{"id":37760,"date":"2025-08-01T08:48:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T08:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/37760\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T08:48:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T08:48:10","slug":"4-bodyweight-tests-that-reveal-fitness-age-40","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/37760\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Bodyweight Tests That Reveal Fitness Age 40+"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your fitness age<\/a> doesn\u2019t always match the number of candles you blow out on your birthday cake. Rather, it showcases how efficiently your body handles basic movement, says Stewart Parnacott, PhD CPT, chief clinical officer at Ready Wellness. For instance, let\u2019s compare two 50-year-olds: One may effortlessly hop off the ground, while the other might struggle to stand up from a chair. To help determine your true fitness age after 40, Stewart shares four essential bodyweight tests<\/a> that gauge your strength<\/a>, stability, and control.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter 40, the things that start to matter most are pretty simple. Muscle. Balance. How your joints move. And how fast your body can react and recover,\u201d Stewart explains. \u201cStrength is part of it, sure, but it is not just that. Control and stability matter just as much. Most people don\u2019t realize that until they feel it slipping.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Stewart, the four tests below together will give you a clear understanding of your fitness age.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey show if you\u2019re holding onto strength, coordination, and mobility\u2014or where you\u2019re falling behind,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd they make it obvious where to start if you want to feel younger than your birth certificate says.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tDeep Squat<\/p>\n

\"womanShutterstock<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you can sit [in this position] without tipping forward or grabbing for balance, your hips, knees, and ankles are working together. Most people can\u2019t. Usually, it is the ankles or core that give out,\u201d Stewart explains.<\/p>\n

Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart.
\nBend your knees and squat as low as you\u2019re comfortably able to, keeping your chest tall and heels down.
\nHold for 30 seconds.<\/p>\n

If You Can Do These 5 Push-ups at 50, Your Upper Body Strength Is Elite<\/a><\/p>\n

\tSingle-Leg Balance<\/p>\n

\"OneShutterstock<\/p>\n

\u201c[This exercise] sounds easy until you try it. When it is shaky, it shows the stabilizers and the nervous system are not firing like they used to,\u201d Stewart points out.<\/p>\n

Stand tall.
\nBalance on one foot without holding onto anything for support.
\nHold the position for 30 seconds without wobbling.<\/p>\n

This 10-Minute Standing Routine Builds More Strength Than Gym Workouts After 50<\/a><\/p>\n

\tPushups<\/p>\n

\"matureShutterstock<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you can [complete the prescribed number of reps with solid form], you still have decent upper-body strength and core control,\u201d Stewart says. \u201cLess than five, and you\u2019re losing muscle endurance quicker than you should be.\u201d6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e<\/p>\n

Begin in a high plank position with your hands under your shoulders and your body straight.
\nBend your elbows and lower your chest toward the floor.
\nMaintain a long, straight body as you lower.
\nPress back up, straightening your arms.
\nComplete 10 smooth reps, going through the full range of motion\u2014chest down and arms locked at the top.<\/p>\n

If You Can Do This Many Squats Without Stopping at 40, Your Lower Body Is Decades Younger<\/a><\/p>\n

\tSit-to-Stand<\/p>\n

\"MiddleShutterstock<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you can pull [the sit-to-stand] off, your strength, balance, and flexibility are all in good shape. If not, that\u2019s the first thing to train,\u201d says Stewart.<\/p>\n

Begin seated cross-legged on the floor.
\nStand up completely with as little support from your hands as possible.
\nSit back down with control and without using your hands.<\/p>\n

Alexa Mellardo<\/p>\n

\t\tAlexa is a content strategist, editor, and writer based in Greenwich, Connecticut. She has 11+ years of experience creating content for travel, lifestyle, fitness, wellness, F&B, home, and celeb news publications.\t\t\t\t\tRead more about Alexa <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your fitness age doesn\u2019t always match the number of candles you blow out on your birthday cake. Rather,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37761,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[1167,6647,102,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-37760","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-exercise","9":"tag-fitness","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom","13":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}