Daily moves: the chair rise

Count your stands

1. Sit near the front of a sturdy chair. Knees bent, feet flat, about shoulder-width apart.
2. Rest your hands lightly on the seat beside you. Keep your back and neck straight, chest a little forward.
3. Breathe in. Lean forward until your weight is on the front of your feet.
4. Breathe out and stand up slowly. Use your hands as little as you can.
5. Stand for one full breath in and out.
6. Breathe in and sit down slowly. Do not drop into the chair; lower yourself with control. Breathe out.

CDC: do it 10 to 15 times, rest a minute, then do 10 to 15 more. If that is too hard at first, start with fewer and work up. The goal, as you get stronger, is to stand without using your hands.

Source: CDC STEADI, Chair Rise Exercise (2017).

No phone at the chair? Print this page: the printout adds a one-week sheet to write your stands on.

Before you stand: get up slowly

Some people’s blood pressure drops when they sit up or stand. That can make you dizzy and more likely to fall. It often happens in the morning, after a big meal, or on the toilet. CDC suggests:

• Get out of bed in steps: sit up, sit on the side of the bed, then stand.
• Before you get up, move your feet up and down and squeeze and open your hands. After you stand, march in place.
• Have something to hold on to when you stand.
• Take your time getting up from a chair, too.
• Do not walk if you feel dizzy. Sit back down.
• Tell your doctor or nurse if you get dizzy when you stand, and ask if any of your medicines should be changed.

Source: CDC STEADI, Postural Hypotension: What it is & How to Manage it (2017).

Three brisk bursts a day

Two or three times a day, for one to two minutes, move fast enough that talking gets hard: climb a flight of stairs at a good pace, walk briskly to the shop or the mailbox, carry the shopping up quickly. In a study of over 25,000 adults who did no exercise, about three such bursts a day went with better health over the following years.

• Only if you can already walk safely on your own. If you get chest pain, dizziness or very short of breath, stop and tell your clinician.
• The bursts add to exercise; they do not replace it. If you sit for long hours, about 60 to 75 minutes a day of moderate activity, like brisk walking, is what offset the extra risk that went with long sitting.

Sources: Stamatakis et al., Nature Medicine 2022 (short bursts, 25,241 non-exercisers); Ekelund et al., Lancet 2016 (sitting and activity, over 1 million adults).

Want more than one move?

CDC says exercises that build balance and leg strength lower your chances of falling. Tai Chi is one example. Ask your doctor which kind of program is best for you.

Source: CDC STEADI, What You Can Do to Prevent Falls (2017). Programs and their evidence: fallrisks.com/resources.