Deadlift strength standards

Updated 16 July 2026

A deadlift at twice bodyweight is a strong intermediate to advanced pull for men, and the deadlift is usually the heaviest of the three powerlifts. The standards below are the same ratios adjusted for bodyweight, so enter your numbers for your exact tier.

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

Not sure of your one rep max? Estimate it with the deadlift one rep max calculator.

Deadlift standards as a ratio of bodyweight
Tier Men Men at 90 kg Women Women at 60 kg
Beginner Any Any Any Any
Novice 1.25× 113 kg 0.90× 54 kg
Intermediate 1.75× 158 kg 1.40× 84 kg
Advanced 2.25× 203 kg 1.90× 114 kg
Elite 2.75× 248 kg 2.40× 144 kg
World class 3.25× 293 kg 2.90× 174 kg

For scale, the 90th percentile among drug tested powerlifting competitors aged 18 to 35 is 3.25× bodyweight for men and 2.66× for women. Those are competitors, already a strong and selected group.

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 deadlift?

Around 2 times bodyweight is a strong intermediate to advanced deadlift for men, with elite lifters past 2.75 times. Women reach the tiers at lower ratios. See your exact tier with the calculator above.

Is a 2x bodyweight deadlift good?

Yes. A double bodyweight deadlift puts most men in the intermediate to advanced range and is a common serious training goal.

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