Chair stand test
Also called: sit to stand test, 5 times sit to stand, chair rise test, Sit-to-stand test, 30-second chair stand test
What it means
The chair stand test measures leg strength and balance by timing how fast or how many times you can stand up from a chair without using your hands.
Strong legs help prevent the falls that often lead to fractures, so this test is a quick way to track your fall risk alongside bone density.
The chair stand test, also called the sit-to-stand test, asks you to rise from a chair without using your arms, either once or as many times as possible in 30 seconds, or timed for five repetitions. It's a simple way to check leg strength and overall functional ability without any special equipment.
This matters because strong legs and hips help you get up safely, catch yourself if you stumble, and avoid the falls that cause most fragility fractures, especially hip fractures. It's often used alongside grip strength and Timed Up and Go to build a fuller picture of fall risk and muscle function, which matters just as much as bone density for staying injury-free.
If your results are weaker than expected, it doesn't mean something is wrong with your bones specifically — it's a cue to talk with your doctor or a physical therapist about resistance training, balance work, or other ways to build leg strength and reduce fall risk over time.
How sure is this?
Graded Established Science: Supported by broad scientific consensus and decades of research. Read each study with its grade in mind. One study is a piece of the picture, not the whole of it.
Timing how fast you stand from a chair reveals leg strength and helps track your risk of falls and fractures.
Where this leads
WordCurious about a test that adds walking too? See how timing a short walk and turn also checks balance and fall risk.
Where the Academy teaches it
This page is the short version. The lessons teach it in full, with the context around it and a quiz to lock it in.
Related words
The Timed Up and Go (TUG) test times how long it takes someone to stand up from a chair, walk a short distance,…
Grip strength is how hard you can squeeze with your hand, measured with a device called a dynamometer. It's used as…
Fall risk is how likely you are to fall, and it matters because falling—not just weak bones—is the most common cause…
Balance training is practice that improves your stability and coordination so you're less likely to fall — and falls…
Gait speed is how fast you walk at your normal pace, usually measured over a short, fixed distance like 4 meters.…
SPPB (Short Physical Performance Battery) is a quick test of balance, walking speed, and leg strength used to…
Education only, not medical advice. Decisions about tests, medications and treatment belong with your own doctor. OsteoStrong does not diagnose, treat or cure any disease.
