Take a moment today to try these quick tests and discover how to maintain your strength even after hitting the 50-year milestone.

As we age, maintaining strength is crucial, but it requires vigilance and action. Having spent my entire career in fitness—as a group exercise instructor, a personal trainer, and now at the helm of TRAINFITNESS offering Pilates instructor courses—I’ve seen many people over 50 ignore early signs of waning strength until routine tasks become challenging. Here, I present four straightforward tests to assess your current strength levels and guide you on how to retain and improve them.

These strength tests aren’t about stacking yourself up against others; they’re about gaining a truthful understanding of your current physical state so you can take proactive measures before it becomes a pressing issue.

Why You Need To Test Your Strength

Once we hit 50, our bodies naturally start losing muscle mass at approximately 1% per year, unless we actively combat it. While it might not seem like much at first glance, over a decade, this could mean a 10% reduction in muscle mass. Even more concerning is that our power—the ability to exert force quickly—declines at twice that rate. This decrease is why getting up from a low chair becomes more difficult and why we struggle to catch ourselves when we stumble.

Our bodies lose muscle at around 1% a year after we reach 50 – unless we work against it. That doesn’t really sound significant until you realise that over a decade, we’re looking at 10% less muscle mass. Even worse, we lose power (our ability to generate force quickly) at twice that rate. This is the reason that standing up from a low chair gets harder and why we can’t catch ourselves as quickly if we trip.

These tests reveal what’s actually happening in your body rather than what you hope is happening. People tell themselves they’re still pretty active while avoiding movements that have become difficult. Testing removes that self-deception. When you can’t complete a movement you should be able to do, it’s information you need.

The other critical thing these tests show is asymmetry. Most people have no idea that one side of their body is significantly weaker than the other until they test it. This imbalance is a major predictor of falls and injuries. Your body compensates so well that you don’t notice until something goes wrong.

Testing also gives us a baseline, something that we can benchmark our progress against. Without numbers it’s quite easy to convince ourselves that nothing is changing and that our efforts aren’t working. Having this data allows us to re-test in 6-8 weeks and see measurable improvements, reinforcing what we’re doing is actually working.

Single Leg Stand

This tests your lower body strength, ankle stability, hip control, and your body’s balance systems (inner ear, vision, and proprioception). It also reveals any strength differences between your legs.

How to do it:

• Stand next to a wall or sturdy surface you can grab if needed
• Lift one foot about 6 inches off the ground
• Keep your raised knee pointing forward, not drifting out to the side
• Your standing leg should be straight but not locked
• Arms can be out to the sides or crossed over your chest
• Keep your eyes open and focused on a point ahead of you
• Time how long you can hold this position before you need to put your foot down or grab the wall

How to score it:

• Exceptional: 30 seconds or more on each leg with your eyes open
• Good: 20-30 seconds
• Needs work: Under 10 seconds indicates a real problem that needs addressing immediately

Common mistakes to avoid:

The biggest mistake is letting your standing hip drop or shift sideways. Your hips should stay level. Another common error is gripping your toes into the floor – your weight should be distributed across your entire foot. Don’t hold your breath either. If you can’t breathe normally, you’re too tense.

Chair Rise Test

 

This exercise tests your quadriceps strength, hip power, core stability, and your body’s ability to transfer force from your lower body through your trunk. It’s one of the best predictors of whether you’ll maintain independence as you age.

How to do it:

• Use a sturdy chair without arms, roughly 17 inches high (standard dining chair height)
• Sit with your feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart
• Cross your arms over your chest
• Stand up fully without using your hands, then sit back down with control
• That’s one rep
• See how many you can complete in 30 seconds

How to score it:

• Exceptional (men): 19 or more reps
• Exceptional (women): 15 or more reps
• Needs work (men): Can’t manage 12 reps
• Needs work (women): Can’t manage 10 reps

If you fall below these minimums, this needs to become a training priority.

Common mistakes to avoid:

The most common mistake is rocking forward to give yourself momentum before standing. Your torso should rise smoothly without excessive forward lean. Another error is dropping back into the chair rather than lowering with control. You should be strong enough to pause just above the seat if needed. Don’t let your knees cave inward as you stand – they should track in line with your toes.

Wall Push-Up

This tests your chest, shoulder, and tricep strength, plus your ability to stabilise your core under load. It shows whether your upper body has enough strength for daily pushing tasks like getting up from the floor or pushing open heavy doors.

