Why is getting up off the floor so much harder after 40!?

[Jennifer M]

OK, so this isn't EXACTLY a training question....but I mean, really. I'm only 43, in good health, no arthritis, I weight train, am at a healthy bodyweight, etc. etc.

So I ask you, what is going on that, when I get down on the floor for more than a few minutes (like when I'm playing with my kids), it's so much harder to get up than it was when I was 20? I'm just curious if there's a physiological explanation for this (as opposed to "oh, it just happens as you get older...")


- J

[missjane]

I don't know! Thankfully, that hasn't happened to me yet!

[Luna Sea]

You probably have some mobility and flexiblity issues. There is a book called Magnificent Mobility by Eric Cressey that addresses this issue. Eric also posts on this website, you may want to ask this question in the trainer's forum.

[John Izzo]

I don't have any studies to quote you, but I will just relate my experiences with my current clientèle that is concerned with aging and "decline" of function.

With age, I usually take it as a indication of the wear and tear our joints and fascia have taken over the years. Muscles/tendons tend to lose their ability to spring and therefore, lose a bit of pliability. Weakness is also a factor as agonist and antagonists don't provide the same rigid lever system they once did.

Also, over the years gravity has taken its toll on the muscular and skeletal system that has created a posture that in some cases, is faulty, and is an open invitation to adhesions and scar tissue (from injury or really, really bad weight-lifting). Again, this alters the lever system and joint action making it harder to produce movements.

Lastly, I find alot of my clients have declining cardiovascular systems--that for the most part "get them by" each day, but when the body is in a position that it has to work harder, lack of overall conditioning inhibits a simple task of getting off the floor--much more strenuous.

And finally, if you have been working out regularly for 3, 4, 5 years and you are in the age bracket of 30-50, our bodies tend to recover a little bit more slower. This is not always the case, as alot of this is effected by proper diet, supplementation, rest, and periodization.

Again, I don't have anything to quote you, but this is what I see day in and day out.

[Jennifer M]

Originally Posted by Luna Sea

You probably have some mobility and flexiblity issues.

Maybe. It's only a problem when I get down and STAY down for more than a few minutes. If I get down, then up right away, it's NOT a problem....

I know it does take me longer to warm up than it used to. I need a good 10 minutes to feel really limber and ready to go. In college, I used to lace up my running shoes, open the door, and go. (Going down my dorm stairs was my warm up - all of about a minute!) No can do anymore.

I'm thinking I should invest in a kettlebell and start doing Turkish get ups :-) Talk about your functional training!

- J

[stingo]

Originally Posted by Jennifer M

I'm thinking I should invest in a kettlebell and start doing Turkish get ups :-) Talk about your functional training!

Reading your first post, this was exactly what I thought...

[DDRdiva]

Or - just practice lying down and getting back up! If you want to be good at something, do a lot of it.

My favorite way to get up is to pull my knees to my chest and roll up.

[nancysmithwp]

Yoga might help. But I think DDRDiva said it well, if you want to be good at something, do it a lot. Whenever I find something hard, I tend to do it more often so it doesn't become a weakness.