Could You Pass These Two Simple Tests? It May Predict Your Future Health

Most People Focus on Losing Weight.
They Should Also Focus on Keeping Their Muscle.

When most people think about healthy aging, they think about their weight.

However, losing muscle may be one of the biggest threats to staying healthy and independent as you get older.

Muscle isn’t just for athletes or bodybuilders. It’s what helps you get out of a chair, climb stairs, carry groceries, catch yourself if you trip, and keep doing the things you enjoy.

Research has linked low muscle mass to a higher risk of disability, lower quality of life, memory problems, and even a higher risk of dying from any cause.

Fortunately, you don’t need a gym or expensive equipment to get a good idea of your muscle health. Here are two simple tests you can do at home in just a few minutes.

Test #1: The 30-Second Chair Stand Test

One of the easiest ways to measure lower-body strength is the 30-Second Chair Stand Test.

Here’s how:

• Sit in a standard dining chair (about 17 inches high).
• Cross your arms over your chest.
• Stand all the way up, then sit back down.
• Repeat as many times as you can in 30 seconds without using your hands.

Here’s a simple goal based on your age:

Researchers like this test because it reflects the strength you use every day to do simple tasks.

If you don’t quite reach these numbers, don’t panic. Unlike your age, this score can improve.

Resistance training, eating enough protein, and staying consistent can make a remarkable difference. Try the test every few months with the goal of improving each time.

Test #2: Can You Get Off the Floor Without Using Your Hands?

Next, try the Sitting-Rising Test.

This quick challenge measures your strength, balance, flexibility, and coordination all at once.

Simply:

• Sit down on the floor.
• Stand back up.
• Try to not use your hands for support or any other help.

Watch this video to see it in action.

You start with 10 points.
Every time you use a hand, knee, forearm, or the side of your leg for support, you lose a point.
And, you lose another half point if you noticeably wobble or lose your balance.

How did you do?

• 8-10:  Great strength, balance, and mobility.
• 4-7.5:  You’ve got room to improve.
• 0-3.5:  Your body really needs for more strength and balance training.

Here’s your homework:
Try both tests today, then repeat them every few months. Improving your scores is one of the best signs you’re moving in the right direction.

Why Muscle Matters More Than You Think

Most people think muscles are only for lifting weights.

In reality, they’re involved in almost everything you do.

Strong muscles help you:

• Keep your balance
• Prevent falls
• Recover after illness or surgery
• Control blood sugar
• Support a healthy metabolism

As muscle slowly disappears, everyday life becomes harder for your body.

Unfortunately, that process can begin as early as your 30s if your muscles aren’t challenged regularly.

Low Muscle Mass Can Cost You Your Independence

Recent research shows just how important muscle is for staying independent.

Compared with people who maintained healthy muscle, adults with low muscle mass had:

• 40-60% higher risk of losing their independence
• 50-90% higher risk of difficulty with everyday activities like shopping, cooking, cleaning, managing medications, and transportation

Those numbers aren’t just statistics. They represent the difference between doing things yourself and relying on someone else to do them for you.

Your Muscles Help Protect Your Brain Too

Most people think muscle only affects strength.

Surprisingly, it also affects your brain.

A 2025 review of 31 studies found that people with low muscle mass and strength were about twice as likely to have problems with memory and thinking — like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease — compared with people who maintained healthier muscle.

Researchers are still working to understand exactly why. Nevertheless, one message keeps showing up:

What’s good for your muscles is usually good for your brain.

Strength training doesn’t just help you stay physically strong. It may also help keep your mind sharp as you get older.

Strength Matters More Than Muscle Size

Here’s something that surprises a lot of people.

Having big muscles doesn’t automatically make you healthier. Sorry, Arnold…Although he’s probably doing just fine.

What matters most is how well your muscles work.

Research shows that muscle strength predicts falls, disability, loss of independence, and physical function even better than muscle size.

That’s why doctors and physical therapists increasingly measure strength, balance, and simple movement tests like the two above.

You don’t need to become a bodybuilder. Just stay strong enough to keep living life on your own terms.

