How to Get Up Off the Floor Without Using Your Hands
I make every one of my clients get up off the ground without using their hands, regardless of age. You'd be surprised how many people in their 20s struggle with it. Most of them are in decent shape too, it's just they never practice it. Most common workouts don't have you get all the way down to the floor and back up multiple times. Whenever I have a client get up after a floor exercise and they use their hands, I say "Back down". After a few weeks they caught themselves because they're already tired from the workout and don't want to use more energy going back down and up again.
Getting down to the floor
The first place most people reach for something is on the way down, right at the bottom of the squat. Your legs are strong enough to get you there, they've just struggle to keep control at the end, so you either drop the rest of the way or put a hand down to catch yourself. That's the part to train first. Do a Bodyweight Squats Hold at the lowest point you can control and hold onto a doorframe or the back of a chair if you need to. 3 holds of 20 to 30 seconds is plenty. Keep your feet flat and your knees in line with your toes the whole time. Each week try to sit a little lower than you did the week before. Once you can sit at the bottom for 30 seconds without holding onto anything, getting down stops being the hard part.
Sitting on the floor
Most people go years without actually sitting on the floor because we have chairs and couches. When you finally get down there it feels awkward and a bit stiff, and that's really just your hips being out of practice.
Getting back up
This is the part everyone actually means when they talk about getting off the floor without your hands. The hard bit is one leg having to push you all the way up from a kneel, and most people have never done that once in a workout. Lunges get close, but you never start them from the floor. The one I use is the Bodyweight Kneeling Hold to Stand. Start kneeling on both knees, step one foot forward so you're half kneeling, then push through that front foot and stand all the way up. Go back down the same way, half kneeling first and then both knees, and switch legs. 10x on each leg. My clients will tell you it sounds simple enough until you do it a few times.
Focus on trying not to lean forward to get up. Your chest drops toward your knee, and your back ends up doing the work your leg should be doing, so stay tall the whole way. If you need to start with a hand on a chair or a bench next to you, then hands on your hips. Do 2 sets of 5 on each leg, 2 or 3 times a week, at the end of a session you're already doing. Once hands on hips feel easy, try the whole thing from sitting on the floor. The goal is to never need to put your hands on your knees to get up. Every program I write for my coaching clients has this in it somewhere, and if you want one built around where you're at right now, the plans are on the coaching page at findyourfitnessinc.com.
Finally, take a mental note when you get off the couch, chair and toilet. See if you're using your hands to get up. It could be an arm rest, counter or hands on your legs. Focus on not using anything to help you up. I know this sounds like something for 60-year-olds but believe me you do it without even thinking.
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