Sitting Rising Test: What It Measures and How to Try It Safely

The sitting rising test is a simple check of how you lower yourself to the floor and stand up again, using as little help from your hands and knees as you can manage. It was developed by a group of Brazilian researchers at an exercise medicine clinic in Rio de Janeiro, led by Dr Claudio Gil Araújo. The test caught the public's attention because low scores were linked with a higher chance of dying over the following years. That headline has travelled a long way, and it has lost some care along the road. On this page I want to explain what the test is, what the research found, and how to think about your own result without fear.

I teach the Feldenkrais Method®, and getting down to the floor and up again is a movement I work on with people of every age. From that view, the sitting rising test is not a verdict on your body. It is a snapshot of a skill, and skills can be learned.

What the sitting rising test is

You stand in a clear space, barefoot, with nothing to hold on to. Then you sit down on the floor, cross legged if you like, and stand back up. The two halves are scored separately. Each half starts at 5 points. You lose one point every time a hand, a forearm, a knee, or the side of a leg touches the floor or your own body for support. You lose half a point if you wobble on the way. Add the two halves together and you have your sitting rising test score, from 0 to 10. A 10 means you sat down and rose with no support and no wobble. An 8 might mean one hand on the way down and one hand on the way up.

Some people call it the sit to rise test, or simply the SRT. Nothing about it is special, and that is the point. It needs no equipment, it takes under a minute, and it reads several things at once: leg strength, how freely the hips and knees fold, balance, and body weight.

What the sitting rising test score means, and what it does not

In the original study, 2,002 adults aged 51 to 80 took the test at the clinic and were then followed for a median of 6.3 years. People with lower scores were more likely to have died in that time, and each extra point on the score went with a 21 percent better chance of survival (Brito et al., European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, 2014). The same group has since published a larger follow up, with more people and a longer watch, and found the same direction of result.

Here is what that does and does not mean. The study shows an association. People who could sit and rise easily tended to live longer. It does not show that the test causes anything, or that a low score decides your future. People who have strong legs, free hips, steady balance, and a comfortable weight tend to be healthier in many other ways too, and that is most of what the numbers reflect.

Notice who was in the study. They were adults attending an exercise clinic, mostly men, who had no serious physical limits at the time. The findings describe that group. They do not tell you what a score means for a 72 year old woman with a replaced hip, or a 58 year old who gets vertigo when she stands. For them, the test may simply not be the right tool.

A low score, then, is information, not a sentence. It tells you that getting down to the floor and up is hard right now. That is worth knowing, because it is exactly the kind of thing that tends to change with gentle practice. Feldypedia has more on why movement declines with age and why so much of it is habit rather than fate.

How to try the sit to rise test safely

First, decide whether to try it at all. Please skip it if you have a history of falls or feel unsteady, if you get dizzy when you change position, if you have had a hip or knee replacement, if you have had surgery in the last few months, or if you have osteoporosis. In those cases, ask your doctor or physiotherapist what is safe for you. For everyone else, a few simple rules keep it sensible.

Clear the space. No rug edges, no coffee table corners, no pets underfoot. A carpeted floor or a mat is kinder than tiles.

Have someone nearby. Not to help, just to be there. The first time, that alone takes some of the worry out of it.

Go slowly. Lower yourself at a pace where you could stop at any point. The moment it feels like a fall rather than a sit, use your hands. A lower score with a safe landing beats a high score with a bruise.

Note what you used, not just the number. Which hand went down? Which knee? Did one side feel easier than the other? Those details are more useful than the total, because they show where the movement is asking for support.

Do it once. This is a check, not a workout. Then let it go for a month or two.

A Feldenkrais® view: the floor is a skill, not a test

In my work, nobody learns to get up from the floor without hands by gritting their teeth and pushing harder. We take the movement apart instead. Rolling from the back to the side. Coming from the side up to sitting. Moving from sitting onto the knees. Bringing one foot forward from kneeling and letting the weight travel over it. Each of these is a small lesson on its own, and each can be done slowly, with pauses, and with the hands used freely wherever they help.

