Walking into your 50s with a body that can still perform everyday tasks with ease is a great sign of long-term health and supreme functional strength.
Floor rising
Lowering yourself entirely to the floor and standing up again without using your hands, knees, or any other furniture to assist shows great longevity. This movement may seem easy, but it requires a perfect combination of core strength, leg strength, and hip mobility to be able to perform it with ease.
Physicians often test patients with this movement because it showcases overall muscle control and demonstrates that your body can hold itself upright against gravity.
Single balancing
Balancing on one foot for 30 seconds with your eyes closed indicates that your nervous system, vestibule and brain are working well together. Closing your eyes cuts out visual cues, so your body has to use its internal cues to balance itself. This challenges the small stabilizer muscles of your ankles and feet. Having great balance in your 50s will help prevent future falls and show that your joints have great stability.
Grocery carrying
Carrying two heavy grocery bags up a flight of stairs without stopping to catch your breath indicates great cardiovascular fitness and functional strength.
This chore is a disguised workout that challenges your grip, shoulders, and core to haul your groceries up the stairs while your heart works frantically to send oxygenated blood to your legs. If you can make it to the top without huffing and puffing, your heart is strong at pumping against moderate pressure.
Low squatting
If you can bend down fully to clean underneath a cupboard, organize a bottom shelf in the pantry, or weed your garden beds and remain low to the ground comfortably for several minutes, you have great joint health.
When your hips, knees and ankles bend easily and support your body weight without popping, grinding or creating a sharp pain as you stand back up, you know that you have maintained your depth of motion. Being able to bend this deeply ensures that your cartilage is healthy and hydrated as well as strong enough to allow your lower body muscles to absorb impact as you go about your day.
Look back
Being able to sit comfortably in your driver’s seat and twist your upper body all the way around to see out of your back window when backing up your vehicle requires great spinal mobility.
Many adults lose their side-to-side twisting ability starting in their 40s and are forced to rely solely on their mirrors and rear-view cameras because twisting around is too stiff or painful.
Putting on shoes
Putting on your shoes and tying your laces while standing up involves a high degree of core strength, hip flexibility and hamstring flexibility.
If you find yourself able to raise one foot up, balance without shaking, and tie your shoes without leaning back on your bed frame or sitting on your bed to do so, your balance is off the charts.
Jar opening
Being able to open a pickle jar or vacuum-sealed lid with your bare hands shows just how healthy and strong your upper body is.
Doctors widely agree that your ability to grip something is closely connected to your future heart health and overall longevity because it shows how much muscle strength you have in your entire body.
Fast walking
If you can walk briskly but still maintain a normal conversation with a friend without feeling winded, your respiratory system is very efficient.
Your lungs and heart are able to pump enough oxygen into your working muscles without causing you to gulp for breath between words. If you can easily pick up the pace of your walk whether you’re running late or hiking up a small hill, your aerobic base is impressively young.
Floor reaching
Lean forward at your waist with your legs straight and reach your fingertips to your toes with ease, and you have wonderfully flexible lumbar erectors, glutes and hamstrings.
It’s important to stay flexible in these areas because when your hamstrings are tight, they tug on your lower spine. That’s how most people experience a slight back tweak or pull from doing everyday tasks around the house.
Overhead lifting
Getting a heavy carry-on bag into the overhead bin on an airplane without craning your neck or hyperextending your lower back requires good shoulder mechanics and core strength.
This task requires your upper body to have enough functional strength to lift a dead weight above your head, and your core stability to keep your spine from over-extending posteriorly.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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