Quick, try this: Sit down on the floor, then get back up using as little support as possible. (No hands!) How’d you do? According to a new study in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, your ability—or inability—to do the test with ease may predict how long you’re going to live. Researchers asked more than 2,000 people ages 51 to 80 years old to perform the “sitting-rising test”—check out the video here—then rated the subjects on a 10-point scale, awarding five points for sitting and five for rising without any supports, like hands, forearms, and knees. Any time subjects used a support, the researchers docked a point. The researchers told the men and women not to worry about how fast they performed the test, but instead, to focus on using as little support as they thought necessary, says study author Claudio Gil Soares de Araújo, PhD, a professor at Gama Filho University in Rio de Janeiro. More from Prevention: The Best Strength Training Exercises You’re Not Doing The results: 6.3 years later, 159 people died—the majority of whom had the most trouble performing the test. In fact, Araújo’s team found that if a subject’s score fell between zero to three, he or she had a five- to six-times higher risk of death than those who scored between eight to 10. So how does your ability to move from standing to sitting correlate with longevity? It’s all because your musculoskeletal fitness—your body flexibility, balance, muscle strength, and coordination—is an important indicator of your overall health, and has a favorable influence on life expectancy. “People tend to focus on aerobic exercise, which is important, but that should not be your only priority,” Araújo says. Look, if you can’t pass the test with flying colors, don’t freak out. Instead, focus on improving your overall fitness and your flexibility. (Nut sure how to get started? Try these Yoga Poses For Flexibility.)
