Can You Get Up From the Floor Without Your Hands? What This Simple Test Reveals After 60
Sitting down on the floor and standing back up sounds like the easiest thing in the world. Yet researchers in Brazil have spent more than a decade showing that how well you manage it says a surprising amount about your health. In a study of 4,282 adults published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology in 2025, people who scored poorly on this simple movement had about 3.8 times the risk of dying from natural causes over roughly 12 years compared with those who scored best. It isn’t magic. It’s a snapshot of leg strength, flexibility, balance and coordination, all in one movement.
How the Sitting-Rising Test Works
The test is scored out of 10: five points for sitting down to the floor and five for getting back up. You lose a point each time you use a hand, a knee, a forearm or the side of your leg for support, and half a point if you wobble. A perfect 10 means lowering yourself and rising again using nothing but your legs and core.
The researchers are clear that this is a screening tool for supervised settings, not something to attempt alone at home, especially if you have joint problems or a history of falls. That’s one reason a personal trainer for over 60 might use it, or a gentler version of it, during an initial assessment. It turns a vague sense of “I’m not as nimble as I used to be” into a number you can actually work on.
What the Scores Suggested
The 2025 study tracked participants for around 12 years, and the differences between score bands were striking. Here’s the share of people in each band who died during that follow-up period:
| Score | Share who died during follow-up |
| 10 (perfect) | 3.7% |
| 8.5 to 9.5 | 7.0% |
| 8 | 11.1% |
| 4.5 to 7.5 | 20.4% |
| 0 to 4 | 42.1% |
These figures show an association, not a guarantee. A low score doesn’t mean something bad is around the corner, and a high score doesn’t make anyone invincible. What the pattern does suggest is that the physical qualities behind the test matter, and those qualities can be trained.
If getting all the way to the floor isn’t comfortable yet, that’s completely normal. A personal trainer for older adults will often start with a modified version, such as sitting down onto and rising from a low stool or a stack of firm cushions, then lower the height gradually over the weeks. That way, the test becomes a progression rather than a pass-or-fail moment.
Floor Life in Singapore Is More Common Than You’d Think
Plenty of older Singaporeans still spend time at floor level. There’s sitting on the floor to play with grandchildren, kneeling for prayers at the mosque, temple or at a home altar, cleaning under the bed, or gathering around a low table at festive meals. Each of those depends on being able to get down and back up comfortably.
There’s also the less pleasant scenario. Around one in three community-dwelling Singaporeans aged 65 and above falls at least once a year, and being able to get up safely afterwards, or at least shift to a chair or reach a phone, makes a real difference to how quickly help arrives. For a personal trainer for over 60, rehearsing a safe floor-to-stand routine is one of the most practical skills they can teach. HDB has also installed wireless Alert Alarm Systems in many rental flats for vulnerable seniors, but even the best alarm is easier to use if you can shift yourself towards it.
How Training Moves the Number
Improving your floor-rising ability isn’t about practising the test over and over. It’s about building the pieces underneath it. A personal trainer for older adults will typically work on:
- Leg strength: sit-to-stands from progressively lower chairs, step-ups and supported squats.
- Hip and ankle mobility: so you can fold down into a kneel or cross-legged position comfortably.
- Core control: to keep the trunk steady as you transfer weight from the floor to your feet.
- Balance: standing and stepping drills that reduce the wobble on the way up.
- Technique: a safe step-by-step method, such as rolling to the side, coming onto hands and knees and using a sturdy chair, for days when a hands-free rise isn’t realistic.
Progress tends to show up in small ways first. Getting off the sofa feels easier, and kneeling to fetch something from a low cupboard no longer needs a second thought. With a personal trainer for over 60 tracking your score every few months, those changes become visible and motivating.
Family members often notice before the person does. Adult children tend to remark that Mum or Dad is moving more freely at home, getting into taxis more easily or keeping up better on weekend outings. Those everyday observations are often the most convincing sign that working with a personal trainer for older adults is paying off.
Vigeo’s trainers at YWCA Fort Canning work with clients in their 60s, 70s and 80s, starting with an assessment that looks at exactly these everyday abilities. Contact Vigeo Health & Fitness to book yours and find out how comfortably you can get down to the floor and back up again.
