How to Get Down to the Floor Safely (And Back Up Again!)

[@katehoneyman8593]

Very timely for me. I realized recently that I need to get back to doing your videos again. I spent lots of time this summer doing outside work but when the weather got cold I fell into hibernation mode. Eat a lot and rest a lot. 😮

[@user-ov4wr5yu4r]

Yes, hibernation mode is real.

[@nuthinbutlove]

Same.

[@i2sky532]

@@katehoneyman8593 me, too!

[@bendy6626]

Last year, i tripped on an errant cord and went down like a sack of taters. Didn't get hurt, but simply couldn't remember how to stand up from the floor 😮. Very strange mental state! Finally son arrived for visit -- shocked! I told him, "I've fallen and cant get up!!!" Chuckle fest, as he dragged me across the floor to steps so I could gradually prop myself up. Started practicing getting down and up after that (and removed all possible tripping zones)!!!

[@lana7422]

How interesting that today's video is on the very subject that I was going to ask for help on. I am pretty limber for 77, but needed ideas for more specific strengthening exercises for this issue. A few years back I realized the need to gain back this skill when I couldn't figure out how to get up out of a very deep California garden tub. I had showered for years and didn't realize that I no longer possess the muscle strength I needed. But I also lacked muscle memory. I'm a thin female so body dynamics wasn't the issue. I just couldn't figure out the way to safely even start the process to get myself in a standing position to get out of the tub. Thanks for the insight.

[@christinaheagy4602]

Thank you so much for thinking of us seniors!❤

[@i2sky532]

This is so important. Not being able to get up from the floor contributed to my father's death. 😞

[@clicquot2271]

My mother, too. Still living independently in her own home, she fell in her kitchen at 102 years old. Broke nothing, no concussion, but was not found for 2 days. Dehydration caused acute kidney failure. She recovered but never left the skilled nursing facility.

[@i2sky532]

@clicquot2271 😞

[@nobukazumikami5466]

This is what elderly people need to practice. When elderly people fall, they cannot get themselves off floor. Medical professionals encourage them to practice sit-and-stand "from a chair". But nobody falls on chair. If they can sit on floor and get off, they can easily do sit-and-stand from a chair. However, such basic movement requires arm strength, too. So, elderly people need to do squat/split squat and wall-push-up type upper body exercises, too.

[@contessajones5619]

Love you!!!! Thank you for this timely video. God Bless you.

[@lifeofjoy9404]

Love all your content, Matt!👍🙌💪

[@nuthinbutlove]

Thank you! I'm going to try this right now.

[@donnadoriand7324]

Thanks for your help.

[@lovemypups341]

Thank you ! I love your wit 😂

[@TheManySHO]

You are great

[@mmayo1320]

I knew starting these would be hard, but I found by calves and Achilles is tight. Thank you, Matt! I have so much work to do. I do appreciate your stories - I can see your love for your parents ❤ and caring about us.

[@juliogonzalez9723]

Thanks, I am going to try .😊

[@tomgirldouble3249]

I swear by your videos and Wendy at reclaim movement to keep me fit, I'm 72 and was horrified when a friend myage told me she needed help to get up from the floor! As for deep squats, though... never been able to do them even as a child 😊but no problem with this. Thanks for your great videos and inspirational advice.❤

[@devyanisingh6507]

Thanks

[@lorenamcgovern]

Thanks so much!

[@vldarden]

I work with seniors. Way too many of them have knee replacements and tell me getting on the knees is painful. I teach them how to get up without going on the knees.

[@artwebb6939]

My brain right now: "We can make an exercise flow from these for conditioning" Split squat to bird dog /fire hydrant to rollover to ab exercise Reverse back to standing, repeat other side Continue until fatigued

[@ph5915]

This is really valuable! I have been doing these and other related hip/leg excersises for about 5 months and my weaker leg in particular is much stronger and even better on balancing! As Matt says, it takes time. and repetition. As I said, I've been building up to this for months and it's getting there. I spend about 15-20 minutes a day 5 days a week. My muscles feel like they are worked now, but not in pain. The first 2-3 months I didn't think much was improving or happening, but it does work. My sis-in-law's elderly mom years ago fell over in her front yard and couldn't get up, luckily a neighbor saw her and was able to get assistance. She wasn't badly hurt (that time --- she refused to use a walker so it happened a lot) but what if it was winter time and cold, or night time? Yep, it's important to try to be able to recover.

