Bench press strength standards
Updated 16 July 2026
A bench press at your bodyweight is the classic intermediate benchmark for men, and the equivalent milestone for women sits near 0.7 times bodyweight. Your exact tier depends on your bodyweight, so the ratios below shift with how much you weigh.
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.
Not sure of your one rep max? Estimate it with the bench press one rep max calculator.
| Tier | Men | Men at 90 kg | Women | Women at 60 kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner | Any | Any | Any | Any |
| Novice | 0.75× | 68 kg | 0.45× | 27 kg |
| Intermediate | 1.00× | 90 kg | 0.70× | 42 kg |
| Advanced | 1.50× | 135 kg | 1.00× | 60 kg |
| Elite | 2.00× | 180 kg | 1.35× | 81 kg |
| World class | 2.25× | 203 kg | 1.60× | 96 kg |
For scale, the 90th percentile among drug tested powerlifting competitors aged 18 to 35 is 1.95× bodyweight for men and 1.35× for women. Those are competitors, already a strong and selected group.
Standards for other lifts
- Squat standards
- Deadlift standards
- Overhead press standards
- Front squat standards
- Barbell row standards
- Hip thrust standards
- Power clean standards
- Incline bench press standards
- Romanian deadlift standards
- Close grip bench press standards
- Push press standards
- Barbell curl standards
- Barbell shrug standards
- Dumbbell bench press standards
- Dumbbell shoulder press standards
- Dumbbell row standards
- Dumbbell curl standards
- Goblet squat standards
- Leg press standards
- Lat pulldown standards
- Machine chest press standards
- Leg extension standards
- Seated cable row standards
- Machine shoulder press standards
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 bench press?
A bench at bodyweight is a strong intermediate lift for men, 1.5 times bodyweight is advanced, and 2 times is elite. Women reach the same tiers at lower ratios. Use the calculator above for your exact number.
How much can the average man bench?
Most trained gym goers land in the novice to intermediate range, roughly 0.75 to 1 times bodyweight. Untrained beginners are usually below that.
More free tools
- One rep max calculator Estimate your 1RM for any lift from a recent set, with Epley and Brzycki formulas.
- Heart rate zone calculator Get your five training zones from your age, with an optional resting heart rate for Karvonen zones.
- Training volume calculator Find your weekly working set target per muscle group for your experience level and goal.
- BMI calculator Get your body mass index and WHO category, with an honest note on what BMI misses for lifters.
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