Timed Up and Go Calculator
Balance

Timed Up and Go

Mobility, gait & fall-risk screen

Start
Seated in an armchair (~46 cm seat), back resting
Course
On “go,” stand, walk 3 m, turn, return, sit
Pace
Comfortable speed · usual shoes & walking aid
Timing
From “go” until seated again — faster is better
The turn and the sit-down are where people lose balance on this test. Walk at a pace that feels safe rather than racing the clock, use your usual walking aid, and have someone walk beside you if you are unsteady on your feet.
How to Perform It

The Course, Step by Step

One continuous timed trip: up from the chair, out to a line, back again, and down. All you need is an armchair, a stopwatch, and a line on the floor.

The Setup

Seen from above. Mark a line on the floor 3 meters from the chair, with a clear, uncluttered path between them.

Timed Up and Go course layout, seen from above An armchair on the left faces right. A line is marked on the floor 3 meters away on the right. An arrow runs from the chair out to the line, turns around, and runs back to the chair. Chair Start & finish Line Turn here Walk out Walk back 3 m (~10 ft)
Measure from the front of the chair to the line. The route is a single out-and-back trip; the clock runs the whole way.

The Sequence

The clock starts on the word “go” and stops once you are seated back in the chair.

Illustration of the start position for the Timed Up and Go test: an older man with short gray-white hair sits in profile in a standard armchair, facing right. He sits well back with his back resting against the backrest, both feet flat on the floor with his knees bent at about a right angle, and his forearms resting on the armrests. He looks alert and ready to stand. The test also ends in this same seated position.
1 · Start & finish

Seated, Back to the Chair

Sit well back in an armchair with your feet flat and forearms on the armrests. You may push up from the armrests to stand. The test ends back in this same position.

Illustration of the walking phase of the Timed Up and Go test: the same older man walks toward the right in profile, away from an empty armchair behind him. He is mid-stride at a comfortable, everyday pace, with a moderate step, an upright torso, his head up, and his arms swinging gently at his sides.
2 · Walk

Your Usual Pace

Walk at a comfortable, everyday pace — not a race. Wear your usual shoes and use your usual walking aid if you have one; the figures here don’t, but you should.

Illustration of the turn in the Timed Up and Go test: the same older man stands on a short strip of tape marking the turning line, caught partway through turning around. His body faces the viewer as he turns with small, controlled steps, his head turned toward the left in the direction he is about to walk back. His torso is upright and his arms are held slightly out from his sides for balance.
3 · Turn

Turn at the Line

Walk to the line, turn around, and head back. The turn is where balance is most often lost; a few small steps are steadier than pivoting on one foot.

Illustration of how to stay close to someone for safety during the Timed Up and Go test: the same older man walks toward the right at a comfortable pace while a younger woman walks beside him, about half a step behind, matching his stride. Her near hand is held open just behind his upper back, close enough to steady him if he stumbled but not touching him, and she looks calm and attentive.
Safety

Walk Alongside, Don’t Hold On

If you are unsteady on your feet, have someone walk beside you, about half a step behind, with a hand ready but not touching. Stay especially close through the turn and the sit-down. Holding on would support the walk and change the time, so the hand stays off unless it is actually needed — safety comes first, and a stumble ends the trial regardless.

Based on Podsiadlo & Richardson (1991). One practice trip is allowed before the timed trial. Timing starts on “go” and stops when you are seated again — neither moment can be shown in a still image, so have whoever holds the stopwatch be consistent about both. Keep the chair, the distance, your footwear, and any walking aid the same between tests so your times stay comparable.

Watch It Performed

Timed Up and Go — Demonstration

An external clinical demonstration of the full sequence, walked at a normal pace.

This video is hosted externally on YouTube and is not produced by Amatal. It’s provided as a visual reference only. Clinical protocols differ in small ways — some mark the turn with a cone rather than a line, and published fall-risk cut-offs range from 12 to 13.5 seconds — so the written protocol and thresholds above take precedence if anything differs.

Related Tests
  • Functional Reach Test — how far you can reach forward without stepping, another quick fall-risk screen read against age and sex norms.
  • Single-Leg Stance — static balance: how long you can hold one leg, with published fall-risk cut points.
  • Multi-Directional Reach Test — your limits of stability forward, backward, and to each side.

All Balance Tests

Disclaimer

This tool scores the Timed Up and Go test — how long it takes to stand from a chair, walk a short distance, turn, return, and sit — and reads your time against published age norms and fall-risk thresholds. It is a screening and general-information tool, not a medical assessment or a prediction of falls. Test in a clear space with sturdy support and someone nearby, and use your usual walking aid. If you have balance concerns, dizziness, or a history of falls, consult a healthcare provider.

How the Timed Up and Go Calculator Works

The Timed Up and Go (TUG) measures basic functional mobilityThe everyday movements of standing up, walking, turning, and sitting down — the transfers you rely on dozens of times a day. by timing a short, everyday sequence: stand up from a chair, walk three meters, turn, walk back, and sit down. That string of ordinary movements turns out to be one of the most useful quick screens for mobility and fall risk, because it rolls several abilities into a single number.

It was introduced by Diane Podsiadlo and Sandra Richardson in 1991 (refining an earlier “Get Up and Go” test) and is now a standard tool in clinics worldwide — quick, needs only a chair, a stopwatch, and three meters of floor.

