How to do it
- Setup
- Stand near — not on — a low box or bench, at roughly the depth you expect to be your limit. Arms crossed over your chest or reaching straight out in front — no hands on your knees or the floor.
- Execution
- Lower yourself to a series of progressively deeper positions. From each one, pause, then stand back up in one smooth motion — no bounce, no rocking, no hand assistance. The deepest position you can stand up from cleanly is this month's score. Note whether that stand-up felt smooth or wobbly.
- Common error
- Bouncing out of the bottom or rocking the torso to build momentum — that tests your ability to cheat the test, not your controlled strength. Reset and go again without the bounce.
- Feel
- The winning depth should feel hard but clean — like you only just made it, with no wobble. Compare the number and the smooth-or-wobbly note to last month's screen, not to anyone else's depth.
Squat down to the deepest position you can control, then stand back up with no bounce, no hand-push, no momentum — the depth you can do that from cleanly is the score.