# Can you still touch your toes? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 1, 2010, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-touch-your-toes/541471 "2010-06-01T07:35:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-touch-your-toes/541471/21 "2010-06-01T14:06:00Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > How’d you pass PE? 😃 > > One assumption was that you had to do these things to pass a typical PE class from 1965-1990. > > I had to do a headstand in PE in 7th grade and we also had to do a tumble over 3 mats (~3 ft high). My last year in high school, I had to do 25 chin ups. In 6th grade, we had to run a mile in under 10 minutes. _Pass_ PE? You don’t _pass_ PE, you show up for it. All that crap is the President’s Fitness Test. A few months I was curious and looked it up - the president in question is Eisenhower. I believe one can extrapolate that the President’s Fitness Test is having a serious deleterious effect on America’s school children, as we’re way fatter now than when we started being presidentially fit. Thanks for bringing back the awful memories, dude. 🙂 (The funny thing is, when I was a kid the thing I was absolutely loathingly worst at was that damned mile run, and now I can run it no problem. The rest of the stuff, I still suck at - worse, actually, than I used to be because as a kid I was more active at least.) ---
**Author:** ![Ludy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Ludy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludy)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-touch-your-toes/541471/22 "2010-06-01T15:15:18Z")
I have never been a runner so that is still a no, and I have never even been asked to do a chin up, so probably not that. Sit ups, touching my toes, and bridge/bicycle are no problem. I started to do some push ups, but my knees started to hurt so I aborted that. So 3 for me. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-touch-your-toes/541471/23 "2010-06-01T15:19:26Z")
Everything but the head/hand-stand. I can place my palms on the ground. It hurts, and not for long, but I can do it. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-touch-your-toes/541471/24 "2010-06-01T15:47:31Z")
> [@Hoopy\_Frood](#): > > I never could touch my toes. This isn’t necessarily anything to do with fitness: some people have short hamstrings. I do. I can do it, but only if I bounce to it, yet I am pretty flexible in other ways, and am gaining strength through yoga. I did a straw poll amongst the women that I work with, and out of three, one can’t do it either and never has been able to. Nobody’s unfit or overweight and they’re all in their 20s. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-touch-your-toes/541471/25 "2010-06-01T16:18:24Z")
I can do the first 4 for sure. Was never able to do 5 or 6, not even when I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-touch-your-toes/541471/26 "2010-06-01T16:45:54Z")
Touching my toes was troublesome when I’m in middle school. No way, now. I’m in the best shape of my life or close to it, and I can blow away the others with kind of laughable ease, but my limit on stretching is about mid-shin. It’s a nice combination of short arms/long legs and general lack of flexibility. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-touch-your-toes/541471/27 "2010-06-01T17:12:07Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > This isn’t necessarily anything to do with fitness: some people have short hamstrings. I do. I can do it, but only if I bounce to it, yet I am pretty flexible in other ways, and am gaining strength through yoga. I did a straw poll amongst the women that I work with, and out of three, one can’t do it either and never has been able to. Nobody’s unfit or overweight and they’re all in their 20s. Yeah. Overall I’ve been in the overall best shape I’ve been probably in my whole life for the past 5 years or so now. (I started working out seriously about 7 years ago.) And I’m almost 34. About the only thing that my youth had over my current state is that I was younger. I’ve got more upper body strength, better endurance (though, probably not as fast of a sprint as I used to), and better core muscles. And my low body-fat percentage (12-13) is because I work at it, whereas in my youth my metabolism did most of the work. My cholesterol has gone up a bit since High School, and so had my blood pressure, but most of that is due to age. My cholesterol is still below 150, and my BP is within normal. (Though, it does push on the high end of normal, but my mom has hypertension, so I probably have a genetic predisposition for it.) But I still can’t touch my toes, and probably never will be able to. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-touch-your-toes/541471/28 "2010-06-01T17:30:10Z")
The knees can’t handle running, but I can do all the rest of the exercises. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-touch-your-toes/541471/29 "2010-06-01T17:54:03Z")
None of those would be a problem – except for the “touching the toes” thing. That’s something I’ve never been able to do. I just don’t bend that far at the waist. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-touch-your-toes/541471/30 "2010-06-01T19:42:52Z")
1: I’m pretty sure I could, if I had something to brace my feet. 2: I don’t know whether I qualify on this one: My push-ups are really sloppy (I sort of wriggle up in a wave), but I can do plenty of them. 3: I just tried, and I can, but it’s not nearly as easy as when I was in elementary school (when I could easily do palms flat on the floor). 4: I’m not very fast, but my endurance is great-- No problem. And I could also walk a lap around that field faster than most folks could jog it. 5: I’ve only ever once in my life been able to do chin-ups, that being shortly after I got back from a two-week canoeing trip. Just hanging from the bar, though, hardly even qualifies as exercise. 6: I can’t do a handstand, and I wouldn’t stay in a headstand for long, but the others are pretty easy. ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Potato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-touch-your-toes/541471/31 "2010-06-01T20:05:07Z")
