AGING

I'm back on "aging" again.  I saw this on a video by a doctor.  These are five tests that this doctor gives to find out if you are doing well with the aging process.  Most of these have to do with the problem of falling.  Falls are often the first step on a steep and final decline for the elderly.

I know you are not all elderly but this would be a good check at any time of your life to see how you stack up.  These five tasks are not all easy, by any means.  Test yourself.  If you fall short, practice.  Do them over and over until you can measure up.  Good luck.

1.  From a seated position on a chair, stand up with your hands crossed over your chest.  Sounds easy enough but it takes some leg muscles.  I didn't have much trouble with it.  

2.  Walk backwards straight for 10 steps.  Keep your head forward.  Sounds like a DUI test, doesn't it?  I found it easy. 

3.  Stand on one foot for 30 seconds - no helping hands.  This was the hardest one for me.  30 seconds is a long time.  I'm going to keep practicing.

4.  Touch your toes without bending your knees.  There is no time in my life that I can remember being able to do this and now my belly makes it impossible.  I gave myself a pass on this one but I'm going to keep trying anyway.  

5.  Get up from lying down on the floor without help.  No using hands on other objects.  This takes a little work and thought but you can do it - I did.

That's it.  If you can do all these, you're not that old and you stand a good chance of avoiding falls.