Key numbers
~12%
Men, per decade up to age 70 (estimated absolute leg power, cross-sectional, Coelho-Junior)
~34%
Men, per decade after age 70 (estimated absolute leg power, cross-sectional, Coelho-Junior)
~11.4%
Women, per decade up to age 70 (estimated absolute leg power, cross-sectional, Coelho-Junior)
~35%
Women, per decade after age 70 (estimated absolute leg power, cross-sectional, Coelho-Junior)
What Systematic recommends
Where to start
- Bare feet on a firm surface, such as a wood floor or thin carpet.
- Stand with your feet about hip-width apart, stand tall, briefly lock your knees, then soften them into an active position, keep the knees soft and active throughout the movement, place your hands on your hips and keep them there throughout the exercise.
- Rise onto the balls of your feet with your heels elevated, hop in place with both feet leaving the ground at the same time, land softly on the balls of both feet, keep the hops quick and continuous, cycle the hops as rapidly as you can while maintaining a soft landing, hop continuously for 10 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, repeat for 3 total rounds, stop and reassess if you feel pain, discomfort, or instability, or if you are no longer able to land softly and maintain control of the hopping pattern.
Condensed from the published Development Pathway (Standing Broad Jump: Elastic Pogo-Prep). This is a starting point, not a training program or medical advice.
How much lower it is before and after 70
Coelho-Junior and colleagues estimated lower-limb muscle power from the time to complete five sit-to-stands, together with body size and chair height, using previously validated equations. This cross-sectional study did not directly measure mechanical power with laboratory equipment, nor did it record standing broad jump distances.
Comparing age groups, estimated absolute power in men was approximately 12 percent per decade lower up to age 70, then approximately 34 percent per decade after 70. In women it was approximately 11.4 percent per decade lower up to age 70, then approximately 35 percent per decade after 70.
These are differences between age groups at one point in time, not declines measured in the same people, and they are not standing broad jump distances.
How Systematic uses these rates
Systematic applies the Coelho-Junior decline rates to extend its own broad jump reference means into older age bands. For men 61 to 70 the mean is 67.63 inches, calculated as 76.85 times 0.88; for women 61 to 70 it is 52.38 inches, calculated as 59.11 times 0.886.
The same step continues for later decades, using a factor of 0.66 for men (44.64 inches at 71 to 80, 29.46 inches at 81 plus) and 0.65 for women (34.04 inches at 71 to 80, 22.13 inches at 81 plus). These means are Systematic's own extrapolation, not jump distances measured in older adults.
How rapid force production changes with age
A systematic review and meta-analysis found that motor units discharge more slowly with age, one contributor to reduced rapid force production.
The evidence
Each cited source is labeled according to how it supports the particular claim on this page. Direct test evidence, underlying-capacity findings and population reference values are distinguished from Systematic-defined protocols and standards. Historical development notes are retained internally rather than presented as public evidence. A study of an underlying capacity is never presented as validation of the Systematic test itself.
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Normative/reference evidence
Coelho‐Junior et al. (2024; published online 2023). Sex‐ and age‐specific normative values of lower extremity muscle power in Italian community‐dwellers. Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle.
What it found. In a cross-sectional dataset of Italian community-dwellers, estimated absolute lower-extremity muscle power was lower in older age groups, with larger differences per decade after age 70 than before it, separately for men and women.
What it does not show. Power was estimated from five sit-to-stands, not measured directly, and the study recorded no standing broad jump distances. Systematic's use of its rates to extend jump reference means is Systematic's own extrapolation.
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Underlying-capacity evidence
Orssatto et al. (2022). Do motoneuron discharge rates slow with aging? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Mechanisms of Ageing and Development.
What it found. Supports age-related slowing of motor-unit discharge rates as one contributor to declining rapid force production.
What it does not show. It does not measure broad jump distance or show that slower motor-unit firing is the only cause.
The Systematic Healthspan Assessment is a physical baseline. It is not a diagnosis, and it does not estimate a biological age, a disease risk or a lifespan.