreyLevens]

This is an interesting discussion. The ability to sit/stand and get up off the floor easily from a variety of positions is something that I take seriously as a strong indicator of overall health.

http://discovermagazine.com/2013/nov/05-sit-down

I am in generally excellent health with all markers in tests stellar. Yet I would not do this sit/stand test because my knees have such thin remaining cartilage from a lifetime of "too much fun" playing football, marital arts, snowboarding, etc. I could do it but would be risking necessity of knee replacement much sooner than I would like. I am hoping that with continues caution I can forestall the worst at least until a better option is developed; I think/hope we will see something in the next 10 years or so. And even if no big breakthroughs, surgical procedure and the hardware get better all the time with small improvements

[Werner1950]

lifetime of "too much fun" playing football, marital arts, snowboarding, etc. I could do it but would be risking

hmm, I am wondering what you were doing in the area of marital arts that destroyed your knee cartilages?