Muscle Gives Your Body a Safety Margin

Research repeatedly shows that people with low muscle mass are more likely to die from any cause.

That doesn’t mean that lack of muscles will kill you. Rather, healthy muscles give your body more reserve when life gets difficult.

Smaller and weaker muscles tell us that you don’t have as much reserve for other things like healing from injuries, recovering from illnesses or surgery, managing stress, and simply aging.

Healthy muscle mass helps your body heal, stay active, handle stress, and bounce back from life’s challenges.

The more muscle you have, the more your body has to work with when things don’t go according to plan.

Muscle Loss Doesn’t Just Affect Your Body and Brain, Though. It Affects Your Enjoyment of Life.

A review of 43 studies found that people with low muscle mass and strength reported significantly lower quality of life.

Compared with people who maintained healthy muscle, they were more likely to experience:

• Less energy
• More difficulty getting around
• Lower confidence
• More trouble with everyday activities
• Worse overall health

Over time, those changes often mean saying “no” more often.

Maybe it’s skipping a walk or hike. Perhaps it’s avoiding a vacation because too much walking sounds exhausting. Or maybe it’s passing on the chance to play on the floor with kids because getting back up feels too hard.

Those moments may seem small, but they add up.

Living longer is great.

Living longer with the strength and independence to enjoy it is better.

Why This Matters During Weight Loss

Today, we have more tools than ever to help people lose weight, including GLP-1 medications, peptide therapy, and hormones.

However, losing weight isn’t automatically the same as getting healthier. If you’re losing muscle along with fat, you’re moving in the wrong direction.

That’s one of the biggest reasons we don’t focus only on the number on the scale.

Instead, our goal is to help patients lose fat while preserving—or even building—muscle.

To protect muscle during weight loss, we encourage our patients to:

• Eat 80+ grams of protein each day
• Strength train 2= times per week
• Prioritize sleep
• Track body composition instead of weight alone
• Use the lowest effective medication dose that continues producing healthy fat loss while protecting muscle

The Goal Isn’t to Be Skinny. It’s to Stay Capable.

The Strongest Predictor of Your Future Isn’t on Your Bathroom Scale.

At Flow Wellness, we’re interested in a different question: What is your body capable of doing today?

How easy is it for you to stand up from a chair?

What about carry your own luggage?

Can you get down on the floor and back up again?

Are you able to keep up with your kids, your grandkids, your dog, or your next vacation?

Those are the things that determine how you experience the next 10, 20, or 30 years of your life.

Not sure where to start? We do. Schedule your Longevity & Wellness Consultation today.

Whether you’re trying to lose weight, improve your health, or simply age well, muscle deserves a seat at the table.

Ready to find your baseline? Schedule an body composition scan at our Seattle (Westlake) or Bend, Oregon clinic and see what your scale has been missing.

References:

• Fang Y, Xu W, Li X, Wu G, Cai Y. Association Between Sarcopenia and Daily Living Dependency Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Findings From Three Prospective Cohort Studies. Experimental Gerontology. 2026.

• Lunt E, Ong T, Gordon AL, Greenhaff PL, Gladman JRF. The Clinical Usefulness of Muscle Mass and Strength Measures in Older People: A Systematic Review. Age and Ageing. 2021.

• Gong J, et al. Association Between Sarcopenia and Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. 2025.

• Beaudart C, Demonceau C, Reginster JY, et al. Sarcopenia and Health-Related Quality of Life: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle. 2023.

• Jones CJ, Rikli RE, Beam WC. A 30-Second Chair Stand Test as a Measure of Lower Body Strength in Community-Residing Older Adults. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. 1999.

• Jones CJ, Rikli RE. Senior Fitness Test Manual. 2nd ed. Human Kinetics; 2013.

• Brito LBB, Ricardo DR, Araújo DSMS, Ramos PS, Myers J, Araújo CGS. Ability to Sit and Rise From the Floor as a Predictor of All-Cause Mortality. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. 2014.

• Cruz-Jentoft AJ, Bahat G, Bauer J, et al. Sarcopenia: Revised European Consensus on Definition and Diagnosis. Age and Ageing. 2019.