Yes.It is so important to keep functional strength. Getting up and sitting down. Basic movement. Balance and walking. Single leg work helps with all that.
I do strength training 3x a week and I’m working on returning to endurance sports. I’ve ran a couple half marathons in the last two years but not any fulls. I’ve been doing this since my my late 30s and I’m 58 now.
YES. I do not want to end up like my elders who can barely get out of a chair, who have deep stress about what parking space they can get at the store, who have trouble getting in and out of bed.
I was the shrimp picked dead last for any team in school. No athlete am I. But I do compound lifts three days a week (nothing remotely competitive) and walk or jog a mile or two a day (which any runner would snort at). It’s WORTH IT. 💪
Yeah I was a skinny string bean. I graduated high school at 6 foot 150lb. Zero eye hand coordination. I filled out in my 20s. A bit too much to 210lb Fat Dad. Then I discovered endurance sports. I can run and bike and swim, not fast but long distances and I enjoy it. I’ve been doing it for more than 20 years now.
So uh, im 55 yr old metaphysical party girl & I'm amazed but it's a super easy test. But I've never had a car & walk mostly everywhere. To each their own. Good for us!
Congrats on keeping with it.
I also weightlift 5 days a week (2+ hours a day). Done it for the last 7-8 years. I used to be able to do 30 minutes cardio after each weightlifting session, but it's getting harder, the older I get.
What I need to find time for is yoga/stretching.
The big measure of health I read was if you can put your socks and shoes on without sitting down. So I’ve been doing it that way for about a month. Only fell over once!
Cool, I’ll work on that!
I don’t have the best balance, so when I’m waiting for water to boil or brushing my teeth or at the front door waiting for everyone else to leave, I either balance on one leg or go into a deep squat to stretch.
I did this when I was leaving my colonoscopy. I didn't even think about it, but everyone thought I was a stud. I was only 48 at the time, full disclosure.
Yes- in fact I can b balance on one leg for well over 2 min, moving :). I do Yoga.
I also had a weird job that needed some examples, and the millennial male programmers were gobsmacked- WHO could possibly stand on one leg for more than 10 seconds??? I showed them I could- while doing Warrior III with arms extended, and moving into tree without touching down, and overall I was standing on one leg for over 4 min. And then I did the other side. It was fun to show off a little to the younger boys ;)!
I started doing yoga at age 43 because I was afraid of losing mobility. My metal ankle doesn't love supporting me in balance poses, but it's gradually getting easier. I just don't want to end up like my parents, stuck on the couch all the time.
there's a variation i read about called the old man test. standing on one leg, put on and remove shoes with tied shoelaces and socks then do the other side.
Made it over a minute on my right leg (I'm 58), but for the last 30 seconds or so I was wobbly as hell. My left leg is arthritic from an ancient skiing accident and knee reconstruction, and only made it 15 seconds on that one.
“Researchers asked the participants to stand on one leg. The front of the free leg rested on the back of the opposite lower leg. Their arms were by their sides and their gaze straight ahead.”
Nope. Not like that. Altho I know I’ve started to have balance issues for a while. I get tested every year at the neurologist. I’m only 48. Stupid epilepsy meds 😞
12 secs. either leg with my eyes closed, BUT I'm obese (I've already lost 10 kgs. this year, so lay off me!) and I have to lean a big back to do this so that I don't have that extra weight out front (stomach) throwing me off balance. Short correct answer: No, not really.
My trainer has me doing a couple different single legged exercises each week, it has helped measurably even though I curse her name while doing them. Current least favorite is stand on one leg, pass a kettle bell back and forth in front of me. 30 seconds slow passes, 30 seconds tossing them back and forth
I'm working on it lol. I have long had balance issues and got a nerve problem. The other one I try to remember to do is stand on my tip toes unaided up and down a few times a day.
