How and why to practice the Barry get-up exercise | Peter Attia

In this clip, Peter and Beth Lewis demonstrate how to properly practice a strength and mobility exercise they have created to help older adults with getting up from a seated position on the floor. They call this exercise the Barry get-up.

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About:

The Peter Attia Drive is a deep-dive podcast focusing on maximizing longevity, and all that goes into that from physical to cognitive to emotional health. With over 60 million episodes downloaded, it features topics including exercise, nutritional biochemistry, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, mental health, and much more.

Peter Attia is the founder of Early Medical, a medical practice that applies the principles of Medicine 3.0 to patients with the goal of lengthening their lifespan and simultaneously improving their healthspan.

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[txgrandma]

This is such great advice. As a 66 yo who started working out with weights this calendar year because I could feel the decline, I can say it’s not too late. Take it slow but just keep working toward the goal. I can now drop to the floor & get myself back up to standing. Sometimes I need to use the floor but I am working to do it without that. The longer you wait, the more difficult it’s going to be. Move! Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[hammockmonk]

I'm 61 and athletic but I've started doing daily floor to standing hands-free exercises to preserve my ability to do this. Thanks!

[shawnbbfitness]

Beth is demonstrating some significant leg strength here!

I had my own idea of a get-up-from-floor exercise I was going to include in an exercise program I was developing, and I came across this. When I went to try it on my own, I realized that this is no joke to do without hands! I'm a personal trainer and I do 200 lunges every week, but this move without hands made me feel like a beginner, lol. Good stuff!

[monicamestas]

As a 68-year-old woman, I'm more flexible than most and 20 years ago was a pretty good yogi ;) I think in addition to relearning how to get off the floor (including your move) part of the problem is middle mass :( It feels like my belly "hinders, " shall I say, my getting into the proper positions (and I'm not huge). The last few years, I end up on all fours before I'm vertical. A really embarrassing time was trying to get off a curb at my grandson's parade. I was there alone and couldn't bring myself to ask for help, so waited till almost everyone was gone. Can't have that happen again. I will be working on this! Thank you!

[lseh]

It’d be great to show you teach an elderly person. I cannot imagine my mom being able to do this. Thank you, I myself will do this exercise (57)

[Gref]

You don't know me Mr Attia, but you inspired me to excercise every day - noone could do that for 31 years of my life.
Always hated any kind of movement. Being a fat kid, fat teenager isn't pleasant. Now I'm 35 kg (about 70 pounds) lighter after a year of Rybelsus (Semaglutide) and 6 months of excercise in zone 2 thanks to your podcasts. I excercise since Christmas and can't even begin to describe how great I feel. Muscles got bigger, fat melted away. I ruck, I do zone 2 on stationary bike while listening to your podcasts, I walk 5 days a week, I practice balance movements etc. It's awesome. I was even able to build muscle while on semaglutide thanks to your short on Youtube related to rapid muscle loss in patients on that drug.

I hope you never feel doubt about your work, cuz you shouldn't. Thank you.

Sorry for my grammar, not an American :)

[lindaa]

Please do this with a person who real problems getting off the floor.

[playpianotoday]

I’m so happy!! I could do this straight away with no hands (I tried before getting to the end of the video and seeing Peter’s warning about warming up). I’m 66! 😊

[robertphillips]

At 73, I've been getting up off the floor every morning for a couple of years now. Definitely a "hands-aided" version but no other support. Glad to hear Peter's warning about being properly flexible and warmed up for the full version! The step-up exercise seems to be a good complement for the "get up Barry"

[johnpecoraro]

This is very good information and accurately demonstrates the proper flow. I am a 75 year young retired strength and conditioning coach for over 45 years. I am still actively exercising and in my opinion, these two know what they are doing and are able to clearly communicate the proper sequence to the movement. Great job!!

[michellewood]

Wanted to thank you today. I've been so close to being able to do this for about a week. I have bone on bone OA in both knees and one that is prone to dislocate😊 upon muscle stress, but today I cautiously went for it. I was careful of my form and used my hands. I did it🎉

[annarepetto]

During a break while mountain biking, my husband stood straight up from sitting cross legged on the ground when he sustained a bucket handle meniscus tear. It was a loud pop! He was 62 at the time. He has managed to avoid surgery, so far, but he has adopted mobility movements into his workouts, like this exercise, to avoid it happening again. Thanks for this content!

[littlebeirutproperties]

I'm about to turn 70 and have been doing this for several months. Prior to learning this move, I was doing the stand from one knee down on a foil board. Add an unstable base (a board floating on water) to this portion of the Barry get-up and you have a true level 4 challenge. Though it wasn't touched upon here, it is important to practice this from both sides.

[molimo]

Very nice. I try to do this….. I am flexible for a 190 pound woman, but it’s hard to get my butt around (& I’ve been practicing yoga for 10 years, have a knee replacement and some foot surgery). It would be nice if they showed one of these videos for 70 year old, mature-sized people, on slippery floors. That is my situation!

[Automation_Control_Tuning]

Managed it straight into no hands, but noticed a significant difference from left leg forward to right! I expected a certain level of asymmetry, but not that much. Great exercise, thank you.

[wafflesca]

I love this exercise, START EARLY, I remember reading notes from a doctor from India, he discovered that older patients who could not stand without the use of hands had a life expectancy of 6 years…

[breakdown]

A much simpler way to get up:assume position with hands and knees on floor.Pull one leg up under you, place hands on that knee and push up.Practice going up and down on that one leg.Then switch legs.These are called. HALF SQUATS, used in getting back up on ice, or skating in quad skates.Wonderful stretch for the back, you can feel it.

[ST-ppfk]

These short exercise clips are absolutely brilliant. Thank you to both of you.

[rkrao]

Shorter versions of this content is really good, easy to understand and digest. Keep them coming

[speaknup]

Now do this for more typical conditions of seniors needing to get up off the floor. Typical limitations such as for those who cannot tolerate putting weight on their knees because of previous knee replacement surgery, for those lacking the necessary leg strength to be able to push up to standing with just one leg, or for those lacking the necessary flexibility. Also, the balance point for males is different than for females.