Sit-and-reach test: how to do it at home and how your reach compares

The test

Sit with your legs straight and your soles against a box, reach forward as far as you can with your knees straight, and keep the better of two tries. Touching your toes scores 26 cm on the scale we use.

Source 1

Canada's national percentiles

Your reach is compared with 4,571 people measured in Canada's 2016 to 2017 national health survey, by sex and age from 18 to 69. Women reached further than men at every age.

Source 1

Mind the zero point

A box with your toes at 23 cm reads 3 cm lower for the same reach, so the calculator adds 3 cm, and a tape that starts at your toes needs 26 cm added (our arithmetic).

Sources 2, 1

Mostly your hamstrings

Across 34 studies, the classic test tracked hamstring flexibility moderately well and lower-back flexibility poorly.

Source 3

Weak links with health

Scores didn't predict back pain over 6 years in 2,747 adults, and showed no pattern with death in a Canadian survey followed for 13 years.

Sources 4, 5

Stretching raises it

Across 77 studies, regular stretching clearly increased range, and static or contract-relax stretches did better than bouncing ones.

Source 6

Men

The 5th, 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 70th, 80th, 90th and 95th percentiles, in cm:

• 18 to 19: 8.8, 11.7, 15.6, 18.7, 21.6, 24.5, 27.4, 30.3, 33.4, 37.1, 39.8
• 20 to 24: 8.9, 11.7, 15.5, 18.7, 21.7, 24.6, 27.5, 30.4, 33.5, 37.2, 39.9
• 25 to 29: 8.8, 11.6, 15.4, 18.6, 21.6, 24.5, 27.4, 30.3, 33.4, 37.1, 39.7
• 30 to 34: 8.7, 11.5, 15.3, 18.4, 21.3, 24.2, 27.0, 29.9, 32.9, 36.6, 39.3
• 35 to 39: 8.6, 11.3, 15.1, 18.2, 21.0, 23.8, 26.5, 29.3, 32.3, 36.0, 38.6
• 40 to 44: 8.4, 11.1, 14.9, 17.8, 20.6, 23.3, 25.9, 28.6, 31.6, 35.2, 37.8
• 45 to 49: 8.2, 10.9, 14.6, 17.5, 20.1, 22.7, 25.3, 27.9, 30.7, 34.3, 36.9
• 50 to 54: 8.0, 10.7, 14.3, 17.1, 19.7, 22.1, 24.6, 27.1, 29.8, 33.4, 36.0
• 55 to 59: 7.8, 10.5, 14.0, 16.7, 19.2, 21.5, 23.9, 26.3, 28.9, 32.4, 35.1
• 60 to 64: 7.6, 10.3, 13.7, 16.4, 18.7, 20.9, 23.1, 25.5, 28.0, 31.4, 34.1
• 65 to 69: 7.4, 10.1, 13.4, 16.0, 18.2, 20.3, 22.4, 24.6, 27.1, 30.5, 33.1

Source 1

Women

The 5th, 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 70th, 80th, 90th and 95th percentiles, in cm:

• 18 to 19: 14.6, 18.6, 23.1, 26.3, 28.8, 31.1, 33.3, 35.7, 38.5, 42.4, 45.6
• 20 to 24: 14.4, 18.3, 22.9, 26.1, 28.7, 31.1, 33.5, 36.0, 38.8, 42.6, 45.7
• 25 to 29: 14.1, 17.9, 22.5, 25.8, 28.5, 31.1, 33.7, 36.2, 39.1, 42.9, 45.8
• 30 to 34: 13.8, 17.5, 22.0, 25.4, 28.3, 31.0, 33.7, 36.4, 39.3, 43.0, 45.7
• 35 to 39: 13.5, 17.0, 21.4, 24.8, 27.8, 30.7, 33.5, 36.2, 39.2, 42.8, 45.4
• 40 to 44: 13.0, 16.4, 20.8, 24.2, 27.3, 30.2, 33.1, 35.9, 38.8, 42.3, 44.8
• 45 to 49: 12.5, 15.8, 20.1, 23.5, 26.6, 29.6, 32.5, 35.4, 38.3, 41.7, 44.1
• 50 to 54: 12.0, 15.3, 19.6, 23.0, 26.1, 29.1, 32.0, 34.9, 37.8, 41.1, 43.5
• 55 to 59: 11.6, 14.9, 19.2, 22.6, 25.8, 28.8, 31.7, 34.6, 37.5, 40.9, 43.2
• 60 to 64: 11.3, 14.7, 19.1, 22.5, 25.7, 28.8, 31.7, 34.6, 37.6, 41.0, 43.4
• 65 to 69: 11.1, 14.5, 19.0, 22.6, 25.8, 28.9, 31.8, 34.7, 37.7, 41.3, 43.8

Source 1

Who was measured

In cycle 5 of the Canadian Health Measures Survey, in 2016 and 2017, 4,571 people aged 6 to 69 in Canada's 10 provinces did the test, half of them women. Specialists certified by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) measured them on a flexometer, a sit-and-reach box with the toes at 26 cm, and recorded the best of two tries to the nearest 0.1 cm, after a warm-up stretch of each leg twice for 20 seconds.

