Does this sound familiar? Someone invites you to take a seat- on the floor- and you stop to think: Will I be able to gracefully sit on the floor and then get back up without a helping hand? If that sounds like you, then you may feel some real worry when you read (and watch) this recent Washington Post piece on the sitting-rising test, which is designed to predict your mortality by how well you sit down and get back up off the floor, without assistance from another or even using your own arms or hands. Using a 10-point score to measure how well you can sit and get up, the higher your score the less likely your risk of early death. Given that there’s a relationship between aerobic fitness and mortality, it’s not surprising that a test that evaluates your flexibility, strength, and coordination could potentially predict what the future has in store for you. But if you try the test and fail miserably, you can rest assured that there are other ways to measure what’s to come, as well as plenty of exercises that can help extend your periods of a healthy life span, and none of them require you to sit on the floor!

In fact, in a new JAMA study looking at the association between long term mortality and various levels of cardiorespiratory fitness, researchers confirmed that being fit was associated with a higher survival rate, and the recommended exercise guidelines of 150-300 minutes per week of moderate aerobic activity should put you on the right path to aerobic fitness. So start walking on your treadmill and take a look here. More good news is that another JAMA study confirmed that even if you’ve been a life-long couch potato, you can still achieve a reduction in your risk of premature death if you start exercising today. So organize your walking group and start your program by reading here. And for real inspiration, take a look at the achievements of 84-year-old senior athlete Flo Filion Meiler, a pole-vaulting star who began her track and field career at age 60!