Strength Standards
Enter your bodyweight and your max, and see where the lift lands – plus what the next level would take.
Compare your lift
Your level
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Levels at your bodyweight
| Level | Required max | Ratio |
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These thresholds are rules of thumb, not measured data. See the method below.
DOTS score
DOTS normalises a powerlifting total for bodyweight so lifters of different sizes can be compared. Enter your combined squat, bench and deadlift total.
DOTS
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The formula is designed for a three-lift total, not for a single lift.
How this calculator works
The calculator compares your max against bodyweight-adjusted thresholds and reports which of five levels the lift falls into. It also shows what each level would require at your specific bodyweight – which is more useful than the label itself, since it turns the next level into a concrete number in kilograms.
Where the thresholds come from. They are commonly published rules of thumb, not percentiles calculated from a data set. We say so plainly, because many comparable calculators present numbers like these with a precision they do not have. The thresholds match the order of magnitude that strength training literature generally treats as novice, intermediate and advanced performance, calibrated for an 80 kg man and a 65 kg woman. Accounting for bodyweight. The main flaw in ordinary standards tables is that they use fixed bodyweight multiples. Relative strength declines as bodyweight rises: benching 1.5 times your bodyweight is considerably easier at 60 kg than at 110 kg. A fixed multiple therefore favours light lifters and penalises heavy ones.This calculator corrects that bias by scaling the thresholds with bodyweight using an exponent of 2/3. The reasoning is geometric scaling: muscular force depends on cross-sectional area, which grows with the square of linear dimensions, while mass grows with the cube. In practice a heavier lifter is held to a lower multiple and a lighter lifter to a higher one – which is what competition results actually show.
DOTS. The calculator at the foot of the page uses powerlifting's official scoring formula, which normalises a three-lift total against bodyweight with a fourth-order polynomial. It is the most accurate available way to compare lifters of different sizes, and unlike the level thresholds above, it is a published and standardised formula.Frequently asked questions
Why does another site give me a different level?
Because strength standards are not standardised. Every site uses its own thresholds; some are built from self-reported user numbers, some from competition data, some from estimates. Differences of a whole level are common. Treat the result as indicative, not absolute.
Should I use a tested or an estimated max?
Either works, as long as you know which one you used. An estimate is typically within a few percent of a tested max, which usually won't move you between levels. If you're right at a boundary, a tested number is more reliable.
Why are the overhead press thresholds so low?
Because the press moves less muscle mass over a less favourable lever than the squat or deadlift. Pressing your own bodyweight overhead is a rare achievement, while the same load in a deadlift is novice territory.
Are the levels worth chasing?
A level is a measurement, not a program. Its most useful application is seeing the load the next level requires and comparing it to where you are now – the same role a max plays generally. Progress comes from training, not from classification.
What is the difference between strength standards and strength levels?
They are two names for the same idea: a benchmark that says whether a lift is beginner, intermediate, advanced or elite for someone of your bodyweight. This page uses five levels and scales them allometrically, so a lighter lifter is not held to the same bodyweight multiple as a heavier one.
Results are estimates and do not replace advice from a coach or healthcare professional.