You’re sitting on the floor. Now, try to get up. But here is the catch: you can’t use your hands, knees, or even the side of your leg for leverage. It sounds like a parlor trick or something a yoga teacher would make you do during a particularly cruel warm-up, but this simple movement—the sitting to rising test—is actually one of the most scientifically backed indicators of how long you’re going to live.
Most of us spend our lives worrying about cholesterol numbers or how many steps we logged on a smartwatch. We forget that the body is a machine built for movement. If the machine starts to rust, the numbers on a blood panel eventually won't matter. This test, often called the SRT, was developed by Dr. Claudio Gil Araújo and his colleagues at the Clinimex Exercise Medicine Clinic in Rio de Janeiro. They didn’t just wake up and decide to watch people struggle on the floor for fun. They wanted a way to measure "musculoskeletal fitness" without expensive equipment or treadmill stress tests that take an hour to calibrate.
The results of their study, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, were honestly pretty staggering. They followed over 2,000 middle-aged and elderly patients for years. What they found was that for every point increase in a person’s score, there was a 21% decrease in mortality from all causes.
Think about that.
A single point could be the difference between a long, mobile retirement and an early exit. It’s not just about "being fit." It’s about the complex integration of balance, core strength, flexibility, and coordination.
The Brutal Simplicity of the Scoring System
So, how does it actually work? You start with 10 points. You lose one point every time you use a hand, a forearm, a knee, or the side of your leg to help yourself get down or get back up. If you lose your balance and wobble, that’s another half-point gone.
Basically, the goal is a perfect 10. You cross your legs, lower yourself to a seated position on the floor with total control, and then you stand back up without touching anything.
It’s harder than it looks.
Most people in their 30s and 40s assume they’ll ace it. Then they try it and realize their ankles are stiff, or their glutes don't have the "pop" required to drive them upward from a dead stop. Dr. Araújo’s research showed that people who scored fewer than 8 points were twice as likely to die within the next six years compared to those with higher scores. Those who scored 3 or fewer were five times more likely to die in that same window.
👉 See also: Does Birth Control Pill Expire? What You Need to Know Before Taking an Old Pack
It sounds morbid. It kinda is. But it’s also a wake-up call. We live in a world of chairs. We sit in cars, sit at desks, and sit on couches. We’ve effectively outsourced our balance to furniture. When you remove the chair, you’re forced to confront the reality of your physical decline.
Why Your Grip Strength and Calf Muscles Actually Matter
Why does being able to stand up from the floor predict if you're going to have a heart attack or a stroke? That’s the question skeptics always ask. It’s not that the act of standing up protects your arteries. Rather, the sitting to rising test serves as a proxy for your overall functional health.
If you have enough muscle mass to stand up without help, you likely have enough muscle mass to support a healthy metabolism. Sarcopenia—the age-related loss of muscle—is a silent killer. When you lose muscle, your insulin sensitivity drops. Your risk of falls increases. Your inflammatory markers often creep up.
Also, consider the neurological component.
Getting off the floor requires "proprioception." This is your brain's ability to know where your limbs are in space. As we age, the connection between the brain and the body can get "noisy." If you can’t coordinate a simple stand-up move, it suggests that your nervous system might be lagging.
The Nuance: Is the Test Fair for Everyone?
Let’s be real for a second. If you have a blown-out ACL or chronic osteoarthritis in your hips, you’re going to fail this test. Does that mean you’re going to die tomorrow? No.
Medical professionals like Dr. Michael Joyner from the Mayo Clinic often point out that while the SRT is a fantastic general indicator, it doesn't account for specific orthopedic injuries. If you have a mechanical issue with a joint, your score will be "artificially" low. However, even for those with bad knees, the effort of maintaining the strength required for the test is still beneficial.
There’s also a cultural element. In many parts of the world, people sit on the floor to eat or socialize every single day. In those cultures, an 80-year-old might score a perfect 10 because it’s a practiced movement. In the West, we stop sitting on the floor around the time we leave kindergarten.
