What is the best way to test your strength as a longevity marker?

The most clinically validated strength assessment for longevity in men over 40 combines: (1) handgrip dynamometer, right and left hand, 3 attempts each, highest value, calibrated against published age-specific norms; (2) chair stand test (5-rep test: time to stand from a chair without arm support 5 times), below 11.4 seconds is normal for men over 40; (3) walking speed over 4 meters, below 0.8 m/s is the sarcopenia threshold (Cruz-Jentoft et al., Age Ageing, 2019).

For men who train, additional strength markers worth tracking annually: back squat or leg press one-repetition maximum (normalized to bodyweight, men over 40 aiming to squat 1× bodyweight), deadlift (1.5× bodyweight is a strong target for men under 50), and push-up maximum (30+ per set for men under 50 is associated with lower cardiovascular events in the Harvard push-up study). These are not competitive targets, they are functional reserve benchmarks.

Honesty Scale: Solid (1) for the grip dynamometer, chair stand, and gait speed tests as sarcopenia assessment tools. Solid (1) for push-up capacity as a cardiovascular event predictor.

What to do: Test and record your grip strength, chair stand time, and push-up maximum annually. Bring these values to your annual physical. A physician who integrates functional strength testing into cardiovascular risk assessment is giving you better prevention data than one who focuses only on laboratory values.

For the full picture, read The Strength/Grip Deep Dive