What are strength standards?

Strength standards are bodyweight-based benchmarks that rate a lift from untrained to elite. Because they scale with bodyweight, they compare lifters of different sizes fairly: a 60 kilogram lifter and a 100 kilogram lifter are held to different absolute weights but the same relative standard.

Why do strength standards differ between sources?

Every published chart is built from different data. Some use powerlifting meet results, some use gym population surveys, and some are coach estimates. Meet data skews strong, surveys skew weak, and rounding conventions differ. That is why the same squat can be intermediate on one site and advanced on another. Treat any chart, including this one, as orientation rather than an official measurement.

What is a good strength ratio for my bodyweight?

A widely used long-term goal for men is a squat at 1.5 times bodyweight, a bench press at bodyweight, and a deadlift at 2 times bodyweight, which is roughly the intermediate line. Reaching the advanced band in any lift already puts you ahead of the vast majority of gym members.

Do these standards use my one-repetition maximum?

Yes. Every threshold is a weight for one maximal repetition, so compare it against your best single, not a set of five or eight. If you never test heavy singles, estimate your one-repetition maximum from a recent hard set first, then read the table with that estimate.

How do the female standards work?

This calculator approximates female standards at 65 percent of the male bodyweight multipliers, rounded to two decimals. That gap matches what large lifting datasets show on average for the main barbell lifts, but it is an approximation, not a measured female population chart, and individual lifters vary a lot around it.

How is the weighted pull-up counted?

Only the added weight counts toward the ratio, because your bodyweight is already part of the lift. A strict pull-up with no added weight meets the untrained standard, and the elite line sits near 75 percent of your bodyweight hanging from a belt.

Free strength standards

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you really are.

Compare your best lifts against bodyweight-based strength standards, from untrained to elite. Free, instant, no signup.

Sex

Units

Lift

BodyweightkgBest liftkg

Train in rep ranges rather than testing heavy singles? The one-repetition maximum calculator estimates your best single from any recent set.

Your strength level

Novice

Your best lift is 1.25 times your bodyweight.

Standards at your bodyweight

Untrained: 60 kg0.75× bodyweight
Novice: 100 kg1.25× bodyweight
Intermediate: 120 kg1.50× bodyweight
Advanced: 160 kg2.00× bodyweight
Elite: 200 kg2.50× bodyweight

These thresholds are one-repetition maximum standards drawn from widely published strength charts. Female standards are approximated at 65 percent of the male multipliers, a reasonable rule of thumb rather than a measured population statistic. Sources differ, so treat the bands as orientation, not judgement.

How to check your strength standards

Enter your bodyweight, pick a lift, and add your best single repetition to see which strength level you reach.

1
Enter your bodyweight
Choose your sex and your units, then enter your current bodyweight.
2
Pick a lift and enter your best weight
Choose one of the eight lifts and enter the heaviest weight you can lift for a single repetition. For the weighted pull-up, enter only the added weight.
3
Read your level
See your strength level from untrained to elite, your lift-to-bodyweight ratio, and the exact weight every level requires at your bodyweight.

What the levels mean

Strength is relative. Your bodyweight sets the bar.

Untrained to novice

The first months under the bar. Most healthy adults reach the novice standards within their first year of consistent training.

Intermediate to advanced

Years of structured work. An intermediate lifter is stronger than most people in the gym, and an advanced lifter is stronger than almost everyone in the room.

Elite

The top of the drug-free curve. Elite standards take many years of training, careful programming, and a fair amount of genetic luck.

Questions, answered

Strength standards, explained.

What are strength standards?: Strength standards are bodyweight-based benchmarks that rate a lift from untrained to elite. Because they scale with bodyweight, they compare lifters of different sizes fairly: a 60 kilogram lifter and a 100 kilogram lifter are held to different absolute weights but the same relative standard.
Why do strength standards differ between sources?: Every published chart is built from different data. Some use powerlifting meet results, some use gym population surveys, and some are coach estimates. Meet data skews strong, surveys skew weak, and rounding conventions differ. That is why the same squat can be intermediate on one site and advanced on another. Treat any chart, including this one, as orientation rather than an official measurement.
What is a good strength ratio for my bodyweight?: A widely used long-term goal for men is a squat at 1.5 times bodyweight, a bench press at bodyweight, and a deadlift at 2 times bodyweight, which is roughly the intermediate line. Reaching the advanced band in any lift already puts you ahead of the vast majority of gym members.
Do these standards use my one-repetition maximum?: Yes. Every threshold is a weight for one maximal repetition, so compare it against your best single, not a set of five or eight. If you never test heavy singles, estimate your one-repetition maximum from a recent hard set first, then read the table with that estimate.
How do the female standards work?: This calculator approximates female standards at 65 percent of the male bodyweight multipliers, rounded to two decimals. That gap matches what large lifting datasets show on average for the main barbell lifts, but it is an approximation, not a measured female population chart, and individual lifters vary a lot around it.
How is the weighted pull-up counted?: Only the added weight counts toward the ratio, because your bodyweight is already part of the lift. A strict pull-up with no added weight meets the untrained standard, and the elite line sits near 75 percent of your bodyweight hanging from a belt.

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