If you want a fast read on your lower-body strength and endurance, the bodyweight squat test is one of the most practical tools available. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, drop into a squat until your thighs hit parallel, stand back up, and repeat until you can no longer keep good form. The number you reach places you on an age- and sex-banded rating scale used in general fitness assessment.
Men in their twenties average 27 to 29 repetitions, while women in the same age band average 21 to 23. Both figures ease down measurably each decade after that. The pattern lines up with what a much larger dataset shows for maximum strength: a 2024 analysis of 809,986 powerlifting competition entries in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport found relative squat strength peaks in the 18 to 35 age window and declines steadily after 35.
How the test works
Set a chair or bench behind you as a depth marker. Feet a little wider than shoulder-width, hands on hips, chest tall. Squat until your backside lightly brushes the seat, then drive up. Keep the tempo steady, no bouncing, and count only reps where your thighs actually reach parallel. Stop when your form breaks down, not when it merely gets uncomfortable.
What is normal for your age
The tables below come from the standard home squat-test rating scheme. Find your age band, then read across to see where your rep count lands.
Also read: How eating tomatoes every day can affect your heart, skin and cancer risk
Men
Rating | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 Also read: 7 warning signs of carpal tunnel syndrome most people try to push through | 50-59 | 60+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Excellent | 35+ Also read: How eating cabbage every day can affect your gut, heart and brain | 33+ | 30+ | 27+ | 24+ Also read: How eating Greek yogurt every day can affect your gut, bones and weight |
Good | 33-34 | 30-32 | 27-29 Also read: Going completely sugar-free may backfire for your gut, early research warns | 24-26 | 21-23 |
Above average | 30-32 | 27-29 | 24-26 | 21-23 | 18-20 |
Average | 27-29 | 24-26 | 21-23 | 18-20 | 15-17 |
Below average | 24-26 | 21-23 | 18-20 | 15-17 | 12-14 |
Poor | 21-23 | 18-20 | 15-17 | 12-14 | 9-11 |
Very poor | Under 21 | Under 18 | Under 15 | Under 12 | Under 9 |
Women
Rating | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50-59 | 60+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Excellent | 30+ | 27+ | 24+ | 21+ | 18+ |
Good | 27-29 | 24-26 | 21-23 | 18-20 | 15-17 |
Above average | 24-26 | 21-23 | 18-20 | 15-17 | 12-14 |
Average | 21-23 | 18-20 | 15-17 | 12-14 | 9-11 |
Below average | 18-20 | 15-17 | 12-14 | 9-11 | 6-8 |
Poor | 15-17 | 12-14 | 9-11 | 6-8 | 3-5 |
Very poor | Under 15 | Under 12 | Under 9 | Under 6 | Under 3 |
Ratings shift downward by roughly three repetitions per decade in both sexes, which mirrors the age curve in the powerlifting dataset. The upside is that the trajectory is not fixed. Training with resistance a couple of times a week largely holds it in place.
When your score sits below the line
A below-average result is not a red flag on its own. It tells you the muscles that carry you up stairs, out of a chair and off the floor could work more efficiently, and that a little structured training would pay off quickly. The link between leg strength and everyday function grows with age, which is why the JSAMS authors framed relative strength as a useful marker of physical capability across the lifespan.
Consistency matters more than heroics. The US Physical Activity Guidelines summarized by the CDC call for muscle-strengthening activity on at least two days each week that hits all the major muscle groups, at an intensity where the last few reps of a set of 8 to 12 are genuinely hard.
Three exercises that move the needle
Bodyweight squats, done well. Slow the descent to a three-count, pause briefly at the bottom, then stand. Aim for three sets of 10 to 15, two or three times a week. The tempo does the work resistance would.
Split squats. Step one foot back into a long stance, drop the back knee toward the floor, then push through the front heel. Working each leg on its own exposes side-to-side gaps and builds the balance the test rewards.
Goblet squats. Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell against your chest and squat to the same depth. Adding load to a movement you already own is the fastest route from average to good.
Retest yourself every four to six weeks. If your rep count is climbing and your form still looks the same on the last repetition as the first, you are on the right side of the age curve. Anyone with knee, hip or back trouble should clear a new lower-body routine with their doctor or a physical therapist before pushing hard.
This article is made and published by Jesper Bengtson, who may have used AI in the preparation.