Barbell row strength standards

Updated 16 July 2026

A strict barbell row around 0.9 times bodyweight is a solid intermediate pull for men. Row numbers depend heavily on form, so these standards assume strict, controlled reps with a still torso rather than heaved, body-english reps.

Relative strength, your best lift divided by your bodyweight, is the fairest way to compare lifters of different sizes, so the tiers below are ratios. Open the calculator to see your exact tier adjusted for your bodyweight.

Calculate your exact tier

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Barbell row standards as a ratio of bodyweight
Tier Men Men at 90 kg Women Women at 60 kg
Beginner Any Any Any Any
Novice 0.60× 54 kg 0.45× 27 kg
Intermediate 0.90× 81 kg 0.70× 42 kg
Advanced 1.20× 108 kg 0.95× 57 kg
Elite 1.50× 135 kg 1.20× 72 kg
World class 1.80× 162 kg 1.45× 87 kg

Standards for other lifts

Or open the full strength standards calculator to check any of 26 lifts, adjusted for your bodyweight.

How this is calculated

The tiers are the bodyweight ratio milestones strength coaches have used for decades, the same five level vocabulary, beginner to elite, you will see on popular strength ranking sites. They are coaching conventions, not population percentiles, and they group all ages together.

Relative strength falls as bodyweight rises, so the table above is quoted at a 90 kg reference for men and 60 kg for women. The calculator scales the same standards to your exact bodyweight, holding lighter lifters to a higher ratio and heavier lifters to a lower one. The competition benchmark, where shown, comes from a 2024 peer reviewed analysis of 809,986 drug tested powerlifting competition entries and applies to the squat, bench, and deadlift only.

Common questions

What is a good barbell row?

A strict row near 0.9 times bodyweight is intermediate for men and 1.2 times is advanced. Loose rows can be heavier, so these standards assume controlled form.

Should I count momentum in my row?

For an honest comparison, use the heaviest weight you can row with a still torso and controlled reps. Heaving the bar up inflates the number and the tier.

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