I’m 25; I can do all of those with perfect ease except for touching my toes. I have _never_ been able to touch my toes without bending my knees just a little. I suppose it’s probably because I very seldom try, but whenever I do I get the feeling that I’m bending my legs the wrong way. So, what’s the secret? Is it something that will come eventually with repeated effort, or is there some special technique I should be employing? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![sevenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@sevenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sevenwood)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-touch-your-toes/541471/32 "2010-06-01T20:22:05Z")
Geez, they’re letting **babies** in here now. 🙂 I’m 62, and can do all of those. I entered “4-5” in the poll because I’m confident that I can’t do a handstand (and might break something if I fell over while trying), but now that I know what they are those bicycle/bridge exercises look easy. I spend an hour at the gym roughly five times a week, but am probably 15 pounds overweight (180 and should be no more than 165). I don’t stretch (and I really should), but do all of my weight exercises with full extensions. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-touch-your-toes/541471/33 "2010-06-01T20:28:28Z")
Never could do any of them. I have a mild form of MD, and they always made me try in gym class. No dice. Joe ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-touch-your-toes/541471/34 "2010-06-01T20:43:58Z")
I’m 29, and the only thing I’m not sure I could do is a handstand, if it had to be more than a second or so. I know I could do it with someone holding my legs so that I didn’t topple over. ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Potato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-touch-your-toes/541471/35 "2010-06-01T20:47:26Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > This isn’t necessarily anything to do with fitness: some people have short hamstrings. Ah, I missed this on the first read through. I wonder if I might have that problem. When I try to touch my toes, I get this sort of painful “stretching” sensation just behind and above my knees, and if I keep going they try to lock up in the other direction. Does that sound hamstring-related? Am I doomed never to reap the fruits of being able to grab my toes without bending my knees? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-touch-your-toes/541471/36 "2010-06-01T20:49:30Z")
I can’t do a handstand. I could never do a handstand, not even when I weighed 117 pounds and was trim as a fiddle and fit. I just don’t have that good balance! I can do a crab and I can do a bicycle still. And all the rest are fine. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-touch-your-toes/541471/37 "2010-06-01T20:57:01Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Out of this list, how many of these can you still do? (I’m assuming here that you went to a US public school sometime since 1960 when Kennedy instituted the national exercise standards.) > > 1. More than 10 sit-ups. > 2. More than 10 push-ups. > 3. Touch your toes. > 4. Run or jog 1 lap around a football field. > 5. At least one chin-up (girly-style acceptable) > 6. A headstand, handstand, bridge, or bicycle. > > I used to be quite the athlete in my younger days, and I had thoughts of playing pro baseball or pool. I haven’t really done anything in the past 20 years, but recently I have been having leg pains after walking for 20-30 minutes. I did a little stretching to help my calves, and I found out that touching my toes isn’t as easy as it used to be. I also seem unable to stretch as far as I used to. > > I’m just wondering if people still can do basic exercises anymore. I am 57 now, and can do all of them except the handstand, quite easily. I can even still do one handed push ups. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-touch-your-toes/541471/38 "2010-06-01T21:29:42Z")
> [@Stealth\_Potato](#): > > Ah, I missed this on the first read through. I wonder if I might have that problem. When I try to touch my toes, I get this sort of painful “stretching” sensation just behind and above my knees, and if I keep going they try to lock up in the other direction. Does that sound hamstring-related? Am I doomed never to reap the fruits of being able to grab my toes without bending my knees? Yeah, sounds like it. In my yoga class about 90% of the people can sit with their legs straight out in front of them, and bend over and put their forehead on their knees. Me and a few others try it but are generally sitting up at 70 degrees feeling a massive strain on the back of the thighs and the ass. The other one to test is lying flat on your back, keeping your shoulders on the floor, then raising your ass up over your head until your toes touch the floor [like this](http://comps.fotosearch.com/comp/BDX/BDX007/woman-yoga-plough_~bxp162513.jpg) (warning: do not twist while doing this, as it’s dangerous). I simply can’t do it, even with my legs bent. My feet hover about 5" from the floor when I try it. When I was 20 I couldn’t do it either. There are hamstring-lengthening exercises out there, but I’ve done a lot of research and nothing has a particularly good reputation. ---
**Author:** ![DiggitCamara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@DiggitCamara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiggitCamara)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-touch-your-toes/541471/39 "2010-06-01T21:31:52Z")
> [@Winston\_Smith](#): > > I’m 40 and I can do all of these. Are you me? Same answer here, though. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-touch-your-toes/541471/40 "2010-06-01T22:03:09Z")
I’m good on 1 through 4 for sure. I think I can still do a pull-up, but I haven’t tried in a while (and I’m at work now, so that would be awkward). I was never able to do more than maybe 3 even when I was young and fit. As for #6, I could never do a head/hand stand, but I’m pretty sure I could manage both the bicycle and bridge (now that someone posted pictures so I know what they are). I’ll have to give them both a try this evening. I’m male, 42 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-touch-your-toes/541471.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-touch-your-toes/541471.md?page=3)