Skin the Cat Strength Standards

Understanding Your Skin the Cat Strength Score

Your Skin the Cat score is the number of strict reps completed in one continuous set. Enter the total number of strict reps completed in the continuous set; do not combine separate sets. The calculator compares that result with the standards for the sex, age range, and bodyweight you select.

The score is useful only when every attempt follows the same movement standard. Begin the attempt from this position: a straight-arm dead hang with feet clear. Raise the legs through inverted hang into a controlled German hang, reverse through inversion, and return to the same straight-arm dead hang; one full out-and-back cycle is one rep.

Count the result this way: score total reps only and never aggregate separate sets. Elbow bend, foot contact, dropping through shoulder extension, missing German-hang depth, failing to return to hang, kip, assistance, or added weight. Keep apparatus, range, side order, reset, and scoring identical on retest.

Skin the Cat Strength Standards

These are Endura’s standards for comparing consistent Skin the Cat attempts. They are exercise-specific practical benchmarks, not population averages.

How Endura set these standards: The approved Skin the Cat model defines Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, and Elite strict-repetition benchmarks for men and women in five age groups. Each exact threshold and tier boundary is checked against the calculator before publication.

The tables organize Skin the Cat standards by sex and age. Compare your strict reps in one continuous set with the Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, and Elite columns. A result below the Novice threshold is classified as Beginner.

Men — Skin the Cat Standards

Women — Skin the Cat Standards

For example, men age 20-29 reach Intermediate at 5 reps, Advanced at 10 reps, and Elite at 16 reps. Women age 40-49 reach those same levels at 3 reps, 6 reps, and 10 reps. These examples come directly from the table values above.

Use the calculator to apply your exact inputs, place your result in the correct level, and see the next target without doing the table lookup yourself.

How the Skin the Cat Calculator Works

The calculator uses your sex, age group, bodyweight, and total strict reps from one continuous set. Enter the strict reps completed in one continuous set; do not combine separate sets. It compares that score with the exercise-specific Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, and Elite thresholds. Because higher is stronger for this test, more valid reps can move the result to a higher level.

The result shows your standards level, entered score, the sex and age group used, and your next target. An exact threshold counts as the higher level. Using the men’s age 20-29 reference row, 5 strict reps is Intermediate and Advanced begins at 10 strict reps, making the next target 5 additional strict reps. The calculator handles the tier lookup and target math automatically.

The calculator cannot inspect your attempt. It assumes the number entered follows the Skin the Cat Testing Rules. If the attempt became invalid before you stopped, enter only the valid reps completed before the first invalid rep.

Skin the Cat Testing Rules

Use one continuous set and record the total number of strict reps. The calculator compares the number you enter with the Skin the Cat standards, but it cannot verify how the attempt was performed. Use the exercise-specific requirements below before entering a score.

Skin the Cat Testing Checklist

What Counts and What Does Not Count

Enter only the exact Skin the Cat test described in the checklist. The examples below separate that test from common substitutions that use different loading, assistance, range, position, equipment, or counting rules.

When a call is borderline, stop the score before the first invalid rep and enter only the valid total. That keeps Skin the Cat results useful for comparison over time. Apply the same checklist every time you retest.

Elite Skin the Cat Strength Levels

Elite begins when your total strict-rep score meets or exceeds the Elite threshold for the applicable sex and age group. Because the tier boundary is lower-inclusive, a score exactly equal to the threshold counts as Elite. The table shows every public Elite starting point for Skin the Cat.

An Elite result still has to follow the same Skin the Cat Testing Rules; if the attempt became invalid earlier, use only the valid reps completed before the first invalid rep. After Elite, the calculator can show a separate rep stretch target when one is available, but that target does not replace or redefine the Elite threshold.

Milestones and Next Targets

Your next Skin the Cat target is the first strength-level threshold above your current valid rep score. The calculator uses your selected sex, age group, bodyweight, and strict reps in one continuous set, subtracts your result from that threshold, and shows the exact additional strict reps needed.

The table shows the complete jumps between level starting points for the age 20–29 reference group; your personal gap may be smaller because it begins from your current result rather than the previous level’s minimum.

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