The sit to stand test for longevity

Several months ago the BBC produced a programme presented by Angel Rippon called 'How to Stay Young.' This programme included a segment describing how the 'sit to stand' test is an indicator of life expectancy:

Having been natural bodybuilding for 24 years I immediately got off the sofa and did the test. To my great surprise and disappointment I failed. I could get down but I could not get up again. Recently at the gym I had been doing a 33 rep set of hack squats with 120kg with no difficulty at all. So why couldn't I do 1 rep with just my body weight. There could be many reasons. For example I don't go low enough for squats. But whatever the reason I was determined to rectify this missing link to my desire for longevity.

A week later I started to add the sit to stand test to my workout but not initially as part of my gym workout. My first attempt to master the manoeuvre was sitting on my living room floor in the cross legged position and shifting my body to the sofa behind me. I had tried this without a sofa and had landed on my lower back causing several days of unneeded discomfort. So I would do this as many times as possible until I was totally exhausted. A couple of days later I would do it again. The next day I would eagerly try the sit to stand test and still couldn't do it once. What was worse my knees were starting to hurt as I was doing a movement that used them more than usual.

Remembering my natural bodybuilder's bible I switched my sit to stand training to the gym. The bible has a passage where it says do leg extensions to warm up your knees before doing any leg workout. The sit to stand test is the most intensive exercise I have done since switching from two arm to one arm press ups. I decided I needed to do it slowly and safely. So I added the test to my workout, each time I went to the gym. I could see other gym members look at me with wonder as I wobbled and fell all over the place. I would leave the gym with my knees swollen with the effort, which I would remedy with my now favourite spray for aching joints, deep freeze. As the weeks went by my knees grew accustomed to the new movement and the number of reps I could do improved. I noticed that the ability to do the movement depended upon how slippery the floor was and as soon as there was a bit more friction I found my ability to do the test improved. After about three weeks from first watching Angela Rippon doing the test I could now do three sets of 11 reps. I would alternate which leg was crossed over, i.e. right over left or left over right. The exercise became a permanent part of my routine and what was really encouraging was that I started looking forward to the gym just so that I could do the test.

After about a month of doing the test I started adding dumbbells to the test. Like all new exercises at the gym it was hard at first but it gradually became too easy with 12.5kg dumbbells. After several weeks I can now do 18 reps with 12.5kg dumbbells and 15 reps with 22.5kg dumbbells. I am sure that this has improved my whole body strength. After all the exercise is a bit of a mixture of deadlifts and squats. Other exercises that I struggled with, e.g. heavy bench presses now seemed easier. But the easiest thing now is going to the gym. The sit to stand test has given me an added incentive to go.

This last week I have added upper body exercises to the test when I am on my feet. For instance on shoulder day I will do the test with 12.5kg dumbbells and then do lat raises. My normal recent workout has been 33 reps of two handed lat raises with the 12.5kg dumbbells. Last Sunday I did 11 of these reps including the sit to stand and then 22 just standing. The difference to the pump and the satisfaction afterwards was tremendous. This then led to me doing shrugs with the sit to stand test on back day. In future I will add shoulder presses, bent over rows and any other dumbbell exercise to the test to give some variety. Bodybuilding never gets boring if you give your routine a change now and again.

My final comment is that although this is not the traditional exercise of a bodybuilder, and no one else in the gym has attempted to copy me just yet, it is definitely an exercise that is good for your longevity. I was worried about my knees at first but now feel they are stonger than they ever were before. I look forward to trying the next test that doctors describe to test your life expectancy. The sit to stand test is now a permanent part of my routine.