Guide
Bench to Squat Ratio: What Is Normal? (Powerlifting Data)
· By Sahil Shriwardhankar · PennyLume
Among the tested, raw powerlifters in our data, the median bench press is about two-thirds of the median squat for men (a bench to squat ratio of roughly 0.66) and a little over half for women (roughly 0.55). Put the other way round, the squat is about 1.5 times the bench for men and about 1.8 times for women. The ratio barely moves across bodyweight bands, which makes it a handy sanity check, with the caveats below.
What is a normal bench to squat ratio?
We worked out the 50th percentile (the median) of each lift from the public OpenPowerlifting data, then divided one by the other within each bodyweight band. The kilogram values come from the tables in how much should you bench, squat or deadlift for your weight.
| Sex | Bodyweight (kg) | Median squat (kg) | Median bench (kg) | Bench ÷ squat | Squat ÷ bench |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | up to 66 | 150 | 100 | 0.67 | 1.50 |
| Men | 66-74 | 170 | 112.5 | 0.66 | 1.51 |
| Men | 74-83 | 185 | 122.5 | 0.66 | 1.51 |
| Men | 83-93 | 200 | 130 | 0.65 | 1.54 |
| Men | 93-105 | 210 | 140 | 0.67 | 1.50 |
| Men | 105-120 | 225 | 150 | 0.67 | 1.50 |
| Men | over 120 | 237.5 | 160 | 0.67 | 1.48 |
| Women | up to 52 | 90 | 50 | 0.56 | 1.80 |
| Women | 52-57 | 100 | 55 | 0.55 | 1.82 |
| Women | 57-63 | 105 | 60 | 0.57 | 1.75 |
| Women | 63-72 | 112.5 | 62.5 | 0.56 | 1.80 |
| Women | 72-84 | 120.2 | 65 | 0.54 | 1.85 |
| Women | over 84 | 130 | 70 | 0.54 | 1.86 |
The pattern held at the 25th and 75th percentiles too: about 0.65 to 0.67 for men and 0.54 to 0.57 for women in every band.
Why is the women's ratio lower?
Women's bench numbers are lower relative to their squat. A whole-body MRI study of 468 adults found the muscle-mass gap between men and women was about 40% in the upper body and 33% in the lower body (Janssen et al. 2000). A wider upper-body gap fits a lower bench to squat ratio, though the tables above only show the pattern and do not prove the cause.
How to use your own ratio
- Take a recent best set for each lift and use the same unit for both. If you only have a set of several reps, an estimated one-rep max is fine, but estimates get shakier as reps climb.
- Divide your bench by your squat. Divide the other way round for squat to bench.
- Compare with your row. A bench well above two-thirds of your squat, or well below it, is not a fault. It usually means one lift has had more training than the other.
Do not chase a number. Gym lifts are often not judged for depth or a pause, so a gym squat can flatter you, and a deeper, controlled lift is worth more than a heavier partial one.
What about the deadlift?
The same tables give a deadlift to squat ratio of about 1.06 to 1.23 for men and 1.15 to 1.28 for women, falling as bodyweight rises. That is the median deadlift divided by the median squat in each band.
What these ratios do not tell you
- They are ratios of two medians, not measurements on the same lifters. We divided one percentile by another. We did not compute each lifter's own bench to squat ratio, so an individual lifter's ratio can sit well away from these values.
- The data are meet lifters. They are drug-tested, raw (no supportive gear) powerlifters who competed. That is not the same as everyone who goes to a gym, so a lower ratio in your own training says nothing bad about you.
- They are our own calculations. A different filter would shift the numbers. Filters: full-power meets, raw, drug-tested, age 18 and over, all three lifts successful, no disqualifications, one row per lifter from their best meet by total, giving 245,234 lifters. Data from openpowerlifting.org, downloaded 9 October 2026.
If you have an injury or a health condition, ask a clinician before pushing for heavy singles. This post is general information, not medical advice.
Where do you go from here?
Write down your two lifts, work out the ratio, and check it again in three months. For how the letter ranks in Kyulift use bodyweight multiples, read strength levels explained.
Kyulift is a private workout log with no account, live on Google Play. It is an offer, not a requirement: a notebook works for this too.
Related
- How much should you bench, squat or deadlift for your weight?
- How Kyulift's F to S strength ranks work
- Bench, squat and deadlift percentile calculator
- Progressive overload: how to add weight and reps without guessing
Sources
Last checked 2026-10-26.
- OpenPowerlifting data service (public domain; bulk file downloaded 9 October 2026). Ratios in this post are our own calculations from that data.
- Full methodology and percentile tables: how much should you bench, squat or deadlift for your weight.
Bench-to-squat and squat-to-bench ratios for every band are downloadable from the strength standards dataset page (CSV, JSON, CC BY 4.0).
