Can you pass the ‘old man test’? 3-step challenge can tell your balance, coordination and strength

You’re only as old as your ability to put shoes on.

An “old man test” — which challenges people to ready their feet to go outside with three simple steps — has gone viral on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube and can tell you quite a bit about your strength, stability and general coordination.

But can you do it without stumbling?

The test was invented by fitness trainer Chris Hinshaw and first started making the rounds on the internet in 2021. In one viral video, he challenged bodybuilder Nsima Inyang to try it out.

While balancing on just your right leg, bend over, pick up one sock and put it on your foot. Then pick up the shoe for the same foot. Put that on and tie the laces, all while balancing on your leg. Your left foot, with the sock and shoe, shouldn’t touch the ground until the laces are tied.

Then lower your left foot and raise your right one. Repeat the same steps, balancing on one leg until both shoes are on and tied.

If you need to put both feet on the ground at any point except when you’re switching in the middle, you’ve failed.

The audio from the video has continued to be used for years as more and more people try the challenge. And though it’s called the “old man test,” plenty of women have tried it too.

While the test seems simple enough, several studies have linked balance and stability to overall health.

In fact, one conducted by the British Journal of Sports Medicine in 2022 found that the ability to perform a different 10-second one-legged stance test predicted the survival of people in middle age and older.

The subjects of the 12-year study were 51 to 75 and had to try to stand on one foot for 10 seconds, with both of their hands at their sides. Those who were unable to do it ended up having more health problems over time, including Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity and unhealthy cholesterol levels.

Most alarming of all, those who were unable to successfully balance for 10 seconds had a nearly twice as high risk of dying over the next ten years.

Researchers in China had similar findings in 2023, concluding that risk of death from any cause in middle-aged and older people increased with with lack of balance.

Yet another study in Australia gave men what they called an mBOOMER score, or a modified Balance Outcome Measure for Elder Rehabilitation, based on physical assessments. Having a low score was associated with higher risk of death from any cause.

“Our ability to balance reflects all the interconnected systems that are required to effectively process the experience of standing,” explained geriatrician Dr. Lauren Hersh of Jefferson Health in Philadelphia. “So we can use balance as a ‘red flag’ that something else might be going on. It helps us assess risk and introduce strategies to reduce that risk.”

If you’re worried about declining stability, she suggests doing dynamic balance exercises like walking up stairs, walking on just your heels or toes and practicing yoga or dance.

“I like to say use it or lose it,” she added. “If you stop moving, you’ll lose your ability to move over time.”