The survey is nationally representative, though its combined response rate was 48.5%, and its authors note that screening people before fitness testing "may have biased this study's results by screening out unfit individuals", so the values may be higher than for the whole population.

Source 1

What the table shows

Women reached further than men at every age, with medians 6.5 to 8.6 cm higher (our arithmetic), and scores fell slowly with age. Canada's 2007 to 2009 survey measured the test the same way.

Sources 1, 7

Why this table

It's recent, official and nationally representative, we could read it in full with its method, and it uses the same 26 cm scale as CSEP's other tests (editorial).

Source 1

Tables we don't use

The American College of Sports Medicine's (ACSM's) fitness categories reprint a 2003 CSEP table, and we could read them only in a reprint by a US university's wellness office. In that reprint the bottom of "good" equals the top of "fair" in every column, so one score can fall in two bands; we use it only for its note on 23 cm boxes. We couldn't open the YMCA's tables or ACSM's own book.

Source 2

Worked examples (our arithmetic)

As the calculator works them out:

• A woman of 47 who reaches 30.0 cm is between the 50th (29.6) and 60th (32.5) percentile for women aged 45 to 49: within the usual range.
• A man of 33 who reaches 20.0 cm is between the 30th (18.4) and 40th (21.3) percentile for men aged 30 to 34.
• A man of 58 who reaches 25.0 cm on a box with his toes at 23 cm scores 28.0 cm: between the 70th (26.3) and 80th (28.9) percentile for men aged 55 to 59.
• A woman of 30 whose tape starts at her toes reaches 4 inches past them: 10.16 cm plus 26 is 36.2 cm, between the 60th (33.7) and 70th (36.4) percentile for women aged 30 to 34.
• A score that equals a percentile counts as reaching it: 29.6 cm for a woman of 47 is at the 50th percentile, so between the 50th and 60th.

Sources 1, 2

How much a score moves

Over 4 weeks in 243 young adults, scores were highly repeatable (an intraclass correlation of 0.92, where 1 is perfect agreement) but varied by about 9% from test to test (a coefficient of variation of 8.74%). In 46 futsal players, only a change of more than 6.72% showed a real improvement in hamstring flexibility: about 2 cm at a score of 30 cm (our arithmetic). A 2022 review found strong evidence that sit-and-reach tests are reliable.

Sources 8, 9, 10

Hamstrings: a moderate measureStrong evidence

Across 34 studies, the classic sit-and-reach correlated 0.67 with standard measures of hamstring flexibility (28 studies, 3,481 people), the best of the versions tested. Arm and leg length, head position and ankle position all affect how well it does.

Source 3

Your lower back: a poor measureStrong evidence

Its correlation with lower-back flexibility was 0.26 (13 studies, 1,762 people). A good score doesn't mean a flexible back, and a low one doesn't mean a stiff back.

Source 3

Back pain: no linkEmerging evidence

In 2,747 adults followed for about 6 years, sit-and-reach scores were unrelated to later back pain (a correlation of -0.043, close to zero). Across 12 cohort studies of 5,459 people, fingertip-to-floor distance didn't predict new back pain, though restricted hamstring range did, slightly.

Sources 4, 11

Survival: weak or no linksEmerging evidence

In 8,116 Canadian adults followed for 13 years, there was no pattern of higher death rates across sit-and-reach scores. In 13,423 adults aged 65 and over in Taiwan, the best fifth on a chair version had about a fifth lower risk of death than the worst fifth (an adjusted hazard ratio of 0.79), a weaker link than for the balance, agility, chair stand and step tests.

Sources 5, 12

Flexibility, arteries and survivalEmerging evidence

A whole-body flexibility score of 20 movements was linked with survival in 3,139 Brazilians aged 46 to 65, and poor sit-and-reach scores with stiffer arteries in 526 adults and with faster stiffening of the aorta over 5 years. These are associations, and in the 5-year study changes in flexibility didn't track changes in stiffness.

Sources 13, 14, 15

Stretching raises your scoreStrong evidence

Across 77 studies, stretch training increased range of motion, and static and contract-relax (PNF) stretching did better than dynamic or bouncing (ballistic) stretching. How long, how hard and how often people stretched made no significant difference.

Source 6

Toes at 26 cm: Canada's scale and our set-up

On the flexometer used in Canada's survey, a toe touch scores 26 cm, so the scale starts 26 cm in front of your soles. Our home set-up copies it, with the ruler's 26 cm mark above the front edge of the box or step.

