How strong is your barbell curl? Graded Beginner → Elite for your sex, bodyweight and age. Intermediate for a 180 lb man is about 94 lb; for a 140 lb woman about 43 lb.
Barbell Curl is not contested in meets, so its ladder is modeled from the measured standards: 0.47x bench (M) / 0.5x (F) — BB curl ~45-50% of bench. How modeled standards work.
| Bodyweight | Beginner | Novice | Intermediate | Advanced | Elite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 120 lb | 36 lb | 48 lb | 62 lb | 97 lb | 114 lb |
| 130 lb | 39 lb | 52 lb | 68 lb | 105 lb | 124 lb |
| 140 lb | 42 lb | 56 lb | 73 lb | 113 lb | 133 lb |
| 150 lb | 45 lb | 60 lb | 78 lb | 122 lb | 142 lb |
| 160 lb | 48 lb | 64 lb | 83 lb | 130 lb | 152 lb |
| 170 lb | 51 lb | 68 lb | 88 lb | 138 lb | 162 lb |
| 180 lb | 54 lb | 72 lb | 94 lb | 146 lb | 171 lb |
| 190 lb | 57 lb | 76 lb | 99 lb | 154 lb | 180 lb |
| 200 lb | 60 lb | 80 lb | 104 lb | 162 lb | 190 lb |
| 210 lb | 63 lb | 84 lb | 109 lb | 170 lb | 200 lb |
| 220 lb | 66 lb | 88 lb | 114 lb | 178 lb | 209 lb |
| 230 lb | 69 lb | 92 lb | 120 lb | 186 lb | 218 lb |
| 240 lb | 72 lb | 96 lb | 125 lb | 194 lb | 228 lb |
| 250 lb | 75 lb | 100 lb | 130 lb | 202 lb | 238 lb |
| 260 lb | 78 lb | 104 lb | 135 lb | 211 lb | 247 lb |
| 270 lb | 81 lb | 108 lb | 140 lb | 219 lb | 256 lb |
| 280 lb | 84 lb | 112 lb | 146 lb | 227 lb | 266 lb |
| 290 lb | 87 lb | 116 lb | 151 lb | 235 lb | 276 lb |
| 300 lb | 90 lb | 120 lb | 156 lb | 243 lb | 285 lb |
| 310 lb | 93 lb | 124 lb | 161 lb | 251 lb | 294 lb |
| Bodyweight | Beginner | Novice | Intermediate | Advanced | Elite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 120 lb | 22 lb | 29 lb | 37 lb | 66 lb | 82 lb |
| 130 lb | 23 lb | 31 lb | 40 lb | 72 lb | 88 lb |
| 140 lb | 25 lb | 34 lb | 43 lb | 77 lb | 95 lb |
| 150 lb | 27 lb | 36 lb | 46 lb | 82 lb | 102 lb |
| 160 lb | 29 lb | 38 lb | 50 lb | 88 lb | 109 lb |
| 170 lb | 31 lb | 41 lb | 53 lb | 94 lb | 116 lb |
| 180 lb | 32 lb | 43 lb | 56 lb | 99 lb | 122 lb |
| 190 lb | 34 lb | 46 lb | 59 lb | 105 lb | 129 lb |
| 200 lb | 36 lb | 48 lb | 62 lb | 110 lb | 136 lb |
| 210 lb | 38 lb | 50 lb | 65 lb | 116 lb | 143 lb |
| 220 lb | 40 lb | 53 lb | 68 lb | 121 lb | 150 lb |
| 230 lb | 41 lb | 55 lb | 71 lb | 127 lb | 156 lb |
| 240 lb | 43 lb | 58 lb | 74 lb | 132 lb | 163 lb |
| 250 lb | 45 lb | 60 lb | 78 lb | 138 lb | 170 lb |
| 260 lb | 47 lb | 62 lb | 81 lb | 143 lb | 177 lb |
| 270 lb | 49 lb | 65 lb | 84 lb | 148 lb | 184 lb |
| 280 lb | 50 lb | 67 lb | 87 lb | 154 lb | 190 lb |
| 290 lb | 52 lb | 70 lb | 90 lb | 160 lb | 197 lb |
| 300 lb | 54 lb | 72 lb | 93 lb | 165 lb | 204 lb |
| 310 lb | 56 lb | 74 lb | 96 lb | 170 lb | 211 lb |
Your lift is scaled by these multipliers before grading (derived from Masters competition data):
| Age | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 14-17 | ×1.205 | ×1.193 |
| 18-23 | ×1.012 | ×0.993 |
| 24-34 | ×1.0 | ×1.0 |
| 35-39 | ×1.042 | ×1.064 |
| 40-44 | ×1.074 | ×1.095 |
| 45-49 | ×1.109 | ×1.129 |
| 50-54 | ×1.154 | ×1.182 |
| 55-59 | ×1.194 | ×1.234 |
| 60-64 | ×1.267 | ×1.326 |
| 65-69 | ×1.344 | ×1.396 |
| 70-79 | ×1.493 | ×1.566 |
Around 94 lb reaches Intermediate on the Strenf ladder; 171 lb is Elite. Thresholds scale with bodyweight — see the full table.
From a documented coefficient applied to measured competition standards: 0.47x bench (M) / 0.5x (F) — BB curl ~45-50% of bench. Tiers run Beginner, Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Elite, adjusted for sex, bodyweight and age.
Yes — standards are age-adjusted using strength-retention curves derived from Masters competition results, so a 55-year-old is graded against age-appropriate expectations.
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