Guide
How Much Should You Bench, Squat or Deadlift for Your Weight?
· By Pennylume
There is no single agreed number for how much you should bench, squat or deadlift. One clinic's guide to recreational lifters gives rough ranges after about a year of training: a squat of 1 to 1.5 times bodyweight, a bench of 0.7 to 1.1 and a deadlift of 1.25 to 1.75 (Barbell Medicine). That is one source's reading, not a consensus, and the same page says those ranges roughly match the 10th percentile of competitive powerlifters in the same weight class. Below are tables so you can place yourself by sex and bodyweight instead.
What do these tables show?
We took the public OpenPowerlifting data and worked out percentiles for the squat, bench press and deadlift. Each cell shows the weight in kilograms, then the multiple of bodyweight in brackets.
These are percentiles of people who train for a powerlifting meet. They are not percentiles of everyone who goes to a gym. So the 25th percentile here is already strong for an average gym-goer, and landing below it says nothing bad about you. We did not label any column beginner, intermediate or advanced, because no source we opened defines those words by these numbers.
The 50th percentile means half of these competitors lifted less and half lifted more. The 90th means only one in ten lifted more.
How do you read the table in three steps?
- Find your bodyweight band. Weigh yourself in kilograms (divide pounds by 2.2046). The band "74-83" means over 74 and up to and including 83 kg.
- Divide your best recent lift, in kilograms, by your bodyweight. That is your multiple.
- Compare it with the multiples in your row. Between two columns means you are between those percentiles.
A worked example. A man weighs 80 kg and squats 120 kg for his best set. That is 120 ÷ 80 = 1.5 times bodyweight. His row is 74-83 kg, where the 25th percentile is 2.04× (162.5 kg). He is below the 25th percentile of competitors, which tells you about the gap to a meet lifter and little else. To check pounds, multiply kilograms by 2.2046: 120 kg is about 264.6 lb.
Squat
| Sex | Bodyweight (kg) | Lifters | 25th | 50th | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | up to 66 | 12,025 | 127.5 (2.07×) | 150 (2.43×) | 172.5 (2.76×) | 192.5 (3.06×) |
| Men | 66-74 | 21,109 | 150 (2.08×) | 170 (2.39×) | 192.5 (2.69×) | 212.5 (2.95×) |
| Men | 74-83 | 36,269 | 162.5 (2.04×) | 185 (2.32×) | 210 (2.61×) | 230 (2.87×) |
| Men | 83-93 | 36,825 | 175 (1.96×) | 200 (2.23×) | 225 (2.49×) | 245 (2.73×) |
| Men | 93-105 | 29,697 | 185 (1.87×) | 210 (2.12×) | 237.5 (2.38×) | 262.5 (2.61×) |
| Men | 105-120 | 17,365 | 195 (1.75×) | 225 (2.00×) | 252.5 (2.25×) | 280 (2.48×) |
| Men | over 120 | 10,714 | 205 (1.51×) | 237.5 (1.78×) | 272.5 (2.03×) | 305 (2.25×) |
| Women | up to 52 | 7,769 | 75 (1.54×) | 90 (1.83×) | 105 (2.13×) | 120 (2.42×) |
| Women | 52-57 | 9,391 | 85 (1.54×) | 100 (1.82×) | 117.5 (2.10×) | 130 (2.36×) |
| Women | 57-63 | 14,222 | 90 (1.48×) | 105 (1.75×) | 122.5 (2.02×) | 140 (2.28×) |
| Women | 63-72 | 19,292 | 95 (1.42×) | 112.5 (1.68×) | 130 (1.93×) | 147.5 (2.17×) |
| Women | 72-84 | 17,676 | 102.5 (1.32×) | 120.2 (1.57×) | 140 (1.83×) | 160 (2.07×) |
| Women | over 84 | 12,880 | 105 (1.06×) | 130 (1.30×) | 152.5 (1.54×) | 175 (1.76×) |
Bench press
| Sex | Bodyweight (kg) | Lifters | 25th | 50th | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | up to 66 | 12,025 | 85 (1.38×) | 100 (1.59×) | 112.5 (1.81×) | 127.5 (2.02×) |
| Men | 66-74 | 21,109 | 100 (1.38×) | 112.5 (1.57×) | 127.5 (1.76×) | 140 (1.96×) |
| Men | 74-83 | 36,269 | 107.5 (1.35×) | 122.5 (1.53×) | 137.5 (1.71×) | 152.5 (1.88×) |
