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What does healthy aging look like? How do you know if you’re aging well? Mariana is almost 60 and can still pull herself up with just three fingers. Melinda is 61 and has never touched a weight. Both faced 7 science-backed fitness tests, including the sit to stand test, alongside younger participants — each worth 1 point for baseline, 2 for advanced — to find out what age and lifestyle really do to the body. We’ll also learn how to optimize your performance on these tests for longevity’s sake.
The broad jump tests lower body power, one of the first qualities to decline from ageing. Baseline: jump your own height if younger, at least half your height if over 55. Advanced is 2 meters for women and 2.5 for men. Ravin does not train at all but passed at 29. Yash passed. Melinda barely cleared the minimum. Mariana, at nearly 60, came much closer to the younger men. To improve: jumps, sprints, or kettlebell swings. Beginners start with a goblet squat.
The reverse lunge tests single-leg strength and stability. Baseline is 8 reps with 25% of body weight in each hand, both sides. Advanced is 8 Bulgarian split squats with 50% for men and 30% for women. Melinda was out in less than a rep. Ravin lasted a little longer with poor form. Yash and Mariana both passed the baseline, but the advanced test split them: Yash had strength but not stability. Mariana passed. Bilateral lifts let the stronger leg quietly do more work, hiding imbalances that single-leg tests expose — gaps that tend to widen with age. Progression for healthy aging: stationary split squats, reverse lunges, Bulgarian split squats.
The chin-up tests whether you’re aging well by determining if the upper body can pull its own weight. Baseline for men is 1 clean rep. Advanced is 3 weighted reps at 50% body weight for men, or 5 clean bodyweight reps for women. Ravin and Melinda both failed. Yash cleared the baseline and nearly reached the advanced mark at around two and a half reps. Mariana cleared the women’s advanced range and kept going — finishing with a three-finger pull-up at nearly 60. She climbs regularly and her DXA showed around 17% body fat, exceptionally lean for her age. Path: inverted rows, band-assisted reps, lighter bands, unassisted, then weighted.
The one-mile run estimates cardiovascular fitness. Baseline is under 10 minutes if younger, under 12 if over 55. Advanced is under 7 minutes and 9 minutes or less respectively. Ravin burned out early; Yash nearly hit the advanced time from a running and sports base maintained without direct cardio. Mariana was the only one to beat the advanced benchmark for her age. Low cardio fitness carries risk comparable to high blood pressure and diabetes, and declines roughly 1% per year after your mid-20s. Melinda and Ravin both had alarmingly high visceral fat on their DXA scans. Mariana had almost none. Start with challenging walking intervals, then build toward running, cycling, swimming, or sport.
The wall mobility test checks the shoulders and upper back, which is often tight from sitting and poor posture. Stand a foot from a wall with glutes and upper back against it, raise arms to a goalpost position, and keep the head touching without arching the back or flaring the ribs. The problem is pressing muscles overpowering the mid and lower traps, driving upper back rounding that raises fracture and injury risk with age. Fix: over-and-backs with a band or towel, then wall slides, done daily. This can help fix rounded shoulders and other posture issues as well as neck pain and shoulder pain.
The roll-down test assesses core strength through controlled repetitions. Baseline is 25, advanced is more than 50. A weak core hurts posture, balance, and back health — visible abs are a separate matter, driven mainly by body fat, roughly 15% for men and 25% for women. Most participants finished quickly. Mariana kept going and showed part of her routine, starting with a 45-pound plate. To improve core strength, the best core exercises are progressing with the roll-downs, then progress to RKC planks, ab rollouts, and weighted crunches.
The sit-to-stand test is the most predictive of the group for longevity: sit on the floor and stand back up without using hands, knees, or support. In a study of roughly 2,000 adults aged 51 to 80, poor scorers were 5 to 6 times more likely to die over the following six years. Progression hip stretches for hip mobility: 90/90 hip stretch, unsupported transitions, windshield-wiper leg movements, full get-up.
0:00 – 0:38 What We’re Testing
0:38 – 4:31 Test 1
4:40 – 7:55 Test 2
8:18 – 12:15 Test 3
12:21 – 17:42 Test 4
17:43 – 20:10 Test 5
20:11 – 23:15 Test 6
23:16 – 26:22 Test 7
26:23 – 26:57 How You Rank
source
Show some support for my Filipino Auntie for courageously showing up and giving each test a shot! She was really nervous but ended up having a lot of fun 🙂 . And if you want me to take care of all the guesswork for you with your training, nutrition, mobility, and cardio – so you simply follow the plan – you can try 2 weeks free of our BWS+ fitness app here: https://bws.plus/16a . It'll not only get you into the best shape of your life, but it'll make sure your body is taken care of in all aspects. Cheers!
Not me trying to get up from the ground without support for 10 minutes. I'm actually amazed I can't do this anymore. When I was younger this was the easiest thing in the world to me (and I'm only 25 now!). Damn.
i dont know if it’s your vibe or your guests or what but you do a great job of celebrating the super fit people as well as encouraging the less fit. it makes physical fitness feel more like a journey we’re all on rather than just a place to feel bad or show off. i love these videos!