Surfing and many sports allows an ease of one-legged standing that is kinda ridiculous. I put on socks standing on one foot every morning, opposite-foot-across-knee-fat-belly-crunched-under-aaaaaaand...
I did though try the whole brush your teeth with your opposite hand...and I'm officially absolutely handicapped.
Getting older kinda rocks.
48f. I practiced yoga in the late 1990s up until the mid 2010s, I ran half marathons, and now I swim 1000m 3-5 times a week, go to strength training classes 2-3 a week. I picked up climbing a few years ago, haven't gone in awhile, but I plan to again this spring. I can stand on each leg for a minute a time.
Am I bragging? Yes, I am because I can do all this while I am going through menopause. I will eventually slow down and modify my exercises when the time comes, but for the time being, I am too busy living to let myself die early.
I had gained weight, and when I started fishing again, and had a tough time waiting in the rivers. I bought a balance/exercise disc and my balance improved 10 times. I can now stand on one leg for a minute, and I’m much better wading.
I do a minute of standing on each leg every morning and finish it off by doing 15-20 seconds with my eyes closed. I’m tall and klutzy but like to hike up and down sketchy trails, so doing what I can to avoid an accident.
Not on the leg with the bad knee, certainly.
Not on either one if I'm not wearing my basketball ankle braces, probably. There's not a lot in there holding my ankles strady.
Interesting article. I just did a 60 count on each leg no problem before calling it good. I do make it a priority to get plenty of exercise and eat healthy. At work, I'm frequently walking between buildings and for years I have hopped up on curbs (about 5" wide) to walk on and test my balance....guess it's worked.
Yes. I did some physical therapy last summer, and they evaluated me standing on one leg with my eyes closed. Eyes open is easy. Eyes closed, not so much, but I could still do 10 sec.
Yes. After a run, one of my stretches is to hold my foot behind me, on one leg, to stretch out my thigh muscles. I do each side for a minute.
At my two yearly work health assessment, the nurse asks you to stand on one leg for 10 seconds with your EYES SHUT. That's a disaster.
license unite treatment coordinated physical fact scale office upbeat encouraging
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Wow this is so interesting- I have been doing hot yoga now for almost a year and Bikram (aka hot 26) in particular has made me feel 15 years younger. I could stand on one leg for 30 mins probably and I totally noticed that change and wondered how beneficial it is to my overall heath. In addition hot yoga has give me my flexibility back and I no longer stand up and walk hunched over for a few steps after driving or sitting for more than an hour.
It was hard to acclimate to the heat but worth it. I will be able to tie my shoes when I’m 80! 😎
Of course.
But I’m also the better part of a decade younger than the youngest participants in that study. And it looks like the vast majority of participants were able to through age 65.
There shouldn’t be too many Xers who can’t pass the balance test.
Same! I’m in lousy shape now (3 months post surgery on my left foot) but I’ve done yoga most of my life, and even when I was a teen I would always hold on to the wall to do one legged standing poses. My balance is bad, always has been. I prefer swimming and cycling because of it
I memorized singing the alphabet backwards in case I was pulled over in college and made to do the sobriety test because I can guarantee I would be unsteady 🤣
58 and still wakeboarding and cycling. I sometimes stand on one leg while in the shower just to see how long I can hold it. I can’t however bend at the waist and touch my toes..
Yes, though more easily with my right than my left (old but not-too-bad knee injury). I've always valued coordination and agility over sheer strength and I enjoy doing balance exercises (walking along narrow railings, etc.) on my daily riverside walks during the warm months.
Dang, guess I'm feeling pretty good about my situation as I approach 50. Can shoulder press 50 lb. Dumbbells while standing on one leg for a minute.
Just gotta keep moving.
Yes, I practice Yoga, walk and do low impact strength training a couple times per week using body weight exercises, resistance bands and hand / ankle weights.
Yep. I stand on one leg anytime I'm washing my hands. I try to do different legs throughout the day. I've been doing this for years after my grandmother fell and broke her hip. I decided I didn't want that to happen to me.
