Assessing your lower-body strength is essential for gauging your fitness level and identifying areas for improvement. Strong glutes and legs are vital for maintaining mobility and stability, both in workouts and everyday activities. To help you build a solid foundation, we consulted with a fitness expert who shares the top exercises for testing lower-body strength. These drills will empower you to move confidently and enhance your performance in your routine.

1RM Back Squat Test

"The one-rep max barbell back squat is the ultimate test for overall lower-body strength," says Katie Kollath, ACE-CPT and co-founder of Barpath Fitness. "This exercise challenges the strength of your glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves, and core."

How To Do It:

  1. Use a barbell with progressive weight increases to determine the maximum amount of weight you're able to lift to perform one complete squat with solid form.
  2. Rest between each set to avoid fatigue impacting your results.
  3. Squatting one times your body weight falls under the category of "athletic and advanced strength."

1RM Deadlift Test

"This will test your posterior chain strength, particularly in the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back," Kollath tells us.

How To Do It:

  1. Use the same structure leading up to your one rep max as instructed above.
  2. Being able to deadlift 1.25 times or more of your body weight falls under the category of "athletic and advanced strength."

Pistol Squat Test

A pistol squat challenges you to lift one leg while balancing and squatting on the other, ensuring that the foot of your squatting leg stays grounded. This movement activates your hip flexors, quads, glutes, calves, and tibialis.

“This exercise tests the strength of each limb,” explains Kollath. “It also assesses hip and ankle stability, as well as hip flexor strength on the non-squatting leg.”

How to Do It:

  1. Perform as many pistol squats as you can on one leg.
  2. Completing 1 to 5 reps on each leg indicates "advanced single-leg strength."

Vertical Jump Test

The vertical jump test is an excellent measure of power and explosiveness in your legs, particularly targeting your glutes, quads, and calves.

How to Do It:

  1. Stand beside a marked wall.
  2. Jump as high as possible, reaching with one arm extended.
  3. Record the highest point reached.
  4. Take a few practice jumps and note your best result.

For an “advanced/athletic” category, men typically achieve a jump height of 20 to 24 inches, while women reach 14 to 18 inches.

Sled Push Test

"This test is going to test the muscular endurance in your lower body," Kollath explains. "[It] will assess overall lower-body power and strength, especially in the quads, glutes, and calves."

How To Do It:

  1. Load a sled with weight.
  2. Push the sled across a distance as fast as you can, or measure the maximum amount of weight you're able to push for a particular distance.
  3. Falling into the "advanced testing category" means you're able to load the sled with 1 to 1.5 times your body weight and push the sled for 20 to 30 meters.

Hip Thrust Test

Strong glutes equals a strong lower body!

How To Do It:

  1. Load a barbell and progress toward a weight where you're unable to perform the 4th rep.
  2. Position your upper back against the side of a stable workout bench and use a hip thrust pad.
  3. The barbell should rest on the tops of your thighs.
  4. Press your feet into the floor and extend your hips up until they're parallel to the ground.
  5. Keep your chin tucked.
  6. Falling into the "athletic and advanced strength" category means you're able to thrust 1.5 to 2 times your body weight.

Isometric Mid-Thigh Pull

"[The isometric mid thigh pull] tests maximal isometric force output of the lower body, which reflects overall lower-body strength," Kollath tells us. "This is a maximal effort test that doesn't require movement, reducing injury risk."

How To Do It:

  1. Position a barbell at mid-thigh level.
  2. Pull upward as hard as you're able to without actually lifting the barbell.
  3. Remain in this position as long as you're able to before putting the barbell down.
  4. "Peak force" is generally achieved within 3 to 5 seconds. According to Kollath, most protocols recommend a 3-second max pull to achieve the highest force output.
  5. Two to 2.5 times your bodyweight falls into the "intermediate" category and 3 times your body weight is dubbed "advanced."

"Since this test measures peak force rather than endurance, it's key to focus on reaching maximum effort within a short timeframe," explains Kollath. "There isn't any weight lifted in the traditional sense. Instead, you pull against an immovable bar while force sensors or a force plate measure the amount of force you generate."

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