Key numbers
46–75
Ages of the adults in the Araújo sitting-rising mortality study
What Systematic recommends
Where to start
- Use a stable sitting surface, such as a household chair or ottoman, around standard household-chair height, with bare feet, stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and parallel, and maintain full barefoot contact with the floor and awareness of the tripod points of contact through each foot.
- Hold a household object weighing approximately 5–10 pounds, such as a water bottle or book, in front of your sternum as a counterweight, keep the elbows slightly bent, keep the counterweight extended in front of you to help maintain a more vertical spine, the farther the counterweight is held in front of you, the more assistance it provides in helping you maintain a more vertical torso, keep the counterweight under 10 pounds.
- Keep your feet flat on the ground throughout the movement, allow the knees to travel over the feet as you lower toward the chair or target surface under control, lightly touch the surface rather than sitting down fully, think of the surface as if there were thumbtacks on it, make only a light touch before standing back up, stand all the way back up after each repetition, take approximately 3 seconds to lower, pause briefly at the bottom for about 1 second, take approximately 3 seconds to return to standing.
- 3 sets, 3–5 squats per set, use a 3-second lowering phase, pause for approximately 1 second at the bottom, use a 3-second return to standing, rest approximately 1 minute between sets, stop and reassess if you feel pain or instability, or if you are no longer able to maintain full-foot contact, a controlled tempo, or a comfortable range of motion.
Condensed from the published Development Pathway (The Sitting-Rising Test: Counterbalance Tempo Target Squat). This is a starting point, not a training program or medical advice.
What the researchers tracked
Araújo and colleagues followed a prospective cohort of middle-aged and older men and women, aged 46 to 75, and looked at their Sitting-Rising Test scores alongside natural and cardiovascular mortality. Lower scores were associated with higher natural and cardiovascular mortality.
Because the study used the Sitting-Rising Test itself, it is direct outcome evidence for the test in the population studied, not evidence borrowed from a related capacity.
What the test reflects
The Sitting-Rising Test does not identify one isolated muscle or joint. It captures the combined physical capacity needed to move between the floor and standing with minimal outside support.
What the finding does not show
It is an association, not proof that a low score causes the difference in mortality. It does not give anyone an individual mortality prediction.
Systematic added a bilateral configuration to the test. The study supports the Sitting-Rising Test itself but does not independently validate that added bilateral configuration as a mortality predictor.
The evidence
Each cited source is labeled according to how it supports the particular claim on this page. Direct test evidence, underlying-capacity findings and population reference values are distinguished from Systematic-defined protocols and standards. Historical development notes are retained internally rather than presented as public evidence. A study of an underlying capacity is never presented as validation of the Systematic test itself.
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Direct test evidence
Araújo et al. (2026; published online 2025). Sitting–rising test scores predict natural and cardiovascular causes of deaths in middle-aged and older men and women. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
What it found. In a prospective cohort of middle-aged and older adults aged 46 to 75, lower Sitting-Rising Test scores were associated with higher natural and cardiovascular mortality.
What it does not show. It shows an association, not cause. It gives no individual mortality prediction and does not validate Systematic's added bilateral configuration.
The Systematic Healthspan Assessment is a physical baseline. It is not a diagnosis, and it does not estimate a biological age, a disease risk or a lifespan.