- We received the following question the other day on Facebook. "I have trouble getting out of a chair. It takes more than one effort. Do you have any exercises I can do?" - So if you're having trouble
getting out of a chair it's very likely it's as
a result of weak legs. Now, if you're not sure
if your legs are weak there are tests you can
do at home to figure out if your legs are weak compared
to other people your age. We're gonna show you this
at the end of the video. It's very easy and anybody can do it. - But before we get into the test, we wanna show you three very
important exercises that all seniors should master to really
strengthen up their legs. - Now we have selected
these three exercises from many, many exercises over many years of experience working with
people with weak legs. So we think you'll enjoy 'em
and it'll work very well. - We think these three
exercises are perfect because - [Brad] They're good for beginners as well as advanced individuals. - [Mike] You don't need
a gym, weights or bands. - [Brad] You will strengthen
each side equally. - [Mike] The exercises are functional. - [Brad] You can strengthen all muscles in the legs in five minutes. - So the first exercise is
known as the split squat and Brad is gonna show the
beginner variation to start with. - Alright, for this
you're gonna have to have something to stabilize yourself. The back of a chair, a countertop
like this works very well. One foot is in front,
the other foot is back about this distance, and go down slowly. When you feel like you
were down enough, go up. Your hands are there just to assist. But they're there to protect in case you would go down because you overdid it. So, 10 of these with your left leg forward and switch and do 10 of these
with your right leg forward. It's an excellent leg exercise. Now to the intermediate version. - For the intermediate
variation of the split squat I'm just gonna hold onto a
stick or cane for balance. If you need a countertop
still, that is fine. The purpose of this exercise is to go the full range of motion now, bringing this leg all the
way down to the floor. If your knee is kind of sensitive there, you could certainly
put a pillow down there for some protection and
now it feels nice and soft. Again, you're gonna want
to do 10 repetitions. Notice I'm holding the
pole on the opposite side of the leg that is forward. Go nice, get control, and do 10 repetitions on one leg. Make sure to switch to the other side. Now, for the advanced version you're gonna need some sort of weights. So you can just take a duffle
bag and fill it full of stuff. Make sure you can hold it, though. To perform, we're gonna do the same thing. I'm just gonna hold it
here for a variation. I'm gonna do the lunge, go down slow, up. Keep my back in a nice good posture. Again, I wanna do 10
repetitions on one side and then switch. - So the second exercise is
for the anterior tibialis. It's a muscle that is actually right here. Mike has a good, and go up and down, Mike. You can actually see the
muscle belly work right there. It's very critical for
walking and balance. Go ahead, Mike. - So, for beginners, if you
struggle to do the standing, you could start in a seated position. We're gonna try to do 20
repetitions, and you can do it throughout the day, morning,
midday, and evening. - Okay, the second and more
advanced version for this is stand about 12 inches from the wall. You'll put your feet like this, your buttocks and your
back up against the wall, and then you simply pull your toes up as far as you can and back down. That's one repetition. Now, to make it more difficult
you simply bring your feet farther away from the wall,
and easier, closer to the wall. One word of warning, if you
start going farther out, it's important that you
have shoes on so they grip to the floor so they don't slip
out and you end up falling. So it's really critical. It's nice if you want to
have something to grip like a cane or a chair, and
we just simply do these. Keep your knees locked,
isolate that muscle. 10 of 'em should work out well. - So the third exercise is gonna be calf raises for beginners. We're gonna start in a seated position. And all you're gonna do
is lift up your heels and go up on your toes just like this. Go nice, slow, and controlled. Start with 10 reps, maybe work up to 20 and just take it easy. If this becomes too easy, Brad's gonna show you a harder variation. - All right, we're actually
gonna do an intermediate and transfer right into an advanced mode. So you go up to some stairs
or hold onto something solid, a countertop, whatever it
may be, and you simply stand feet shoulder-width apart, and
go up exactly the same thing. Now we got the weight of our
body going through there. We're gonna actually
go for 10 repetitions. What you're gonna do is
progress to using the steps. You have to have shoes on, okay? Something with rubber soles so they grip. You're gonna go to the
edge of the first step. Not here, but you're gonna
go back so that the ball of your foot, the fore foot,
is securely on the step. And then you drop your heels down. You'll get a little
stretch in the calf muscle, and you work all the way up. Now, this is really advanced. It's nice to get the stretch
and you get a complete range of motion, which is desirable. Now, some people may never get to this because it's gonna be too challenging. If you have carpeted steps
and you feel like your feet are gonna come off, obviously
that's not gonna work. So 10 repetitions of this
as well, if you get to this. Otherwise, on the floor is fine. - Now we're gonna move on to the testing portion of the video. This is called the
30-second sit-to-stand test and Brad is gonna show
you how to set it up. - All right, so this is an official test. They've done this in studies. We're gonna go through the actual setup. So it's the way they do it in the studies. First of all, you need a
good chair without arms. It needs to be solid. And even with it being solid, still put the back so
it's up against the wall. It assures more stability. The height of the seat pan to
the floor should be 17 inches. Now you can measure that. This chair is actually
a little taller than 17. It's okay because you're not gonna buy a new chair for the test. Just when you do the next test, use the exact same chair
so it's all relative. - So once you have the
proper chair set up, in order to do the test,
you want to sit off the back of the chair with a
straight back like this. Do not lean back against
the chair like this way. Again, I want my feet shoulder-width apart for optimal standing position. The hands, you're going
to cross at the wrist and place on your chest like this. Again, you're not using your arms. If you use your arms,
you get a score of zero. So we're gonna get in a proper position. Now, we're gonna stand. You have to stand all the
way up with straight knees. This is not count as a full repetition. I'm not standing all the way up. Also, when you're sitting down, don't just fall into the chair. That does not count either. You need to be controlled. Now what you're gonna do
is you have 30 seconds to do as many proper
sit-to-stands as you can. Once you get your number, you're
gonna compare to the chart. Brad, you wanna talk about that? - Sure. So you get your number. If you cannot do 30 seconds
worth, you're too tired, just stop and you'll use that number. The chart is gonna be
categorized in age group starting at 60 to 65, or
whatever the chart says. And you look over in your age group, compare what the average number is. It's not one number, there's a range. And see where you're at. That's not too important. What is important is after you
do the exercises for a week, go back and repeat the
same tests the same way and you're gonna find out
that you'll get stronger as a result of doing these
exercises the way we said to. Okay, for those people who
cannot stand up without help of the armrest, your score is zero. But that's okay. There's gonna be a number
of people like that. It doesn't mean that you're
a zero, your score is. Do the exercises as we explained, and in a week come back and do it. You may find you can do
the exercise with your arms crossed and without using the chair. The whole point is that you get stronger. - So if you found this video helpful, we do have other videos
on leg strengthening. So we'll link that down below,
pinned to the top comment and you can check out that video as well. - That's right. It's another wonderful video. And get stronger, be happy, and let's go. (Mike laughs) - So I heard you had a dad joke for me. - Yes. My wife said I should
do lunges to stay in shape. - Why? - That would be a big step forward. - Oh my gosh. - Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. (upbeat music)
