![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-1385920497.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe 1MSTS test is used by health professionals but can be done at home too (Picture: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tThe 1MSTS test is used by health professionals but can be done at home too (Picture: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re looking to get some insight into your fitness level<\/a>, hold off before forking out for a high-tech smart device.<\/p>\n The one-minute sit-to-stand test (1MSTS) is a reliable way to assess your functional exercise capacity<\/a> that\u2019s simple to do and doesn\u2019t cost a penny.<\/p>\n In fact, all you need is a chair and \u2013 as the name would suggest \u2013 a spare minute to give it a go.<\/p>\n Also as the name would suggest, the 1MSTS involves counting how many times you can sit down and stand up over the course of this time period.<\/p>\n Pulmonologist and respiratory medicine consultant Dr Ricardo Jos\u00e9<\/a> tells Metro it can be a \u2018useful clinic tool\u2019 when more complex testing isn\u2019t an option, explaining that it \u2018reflects the combined performance of the lungs, cardiovascular system, and skeletal muscles.\u2019<\/p>\n In a clinical setting, he monitors a patient\u2019s oxygen saturation, heart rate, and perceived breathlessness before and immediately after the test.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tHow to do the one-minute sit-to-stand test\t\t\t<\/p>\n Place a chair (ideally one without armrests) with the back against a wall to ensure it doesn\u2019t move around. When to avoid or stop the 1MSTS test<\/p>\n According to the Primary Care Respiratory Society<\/a>, you shouldn\u2019t take the test if you:<\/p>\n Have a health condition which contradindicates exervise of this nature You should also stop the test if at any time you feel unwell, have chest pain, dizziness or severe breathlessness.<\/p>\n Even if you don\u2019t have the kit to check your vitals at home though, number of repetitions is still a good indicator of your baseline response to exercise \u2014 as well how it compares against averages for your age and gender<\/a>.<\/p>\n Dr Jos\u00e9 explains: \u2018Broadly speaking, healthy adults under 40 years old<\/a> complete at least 40 stands in one minute.<\/p>\n \u2018Performance declines with age, with around 30 to 40 stands for middle-aged adults<\/a> and 20 to 30 stands for those over 70.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t However, if you want to see how your results match up in more detail, the median repetitions completed by each age group in a one-minute sit-to-stand test (according to a large-scale Swiss study<\/a> published in the International Journal of Public Health) are:<\/p>\n Age 20-24<\/p>\n Age 25-29<\/p>\n Age 30-34<\/p>\n Age 35-39<\/p>\n Age 40-44<\/p>\n Age 45-49<\/p>\n Age 50-54<\/p>\n Age 55-59<\/p>\n Age 60-64<\/p>\n Age 65-69<\/p>\n Age 70-74<\/p>\n Age 75-79<\/p>\n Potential issues with the 1MSTS test<\/p>\n Keep in mind, these scores don\u2019t account for a number of factors, including injury, pregnancy or respiratory issues like asthma, and there\u2019s no \u2018magic number\u2019 that defines whether you\u2019re healthy or unhealthy.<\/p>\n But if you struggle to reach your relevant average and there\u2019s no known reason, it might mean you need to work on your lower body muscles and endurance, or indicate underlying problems encompassing everything from flexibility to cardiovascular health that require medical intervention. <\/p>\n As Jugdeep Dhesi, consultant geriatrician at Guy\u2019s and St Thomas\u2019 NHS Foundation Trust explained to BBC Future<\/a>, it\u2019s not a hard-and-fast benchmark but a \u2018prompt\u2019 that helps you \u2018to do all the things that you can do to get better and stay better.\u2019<\/p>\n She added: \u2018I think it\u2019s a really good way of empowering people to take control of their own health.\u2019<\/p>\n Do you have a story to share?<\/p>\n Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow
\nSet a timer for one minute, making sure you can see it. Alternatively, have someone else time you.
\nSit in the chair with your feet flat on the floor and your knees at a 90\u00b0 angle.
\nPut your hands on your hips, cross your arms across your chest, or let them hang by your sides.
\nSet a timer for one minute, making sure you can see it. Alternatively, have someone else time you.
\nFully stand up from the chair without using your hands or arms for assistance, then sit back down. This counts as one sit-to-stand.
\nContinue sitting up and down on the chair as many times as you can until the minute timer is over, counting how many you\u2019ve done as you go.<\/p>\n
\nAre feeling especially unwell, tired, fatigued, dizzy, light-headed, unsteady or nauseous
\nHave an infection, or new or unusual joint or muscle pain
\nAre under the influence of drugs or alcohol<\/p>\n![\"Lonely](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-2205776282.jpg\")
\n\t\tAll you need is a chair and a spare minute (Picture: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
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