Normal TUG Times by Age, in 60 Seconds
Healthy older adults average 8.1, 9.2 and 11.3 seconds on the Timed Up and Go. What 12 and 13.5 seconds mean, and why phases matter.
The Timed Up and Go takes about a minute: stand up, walk 3 metres, turn, walk back, sit down. What the time means:
The short version
- Healthy older adults average 8.1 s at 60–69, 9.2 s at 70–79 and 11.3 s at 80–99 (Bohannon, 2006).
- 12 s or more: "at risk for falling" in the CDC's STEADI screening.
- 13.5 s or more was associated with falls (Shumway-Cook et al., 2000). But a faster time doesn't rule falls out, so the TUG shouldn't be used alone (Barry et al., 2014).
- The instrumented TUG times six phases, so you can see whether the time goes into standing up, walking or turning.
