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Home » Resources » Strength Standards from Real Competition Data

Strength Standards from Real Competition Data

By Kyle Risley
Last updated July 15, 2026


As an affiliate of various sites, including Amazon Associates, I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases via links in this post at no extra cost to you. See Full Disclosure

These strength standards come from real powerlifting competition results, millions of them, via the OpenPowerlifting dataset. In each weight class, intermediate is the median competitor, advanced is the top 20%, elite is the top 5%, and world class is the top 1%. Every tier maps to where actual competitors fall.

Enter your sex, lift, and bodyweight to see the tiers for your weight class. Add what you lifted and it tells you where you stand.

Enter your sex, lift, and bodyweight to see the strength tiers for your weight class, based on real competition data. Add what you lifted to see where you rank. Example squat standards for men are shown below.

Men’s squat standards (raw, kg)
Class Intermediate Advanced Elite World class
-74 kg 167.5 195 225 250
-83 kg 185 215 245 270
-93 kg 200 230 260 287.5
-105 kg 210 245 280 310

Intermediate is the median competitor and world class is the top 1%, so these run stronger than gym-population standards. For the live version filterable by federation, equipment, and age, see the strength standards tool on Powerlifting Records.

Table of Contents

  • 1 Where These Numbers Come From
  • 2 Total Standards by Weight Class (Raw)
  • 3 How to Move Up a Tier

Where These Numbers Come From

Most strength standards online are either self-reported gym numbers (inflated, nobody logs their missed lifts) or tier labels someone invented. Every number is a percentile over raw lifters who stepped on a platform and had their lifts judged, from the OpenPowerlifting dataset behind Powerlifting Records. That site has the live version of this tool, filterable by federation, equipment, and age, if you want to slice deeper.

Because the population is competitors, these standards run stronger than gym-population standards. The median lifter at your gym has never competed. Hitting “intermediate” here means you’d hold your own at a meet.

Total Standards by Weight Class (Raw)

Men’s totals in kg per IPF class:

Class Intermediate Advanced Elite World class
-74 kg 477.5 550 620 682.5
-83 kg 522.5 597.5 670 735
-93 kg 557.5 637.5 715 780
-105 kg 592.5 677.5 760 825
-120 kg 625 715 805 877.5

Women’s totals in kg per IPF class:

Class Intermediate Advanced Elite World class
-57 kg 280 330 385 430
-63 kg 292.5 347.5 402.5 455
-69 kg 310 365 425 485
-76 kg 325 382.5 447.5 507.5
-84 kg 332.5 395 457.5 520

The calculator above has every class plus per-lift standards for squat, bench, and deadlift.

How to Move Up a Tier

The gap between tiers is usually 10 to 20% on the total, which is one to two years of consistent training for most intermediate lifters. Run a proven program and eat enough. Re-test each cycle. 5/3/1 and GZCLP are solid engines for that grind, and Madcow 5×5 works well if you’re still progressing week to week.

These standards are per IPF weight class, so find your class first if you are not sure. Check your estimated maxes along the way with the 1RM calculator, and once you’re thinking about a meet, score yourself with the DOTS calculator.

About Kyle Risley

Kyle Risley founded Lift Vault in 2016 to make finding great powerlifting programs easier. Since then, the site has grown to include hundreds of programs for strength, bodybuilding, Olympic weightlifting, and more. He currently lives in Massachusetts and continues to compete in powerlifting.

Filed Under: Resources




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