Source 1

Boxes with the toes at 23 cm

Many boxes put the toes at 23 cm, which reads 3 cm lower for the same reach. ACSM's note says to subtract 3 cm from tables built at 26 cm when you use one; the calculator does the same thing the other way round, adding 3 cm to your reach (our arithmetic).

Source 2

A tape that starts at your toes

With 0 at your toes, a reach past them is positive and one short of them negative. Adding 26 cm puts it on the survey's scale: 5.0 cm past your toes is 31.0 cm, and 3.0 cm short of them is 23.0 cm (our arithmetic).

Source 1

Inches

The calculator multiplies inches by 2.54 before any conversion and shows your score to 0.1 cm: 4 inches past your toes is 10.16 cm, which plus 26 is 36.2 cm on the survey's scale (our arithmetic).

The V-sit and back-saver versions

The V-sit is done on the floor without a box, with your legs apart; in one study's set-up the zero was at 23 cm, with the heels on the zero line and the ankles 30 cm apart. The back-saver tests one leg at a time with the other knee bent, and ACSM's text says "a lack of normative data for adults precludes" its use.

Both tracked the hamstrings a little less well than the classic test (correlations of 0.60 and 0.59, against 0.67), and neither can be scored against Canada's table.

Sources 16, 2, 3

The modified test

The modified sit-and-reach measures from where your fingertips start, to allow for arm and leg length. Across studies it tracked the hamstrings less well than the classic test (0.56 against 0.67), and it can't be scored against Canada's table either.

Source 3

Osteoporosis or a past spinal fracture

The UK consensus on osteoporosis says "Movements or exercise that involve sustained, repeated or end-range flexion should be modified or avoided", and this test is a full forward bend. Skip it, and practise the hip hinge with a long back instead; our osteoporosis guide has more.

Source 17

Recovering from a hip replacement

The UK's National Health Service (NHS) advises "do not bend your hip more than 90 degrees" and "do not bend down to touch your feet or ankles" while you recover. Wait until your surgical team says forward bending is fine.

Source 18

Back pain now, sciatica, or pain or tingling down a leg

Reaching to your limit can stir it up, and pain or tingling down a leg can mean an irritated nerve (editorial). Check the NHS warning signs below, and see our back pain and sciatica guides.

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A recent hamstring strain

Reaching to your limit loads the injured muscle (editorial). Our hamstring strain guide covers when to stretch it again.

Pregnancy

The PAR-Q+ (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone) asks you to talk to a health care practitioner first. Our exercise in pregnancy guide covers staying active.

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Very flexible joints

Putting your palms flat on the floor with straight knees scores a point on the Beighton score for hypermobility, and more range isn't the goal then (as our toe-touch guide says). Our hypermobility guide covers strength work instead.

Stop if it hurts down a leg

Stop if you feel pain, tingling or numbness down a leg, and don't push through it (editorial).

Call 999 (911 in the US) or go to A&E

If you have back pain with:

• pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs
• loss of feeling around your genitals or anus
• changes in your bladder or bowels, or in sexual sensation or function
• chest pain
• pain after a serious accident

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Ask for an urgent GP appointment or call NHS 111

If you have back pain and feel hot, cold, shivery or generally unwell, or the pain is severe, sudden or getting worse quickly.

Source 19

See a GP

If back pain:

• doesn't improve after a few weeks, or stops you doing your day-to-day activities
• comes with weight loss, a lump or a change in the shape of your back
• is worse at rest or at night, or when you sneeze, cough or poo
• comes from between your shoulders

Source 19

"It measures how flexible your back is"Strong evidence

Poorly: across 34 studies, the classic test correlated 0.26 with lower-back flexibility, against 0.67 with hamstring flexibility.

Source 3

"If you can't reach your toes, back pain is coming"Emerging evidence

Scores didn't predict back pain over 6 years in 2,747 adults, and fingertip-to-floor distance didn't predict it across 12 cohort studies.

Sources 4, 11

"All sit-and-reach scores are comparable"Strong evidence

Your toes sit at 26 cm on some scales and 23 cm on others, and the V-sit, back-saver and modified tests are different tests with their own set-ups.

Sources 1, 2, 3

"Being flexible keeps you alive"Mixed evidence

Sit-and-reach scores showed no pattern with death in Canada's cohort and weaker links than other tests in older adults, while one cohort linked whole-body flexibility with survival. These are associations, not proof that stretching changes your health.

Sources 5, 12, 13

"Bouncing gets you further"Strong evidence

It isn't allowed in the test (editorial), and bouncing (ballistic) stretching built less range than static or contract-relax stretching across 77 studies.

Source 6