As soon as I saw Mariana's back, I was like, "those are climber muscles!" She's my new hero, btw. ❤
I would like to see more of Mariana and Melinda please!! ♥
I clocked Mariana’s climbing physique and feel so inspired! I am a 25 year old climber hopefully i can be like her 🙂
Is there something else I can do other than that mile run? I had a right mcl tear couple of years ago and while I can jog lightly and for short intervals I can’t go fast. I do alot of stairmaster and can maintain 65-72 steps a minute for an hour and when I do my Norwegian 4×4 I can keep at 100 steps a min for 4 minutes and rest for 3 and do that for 4 rounds. It does translate into being able to do a 5 mile jog but I don’t do it bc a 5 mile jog I’ve found has my knee swell. So what’s an alternative for the run ?
When they said "54 is almost 60" l lost interest.
yash is cute 🥵
I need Mariana to start vlogging
Mariana is AMAZING!!! 😲
The core strength test is dependent on lower-upper body proportions, no? Are the feet allowed to float? Mine do, seems I can't do anything about it. Longlegsz.
I only jumped 200 cm as a 16 yo male. Is it bad?
Jeremy, can you please comment on these tests themselves.. are they validated fitness tests?
When I watch Mariana jump, I can see that one problem with her not being able to stick the landing is her shoes. Far too many people wear shoes that curl up in the front, narrow in the toes, and have wayyyyy too much cushion in the sole (that trend needs to die!!). All of that really throws off your balance. Look for shoes that don't have any heel raise and not so much cushion underneath. You want floor feel and not bounceback. Shoes should also allow your toes to splay as they should when you are barefoot.
The three finger pullups reminded me of a guy I knew in high school who could do muscle ups and he could do pull ups with one finger
Mariana is a goat 😮
Tim Hotron's ? Is this in Canada? Where?
this video has inspired me to try and get my mile time down. I currently never push my mile time as I prefer to just cruise when I jog. ao like a 11-12 min pac for a 5k. but Im curious to see if I can get to 1 mile under 10 min.
Aunti is so cute.
she looks 70
When we did long jumps in school, if you couldn't stick the landing, it didn't count. That's why I always incorporate balance and stability work as well as unilateral strength work.
Poor Yash, I think he did graet with the running, weighted pull-ups, and Bulgarians. Can we give him .5 of a point?
Forget 25% of my body weight…the lunge aint the problem, it's the grip strength
How about the dead hang/grip strength test? That would’ve been a nice addition too
15:40 bro is a looser
Mariana is straight GOALS 🔥🔥🔥
For core she doesn’t do hanging leg raises, she does toes to bar which is even crazier
Marianna looks like she is just having fun with her exercises 😂
you can have abs at 20% BF, you know.
Does Mariana have a YouTube channel?
6:45.. how much does Mariana weigh? She is holding 40lbs in each hand, so she is… only 80lbs 😮 or did she use the lighter weights because of her age? 🤔
I bet Mariana Climbs
Yet more proof that climbers are secretly all Super Saiyans.
Mariana is stroooong
Aunty is so cute with her little laughter 🥰
Melinda is a cutie. Does she prefer red or white? She seems fun to be around.
Is there access to a broad jump score ranking chart that takes a person's height into account? My daughter is 5' 10" and jumps 2 meters easily. I am 5'3" and I jumped one inch short of my height, wah… but thought I did well for being 58. I am very, very lazy and don't work out, so I know I can improve.
Salto 2 pts como 2metros y algo, he llegado a hacer 8reps en zancadas con 73kg en mancuernas (peso 57kg) y siento que si podría hacer las 8reps en sentadilla búlgara con peso corporal asi que 1pto 👀. He sido capaz de hacer dominadas a un mano 3reps en ambos brazos, he hecho dominadas con 40kg 4 reps.Respecto a correr tengo resistencia porque a veces lo hago pero no sé que distancia recorro ni en cuanto tiempo y respecto a lo del salto digo que fueron 2 metros porque salte más allá de mi altura, no se con exactitud, solo medio con mi propio cuerpo. Falte por lo de los abs, me siento capaz pero no he hecho la prueba, y la movilidad pararme y sentarme estoy bien 2 puntos ahí. AAHHH no sé si ni para que comento si me faltan pruebas
Bro!! Mariana is a beast!! What an inspiration.
Also, in cahoots with Ravin's statement about rather having less life expectancy than running, it is said that vegans live 7 years longer than meat eaters. 7 terrible, bacon-less years.
Marianna should be the goal for old people. Not Cher, with her millions. I say this because I saw a post somewhere about all th women saying "She's 70 and she looks like this? That's my goal!" Rubbish, I say.
Very nice broad range of exercises, where almost everyone will find something to work on. 👍
I wonder how effective it will be to think explosively during squats
I mean, you cannot compare doing 5 pullups (women test) with doing 3 pullups with 40% bodywight extra (men).
Of course in this instance the women is twice the age, so that's properly right, although you comparing a top athlete women (for her age) with a slightly above average man.
Voting poll for Mariana here~~✋
I saw that "dear basketball" @ 17:30 Y'all are not only informative but also entertaining😂
When I grow up, I want to be Mariana.
AMAZING! The lady with the silver hair is in super shape. She is a great inspiration to all of us. Heading to the gym right now to practice pull ups/chin ups. 🙂
I like that I'm freakishly good at one (Test 5) and freakishly bad at one (Test 3)