Checklist

[redsturgeon]

Here is a list of things according to the Huffington Post that you should be able to do at various ages if you are healthy.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/f ... 5b1f59a0fe

Interestingly, I can do all the things that a 20 year old or 30 or 40 year old can do if healthy but I'm struggling with a couple of things that healthy people in their 50s and 60s are supposed to be able to do.

No problems with running, planking, squats, press ups, burpees but touching fingers behind back and getting up from the floor cross legged without using hands...can the average 60 year old really do that?

John

[Brava21]

Hi John

hopefully this will make you feel better. I am 51.

'Touch your fingertips with one hand over your shoulder and the other behind your back' - nah, I am way off, much worse at that one than I thought I would be.

'Lower yourself into a cross-legged sitting position on the floor (without using your hands) and then return to standing' - I'm not sure I could ever have lowered myself into a cross legged position WITHOUT using my hands to steady myself, even as a child. I can get up from a cross legged position without using my hands but it isn't pretty

As an aside - Mr B is a black belt in Tai Kwon Do and in his TKD days, could spring up from a cross legged position to a standing one in seconds. it was very impressive. He couldn't do it now (he is 52).

I do wonder why on earth the speed of walking a mile is so important to the over 70s? 16 minutes is pretty brisk. My late father was able to do that sort of speed in his 70s but he walked at least 6 miles daily, every day. Who cares if it takes a bit longer than that, as long as you still have mobility, I wonder?

Right, hand over shoulder again...nope...I am a lost cause.

Brava

[midnightcatprowl]

but touching fingers behind back and getting up from the floor cross legged without using hands...can the average 60 year old really do that?

Well this 66 year old certainly can't. I make no claim to be fit - though I'm a lot fitter than I was just a few months ago due to making an effort and having more time to make it in since closing my shop - but the interesting thing is that I'm not sure I could ever do either of those things even when I was an extremely aerobically fit teenage keen competitive swimmer training in the pool at least 7 times a week.

[argoal]

The selection of skills/tasks for the middle aged is a bit odd for sure.

I do a decent amount of yoga and most of the youngsters (20s, 30s) in the class can't link their fingers like that. I can do it but it takes a fair bit of flexibility in the shoulders to get there.

I doubt that most can of the youngsters can sit/stand from cross legged without using their hands either.

[Raptor]

2 out of 3 isn't bad for a 63 year old. Have never been able to touch fingers though, mind you just started Bikram Yoga so you never know.
I have a Fitbit Flex 2 which shows that I have beaten 10,000 today already, will need to sit down for a while, damn got the Gym tonight.

Raptor.

[UncleEbenezer]

I don't even understand the (presumably 'merkin?) terminology. WTF is a burpee, or holding a plank?

Is farting prowess any substitute for the burping? Is it good or bad that I can carry a modest plank home from B&Q, but find it hard work to do so?

[Raptor]

I don't even understand the (presumably 'merkin?) terminology. WTF is a burpee, or holding a plank?

Is farting prowess any substitute for the burping? Is it good or bad that I can carry a modest plank home from B&Q, but find it hard work to do so?

The world record for a "plank" is over 8 hours.This will help you know what it is. Longest "plank" (non-wood variety)

Raptor.

[bungeejumper]

I don't even understand the (presumably 'merkin?) terminology. WTF is a burpee, or holding a plank?

The wonders of Google reveal that the burpee was invented by somebody called Burpee. And that it has also been known as a squat thrust, a four-count burpee, a front-leaning rest and a military burpee.

It looks like you squat, you stretch, you rest, you burp, you pee. I can do all those things. Is that good?

BJ

[panamagold]

It looks like you squat, you stretch, you rest, you burp, you pee. I can do all those things.
BJ

So can I, but unfortunately, not always in that order.

[UncleEbenezer]

And that it has also been known as a squat thrust, a four-count burpee, a front-leaning rest and a military burpee.
BJ

Aha! I see dogs doing that from time to time. I don't think I can arch the back as convincingly as they do

[XFool]

Here is a list of things according to the Huffington Post that you should be able to do at various ages if you are healthy.
I'm still trying to work out what half of then are.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/f ... 5b1f59a0fe

Interestingly, I can do all the things that a 20 year old or 30 or 40 year old can do if healthy but I'm struggling with a couple of things that healthy people in their 50s and 60s are supposed to be able to do.

I am still trying to work out what several of them actually mean.

"A burpee" - Well I don't need diapers yet.
"Hold a plank for 45 seconds" - Wouldn't that depend on the lenghth of the plank? And the type of wood, of course.

[XFool]

The world record for a "plank" is over 8 hours.This will help you know what it is. Longest "plank" (non-wood variety)

Why?