Sit-To-Stand
Sit-to-stand: Hinging at the hips and creating stability through contrast
Years ago one of my clients who is over 70 years old told me what it looks like when he and his pals get up from the table after they go to lunch. He acted out a groaning noise coming from each of them and the crumpled over lean onto the table or the edge of their chair as they painfully hoisted themselves up, all their weight dependent on the stability of one (probably weak) arm and (hopefully) a strong enough table or chair.
Over the years as I watched clients come in and out of the studio sitting down to put on shoes and take them off, it became apparent to me just how much of a problem this sit-to-stand task can be for people. Getting up and down from a chair is something we do multiple times a day. Not only do we have to sit on chairs but we have to sit on TOILETS! which are are so much lower than chairs - and much harder to get up and down from.
Sit-to-stand (or stand-to-sit), as I call it, is a simple yet important movement to be mastered. Most of us take this movement for granted unless you:
Have been on crutches (me) or a walker for some reason
Have experienced knee problems (me)
Have balance issues
Have loss of mobility (due to age or injury)
Have back problems
Like building strength in your legs and upper back (hopefully that’s everyone who is reading this blog)
Hate actually sitting down on public toilets (lol)
Are getting older…..
My theory is, if some type of functional, every-day movement its hard then it’s crucial to work on it. As a result, SIT-TO-STAND, is one of my favorite exercises to teach to my unstable or older population clients. And even if the movement is easy for you, there is lots of great strength building that comes from practicing it.
If you’ve done a bit of yoga you know that sit-to-stand is essentially the yoga asana UTKATASANA (Chair Pose). Even for a strong healthy body, holding chair pose for any amount of time is challenging and builds strength in the upper back and legs.
Creating stability through contrast is something you’ve heard me say often if we work together. This principle is crucial in finding BALANCE so apply it to the exercise. Reach your arms out in front of you at shoulder height as you send your bottom behind you and as you begin to lower down. The upper chest is going forward and the hips are going backward, thus creating a contrast of forces in your body and therefore creating balance.
One of the key principles of sitting to standing or vise versa is understanding NEUTRAL PELVIS, which I will cover at length in another blog post. To simplify it for now, neutral pelvis is the normal position your pelvis (should) be in when standing. When standing straight your lower back should have somewhat of a natural curve in it given that the pelvis is relaxed. This is your pelvis in a neutral position. The depth of the curve is different for everyone but there exists a curve nonetheless.
In neutral pelvis your tailbone is neither tucked under you like a “bad dog” nor is it lifted up in the air behind you (kinda like a teenage girl posing for a selfie?).
Hopefully you get the basic idea. Now we can look in detail at the steps for practicing this movement:
From sitting:
Sit upright on your chair with your legs hip-width apart
Bring your feet slightly toward your body to the point that your heels are firmly planted on the ground
Reach your arms forward at shoulder height or slightly lower so that you can keep your shoulders from lifting up toward your ears.
Hinge forward (bend at the hip) - this ties into the neutral pelvis I spoke of above. Your back should stray strong and straight with your neutral pelvis. Try not to round your back as you start to lean forward over your thighs.
Keep hinging forward until you feel the weight shift onto your feet and that it is distributed evenly across the front and back of the foot and your are balanced on your feet
As you feel your weight evenly in your feet keep leaning forward until your bottom starts to come off of the chair
As you feel your weight come off of the chair push down through the feet in order to straighten your legs
Stand all the way up and bring your pelvis all the way under your body
Reverse The Movement
If moving from sitting to standing at first poses too much of a challenge for you, try working from the top down. Start in a standing position and move into the sitting position only lowering yourself part way. As you get more comfortable with your balance you can practice lowering further and further until you are comfortable lowering all the way to the chair.
From standing:
Reach your arms straight out in front of you at shoulder height
Begin to crease at your hips by bringing your upper body slightly toward the floor while keeping a neutral pelvis and a straight back
Send your bottom behind you while still reaching the arms in the opposite direction
Continue to slowly crease at the hips and lower the pelvis and keep sending your bottom behind you until you have lowered enough to begin to feel the chair with the back of the upper thighs
Lower enough to make full contact with the chair until you are completely seated and then bring your chest back to fully upright and sit up nice and tall
Advance the exercise:
Pay attention to your knees as you stand and make sure they are not splaying out to the side or buckling in toward each other. The knee should stay in line with the hip and the 2nd toe.
Lower yourself at a slower and slower pace so you gain deep control of sitting and to gain full control of the movement. There should never be a moment of falling into your chair.
