What is a good chair stand score for a woman in her 50s?

There are no published norms for women under 60. The Rikli and Jones norms start at 60, where the middle half of women aged 60 to 64 managed 12 to 17 stands. Under 60, use your own first score as the baseline.

How long should a woman of 50 be able to stand on one leg?

In Springer and others (2007), women aged 50 to 59 averaged a best time of about 41 seconds with eyes open, out of a 45-second maximum.

How often should I retest?

Every six to eight weeks is enough to see change. Use the same set-up each time.

Strength test for women 40 to 60: four tests you can do at home

Updated 29 October 2026

Four home tests give a fair picture of your strength: the 30-second chair stand for your legs, push-ups to fatigue for your upper body, single-leg balance with eyes open, and carrying two loaded shopping bags up a flight of stairs. Write down your scores, train for six to eight weeks, and test again. Beating your own score is what counts.

Before you start

Do the tests on one day, rested, in flat shoes, with someone nearby for the balance and stairs tests if you can. Warm up first with a few minutes of walking and marching on the spot.

Test 1: 30-second chair stand

Set up the chair
Use a chair without arms, about 43 cm (17 inches) high, pushed against a wall so it cannot slide.
Sit and cross your arms
Sit in the middle of the seat, feet flat and about shoulder width apart, arms crossed at the wrists and held to your chest.
Stand and sit for 30 seconds
On go, stand all the way up, then sit all the way down. Repeat as many times as you can in 30 seconds. Count each full stand.

This is the test from the Senior Fitness Test by Rikli and Jones. Its published norms start at age 60, not 40. For women aged 60 to 64, the middle half of scores was 12 to 17 stands, according to the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab summary. There are no matching published norms for women in their 40s or 50s, so we do not give you one. Use your own first score as the baseline. More stands, with good form, means stronger legs.

Test 2: Wall or knee push-ups to fatigue

Pick your version
Wall push-ups if floor push-ups are new to you, knee push-ups if you can already do a few. Use the same version every time you retest.
Set your body straight
Hands just wider than your shoulders. Keep a straight line from your head to your knees (or heels, against the wall).
Count to fatigue
Lower until your chest is close to the wall or floor, then push back up. Count every rep with good form, at a steady pace, until you cannot do another or your form breaks.

A higher count means more upper body strength and endurance. Push-up norms by age do exist, but the published tables we found disagree with each other, so we do not quote one. Compare yourself with yourself.

Test 3: Single-leg balance, eyes open

Stand near support
Stand next to a wall or the back of a sofa, close enough to touch it if you wobble.
Lift one foot
Cross your arms over your chest and lift one foot off the floor. Start the timer as the foot leaves the floor.
Stop the clock
Stop when you uncross your arms, the raised foot touches down or the standing foot moves, or at 45 seconds. Do it three times on each leg and keep your best.

This one has norms for your age. In a study of 549 healthy adults by Springer and others (2007), using the same 45-second limit, the average best time for women was:

Women, eyes open, arms crossed, maximum 45 seconds. Springer and others, 2007.
Age	Average best of 3, eyes open
40 to 49	42.1 seconds
50 to 59	40.9 seconds
60 to 69	30.4 seconds

In a separate study of people aged 51 to 75, those who could not stand on one leg for 10 seconds had a higher risk of dying over the next seven years, as the University of Bristol reports. That is a link, not proof that poor balance is the cause, but it is a good reason to train it. More on that in How to improve your balance after 40.

Test 4: Shopping bag stair carry

Load two bags
Put the same weight in each bag, for example tins or bottles. Start light. Write down what you used.
Carry them up one flight
Hold a bag in each hand, stand tall, and walk up one flight of stairs at a steady pace. If you need the handrail, carry one bag and note that you did.
Note how it felt
Write down the weight, the time it took if you want, and how hard it felt from 1 (easy) to 10 (could not do more).

There are no published norms for this one. It is here because it is the kind of strength daily life asks for, and the NHS counts carrying heavy shopping as muscle-strengthening activity. A better score is a heavier load, or the same load feeling easier.

What to do with your scores

Your first scores are a starting line, not a grade. Strength train on at least two days a week, as the UK guidelines advise, eat enough protein (the protein calculator gives you a number), and retest in six to eight weeks using the same chair, wall and bags.

Questions people also ask

What is a good chair stand score for a woman in her 50s?: There are no published norms for women under 60. The Rikli and Jones norms start at 60, where the middle half of women aged 60 to 64 managed 12 to 17 stands. Under 60, use your own first score as the baseline.
How long should a woman of 50 be able to stand on one leg?: In Springer and others (2007), women aged 50 to 59 averaged a best time of about 41 seconds with eyes open, out of a 45-second maximum.
How often should I retest?: Every six to eight weeks is enough to see change. Use the same set-up each time.

Got your scores?

Put them into Ojafi's strength check and get a plan that starts where you are.

Enter my scores

Sources

Ojafi gives general food and exercise guidance. It is not medical advice and does not diagnose or treat any condition. See our medical disclaimer.