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About this tool
Score a sit-and-reach box reading against age and sex flexibility norms, in cm or inches, and track change between tests.
The Sit and Reach Flexibility Test scores a sit-and-reach box reading against the CSEP trunk forward flexion norms for your age band and sex, rating you from Excellent down to Needs improvement. Readings in inches, or from a box whose footline is marked 23 cm rather than the standard 26 cm, are converted onto the 26 cm scale first so every test is compared on the same basis. Entering a previous reading also shows the centimetre change between tests, which is what actually tells you whether a stretching routine is working.
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Add your input to the workspace.
Adjust the options until the result looks right.
Copy or download the output and put it to work.
Inches and 23 cm footline boxes are normalised to the 26 cm standard.
Shows how far past or short of the toes you reached, since 26 cm is the footline.
A previous reading gives the change in cm and in, not just a new band.
On the CSEP 26 cm scale, a man aged 20-29 needs 30 cm for Good and 40 cm for Excellent; a woman the same age needs 33 cm for Good and 41 cm for Excellent. Because the footline reads 26 cm, anything above 26 means you reached past your toes.
Warm up for five to ten minutes, remove your shoes, sit with legs straight and feet flat against the box. Reach forward slowly with one hand over the other, push the marker as far as you can and hold for two seconds without bouncing. Record the best of three or four trials.
The scale origin differs. On a box with the footline at 26 cm, touching your toes scores 26; on a 23 cm box the same reach scores 23. This tool adds the 3 cm difference back so both read on the standard scale. Always note which box you used when logging results.
Not on its own. The test reflects hamstring and lower-back length, and results are also skewed by arm-to-leg proportions, so someone with long arms scores higher at the same true flexibility. Research links it only weakly to injury risk. Use it to track your own change over time, and see a physiotherapist if limited range comes with pain or nerve symptoms.