Flexibility Score – Sit & Reach Test

Flexibility is joint-specific, but two field tests predict overall mobility well: the classic sit-and-reach for the posterior chain and a simple shoulder mobility screen (hands touching behind the back). In the sit-and-reach, you sit with legs straight and reach toward your toes; reaching 5–10 cm past the toes scores well for men under 40, while touching the toes (0 cm) is average for men over 50 — women typically score 5–8 cm higher at every age. Worked example: a 35-year-old man reaching +8 cm sits near the 70th percentile, meaning a solid but improvable range; adding two 30-second hamstring stretches daily typically gains 3–5 cm within six weeks. The shoulder screen flags lifters whose bench arch hides stiff lats — a gap over 15 cm between hands suggests targeted work.

1. 1

   Run the sit-and-reach

   Warm up, sit with straight legs, reach slowly three times

2. 2

   Add the shoulder screen

   Reach one hand over, one under, behind your back

3. 3

   Read your score

   Percentile for your age and sex plus targeted stretch advice

• 1

  Warm up 5 minutes before testing — cold muscle loses 2–3 cm

• 2

  Never bounce in the reach; hold the end point 2 seconds

• 3

  Log the best of three attempts

• Bending the knees to touch the toes

• Bouncing into the reach and scoring strain, not range

• Comparing scores across different testing boxes

• Stretching only on test day