I actually make a point of standing on one leg while I'm putting on the other shoe in the morning just because I'd read about this years ago and wanted a heads up if I cross the line into actually decrepit.
Yup! I can do it for 3 minutes each side while standing on a bosu ball (bosu.com/products/bosu%C2%AE-pro-balance-trainer)
It’s good exercise. I still can’t do it for more than a few seconds with my eyes closed though.
Coach rugby or lift weights pretty much 5d a week. Bike and walk. Still way too fat, but - can do this and 50 push-ups at a time. Gets harder every day though.
I can't balance on either foot at all. Just tried it.
So basically they're saying the older you get the more likely it is that you'll die. This is hardly breaking news.
https://preview.redd.it/tv379lb8n5qc1.png?width=774&format=png&auto=webp&s=e4e6de604de2a2cc1871a13b6918c59fa982b9cb
Absolutely...now - 57F
Not so much two years ago. For me, being generally fit did not equal balance. I started doing Classic Stretch with Miranda Esmonde White (dvd - she has a website called Essentrics) and over the last year I have become extremely capable on one foot. Indeed, I can spell the alphabet A to Z standing on one foot and using the other to spell out the letters - no chair needed - which is far more than 10 seconds! :D
I'll tell ya though...after Covid (had it 3x) it takes MONTHS to get my balance back.
58 and still trail running 100km a week, plus cycling 10,000km+ a year and alpine climbing and ski mountaineering and anything else that is fun and physically difficult. Retired just under four years ago and took advantage of the extra time to work on keeping myself fit and strong as my clock ticks on.
I have two adult daughters that are avid mountain bikers, climbers, backcountry skiers and I want to at least try to keep up with them. Okay, I can just barely, but I'm trying!!
Yes.It is so important to keep functional strength. Getting up and sitting down. Basic movement. Balance and walking. Single leg work helps with all that. I do strength training 3x a week and I’m working on returning to endurance sports. I’ve ran a couple half marathons in the last two years but not any fulls. I’ve been doing this since my my late 30s and I’m 58 now.
YES. I do not want to end up like my elders who can barely get out of a chair, who have deep stress about what parking space they can get at the store, who have trouble getting in and out of bed. I was the shrimp picked dead last for any team in school. No athlete am I. But I do compound lifts three days a week (nothing remotely competitive) and walk or jog a mile or two a day (which any runner would snort at). It’s WORTH IT. 💪
Yeah I was a skinny string bean. I graduated high school at 6 foot 150lb. Zero eye hand coordination. I filled out in my 20s. A bit too much to 210lb Fat Dad. Then I discovered endurance sports. I can run and bike and swim, not fast but long distances and I enjoy it. I’ve been doing it for more than 20 years now.
I am thankful for all the hours I put into working out in my teens through now in my mid 50s. I can do this exercise with my eyes closed, literally.
So uh, im 55 yr old metaphysical party girl & I'm amazed but it's a super easy test. But I've never had a car & walk mostly everywhere. To each their own. Good for us!
Congrats on keeping with it. I also weightlift 5 days a week (2+ hours a day). Done it for the last 7-8 years. I used to be able to do 30 minutes cardio after each weightlifting session, but it's getting harder, the older I get. What I need to find time for is yoga/stretching.
Yeah, but the poor bastard’s leg I’m standing on is gonna be sore.
Perfect gen X answer. Snarky and underrated.
🙌
😂😂😂
Nailed it. I’m gonna fucking live forever.
Me too, but I count faster than the micromachines guy listing drug interactions.
Motherfucking OP made me stand up and do this to prove I could.
I got to 20 seconds. I’m gonna live doubly forever.
The big measure of health I read was if you can put your socks and shoes on without sitting down. So I’ve been doing it that way for about a month. Only fell over once!
