Want to know if your body is in good nick for its age?
Fitness experts have highlighted a simple and quick way to find out, via a ‘standing up’ test.
According to the exercise professionals at Norweigan fitness emporium, Trim Trening Trivsel, your ability to go from sitting to standing with your arms crossed can decipher if you have what they call an ‘old person’ body.
Demonstrating the challenge in a clip posted to Instagram, two personal trainers begin by crossing their arms.
Next, they attempt to make it on to the floor with their arms still crossed — beginning by kneeling, and then with their legs outstretched.
The final step is to make it back on to their feet and end up in the same position they started in.
You must keep your arms crossed throughout the challenge, using your core and leg strength to switch positions.
The test has long been evidenced as a useful predictor of longevity by a number of different research groups.
One 2012 study published in the European Journal of Preventative Cardiology found the sitting to rising test (SRT) was a significant predictor of mortality in people aged between 51 and 80.
Those unable to complete the challenge were seven times more likely to die within the following six years, the researchers found.
Experts say completing the test with little difficulty is a sign of good cardiovascular health, balance, flexibility and strong core and leg strength.
All of these factors are protective against early death, mostly due to the reduced risk of frailty and potentially deadly falls.
The test isn’t wholly reliable however, as it doesn’t take into account the impact of musculoskeletal injuries like back pain, which may limit your flexibility.
If, for example, you didn’t sleep well or you have an aching back, give yourself some grace, Dr Natalie Azar, a specialist rheumatologist based in New York, told Today.
This ‘sit down stand up’ test isn’t the only simple way of determining how fit you are for your age.
Another popular evidence-based challenge is the balancing on one leg test.
Balancing on one leg continuously for more than 40 seconds is another indicator of longevity. It is said to be a key sign of strength and mobility among 18 to 39-year-olds, according to the NHS.
Those aged 18 to 39 should manage 43 seconds, the NHS says, and 40 seconds if you’re aged between 40 and 49.
For 50 to 59-year-olds, the figure stands at 37 seconds and 30 for 60 to 69-year-olds.
By 70 to 79, this drops to between 18 and 19 seconds and a little over five seconds if you’re over 80.
According to one 2022 observational study, being unable to stand on one leg for 10 seconds in mid to later life is linked to a near doubling in the risk of death from any cause within the next 10 years.
Writing in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers who carried out the study over 12 years in Brazil said the test ‘provides rapid and objective feedback for the patient and health professionals regarding static balance’.
Similarly to the ‘sit down stand up’ test, balancing on one leg is said to indicate flexibility, balance and muscle strength — all of which are protective against severe disease and age-related death.
Meanwhile, another US study discovered last month that the amount of time you can balance on one foot indicates how strong your bones, muscles and nerves are.
With each decade of age, the amount of time someone was able to stand on their non-dominant leg declined by 2.2 seconds.
For the dominant leg, the amount of time they were able to stand decline by 1.7 second per decade.
The researchers said that this test could be implemented in doctors offices as an inexpensive, low-technology way to test bone strength and aging.