How easy is it for you to get up off the ground? Perhaps you’ve noticed it’s a little more difficult to get up from the floor after playing with your kids or grand kids. Or maybe the last time you were in the grocery store getting something off the lowest shelf, you had a hard time getting up. Most of the time we don’t think much about getting up from the floor…until we have pain or difficulty doing it. Getting up requires good strength and flexibility of your ankles, knees, and hips. Most of the activities we do don’t push our joints to the end range of motion. As a result, we lose this motion. It’s not inevitable your motion will decline with age. You will lose motion as you age if you don’t continually challenge your body to maintain that motion. Use it or lose it! Including a “get up” type exercise as part of your fitness program will help maintain strength and mobility not commonly addressed with other exercises. The Turkish Get Up is a great exercise, yet can be difficult to master. Check out the videos below to see the Turkish Get Up and other simpler exercises to help you get up strong!
Dr. Terry Gebhardt is a physical therapist and sports performance coach at Colorado In Motion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKLYXl2uZ0k&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiQ4LJuGcLw
Increase the difficulty of the get up progression by using your arms less or not at all. You can also increase the difficulty by holding onto weights or wearing a back pack.