The five-times sit-to-stand: arms folded across your chest, stand up fully from a chair and sit down five times, as fast as you safely can. Time from "go" until you're fully standing the fifth time. Use a sturdy chair without wheels, pushed against a wall, and have someone nearby.
- Normal by age: slower than 11.4 s at 60–69, 12.6 s at 70–79 or 14.8 s at 80–89 is worse than average (Bohannon, 2006).
- 12 s or more: low physical performance in the Asian sarcopenia guideline, AWGS 2019.
- 15 s: the cut-off that best picked out people who went on to fall repeatedly, in 2,735 adults aged 65 and over (Buatois et al., 2008). The European sarcopenia guideline uses over 15 s.
A slow time isn't a diagnosis, but it's a reason to look at leg strength and falls with a doctor or physiotherapist. Read the full guides: Sarcopenia self-check and Fall risk at home →