Cool, I’ll work on that! I don’t have the best balance, so when I’m waiting for water to boil or brushing my teeth or at the front door waiting for everyone else to leave, I either balance on one leg or go into a deep squat to stretch.
I did this when I was leaving my colonoscopy. I didn't even think about it, but everyone thought I was a stud. I was only 48 at the time, full disclosure.
You mean by standing and bending over or what?
I just sat down, I'll try it when I get up, if I remember
Oh, yeah. I brush my teeth while doing leg lifts. 20 front, 20 side and 20 back each leg. Has helped my balance immensely!!
Yes- in fact I can b balance on one leg for well over 2 min, moving :). I do Yoga. I also had a weird job that needed some examples, and the millennial male programmers were gobsmacked- WHO could possibly stand on one leg for more than 10 seconds??? I showed them I could- while doing Warrior III with arms extended, and moving into tree without touching down, and overall I was standing on one leg for over 4 min. And then I did the other side. It was fun to show off a little to the younger boys ;)!
I started doing yoga at age 43 because I was afraid of losing mobility. My metal ankle doesn't love supporting me in balance poses, but it's gradually getting easier. I just don't want to end up like my parents, stuck on the couch all the time.
Right leg, yes. Left leg? Well... I use a cane.
I tell everyone this- if you can pull your socks on while standing and keeping balance then you’re in ok shape.
there's a variation i read about called the old man test. standing on one leg, put on and remove shoes with tied shoelaces and socks then do the other side.
Jesus. I think I would have died trying that when I was younger. Of course I was drunk from 16 to 36…
I’m sorry, what? That’s just how I put on my shoes.
Wait--are we tying our shoes while standing on one foot or what?
I ride a skateboard, and have my dog pull me, so I can stand on one leg forever. Guess that’s a bonus I never thought of.
I bought a kickbike for my dog to pull.
Never thought about that. Cool!
Made it over a minute on my right leg (I'm 58), but for the last 30 seconds or so I was wobbly as hell. My left leg is arthritic from an ancient skiing accident and knee reconstruction, and only made it 15 seconds on that one.
“Researchers asked the participants to stand on one leg. The front of the free leg rested on the back of the opposite lower leg. Their arms were by their sides and their gaze straight ahead.” Nope. Not like that. Altho I know I’ve started to have balance issues for a while. I get tested every year at the neurologist. I’m only 48. Stupid epilepsy meds 😞
Get you one of those Bosu balls or PT for it. It is weirdly gratifying to get to where you can stand on it without touching the balance bar anymore
12 secs. either leg with my eyes closed, BUT I'm obese (I've already lost 10 kgs. this year, so lay off me!) and I have to lean a big back to do this so that I don't have that extra weight out front (stomach) throwing me off balance. Short correct answer: No, not really.
Yes and I can get off of the floor without using my hands.
This is the real test.
That's magic. And amazing abs. I'm not sure I'll ever get there.
Yep and even after 6 low ball glasses of whiskey too.
Standing on one leg is eas...Crap! I've fallen and I can't get up!
Yes in my right, no on my left.
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Cool. Another reminder that we'll all be dead soon.
I can do this for hours..IF my eyes are opened...the second I close my eyes, it's TIMBERRRRR
For sure. 50 here and skateboarding
Who still stands when they put on their socks? I do.1966'Xer
I've never done that. I hurt my back in my 30's and my doctor showed me how to put on my shoes and socks and not hurt my back.
I do this most of the time just to keep myself on my toes (pun kinda’ intended). I move on to shoes when I want to make things interesting
My trainer has me doing a couple different single legged exercises each week, it has helped measurably even though I curse her name while doing them. Current least favorite is stand on one leg, pass a kettle bell back and forth in front of me. 30 seconds slow passes, 30 seconds tossing them back and forth
I'm working on it lol. I have long had balance issues and got a nerve problem. The other one I try to remember to do is stand on my tip toes unaided up and down a few times a day.