| Men | 83-93 | 36,825 | 115 (1.30×) | 130 (1.47×) | 147.5 (1.64×) | 162.5 (1.81×) |
| Men | 93-105 | 29,697 | 122.5 (1.24×) | 140 (1.41×) | 157.5 (1.58×) | 175 (1.74×) |
| Men | 105-120 | 17,365 | 130 (1.16×) | 150 (1.33×) | 170 (1.50×) | 187.5 (1.65×) |
| Men | over 120 | 10,714 | 135 (1.01×) | 160 (1.18×) | 182.5 (1.36×) | 202.5 (1.51×) |
| Women | up to 52 | 7,769 | 42.5 (0.86×) | 50 (1.02×) | 60 (1.21×) | 70 (1.40×) |
| Women | 52-57 | 9,391 | 47.5 (0.85×) | 55 (1.00×) | 65 (1.18×) | 75 (1.36×) |
| Women | 57-63 | 14,222 | 50 (0.82×) | 60 (0.97×) | 70 (1.13×) | 80 (1.30×) |
| Women | 63-72 | 19,292 | 52.5 (0.78×) | 62.5 (0.91×) | 72.5 (1.07×) | 82.5 (1.23×) |
| Women | 72-84 | 17,676 | 55 (0.72×) | 65 (0.85×) | 77.5 (1.00×) | 90 (1.15×) |
| Women | over 84 | 12,880 | 58 (0.58×) | 70 (0.69×) | 82.5 (0.82×) | 95 (0.94×) |
Deadlift
| Sex | Bodyweight (kg) | Lifters | 25th | 50th | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | up to 66 | 12,025 | 160 (2.59×) | 185 (2.95×) | 205 (3.30×) | 227.5 (3.60×) |
| Men | 66-74 | 21,109 | 180 (2.53×) | 202.5 (2.84×) | 226.8 (3.14×) | 245 (3.42×) |
| Men | 74-83 | 36,269 | 195 (2.44×) | 217.5 (2.72×) | 240 (3.01×) | 262.5 (3.27×) |
| Men | 83-93 | 36,825 | 205 (2.30×) | 230 (2.57×) | 252.5 (2.82×) | 275 (3.07×) |
| Men | 93-105 | 29,697 | 215 (2.15×) | 240 (2.41×) | 265 (2.65×) | 287.5 (2.88×) |
| Men | 105-120 | 17,365 | 220 (1.98×) | 247.5 (2.20×) | 275 (2.44×) | 300 (2.66×) |
| Men | over 120 | 10,714 | 225 (1.64×) | 252.5 (1.89×) | 282.5 (2.13×) | 307.5 (2.33×) |
| Women | up to 52 | 7,769 | 97.5 (1.99×) | 115 (2.31×) | 130 (2.63×) | 145 (2.93×) |
| Women | 52-57 | 9,391 | 107.5 (1.94×) | 125 (2.24×) | 140.5 (2.55×) | 156.5 (2.81×) |
| Women | 57-63 | 14,222 | 112.5 (1.85×) | 130 (2.14×) | 147.5 (2.42×) | 162.5 (2.67×) |
| Women | 63-72 | 19,292 | 117.5 (1.75×) | 137.5 (2.01×) | 152.5 (2.27×) | 170 (2.52×) |
| Women | 72-84 | 17,676 | 125 (1.62×) | 142.5 (1.85×) | 162.5 (2.10×) | 180 (2.34×) |
| Women | over 84 | 12,880 | 130 (1.27×) | 150 (1.49×) | 170 (1.71×) | 187.5 (1.92×) |
How we made these. Data: the OpenPowerlifting bulk file openpowerlifting-2026-10-03-199bb416.csv, downloaded 9 October 2026, covering meets from 30 April 1976 to 27 September 2026. OpenPowerlifting contributes its data to the public domain and asks for credit, so: data from openpowerlifting.org. Filters: full-power meets (squat, bench and deadlift), raw (no supportive gear), drug-tested, age 18 and over, all three lifts successful, no disqualifications, and one row per lifter, from their best meet by total. That left 245,234 lifters, 164,004 men and 81,230 women. These are our own calculations, so a different filter would shift the numbers.
Why do the multiples fall as bodyweight rises?
Look down any column and the multiple shrinks as the band gets heavier, while the kilograms mostly go up. A heavier lifter moves more weight but less per kilo of bodyweight. So a flat rule such as "bench your bodyweight" is easier for a light person than a heavy one.
Researchers have measured this. A 2026 study of 760,048 raw, drug-tested entries found that plain ratios stayed strongly tied to body mass (a correlation of 0.473 for totals), compared with about 0.06 to 0.10 for Wilks, DOTS and Goodlift (Fahey 2026). Wilks, the long-used correction, was judged in 1999 not to be based on published data and to show some bias (Vanderburgh and Batterham). A 2026 paper on 101,898 lifters aged 21 to 49 also found relative strength dropping non-linearly with body mass (Montenegro et al.). That is why our tables split by bodyweight band.