[@Ruby-if4jf]

Thank you! It's crazy how fast I've lost strength since I stopped doing squats- now I found I couldn't get up from a squat. Age 63. There's hope 🎉

[@barbaraahearn7695]

Going down in squat is so easy! Split squats are hard

[@frasersgirl4383]

I told myself two years ago that I could get up if I got down. I was on a mat and got down from the side of the bed. Rolled to my stomach and tried to get on my hands and knees. My right arm was fine but my left side/arm/shoulder wasn’t. As I tried to get on my hands and knees my left arm collapsed. I collapsed onto my face on the hardwood floor. I broke my nose. In total panic I had my husband bring a stool over and I got one leg up and got stood up. I sat in the chair in the corner of the room and cried and cried. I haven’t gotten down since then. I doubt if I will ever try again. My body fitness is about a one out of one to ten. Sometimes I pray I won’t wake up at night. I’m only 64.

[@tracyvision]

You CAN get stronger. Start with Matt’s program and/or get yourself to a PT. I know how depressing it can be to feel broken. Please don’t succumb to despair.

[@mcoffroadinaz4075]

I'm in my 60's and work on grated floors in a manufacturing plant. My job requires me to get up and down, and I use these everytime and appreciate them being demonstrated. The sucky part, is where there isn't enough room to perform each step. My suggestion for others is to ALSO learn to get up with/without hands both. Spin yourself around on your back to find more room. step through it in your mind before starting. I bet, like me, one of your knees is better than the other. Work on both in your own home to try and equalize the power in each. This is my daily battle, and I hate it. Oh, and if you are over 6ft tall, it's worse.

[@francishloaele5287]

I have hip osteoarthritis and painful sciatic nerve, both on one side. How good are the exercises in this case?

[@honjam]

Yoga 😊

[@lorenamcgovern]

Some of us need a transition to that. After abdominal surgery I can't even get on the floor.

[@possibilityofsnow]

I can get up and down off the floor, but it never occurred to me to even try to do it without using my hands!

[@Ruby-if4jf]

Do you recommend Salutation to the Sun? ( as a goal 😂)

[@user-ov4wr5yu4r]

What are the shoes? Please share.

[@GoingGreenMom]

Beginning to think you are hiding I'm my house somewhere .... maybe there is a mic hidden in my daughter's plague doctor mask. 😂 This is my next project for mobility progress.

[@bentnissen]

Do you have a video on how I get rid of the pain of sciatica?

[@prubroughton1864]

I can do all but find when I really cothe movements my problem is mental panic I find if I really concentrate I can overcome it. Inside no problem is out in garden 😊

[@prubroughton1864]

That got a bit muddled. I can do the moves inside but out in garden I get a feeling of panic when I try to stand up and have to really concentrate and focus to overcome it 😊

[@user-ov4wr5yu4r]

I am not putting my knee on the floor. What I do is full squat, put my hands behind me on the floor, and sit down on my sit bones. I can do seiza, but I don't normally just to get on the floor. I can not bend my toes like that either.

[@GoogleUser-qz5zv]

If you’re a senior, go to a physical therapist! A PT has had years of study before practicing physical therapy. If you have bone on bone knees, these exercises will just give you excruciating pain. A PT can teach you how to get off the floor without putting pressure on your knees. I recommend you also wear an Apple Watch or a mobile phone on a neck strap so that while you wait for knee surgery/surgery recovery, you always have a way to call for help if you fall and can’t remember how to get up without getting on your knees.

[@sas5076]

Please show how without any knee involvement. Both my knees are replaced and any pressure causes lasting pain. I am pretty fit but i can't even get down to the floor without hurting my knees. I could get up from a fall but only if I hurt my knees doing so.

[@ernieragogini3994]

Tried. Bad knees. Not workable. Do stretches and am pretty flexible. Can bend, touch the floor. Etc. But getting down and up from the floor. Not working,

[@Uprighthealth]

What other tips do you have for getting up and down from the floor? Share them below! 👉 Check out the Seniors Program at uprighthealth.com/seniors

[@vldarden]

I teach yoga and 90% of my students are seniors. I teach them ways to get off the floor without needing to get on the knees because many of them have replacements and too much pain. I do agree, it’s extremely important for them to be able to get up and down off the floor.

[@tracyvision]

One tip that I stole from Phillip Beach…when coming up from that split squat think of walking forward - push off the back toe and come *forward* onto the front foot. As opposed to going backwards by pushing back with the front foot and standing up over the back one.

[@-55512]

I think I cannot get down like that be ause if my bad knees. One has been replaced so I bend ro 120. I dont think I can do that anymore without screaming.

[@barbaraahearn7695]

Why is just squatting down so much easier for me

[@patjonker6576]

@@barbaraahearn7695 I guess your knees are still good 😊

[@devyanisingh6507]

❤🫡