How to do it:

• Stand arm’s length from a wall
• Place your hands on the wall slightly wider than shoulder-width, roughly at chest height
• Your body should form a straight line from head to heels
• Lower your chest toward the wall by bending your elbows, keeping them at about 45 degrees to your body (not flared straight out)
• Push back to the starting position
• See how many you can complete with good form

How to score it:

• Exceptional: 20 or more reps with solid form (both men and women)
• Good: 15-20 reps
• Needs work: Can’t manage 10 clean reps

Common mistakes to avoid:

Most people let their hips sag or stick their bottom out, breaking the straight line from head to heels. Your core should stay tight throughout. Another mistake is not going deep enough – your nose should nearly touch the wall at the bottom. Don’t shrug your shoulders up toward your ears. Keep your shoulder blades pulled back and down.

Farmer’s Carry Hold

This tests your grip strength, core stability, shoulder stability, and your ability to maintain posture under load. Grip strength is one of the strongest predictors of overall health and longevity in older adults.

How to do it:

• Hold a weight in each hand (start with 20-25% of your body weight split between both hands)
• Stand tall with the weights at your sides
• Your shoulders should be back and down, not hunched
• Core engaged
• Simply hold this position
• Time how long you can maintain good posture before you need to set the weights down

How to score it:

• Exceptional: 60 seconds or more
• Good: 45-60 seconds
• Needs work: Under 30 seconds indicates weak grip strength and poor core endurance that will affect many daily activities

Common mistakes to avoid:

The most common mistake is letting your shoulders round forward or hike up toward your ears. You should look composed, not like you’re struggling. Another error is holding your breath – you need to breathe normally throughout. Don’t let your torso lean to one side. If you can’t stay upright and symmetrical, the weight is too heavy.

What Your Results Mean

If you hit the exceptional marks on all four tests, you’re in the top tier for your age group. Your strength and balance are protecting you against the decline that catches most people. Keep doing what you’re doing.

If you’re in the good range across most tests, you’re maintaining functional strength but there’s room to improve. You’re probably not struggling with daily tasks yet, but you’re closer to the threshold than you think. This is the time to be proactive.

Struggling with one or two tests while doing fine on others reveals specific weaknesses. This is actually useful information. If your chair rises are solid but your single leg stand is poor, your strength is there but your balance system needs work. If you can hold the farmer’s carry but struggle with wall push-ups, your core and grip are strong but your upper body pushing strength is lacking.

If you’re below the minimum thresholds on three or more tests, you’re in the danger zone. This isn’t about fitness goals anymore – it’s about maintaining independence. You’re at higher risk of falls, injuries, and losing the ability to do basic tasks. This needs to become a priority immediately.

The single leg stand is particularly telling. If you can’t hold it for at least 10 seconds on each leg, your fall risk is significantly elevated. This should be treated as an urgent warning sign.

How To Build Your Strength Safely

Start with the movements you can actually do rather than the ones you wish you could do. If you can’t hold a single leg stand for 10 seconds, begin by standing on one leg while holding onto a counter or wall. Build up the duration before you worry about letting go. If you can’t manage chair rises without using your hands, use your hands but gradually reduce how much you’re relying on them.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

For wall push-ups, move closer to the wall to reduce the difficulty. The closer you stand, the less bodyweight you’re pushing. As you get stronger, step further back. For the farmer’s carry, start with lighter weights. Even 5-10 pounds in each hand is enough to begin building the strength you need.

Frequency matters more than intensity when you’re starting out. Doing these movements three times a week with lighter loads or easier variations will produce better results than one hard session that leaves you sore for days. Your nervous system needs regular practice to improve coordination and strength.

Progress gradually. Add one or two reps each week, or add 5 seconds to your hold times. These small increases accumulate faster than you’d expect. After 6-8 weeks of consistent work, most people are shocked at how much their performance improves.

Don’t ignore rest days. Your body adapts and gets stronger during recovery, not during the workout itself. If you’re over 50, you need at least one full rest day between strength sessions. Two sessions a week is enough to see real progress. Three is ideal if you’re recovering well.

If you’re struggling across the board, working with a qualified trainer for even a few sessions can make a huge difference. They’ll spot form issues you can’t see yourself and give you progressions that match your current level. Most people try to do too much too soon and either hurt themselves or get discouraged. A good trainer prevents both.