Are You Aging Well? 3+1 Simple Tests to Find Out

Take a moment to consider the last decade of your life. What type of physical shape do you intend to be in? And what are the activities you want to be able to continue doing?

There are a few basic tests you can give yourself to gauge your current strength, power, cardiovascular fitness and balance -- all of which will influence your physical abilities going forward. These tests are indicative of your longevity and independent living.

They're indicators for activities you want to be able to do in old age, like getting down on the floor to play with grandchildren, walking around Green Lake, playing a sport, or traveling and exploring a new location by foot.

Here are the first three tests to assess where you currently stand. If you don’t perform as well as you hoped, research shows that you can improve your performance by increasing and being more consistent with your exercise.

The video below shows you how to perform these tests (recommended). Or, you can keep on reading.

1. Sitting-Rising Test

The test evaluates strength, power, balance and flexibility.

The goal with this assessment is to go from standing to sitting on the floor, and back up again, using the least amount of support as possible.

The test is scored on a 10-point scale -- five points for sitting down and five points for standing up -- and you lose a point for every hand, knee or other body part you use to help yourself. Subtract a half point if you’re unsteady or lose your balance.

Anyone over 60 who gets an 8 is thought to be in good shape. 

1.5.  Chair Stand Test

If you can't perform the above test, perhaps the Chair Stand Test (aka the sit-to-stand test) is something you can do.

It's a simple way to measure lower-body functional strength, balance, and endurance. Primarily utilized for older adults, the test serves as a key indicator of your independence in daily activities and is a screening tool for fall risk assessment.

There are two types of this test.

• The 30-Second Chair Stand Test: Measures endurance and power by counting the total number of full repetitions completed within a 30-second time limit.
• The 5-Times Sit-to-Stand Test: Measures pure functional strength and dynamic balance by timing how long it takes to complete exactly 5 full repetitions.

2. Walking Speed Assessment

How fast you walk at your normal gait is an important indicator of functional ability and vitality.

To assess your walking speed, measure out four meters (about 13 feet) on a straight, flat surface, and time how long it takes you to cover the distance. Walk at your normal speed. People of all ages should aim for a gait of at least 1.2 meters per second, a little over three seconds total, according to some researchers.

It's a good idea  to retest yourself every few months. A change in the value can be a warning sign. While walking feels like a simple task, it requires proper functioning of the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, vestibular (balance), sensory and nervous systems. A slower gait could indicate that there's a problem in any one of those systems that may need to be investigated.

3. Grip Strength Test

A grip strength test is a helpful indicator for how active you are in your daily life. It's a simple, inexpensive method for assessing risk for all-cause death, cardiovascular death, and cardiovascular disease. You need adequate grip strength in order to maintain independence with household tasks.

When you’re using your hands more, it’s probably because you’re doing things more -- carrying groceries, opening the car door, pulling a heavy dish out of the oven, or picking up a grandchild. All of these things increase your grip strength.

A doctor or physical therapist typically assesses grip strength using a device called a dynamometer. Or, you can purchase a dynamometer online.

If you don't have access to a dynamometer, try walking for 60 seconds while holding a heavy weight in each hand. Start with lighter weights and work your way up to heavier ones over time. Stop if you experience hand or body pain. Some practitioners think a 65-year-old man could carry two 40-pound dumbbells and an 85-year-old two 25-pounders. If you can't do this much weight, don't worry about it; each person is different.

4. Single-Leg Stand Test

Just as strength naturally declines with age, so does balance. And that raises the risk for falls -- a major cause of injury and death in older adults.

Testing your balance is as simple as standing on one leg. Aim for a minimum of 10 seconds on at least one side. For an added challenge, you might try this with your eyes closed, or with your arms crossed.

But don't be too surprised if you can't balance on one foot at all, or you can only balance for 1-3 seconds.

Synthesizing across studies, roughly 80–90% of men aged 65–69 can balance on one leg for at least 10 seconds, declining to approximately 55–76% for those in their 70s and dropping below 56% after age 80. 

Inability to complete the 10-second test is independently associated with an 84% higher all-cause mortality after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, and comorbidities.

One-leg balance stance declines fastest of all physical measures. Duration of balance deteriorates at approximately 2.2 seconds per decade, exceeding the decline rate for grip strength, knee strength, and gait measurements.

This why the balance test is so important for assessing your future health prospects.

It's Never Too Late to Improve Your Physical Fitness

If you think you've performed poorly on these tests, don't worry about it. It's just data that is telling you that you have some work to do.

Your job is to get busy with a program to improve your physical abilities.

It’s never too early to begin training for your later years. You naturally lose strength and muscle mass with age, so you want your starting point to be as good as possible. Getting a head start on training is “money in the bank".

It’s also never too late to improve your physical abilities. Even men in their 90s can make gains in strength and function with a modest amount of activity.

For example, in the video below, you can see some very simple agility exercises you can do at home to improve your reaction time.

A Brief Word about Sarcopenia (Muscle Loss)

For older men, sarcopenia is a serious threat to continued functional health and longevity.

It is imperative that you take consistent steps to slow down your rate of muscle loss. If you don't, the consequences can be devastating.

A primary area to focus on is your lower body strength. Below is a video describing a few home exercises you can do safely at home.

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