Embrace The Floor: Your New Friend

By: Dr. Beth Templin

When did the floor become such an intimidating place? For many of the older adults I speak to, the idea of being on the floor causes a range of emotions, from unease to outright panic. I rarely hear cheers of excitement or get high fives when I tell someone we are going to work on getting down on the floor for an activity. Why is this?

For the better part of our lives, we spend time on the floor, or getting up and down from the floor without thinking anything of it. Then at some point, something changes that makes us more wary of this necessary task. I think as we age, we spend less time getting up and down from the floor and moving around on the floor.

Because of this, our bodies slowly become stiffer and weaker over time. As a result, this once simple task becomes harder and harder, requiring more time, effort, and energy to complete. It may even start to become painful as joints become stiffer and weaker. Ultimately, we begin to lose confidence and start to avoid the activity all together.

Another question I want to consider, why is the floor such an intimidating place? I believe that once people begin to lose faith in their ability to get up and down from the floor, it starts to become a scary place. Even those who feel certain in their ability to get up and down from the floor, often feel anxious at the idea of staying on the floor for more than a few minutes.
This happens because we lose the ability to sit without support of a chair, which requires good hip and knee motion, core strength, and balance. For some, just sitting on the floor for 5 minutes can be a huge workout.

Why we love floor exercises.
Floor exercises tend to be full body in nature, especially when you are moving from one position to another.
Here are some examples and their benefits!

• Hands and knees: this position allows you to get weight through your hips and shoulders effectively, strengthening your arms and legs simultaneously. It is also the perfect position to work on improving your core strength.
• Exercises on your back or belly: these positions allow you to stretch out many of the tight areas of your body.
• Crawling and scooting: practicing moving around the floor is a great way to build strength.
• Sitting: as mentioned above, just working on sitting in various positions can be a great workout.

If you're unable to actually get up and down from the floor without the assistance of another person, we suggest bringing the floor up to you, by performing these exercises on your bed. While beds can oftentimes be too soft for all of the activities we recommend, you should be able to pick a few to start your journey to being more comfortable on the floor.

If you've been limiting yourself to exercises only in a seated or standing position, you're really missing out on all the strength, flexibility, and posture benefits of getting down on the floor. If fear is what's holding you back, you don't have to go on this journey by yourself. Helping people regain and master this skill is one of our favorite things to do at HouseFit.

-💗 Dr. Beth

Check out Dr. Kim as she demonstrates our Exercise of the Month.

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