In an Awareness Through Movement® lesson, the hands are not a failure. They are part of the picture. When you press a hand into the floor to come up to sitting, you can feel how the push travels through the arm, the ribs, and the pelvis. That feeling is what teaches the body a better organised route. Over weeks, the pieces often start to join up, the whole transition asks for less effort, and many people find they reach for a hand less often without ever trying to avoid it. The fear often goes quiet too, which matters, because fear of falling is often a bigger limit than strength.

If you would like a practical, staged version with a chair for support, our guide to how to get up from the floor for seniors walks through it step by step. For a seated check of leg function that is safer when balance is a concern, see our page on the 5 times sit to stand. And for a place to begin building the hip and knee ease that the floor asks for, start with our gentle exercises for seniors, which is where I send most people first.

Feldy, the online movement program I built around this work, includes short voice guided lessons on rolling, coming to sitting, and rising, so you can practise each piece at home at your own pace. A physiotherapist can assess your strength and balance and give you targeted work for them. Feldenkrais lessons sit alongside that care. They teach the organisation of the movement rather than the muscle, and the two fit together well.

Find where to start

Several gentle methods can help the trip to the floor and back feel easier, and they suit different people. Some want a clear sequence to follow, while others do best with slow exploration and no target at all.

Not sure which movement method fits you? Take the 60 second Movement Match quiz, a few easy questions and one method picked for the way your body prefers to learn.

Common Questions about the sitting rising test (FAQ)

What is a good sitting rising test score?

In the original study, people who scored 8 to 10 had the lowest death rates over the follow up, and people who scored 0 to 3 had the highest. For a healthy adult, 8 or above is a comfortable place to be. A lower score is information, not a warning. It tells you that getting down to the floor and up is hard for you right now, and that is a skill that tends to change with practice.

Who should not do the sitting rising test?

Skip it if you have a history of falls or feel unsteady on your feet, if you get dizzy when you change position, if you have had a hip or knee replacement, if you have had surgery in the last few months, or if you have osteoporosis. The test asks you to lower yourself without support, and a fall during it would cost far more than any score is worth. Ask your doctor or physiotherapist what is safe for you instead.

How often should I do the sitting rising test?

Once every month or two is plenty. The test is a snapshot, so repeating it every day tells you little and adds fall risk each time. Practice is a separate thing. Rolling, coming to sitting, kneeling, and rising, with your hands used wherever they help, can be explored a few times a week, slowly and within comfort, and the score may follow in its own time.

How long until my sitting rising test score changes?

Many people notice they need a hand less within a few weeks of gentle floor practice, because the movement becomes more familiar and better organised. A change in the score itself can take longer, and it depends on where you start and what limits you. There is no promise here. The aim is an easier trip to the floor and back, and the number is only one way to notice it.

How is the sitting rising test different from the 5 times sit to stand?

The 5 times sit to stand times how quickly you can stand up from a chair and sit back down five times. It uses a chair, so it is safer for people who are unsteady, and it mostly reads leg strength. The sitting rising test goes all the way to the floor and back, with no chair, and it blends strength, flexibility, balance, and body weight into one score. Many people can pass the chair test easily and still find the floor hard.

What should I avoid when trying the sit to rise test?

Avoid trying it alone, on a slippery floor, in socks on a hard surface, or when you feel dizzy or tired. Avoid doing it right after a fall or an injury. Avoid forcing yourself to go without hands when your body is asking for one, since a lower score with a safe landing is the better result. And avoid treating the number as a judgement on your health. It was never designed for that.

When should I see a professional about getting up from the floor?

See your doctor or a physiotherapist if you cannot get up from the floor at all, if you have fallen more than once in the past year, if you feel dizzy or faint when you rise, or if pain in a hip, knee, or back stops the movement. They can check what is limiting you and give you a safe, staged way to practise. Gentle movement lessons sit alongside that care and do not replace it.

What is the best way to improve a sitting rising test score?

The best way is to practise the pieces of the movement rather than the test itself. Rolling from your back to your side, coming from your side to sitting, moving from sitting to kneeling, and bringing one foot forward to rise are each worth exploring on their own, slowly, with your hands used wherever they help. Over weeks, many people find the pieces join up and the whole transition asks for less effort. A physiotherapist can add strength and balance work that suits you.

The floor has not become your enemy. It has become unfamiliar, and unfamiliar is something a body can learn its way out of, one small piece at a time.