Sit & Reach Flexibility at Home
This simple test is designed to measure the flexibility of your hamstrings and lower back. The sit and reach test has long been used as a test to represent a person's flexibility, though actual flexibility may differ around the body.
- ruler, step (optional, you could make your own sit and reach box if keen too)
If you have completed the home tests in order, you will be well warmed up by the time you are up to the sit and reach test. Otherwise, go for a jog and do some stretching (see warm up for testing). Remove your shoes and sit on a flat surface, legs extended in front of the body, toes pointing up and feet slightly apart, with the soles of the feet against the base of the step (if there is no step, just any flat surface will do). Place the ruler on the ground between your legs or on the top of the step. Place one hand on top of the other, then reach slowly forward. At the point of your greatest reach, hold for a couple of seconds, and measure how far you have reached. If you have trouble straightening you legs, get a friend to help by holding the knees down flush with the ground. See also video demonstrations of the Sit and Reach Test.
Mark or take note of your best score, take a measure in cm or inches beyond the base of your foot, or you did not reach your toes, measure how far before the feet you were (a negative measurement score).
How did you go?
Compare your results to the table below. Remember, these scores are based on doing the tests as described, and may not be accurate if the test is modified at all. Don't worry too much about how you rate - just try and improve your own score.
|> +10.5||> +11.5|
|+6.5 to +10.5||+8.0 to +11.5|
|+2.5 to +6.0||+4.5 to +7.5|
|0 to +2.0||+0.5 to +4.0|
|-3.0 to -0.5||-2.5 to 0|
|-7.5 to -3.5||-6.0 to -3.0|
- See other home fitness tests
- The standard sit and reach test procedure
- Sit and Reach Test Videos and other Flexibility Test Videos