Context
Strength
Standards
A number on a bar means nothing on its own. Put in your bodyweight and a max and this tells you where it sits — beginner through elite — for your weight class and lift.
Where you stand
Lift
Standards for
Nearest class
Your level
Advanced
1.25× bodyweight
| Level | Range (lb) |
|---|---|
| Beginner | 0 – 105 |
| Novice | 105 – 150 |
| Intermediate | 150 – 200 |
| Advanced | 200 – 250 |
| Elite | 250+ |
What the levels mean
- Beginner
- Has done the lift, has not yet trained it seriously. Usually the first few months.
- Novice
- Training consistently, still adding weight most weeks. Roughly the first year.
- Intermediate
- Progress now comes monthly rather than weekly. One to two years of honest training.
- Advanced
- Stronger than nearly everyone in a commercial gym. Several years of deliberate programming.
- Elite
- Competitive territory. Genetics, years, and a training life organised around the lift.
Read these honestly
Standards are useful for orientation and terrible as a self-worth metric. They are raw — no shirts, no suits — and they assume full range of motion. A half-squat that classifies as advanced is a half-squat.
They also ignore everything else you might be training for. I race HYROX; my strength numbers exist to make me durable enough to run, not to win a powerlifting total. If you are a hybrid athlete, an intermediate-to-advanced band across the three lifts is plenty, and the hours you would spend chasing elite are hours not spent on the thing you actually compete in.
Questions people actually ask
What counts as a good bench, squat or deadlift?
Only relative to your bodyweight. A common rough benchmark for an intermediate male lifter is roughly 1× bodyweight bench, 1.5× squat and 2× deadlift; for women, roughly 0.6×, 1.1× and 1.3×. The bands in this tool are more precise than that because they account for weight class, where the ratios shift — heavier lifters carry more absolute weight but less relative to bodyweight.
How long does it take to reach intermediate?
For most people training consistently two to four times a week with sensible programming, one to two years. Beginner gains come fast and then stop coming fast, which surprises everyone. The jump from intermediate to advanced typically takes several more years and much more deliberate programming.
Are these standards for raw or equipped lifting?
Raw — no bench shirts, no squat suits, no wraps beyond a belt and sleeves. Equipped totals run substantially higher and are not comparable.
Do I need to hit elite numbers to be strong enough?
Almost certainly not. Unless you compete in powerlifting, strength is a means to something else — a sport, a race, carrying your own life around without it hurting. Intermediate numbers across the three lifts already put you well ahead of the general population and are plenty for most athletic goals. I train for hybrid events; my strength exists to serve the running, not to win a total.
Do not know your max? Estimate it from a set you have already done with the one rep max calculator.