The Exercise That Can Save Your Life!

Jessica Bento, Physical Therapist

It can be challenging sometimes. How do you explain to people what muscle is worked by some of our DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training exercises. When we would use some of the DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training exercises with my patients, this is the VERY question they would ask me.

Without trying to be sarcastic, I would tell them, those that make their lives better. This isn’t some sassy line, but rather an important effort to change how they see fitness and exercise. The truth is our body doesn’t think in terms of individual muscles, but rather how we connect them together. That is what produces movements and overall strength.

This isn’t just some DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training theory we throw around, believe it or not science is showing this to be true more and more. Specifically I wanted to discuss the work by Brazilian physician Claudio Gil Araujo, who’s work has gained a lot of attention lately.

Dr. Araujo was especially concerned with people as they age, he knew, reduced muscle power and loss of balance can greatly increase the risk of dangerous falls. Interesting since far too many people believe that older populations require cardiorespiratory training, but in truth they require strength and power!

Okay, so what is the big to do? In a study published in the European Journal of Cardiology, Araujo had more than 2,000 patients ages 51 to 80, all part of an exercise program at Clinimex Exercise Medicine Clinic in Rio de Janeiro, take the sitting-rising test (SRT).

People who scored fewer than eight points on the test, he found, were twice as likely to die within the next six years compared with those who scored higher; those who scored three or fewer points were more than five times as likely to die within the same period compared with those who scored more than eight points. Overall, each point increase in the SRT score was associated with a 21 percent decrease in mortality from all causes.

You began the test with 10 points, you lost a point for each time your hand, knee, forearm, or side of the leg touched the ground. Additionally you lost a point if your hand was placed on your thigh, or half of a point every time you lost balance. So, the overall goal was to stand with the following technique.

Interestingly, many people have taken this study to establish greater meaning in the turkish get-up. However, if you understand the study, the turkish get-up would have you lose six points or under (depending on some slight variances of technique), so not really ideal.

Others will practice the testing method as a strength exercise, it is important to remember that this was used as a screen and not a training method. That means we want balance between the two. That is why I came up with the Leg Sweep Get-up. You will see by the video that at worst we would be deducted only two points on the standard, but more importantly we have a bridge for people to work on these skills.

The Leg Sweep Get-up not only is designed to teach effective means of standing up from the ground, but helps us examine where we have weakness and lack of mobility. With this information we can more successfully design programs and help people improve their movement capability. It is really important for me that you differentiate, just getting better at the test and learning how to see what aspects of our fitness we really need to improve. One of the HUGE benefits of this DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training drill is that we can examine our movement qualities from side to side. Things also change when we put people under load.

Go ahead and try this drill and see how easily you are able to perform it or how challenging it can be. Finding the Leg Sweep Get-up can have ramifications for your squat, lunges, and even presses!

European Journal of Preventive Cardiology December 13, 2012 2047487312471759