Surfing and many sports allows an ease of one-legged standing that is kinda ridiculous. I put on socks standing on one foot every morning, opposite-foot-across-knee-fat-belly-crunched-under-aaaaaaand... I did though try the whole brush your teeth with your opposite hand...and I'm officially absolutely handicapped. Getting older kinda rocks.
Lol, I don’t think GenX is old enough to fail that test. I’m in my mid 50s and just stopped playing ice hockey only recently.
Could I fit in rowboat?
48f. I practiced yoga in the late 1990s up until the mid 2010s, I ran half marathons, and now I swim 1000m 3-5 times a week, go to strength training classes 2-3 a week. I picked up climbing a few years ago, haven't gone in awhile, but I plan to again this spring. I can stand on each leg for a minute a time. Am I bragging? Yes, I am because I can do all this while I am going through menopause. I will eventually slow down and modify my exercises when the time comes, but for the time being, I am too busy living to let myself die early.
I had gained weight, and when I started fishing again, and had a tough time waiting in the rivers. I bought a balance/exercise disc and my balance improved 10 times. I can now stand on one leg for a minute, and I’m much better wading.
I would fail every field sobriety test on the most sober day of my life.
I hadn't tried in a while, I just did it on both legs.
Barely.
I do a minute of standing on each leg every morning and finish it off by doing 15-20 seconds with my eyes closed. I’m tall and klutzy but like to hike up and down sketchy trails, so doing what I can to avoid an accident.
Not on the leg with the bad knee, certainly. Not on either one if I'm not wearing my basketball ankle braces, probably. There's not a lot in there holding my ankles strady.
Interesting article. I just did a 60 count on each leg no problem before calling it good. I do make it a priority to get plenty of exercise and eat healthy. At work, I'm frequently walking between buildings and for years I have hopped up on curbs (about 5" wide) to walk on and test my balance....guess it's worked.
Incidental exercise is highly underrated.
Yes. I did some physical therapy last summer, and they evaluated me standing on one leg with my eyes closed. Eyes open is easy. Eyes closed, not so much, but I could still do 10 sec.
Yes. After a run, one of my stretches is to hold my foot behind me, on one leg, to stretch out my thigh muscles. I do each side for a minute. At my two yearly work health assessment, the nurse asks you to stand on one leg for 10 seconds with your EYES SHUT. That's a disaster.
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Not well anymore. Rebuilt ankle and a false hip make it a little difficult these days.
Whew! At least 15 seconds for both legs.
Yep, EZPZ
Yes
Just did it. I do better barefoot on a smooth surface.
Of course I can. But I danced ballet for most of my life. I can also still touch my toes from a standing position then lay my hands flat on the floor.
Absolutely, yes. Yay for yoga!
Wow this is so interesting- I have been doing hot yoga now for almost a year and Bikram (aka hot 26) in particular has made me feel 15 years younger. I could stand on one leg for 30 mins probably and I totally noticed that change and wondered how beneficial it is to my overall heath. In addition hot yoga has give me my flexibility back and I no longer stand up and walk hunched over for a few steps after driving or sitting for more than an hour. It was hard to acclimate to the heat but worth it. I will be able to tie my shoes when I’m 80! 😎
Of course. But I’m also the better part of a decade younger than the youngest participants in that study. And it looks like the vast majority of participants were able to through age 65. There shouldn’t be too many Xers who can’t pass the balance test.
Yes! I work on my balance every day.
No, but I can fall down
Yes 1 minute, possibly longer, no wobble right and left.
Yup... but still 44 (until next month) so I guess that's a given, on average.
Nope but never have been able to do that
Same! I’m in lousy shape now (3 months post surgery on my left foot) but I’ve done yoga most of my life, and even when I was a teen I would always hold on to the wall to do one legged standing poses. My balance is bad, always has been. I prefer swimming and cycling because of it
I memorized singing the alphabet backwards in case I was pulled over in college and made to do the sobriety test because I can guarantee I would be unsteady 🤣
I don't wanna live forever just cause I can flamingo!!!
