Test timer
Prop your phone up where you can see it and just do it. It says the rules aloud, counts 3, 2, 1, keeps the screen awake and stops on a tap. The result goes straight into your scorecard.
Dead hang. Grab the bar with both hands, arms straight, no straps. The clock starts when your feet leave the floor. Tap stop when a hand lets go.
Use a low bar with a clear landing under it.
What your time means
Your band compares your time with each test's table: one-foot balance against the average for your decade, the chair stand against CDC's line for your age, and the hang and plank against Gyroscope's training bands. A second or two between tries is normal, and a whole band is a real change.
Put the time into How strong am I? beside your other tests to find your weak link, and train it twice a week. Test again on the date the timer gives you, the same way, at the same time of day.
The four tests
Dead hang. Both hands, arms straight, no straps, from the moment your feet leave the floor until a hand lets go. Use a low bar with a clear landing. Bands are Gyroscope's training bands: under 20 seconds Building, 20 to 45 Fair, 45 to 60 Good, over a minute Strong.
Plank. On your forearms, one straight line, stopped at the first sag. Under 30 seconds Building, 30 to 60 Fair, 60 to 120 Good, longer Strong.
One foot, eyes closed. Barefoot, arms crossed, next to a counter, best of three. Scored against the average for your decade in 549 healthy adults (Springer 2007).
30-second chair stand. For 60 and up: a sturdy 17-inch chair against a wall, arms crossed, full stands in 30 seconds. Under CDC's line for your age is below average, which CDC counts as a fall risk.
See every test together in How strong am I?, and test again in eight weeks.
4 sources
- Gyroscope, Grip strength test: how long can you hang?gyrosco.pe
- Gyroscope, Plank benchmarkgyrosco.pe
- Springer BA and others, Normative values for the unipedal stance test with eyes open and closed, Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy, 2007geriatrictoolkit.missouri.edu
- CDC STEADI, Assessment: 30-Second Chair Stand, 2017nj.gov
