This exercise is about more than arm candy.
A buff pair of biceps isn’t just a looksmaxxer must-have — upper-body strength can also clue you in to how well you’ll age.
And you don’t need to put on a big performance at your local gym or a high-end longevity center to test yours: Bruno Pontes, an ACSM and AFAA-certified personal trainer at online fitness app Muscle Booster, says all it takes is a simple 30-second curl test to assess your upper-body muscular strength and endurance.
“The benefit of the 30-second arm curl test is that you don’t need access to a gym to do it,” Pontes told The Post. “It acts as a useful gauge of how well your muscles can repeatedly produce force over a short period.”
“What makes muscular strength and endurance relevant to longevity is that they both help us remain functional and independent later in life, meaning we can perform everyday activities by ourselves for longer,” he went on.
“Being able to lift, carry, push and pull things, get up from a chair and complete daily tasks requires a certain level of muscular function.”
To complete the test, all you need is a sturdy chair and a dumbbell, either an 8-pound one for men or a 5-pound one for women.
How to do the curl test
Sit on the chair with a straight back and feet flat on the floor, holding the dumbbell in your dominant hand with an underhand grip and the arm fully extended.
Perform a bicep curl by bending your elbow and curling the weight toward your shoulder, then lowering it back until your arm is straight again.
The goal is to complete as many repetitions correctly, with a controlled pace, in 30 seconds.
“It’s important that the movement comes primarily from your elbow rather than swinging your whole arm or using your body to generate momentum,” Pontes explained.
“If you can’t maintain good form, stop the test rather than sacrificing technique to achieve a higher number.”
How many curls do you need to do?
There’s no single number of curls that determines a good score, as performance will vary based on age, sex and fitness level.
For men Pontes reccommends:
Age 60 to 64: 22
Age 65 to 69: 21 or more
Age 70 to 74: 19 or more
Age 75 to 79: 18 or more
Age 80 to 84: 16 or more
For women, Pontes recommends:
Age 60 to 64: 19
Age 65 to 69: 18 or more
Age 70 to 74: 16 or more
Age 75 to 79: 15 or more
Age 80 to 84: 14 or more
However, Pontes adds that documenting your own progress is also beneficial to “track how your muscular strength improves through the weeks or months.”
Muscular strength and endurance help us remain mobile and independent later in life, with resistance training being a great way to build and maintain muscle throughout adulthood, no matter your age.
To improve your curl score, Pontes recommends bicep curls for increasing arm and grip strength.
Start with a weight that allows you to perform the movement with good technique, gradually increasing as you become stronger.
Inverted rows can help strengthen the upper back, lats and biceps, as well as bodyweight exercises like wall or traditional floor pushups.
While upper-body strength is important as we age, one test for primarily one muscle isn’t enough to make conclusions about someone’s fitness level or how long they’ll live.
Instead, it’s important to remember that “cardiovascular fitness, lower-body strength, balance, mobility and body composition all contribute to physical function and healthy aging,” Pontes said.
