Sit-Ups (30s)

The Eurofit Sit-Up test measures abdominal muscular endurance as the number of sit-ups completed in 30 seconds. Also known as the curl-up or abdominal crunch test in some batteries. Data are from Tomkinson et al. (2018), a pooled analysis of 481,032 European children and adolescents from 23 countries aged 9–17 — the largest Eurofit sample. This test uses a 30-second protocol; see Cooper Sit-Ups for the 1-minute adult law enforcement protocol.

How to Perform This Test

Equipment

Exercise mat or cushioned surface
Stopwatch

Steps

Participant lies on their back on a mat, knees bent at 90°, feet flat on the floor.
Arms are crossed over the chest with hands on opposite shoulders.
A partner holds the participant's feet flat on the floor throughout.
On 'go', the participant performs as many complete sit-ups as possible in 30 seconds.
A complete sit-up: elbows touch knees on the up phase, shoulders touch the mat on the down phase.
Record the total number of complete sit-ups.

Scoring

Total complete sit-ups in 30 seconds. Higher scores indicate better abdominal muscular endurance.

Notes

This is a 30-second protocol. The 1-minute sit-up test (Cooper) uses a different protocol and population — norms are not interchangeable.

Data source: Tomkinson et al. 2018 (Eurofit) (2018) · n=481K About this study

Sit-Ups (30s) Norms by Age and Sex (reps)

Age	Sex	Percentile
		5th	25th	50th	75th	95th
9	Male	9	14	17	21	25
9	Female	9	14	17	20	25
10	Male	11	16	19	23	27
10	Female	10	15	18	21	26
11	Male	13	17	20	24	28
11	Female	11	16	19	22	26
12	Male	14	18	21	25	29
12	Female	12	16	19	22	26
13	Male	14	19	22	25	29
13	Female	12	16	19	22	26
14	Male	15	20	23	26	30
14	Female	12	17	19	22	26
15	Male	17	21	24	27	31
15	Female	13	17	20	23	26
16	Male	18	22	25	28	32
16	Female	13	17	20	23	27
17	Male	18	23	25	29	33
17	Female	13	18	20	23	27

What to expect by age group

Typical range (25th to 75th percentile) by age group (reps)
Age	Males	Females
9	14 to 21	14 to 20
10	16 to 23	15 to 21
11	17 to 24	16 to 22
12	18 to 25	16 to 22
13	19 to 25	16 to 22
14	20 to 26	17 to 22
15	21 to 27	17 to 23
16	22 to 28	17 to 23
17	23 to 29	18 to 23

Detailed Breakdowns

Select an age group and sex below for detailed percentile charts, tables, and ratings.

Males

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Females

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Age trend (percentiles)

Frequently Asked Questions

How is this different from the Cooper Sit-Up test?

The Eurofit Sit-Up test uses a 30-second protocol and was developed for European school-aged children (9–17 years). The Cooper Sit-Up test uses a 1-minute protocol and was developed for adult fitness assessment, with norms drawn from Cooper Clinic patients and widely adopted by US law enforcement academies. The results are not interchangeable — norms on this page apply only to the 30-second Eurofit protocol.

Why do girls' scores plateau from age 11?

Girls' median scores are essentially constant from age 11 to 17 (19–20 reps). This is a consistent finding in Eurofit data and reflects that female puberty (increased body fat relative to muscle mass) does not provide an abdominal strength advantage, unlike the testosterone-driven muscle gains in boys. Boys improve steadily from 17 reps (age 9) to 25 reps (age 17).

Is P25 interpolated?

Yes. Tomkinson et al. (2018) report P10, P20, P30, P70, P80, and P90 directly. P25 is approximated as round((P20+P30)/2) and P75 as round((P70+P80)/2), consistent with the convention for all Eurofit metrics on this site.

Related Metrics

Eurofit Battery

This metric is part of the Eurofit, a standardised 9-test battery for children and adolescents aged 6-18.