✨ Don't miss: X Ray on Hand: What Your Doctor is Actually Looking For
We are "de-trained" for this movement.
The good news? You can train back into it. Functional movement isn't a fixed trait like your height. It’s a skill. If you start practicing the components of the sitting to rising test today, you can actually improve your score—and likely your health span—over a few months.
Stop Obsessing Over Cardio and Start Moving Your Center of Gravity
We’ve been told for decades that "cardio is king." While running and biking are great for the heart, they don't do much for the lateral stability or the eccentric strength needed to lower your body weight safely.
If you want to improve your longevity, you have to move your center of gravity through a full range of motion.
Start by just sitting on the floor while you watch TV. Don't worry about the test yet. Just get used to the position. Get comfortable with the "deep squat" or the "90/90" hip stretch.
One of the most interesting things about Dr. Araújo’s work is the emphasis on the "power" component. It’s not just about strength; it’s about the speed and coordination of the rise. Slow, shaky movement is better than needing a hand, but "fluid" movement is the gold standard. It shows that your fast-twitch muscle fibers are still firing. Those are the first ones we lose as we get older.
Real-World Application: How to Test Yourself Safely
Don't just hurl yourself at the floor. That’s a great way to end up in physical therapy.
- Clear some space. You need a non-slip surface. A yoga mat is perfect, but a rug works too.
- Kick off your shoes. Do this barefoot. Shoes provide artificial stability that masks your true balance.
- Cross your legs. This creates a stable base.
- Lower yourself slowly. Imagine there’s a glass of water on your head.
- Rise up. Try to keep your weight centered. If you need to use a hand, use it! Just note that it’s a point deduction.
If you score a 10, congratulations. You’re in the top tier of musculoskeletal health. If you score a 6, don’t panic. Use it as a baseline.
🔗 Read more: Does Ginger Ale Help With Upset Stomach? Why Your Soda Habit Might Be Making Things Worse
What’s fascinating is that the sitting to rising test is essentially a stress test for the entire body. It checks your heart rate indirectly (because the effort of standing up from the floor is metabolically demanding) and it checks your brain’s ability to map out a complex motor pattern.
Beyond the Score: The Functional Longevity Mindset
The ultimate goal isn't just to pass a test. It's to ensure that when you're 75, you can pick up a grandchild or get back up if you trip on a curb.
Independence is the currency of old age.
When people lose the ability to get off the floor, they often lose their independence shortly after. They become afraid of falling. That fear leads to less movement. Less movement leads to more muscle loss. It’s a vicious cycle that ends in a nursing home.
By prioritizing the movements found in the SRT, you are effectively "future-proofing" your skeleton. You’re telling your nervous system that it still needs to be sharp.
Actionable Steps to Improve Your Score
You don't need a gym membership to fix a bad SRT score. You just need a floor and some consistency.
- Practice "Floor Time." Spend 10 minutes a day sitting on the floor. Change positions frequently. This opens up the hips and ankles naturally.
- Strengthen your "Postural Chain." Focus on glute bridges and bird-dogs. These exercises build the "backside" strength that stabilizes you as you rise.
- Ankle Mobility is Key. Many people fail the test not because they are weak, but because their ankles are too stiff to let their knees track forward. Use a foam roller on your calves or do wall-stretches.
- The "Assisted Rise" Method. If you can’t get up without hands, use a sturdy chair for support. Gradually move to using just two fingers on the chair, then one, then none.
- Breath Control. Don't hold your breath during the movement. This spikes your blood pressure. Exhale as you exert effort to stand up.
The sitting to rising test isn't just a clinical metric. It's a philosophy of health. It suggests that the most important "biomarkers" aren't always found in a lab; sometimes, they're found right under your feet.
If you want to live longer, stop looking for a magic pill and start looking at the floor. The ability to move through space with grace and power is the ultimate sign of a body that is truly alive. Start today. Lower yourself down, then find a way back up. Repeat until it feels like second nature.