Can you get up from the floor without using your hands? Here’s why it’s bad news if you can’t and what to do about it

I take as many fitness tests as I can. That’s not so I can feel smug about being a fitness editor who’s reasonably fit (it would be a bit embarrassing if I wasn’t), but so I can identify where I don’t measure up.

For instance, while editing a piece on the old man test a few years ago, I realized my balance was seriously lacking. Since then, I’ve committed to pulling my socks on while standing on one leg, which has resulted in a significant improvement.

So I was glad when I failed one of five fitness tests from coach Yancy Culp, Spartan DEKA co-creator and senior director, who’s also trained many of the top obstacle course racers.

Culp designed these tests to help people “check in with their body and understand whether it’s still doing the basics well.”

Here are the five tests:

1. Can you stand on one leg while doing a task?
2. Can you sit on the floor and stand back up without using your hands?
3. Can you hold a plank for 30 seconds?
4. Can you perform two reverse lunges?
5. Can you walk briskly for 20 minutes?

I failed the second one and ended up rolling around on my back like an upside-down tortoise.

It’s a variation of the sitting-rising test, developed by Brazilian researchers in the 1990s to measure muscular strength and flexibility. Failing the test has some negative implications—a 2014 study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found an association between lower test scores and higher mortality rates.

So I asked Culp over email what I could do to improve.

“Improving hip and overall mobility is very important for this one,” Culp wrote to me. “A drill that I call knee rolls is a great one to start doing daily. I use this simple drill when working with all levels of athletes and clients.

“Start seated with knees and lower legs on the ground, both knees pointing to your right, and the soles of your feet pointing left. Lift your knees and roll them to the left until both knees are touching the ground and the soles of your feet now point to your right. Your feet will remain in contact with the ground during this transition. Continue repeating back and forth for 20 reps every day.

“You may need to use your hands as stabilisers to help during the transition, but if possible, keep the arms and hands held up during the transition. At the end of every roll, lean your body as far forward as possible toward the leg that’s on the ground in front of your body. In a short time, you’ll be able to roll forward using that leg as your support as you step right up from the ground.”

He shared a video coaching the move, too.