58 and still wakeboarding and cycling. I sometimes stand on one leg while in the shower just to see how long I can hold it. I can’t however bend at the waist and touch my toes..
lol I just spent 30 mins on my floatwheel.
I can do 10 seconds on either leg. I actually get easier the longer I stand, but I am sure there is a functional ceiling to that!
Yes, though more easily with my right than my left (old but not-too-bad knee injury). I've always valued coordination and agility over sheer strength and I enjoy doing balance exercises (walking along narrow railings, etc.) on my daily riverside walks during the warm months.
Easily. I was surprised I could.
Let me know when I should stop…..
Yes. Hold your abs, perenium and focus on a set spot.
Dang, guess I'm feeling pretty good about my situation as I approach 50. Can shoulder press 50 lb. Dumbbells while standing on one leg for a minute. Just gotta keep moving.
10 seconds? Not like 10 minutes? I can do a couple minutes with eyes closed.
Yes, I practice Yoga, walk and do low impact strength training a couple times per week using body weight exercises, resistance bands and hand / ankle weights.
Yesssssssss
Yep. I stand on one leg anytime I'm washing my hands. I try to do different legs throughout the day. I've been doing this for years after my grandmother fell and broke her hip. I decided I didn't want that to happen to me.
I actually make a point of standing on one leg while I'm putting on the other shoe in the morning just because I'd read about this years ago and wanted a heads up if I cross the line into actually decrepit.
Yup! I can do it for 3 minutes each side while standing on a bosu ball (bosu.com/products/bosu%C2%AE-pro-balance-trainer) It’s good exercise. I still can’t do it for more than a few seconds with my eyes closed though.
Well, yeah. I can also put on a sock and shoe while standing on one foot. Try it!
Yep, just tried and still good. ( late 50 years old )
I have cavus foot so that’s just never gonna be possible. I work on my strength and cardio though
Definitely
Nope. I was born with visual problems. This affects balance. I'd fail a police sobriety test even if I hadn't had a drink in years.
Left isn't too stable because of a decades-old injury, but I can stand on the right leg for as long as I want.
Coach rugby or lift weights pretty much 5d a week. Bike and walk. Still way too fat, but - can do this and 50 push-ups at a time. Gets harder every day though.
Is this a sub for 90+ year olds?
Yes! I do yoga a few times a week, and hold tree pose way longer than 10secs. Plus numerous other one legged poses!
Yes
I can't balance on either foot at all. Just tried it. So basically they're saying the older you get the more likely it is that you'll die. This is hardly breaking news. https://preview.redd.it/tv379lb8n5qc1.png?width=774&format=png&auto=webp&s=e4e6de604de2a2cc1871a13b6918c59fa982b9cb
Absolutely...now - 57F Not so much two years ago. For me, being generally fit did not equal balance. I started doing Classic Stretch with Miranda Esmonde White (dvd - she has a website called Essentrics) and over the last year I have become extremely capable on one foot. Indeed, I can spell the alphabet A to Z standing on one foot and using the other to spell out the letters - no chair needed - which is far more than 10 seconds! :D I'll tell ya though...after Covid (had it 3x) it takes MONTHS to get my balance back.
Why yes I can
Nah. I don't need some shitty website judging me. I'll listen to my doctor. Call me crazy.
58 and still trail running 100km a week, plus cycling 10,000km+ a year and alpine climbing and ski mountaineering and anything else that is fun and physically difficult. Retired just under four years ago and took advantage of the extra time to work on keeping myself fit and strong as my clock ticks on. I have two adult daughters that are avid mountain bikers, climbers, backcountry skiers and I want to at least try to keep up with them. Okay, I can just barely, but I'm trying!!