HOW’S YOUR FUNCTIONAL FITNESS?
There are a variety of different workouts in which you can partake. Some are for strength training, some for aerobic (cardio), others for flexibility and balance like yoga & tai chi. And then there are workouts for what is called functional fitness. These exercises focus on your ability to perform everyday-life activities such as carrying groceries, getting up from the floor, walking up and down stairs, or opening heavy doors.
Functional fitness exercises train your muscles to work together as in daily tasks at home or work or play. Examples of these are:
A Squat, because it trains muscles used when you sit down or get up from a chair or pick up objects.
Multidirectional lunges, because they train muscles for activities such as vacuuming and yardwork.
If you haven’t exercised for a while or if you want to identify weak spots in your fitness, you may wish to perform the Senior Fitness Test. It’s a simple, easy-to-use battery of six test items that assess the functional fitness of older adults. The tests were developed to be safe while still meeting scientific standards for reliability and validity by Dr. Roberta Rikli and Dr. Jessie Jones at Fullerton University.
Here are excerpts from K. Aleisha Fetters, author of the August 2017 Silver Sneakers article How Fit Are You? Take This Test
To tune into your fitness, perform these six at-home tests:
Fitness Test #1: Sit to Stand
Sit on a sturdy chair with your feet hip-width apart and your arms crossed in front of your chest. From here, press through your heels to stand up. Count how many times you can stand up and sit back down in 30 seconds. How’d you do? The average adult, ages 60 to 79, should be able to perform 10 to 19 reps.
Fitness Test #2: Arm Curl
Sit on a sturdy chair with your feet hip-width apart. Hold a dumbbell down at your side in your dominant hand, palm facing your body. (Women should use a five-pound dumbbell, and men an eight-pound dumbbell.) Keeping your upper arm stationary, curl the weight up to your shoulder, rotating your palm to face your shoulder as you do so. Count how many times you curl up and lower the weight back down in 30 seconds. How’d you do? The average adult, ages 60 to 79, should be able to perform 11 to 22 reps.
Fitness Test #3: Chair Sit and Reach
Sit on a sturdy chair with your feet hip-width apart. Extend one leg straight out in front of you, toes pointed toward the ceiling. The opposite foot should remain flat on the floor. With one hand on top of the other—and your back straight—reach as far toward your toes as you comfortably can, making sure not to bounce to go deeper into the stretch. Hold the farthest position for two seconds. Perform the test twice on both sides, and record your best result for each leg. How’d you do? The average adult, ages 60 to 79, should be able to reach within four inches of the toes to five inches past them, no matter which leg is forward.
Fitness Test #4: Back Scratch
Stand tall, and reach one hand over your shoulder and down the middle of your back as far as possible, your palm against your back. Reach your other hand around your side and up the middle of your back as far as possible, the back of your hand against your back. Without causing pain, try to bring your hands as close as possible to each other. How’d you do? The average adult, ages 60 to 79, should be able to get both hands within nine inches of each other. Women tend to be able to get their hands closer than men can.
Fitness Test #5: Stand Up and Go
Sit on a sturdy chair with your feet hip-width apart and your hands resting on your knees. From here, time how long it takes you to stand up, walk for eight feet, turn around, and return to your seat. Perform the test twice, and record the best result. How’d you do? The average adult, ages 60 to 79, should be able to finish the test in 3.8 to 7.4 seconds.
Fitness Test #6: March in Place
March in place for two minutes, bringing your knees to mid-thigh level with each move. You can put a piece of tape on the wall next to you to mark how high you should raise your knees. Count how many times your right knee hits the mark within the two-minute period. How’d you do? The average adult, ages 60 to 79, should be able to perform 68 to 115 marches per side.
You might want to write down your results and repeat in a few weeks after you’ve added more functional exercises to your workout.
You should see improvements in your ability to perform everyday activities and your quality of life!