Single-Leg Stance
How long you can stand on one leg, eyes open, up to 45 seconds. It measures static balance — the system that keeps you upright when you step off a curb or turn in the kitchen.
How to do the Single-Leg Stance at home
- Stand near a counter or wall you can touch if needed, but do not hold on.
- Lift one foot a few inches off the floor without touching the standing leg. Start the timer when the foot leaves the floor.
- Stop the timer when the foot touches down, the standing foot moves, or you touch the counter; 45 seconds is the cap.
- Do it on each leg; record the better leg.
Norms by age
| Age | Men — mean seconds | Women — mean seconds |
|---|---|---|
| 18–39 | 44.4 | 45.1 |
| 40–49 | 41.6 | 42.1 |
| 50–59 | 41.5 | 40.9 |
| 60–69 | 33.8 | 30.4 |
| 70–79 | 25.9 | 16.7 |
| 80–99 | 8.7 | 10.6 |
Source: Springer et al. 2007, eyes open, best of three trials, mean seconds by age and sex (n=549), PMID 19839175. Means fall steeply after 60; a 45-second ceiling is used in testing.
Why it predicts survival
In 1,702 adults aged 51–75 followed for a median 7 years, 20% could not hold a 10-second one-legged stance; 17.5% of them died versus 4.6% of those who could, and inability carried an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.84 for all-cause mortality, PMID 35728834. The authors note recent falls and physical activity were not controlled — it is a marker, and a trainable one.
What a real improvement looks like
+5 seconds or more. Day-to-day scores wobble; the program counts an improvement only when it clears a published threshold for change (chair stand +2.0–2.6 reps and TUG 0.8–1.4 s from an anchor-based physiotherapy trial, PMID 21335930; gait speed 0.10 m/s "substantial change", PMID 16696738). Single-leg stance uses a program convention of +5 seconds because no published threshold exists.
Twelve weeks of the right training moves these numbers: aerobic training raised VO2max by 3.78 mL/kg/min in a meta-analysis of sedentary older adults, PMID 25901000; resistance training raised leg-press strength by about 29% in adults over 50, PMID 20385254; balance training improved balance measures with the best results at 11–12 weeks and three sessions a week, PMID 26325622.
Train the number
Stronger for Longer is a free 12-week walking, strength and balance program that tests this measure at weeks 0, 6 and 12. No supplements, nothing to buy.