Why are women's numbers lower, especially on the bench?
A whole-body MRI study of 468 adults found men carried 33.0 kg of skeletal muscle on average against 21.0 kg for women, 38.4% versus 30.6% of body mass. The gap was about 40% in the upper body and 33% in the lower (Janssen et al. 2000).
That fits the tables. Look at the 50th percentile for a 63-72 kg woman: a squat of 1.68× but a bench of 0.91×. For men in the 66-74 kg band it is 2.39× and 1.57×. The bench gap is wider because the upper-body muscle gap is wider.
Does age change the numbers?
Yes. In an analysis of 809,986 drug-tested, unequipped entries, relative strength was highest at ages 18 to 35 and fell afterwards (van den Hoek et al. 2024). For men, the 90th percentile squat was 2.83× bodyweight at 18 to 35 and 1.72× above 80. Our tables use ages 18 and up, so they blend ages and read a little lower than a table for 20-somethings alone.
The same body of work offers reassurance. Among powerlifters, strength kept rising with training across ages, and female lifters over 59 still gained about 2.5 to 5% (Latella et al. 2024). Those are competitors, so we would not promise the same to everyone.
How fast does strength come?
Quickly at first, then slowly. Among powerlifters, the biggest gains came early: roughly 7.5 to 12.5% in the first year and about 20% after ten years (Latella et al. above). An analysis of OpenPowerlifting meet results found the median monthly gain fell from 0.78% between a lifter's first two meets to 0.26% between meets four and five (Nuckols, Stronger by Science). Those are competition lifters, who may differ from a typical gym-goer, so do not read them as your timetable.
What are these numbers worth?
Treat them as a map, not a grade. Nuckols argues that strength tables with labels like "novice" or "advanced" wrongly suggest a link with experience (Stronger by Science), and that how strong you end up is mostly down to genetics (his strength training guide). Barbell Medicine adds that competitive percentiles describe focused lifters, not the average adult, and suggests tracking your own progress over time (Barbell Medicine).
One practical caution. Competition lifts are judged, and squat depth and a paused bench are usually part of that. Gym lifts often are not, so a gym number can flatter you. A lift done to full depth with control is worth more than a heavier partial one. 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.
If you never test a one-rep max, you can estimate one from a hard set of several reps, though estimates get shakier as reps climb (Mayhew et al. 2008 found estimates were more accurate when fewer than 10 reps to fatigue were used).
Where do you go from here?
Write down your best recent sets, find your row, and check again in three months. For more on how strength is graded, read strength levels explained. For the logging side, see what to look for in a workout app with no ads and no account.
Kyulift is a private workout log with no account, launching on Google Play in October. It is an offer, not a requirement: a notebook works for this too.
Sources
Last checked 2026-10-09.
- OpenPowerlifting data service (public domain; bulk file revision 199bb416).
- van den Hoek DJ et al. 2024. Normative data for the squat, bench press and deadlift exercises in powerlifting. J Sci Med Sport. doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2024.07.005
- Montenegro et al. 2026. Percentile-Based Normative Standards for Strength Assessment Beyond Linear Bodyweight Multipliers in Competitive Powerlifters. Sports Med Open. doi:10.1186/s40798-026-01111-z
- Fahey TD 2026. Body-mass normalization of powerlifting performance. Eur J Appl Physiol. doi:10.1007/s00421-026-06427-y
- Vanderburgh PM, Batterham AM 1999. Validation of the Wilks powerlifting formula. Med Sci Sports Exerc. doi:10.1097/00005768-199912000-00027
- Janssen I et al. 2000. Skeletal muscle mass and distribution in 468 men and women aged 18-88 yr. J Appl Physiol. doi:10.1152/jappl.2000.89.1.81
- Latella C et al. 2024. Using Powerlifting Athletes to Determine Strength Adaptations Across Ages. Sports Med. doi:10.1007/s40279-023-01962-6
- Mayhew JL et al. 2008. Accuracy of prediction equations for determining one repetition maximum bench press in women. J Strength Cond Res. doi:10.1519/jsc.0b013e31817b02ad
- Feigenbaum J. Strength Standards, Barbell Medicine, updated 25 May 2026. barbellmedicine.com
- Nuckols G. How Sex, Strength, and Age Affect Strength Gains In Powerlifters and What it Takes to Break World Records, Stronger by Science.
