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For fitness aficionados, incorporating squats into their regimen is a no-brainer. This dynamic exercise engages major muscle groups and offers a plethora of benefits. Not only do squats bolster your core and lower body strength, but they also improve balance, mobility, posture, enhance bone density, and support joint health. That’s just scratching the surface! Squats also ramp up overall functional strength and give your metabolism an invigorating lift. If achieving peak physical condition is your aim, squats are essential. We’re about to reveal the benchmark that signifies your strength has reached an elite level.
“As we age, lower-body strength tends to wane due to changes in muscle tissue, mobility, and coordination,” states Kevin Snodgrass, Vivo’s lead trainer. The silver lining is that squats, when executed with correct form and the right resistance, can slow, or even reverse, this natural decline.”
Why Are Squats a Reliable Indicator of Lower-Body Strength?
Squats are an excellent indicator of strength in aging adults because, for one, they channel real-life movement.
“Any time we get up off the couch or toilet, rise from a car seat, or stand up from the floor, we’re essentially performing a squat movement pattern. Our ability to perform squats directly translates into improved independence and ease with these real-world activities,” says Snodgrass.
In addition, squats engage every major muscle group in your lower body—the quads, hamstrings, glutes, core, hip, and lower leg muscles.
“Building strength in these muscles doesn’t just improve squat performance. It enhances joint mobility, reduces joint pain from conditions like osteoarthritis, lowers fall risk, and boosts overall lower-body function,” Snodgrass tells us.
And finally, squats promote healthy joints when done properly.
“Difficulty performing squats often highlights reduced strength, limited mobility, and challenges with activities like rising from a chair unassisted,” Snodgrass explains. “Proper squat progressions improve ankle mobility, knee tracking, hip alignment, and core stability—making them one of the most effective movements for maintaining joint health and functional ability.”
There are two main ways you can measure squat strength: load and volume. Below, Snodgrass breaks down each.
Volume: 30-Second Sit-to-Stand Test
“Part of the Rikli-Jones Senior Fitness Test, this assessment counts how many times someone can rise from and return to a chair (17″) in 30 seconds,” Snodgrass tells us.
This test is very reliable because squat depth is standardized by the height of the chair.
A “very high score” means being able to perform 20+ reps, while “elite performance” means completing 26+ reps.
Load: Barbell Back Squat Standards
If you’re a regular gym-goer, the benchmarks below are for you.
- Women: 100% of your body weight = extremely strong
- Men: 125% of your body weight = extremely strong
- Elite lifters: 150 to 200% of your body weight (typically the result of years of training)
“Hitting either benchmark—20+ sit-to-stands or a bodyweight squat—signals exceptional real-world strength, mobility, balance, and neuromuscular function,” Snodgrass says.
