If you want to age well, you are probably familiar with the importance of maintaining strength and balance. But agility — the ability to change directions and speed quickly — is another crucial skill, and not something most people often measure, or train.
To do that, experts say, you need to challenge not just your muscles, but also your eyesight and spatial awareness.
“Agility is how you perceive your environment. And as you age it’s about how well you are moving, and then seeing and reacting to what’s around you,” said Robert Lockie, a professor of kinesiology at California State Fullerton.
These four tests, listed in order of difficulty, will help you measure your ability to pivot and accelerate, as well as your balance and hand-eye coordination, and determine if you need to incorporate agility training into your regular workouts.
Some of these tests are challenging, Dr. Lockie said, so don’t be discouraged if you get a low score at first. Instead, use them as a base-line to improve.
8-Foot Up and Go Test
What it tells you: The 8-Foot Up and Go Test measures how well you can get up, walk around an obstacle and sit back down — as you might move around your house.
Who it’s for: Designed for older adults to assess fall risk.
What you’ll need: A stopwatch, a straight-back chair, a cone or other marker, a tape measure and (ideally) someone to time you.
The test: Place the chair against a wall, with a cone eight feet away. Sit in the chair with your hands on your knees and your feet on the floor. When your partner says “go,” stand up and walk quickly (without running) around the cone, then return to sitting. Stop the timer when you sit down. Perform this twice and use your better score.
Benchmarks vary depending on your age and gender. For people in their 60s, an above average score is around four seconds and below average is five or six seconds. For people in their 70s and 80s, five or six seconds is above average.
How to improve: If you struggle with this test, Dr. Lockie recommended practicing getting up out of a chair and sitting back down without holding onto anything, as well as starting a strength training program, focusing on squats. Leg strength will help you improve your agility and protect your knees as you change directions.
Another simple way to improve both balance and leg strength is to practice standing on one leg. Jonathan Jordan, a personal trainer in San Francisco, recommended doing this while brushing your teeth, cooking or waiting to cross the street.
Alternate Hand Wall Toss Test
What it tells you: Hand-eye coordination, which involves observing and reacting to objects, is a central aspect of agility for anybody, and it can decline with age. The Alternate Hand Wall Toss Test measures this skill in both hands as well as reflexes. It’s more difficult than it first appears, but a little practice can rapidly improve your score.
Who it’s for: People of all ages, but it was originally designed for younger athletes.
What you’ll need: A tennis ball (the bouncier the better), a stopwatch, a smooth wall and a tape measure.
The test: Stand about 6.5 feet away from the wall, holding the ball. Once you (or a friend) starts the stopwatch, throw the ball underhand against the wall with one hand, and catch it with the other. Then throw the ball with that hand and catch it again with the first. Repeat for 30 seconds.
Your score is how many times you threw and caught the ball. Count only the times you catch it. If you drop the ball, retrieve it and keep testing, but don’t count that one. Anything more than 35 catches is an excellent score. Twenty to 29 is average and less than 15 is considered poor — for an active athlete. If your score is lower than this, don’t get discouraged; aim to beat your last performance rather than a particular number.
How to improve: First, make sure to check your eyesight, because good vision is essential for agility. Remember that this test measures a very specific skill and rewards practice. Working on your grip strength can help, as well as taking up sports that require eye-hand coordination, like pickleball or golf.
The Burpee Test
What it tells you: This challenging test measures your explosive power, which is essential for rapidly changing directions. A burpee involves getting up off the ground quickly, an especially important skill to practice as we age, said Kyle DeRosia, an assistant teaching professor in the department of kinesiology at Seattle University.
Who it’s for: People comfortable with explosive movements; don’t attempt if you aren’t confident jumping up from a plank position.
What you’ll need: A stopwatch.
The test: Perform as many burpees as you can in 30 seconds. Most versions of the test use a burpee where you go to a plank position and back again without a jump. To make it more difficult, you can add the jump or go all the way down to the bottom of a push-up position, but the standard benchmarks would not apply.
A high score is 16 burpees for men and 12 for women. This might seem like a lot, but it’s another score that quickly improves with repetition. Keep in mind that this test often favors a shorter athlete. Expect your score to decline after age 60, Dr. DeRosia said, but don’t let that deter you.
How to improve: To get more comfortable with burpees, Dr. DeRosia recommended lower-body strength training, focused on quick movements like squat jumps or plyometric training.
The T-Test
What it tells you: This advanced test is the classic measure of athletic agility. It requires you to change directions — running forward, laterally and backward — as quickly as possible.
Who it’s for: Experienced athletes who are trying to improve their sprinting and rapid pivots.
What you’ll need: Four cones or other markers, a stopwatch and at least 900 square feet of space.
The test: Place one cone at one end of the space. Put another 10 yards directly in front of it, and the last two cones five yards to the left and the right of that second one, forming a T.
To perform the test, sprint forward to the first cone, then shuffle left five yards, right 10 yards, back to the left five yards, then run backward to the starting cone. Go just up to the cones, not around them.
A good score for recreational athletes is 10 seconds for men and 11 seconds for women. This is the hardest of the four tests and might not be accessible to people with injuries or limited mobility. Your results will depend on your activity level, Dr. Lockie said.
How to improve: To move faster in all directions, try side shuffling, lateral lunges or banded lateral walks (walking side-to-side in a half squat with an exercise band around your thighs.)
To get better at decelerating, Dr. DeRosia suggested focusing on jumps like broad jumps, vertical jumps or jumping rope, using both with one or two legs. Pay special attention to the eccentric part of leg exercises, lowering the weight slowly, under control.
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