Step 1: Set Up and Time the Test

  • Start seated in a standard armchair (about a 46 cm seat), back resting against the chair.
  • On the word “go,” stand up, walk three meters at a comfortable, safe pace, turn around, walk back, and sit down again.
  • Use your usual footwear and walking aid if you have one — the test reflects how you actually move.
  • Timing runs from “go” until you are seated again. One practice trial is allowed; record the timed run. Faster is better.

Step 2: Your Time, Two Ways

Fall-risk thresholds. Your time is placed into a band drawn from published cut points:

  • Lower fall risk — under 12 seconds.
  • Increased fall risk — 12 to 13.5 seconds (the CDC’s screening flag).
  • High fall risk — 13.5 seconds or more (a threshold with high specificityA slow time at this threshold rarely shows up in people who aren’t at risk, so crossing it is a meaningful flag. A 2014 meta-analysis of ten studies put its specificity at about 74%. for falls).
  • Dependent mobility — 30 seconds or more, a level typically associated with needing help to move.

Age comparison. For ages 60 and over, your time is also set against the average for your age group, so you can see whether you’re quicker or slower than typical — separate from the fall-risk bands.

Why Several Thresholds?

The TUG has no single “official” cutoff — different research groups landed on different lines for different purposes, and that’s genuinely how the evidence sits. Rather than pick one and hide the rest, the calculator layers the well-established ones: the CDC’s 12-second screening flag, the 13.5-second mark, which rarely flags people who aren’t at risk, and the 30-second level from the original study that signals dependent mobility. Each comes from a real source, and together they give a graded read instead of a single pass/fail.

Why the Cutoffs Are an Older-Adult Screen

These thresholds were validated in older adults, and the age averages start at 60 for the same reason — that’s the population the reference data describes. A healthy younger adult typically finishes in well under 10 seconds, so clearing the 12-second line says little about them. For anyone under 60, the calculator notes this and treats the test mainly as a personal baseline to track over time: a sudden slowing of more than a couple of seconds is more telling than the absolute number.

A Note on Sex

The age averages are pooled across men and women. That’s deliberate: the sex difference in TUG time is small and doesn’t run consistently in one direction — women tend to be marginally quicker in the early 60s, and the gap narrows or reverses with age — so a single pooled average is the honest summary rather than splitting it into two shaky numbers.

Reading the Gauge and the Table

  • Where You Fall (gauge) — a scale colored green → orange → red → dark red at the 12, 13.5, and 30-second lines, with your time marked below the bar and, for ages 60+, your age average marked above it.
  • Reference Times by Age (table) — the average TUG time for each older-adult age group and the point above which a time counts as slower than typical, with your group highlighted.

Why the TUG Works

A single time captures a lot at once: the leg strength to rise from a chair, your gait speedHow fast you walk — on its own one of the strongest predictors of mobility and health in older adults. over the three meters, the dynamic balance to keep moving, and — often the riskiest moment — the turn. Turning demands quick, coordinated weight-shifting, and it’s where many real falls happen, so a test that includes a turn tends to screen well. Its repeatability is excellent (inter-rater reliability around 0.99), which is part of why it’s so widely trusted.

What Affects Your Time

  • Leg strength — Rising from the chair and controlling the sit-down both draw on lower-limb power.
  • Walking speed and balance — Your natural pace and steadiness over the short walk and turn.
  • Footwear and walking aids — Using your usual aid is correct, not cheating; it reflects real-world mobility.
  • The chair and setup — Seat height, armrests, and floor surface all nudge the time, so repeat tests should use the same setup.

Data Sources

  • Podsiadlo D, Richardson S (1991). “The Timed ‘Up & Go’: a test of basic functional mobility for frail elderly persons.” Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 39(2):142–148 — the test and its functional-mobility milestones, including the 30-second level.
  • Bohannon RW (2006). “Reference values for the Timed Up and Go Test: A Descriptive Meta-Analysis.” Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy, 29(2):64–68 — the age-group averages (60–99) used here.
  • Shumway-Cook A, et al. (2000) and the CDC STEADI initiative — the 13.5-second and 12-second fall-risk thresholds, respectively.
  • Barry E, Galvin R, Keogh C, Horgan F, Fahey T (2014). “Is the Timed Up and Go test a useful predictor of risk of falls in community dwelling older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” BMC Geriatrics, 14:14 — pooled specificity of 0.74 and sensitivity of 0.31 at the 13.5-second cut point, the basis for treating the TUG as better at confirming fall risk than ruling it out, and as a screen to use alongside other measures rather than in isolation.

Limitations and Important Caveats

  • Better at confirming risk than ruling it out. A slow time is a meaningful flag, but some people who go on to fall still finish within the normal range — so a quick time is reassuring, not a guarantee.
  • The thresholds are population-specific. They were set in community-dwelling older adults; other groups have their own cut points (for example, longer times after hip fracture), and the test isn’t designed for children.
  • One moment in time. A single run is a snapshot. The trend matters more — a sudden increase of more than about two seconds between tests is worth raising with a clinician.
  • It’s a screen, not a diagnosis. The TUG points to who may need a closer look; it doesn’t explain why, and works best alongside other measures.

Disclaimer:
This calculator scores the Timed Up and Go test against published age norms and fall-risk thresholds. It is for general informational and screening purposes only and is not a medical assessment, a diagnosis, or a prediction of falls. Always test in a clear space with sturdy support within reach and someone nearby, and use your usual footwear and walking aid. The thresholds apply to older adults and should not, on their own, drive conclusions about your balance or decisions about activity — a normal time does not guarantee safety, and a slow one does not confirm a problem. If you have balance concerns, dizziness, frailty, or a history of falls, consult a qualified healthcare provider. This tool does not replace professional assessment.