Bench Press Strength Standards Measured — competition data

How strong is your bench press? Graded Beginner → Elite for your sex, bodyweight and age. Intermediate for a 180 lb man is about 201 lb; for a 140 lb woman about 88 lb.

How do you compare?

Weight lifted (lb)

Reps

Bodyweight (lb)

Sex

Age

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These thresholds are percentiles of 549,835 competitive lifters (best raw bench press per lifter, sanctioned meets, OpenPowerlifting dataset). Elite = top 5% of meet entrants, Advanced = top 20%; Beginner and Novice extend below the competitive population — methodology.

Standards by bodyweight

Men

Bodyweight	Beginner	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
120 lb	77 lb	101 lb	134 lb	208 lb	242 lb
130 lb	83 lb	110 lb	145 lb	225 lb	262 lb
140 lb	89 lb	118 lb	156 lb	243 lb	282 lb
150 lb	96 lb	127 lb	167 lb	260 lb	302 lb
160 lb	102 lb	135 lb	179 lb	277 lb	322 lb
170 lb	109 lb	143 lb	190 lb	295 lb	342 lb
180 lb	115 lb	152 lb	201 lb	312 lb	362 lb
190 lb	121 lb	160 lb	212 lb	329 lb	382 lb
200 lb	128 lb	169 lb	223 lb	347 lb	403 lb
210 lb	134 lb	177 lb	234 lb	364 lb	423 lb
220 lb	141 lb	186 lb	246 lb	381 lb	443 lb
230 lb	147 lb	194 lb	257 lb	399 lb	463 lb
240 lb	153 lb	203 lb	268 lb	416 lb	483 lb
250 lb	160 lb	211 lb	279 lb	433 lb	503 lb
260 lb	166 lb	219 lb	290 lb	451 lb	523 lb
270 lb	173 lb	228 lb	301 lb	468 lb	544 lb
280 lb	179 lb	236 lb	312 lb	485 lb	564 lb
290 lb	185 lb	245 lb	324 lb	503 lb	584 lb
300 lb	192 lb	253 lb	335 lb	520 lb	604 lb
310 lb	198 lb	262 lb	346 lb	537 lb	624 lb

Women

Bodyweight	Beginner	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
120 lb	44 lb	58 lb	75 lb	131 lb	163 lb
130 lb	48 lb	62 lb	81 lb	142 lb	177 lb
140 lb	51 lb	67 lb	88 lb	153 lb	190 lb
150 lb	55 lb	72 lb	94 lb	164 lb	204 lb
160 lb	59 lb	77 lb	100 lb	175 lb	217 lb
170 lb	62 lb	82 lb	106 lb	185 lb	231 lb
180 lb	66 lb	86 lb	113 lb	196 lb	244 lb
190 lb	70 lb	91 lb	119 lb	207 lb	258 lb
200 lb	73 lb	96 lb	125 lb	218 lb	272 lb
210 lb	77 lb	101 lb	131 lb	229 lb	285 lb
220 lb	81 lb	106 lb	138 lb	240 lb	299 lb
230 lb	84 lb	110 lb	144 lb	251 lb	312 lb
240 lb	88 lb	115 lb	150 lb	262 lb	326 lb
250 lb	92 lb	120 lb	156 lb	273 lb	340 lb
260 lb	95 lb	125 lb	163 lb	284 lb	353 lb
270 lb	99 lb	130 lb	169 lb	295 lb	367 lb
280 lb	103 lb	134 lb	175 lb	305 lb	380 lb
290 lb	106 lb	139 lb	182 lb	316 lb	394 lb
300 lb	110 lb	144 lb	188 lb	327 lb	407 lb
310 lb	114 lb	149 lb	194 lb	338 lb	421 lb

Competition percentiles (raw, by bodyweight class)

Best lift per athlete across sanctioned meets — p50 is the median competitive lifter in that class.

Class	p5	p20	p50	p80	p95	n
Men 0–115 lb	55	72	110	160	243	4,954
Men 115–123 lb	85	116	155	204	258	4,845
Men 123–132 lb	110	144	187	235	281	11,197
Men 132–149 lb	132	171	220	265	309	29,929
Men 149–165 lb	154	198	243	292	336	54,108
Men 165–182 lb	176	220	265	314	364	65,507
Men 182–198 lb	187	237	287	340	391	59,368
Men 198–220 lb	200	254	309	364	419	68,344
Men 220–243 lb	210	270	331	391	452	46,637
Men 243–276 lb	215	281	353	419	480	30,924
Men 276–309 lb	215	287	364	441	507	11,052
Men 309–2205 lb	220	298	380	463	535	6,973
Women 0–115 lb	60	77	100	132	162	18,410
Women 115–123 lb	70	88	115	138	171	13,533
Women 123–132 lb	77	95	121	149	182	18,291
Women 132–149 lb	83	105	127	160	193	34,563
Women 149–165 lb	85	110	138	171	209	28,156
Women 165–182 lb	88	110	138	176	220	16,442
Women 182–198 lb	88	110	143	176	225	10,185
Women 198–220 lb	90	116	143	176	220	6,909
Women 220–243 lb	95	121	154	187	231	4,285
Women 243–276 lb	99	127	157	198	243	3,266
Women 276–309 lb	105	132	170	209	259	1,338
Women 309–2205 lb	116	140	176	225	272	619

Age adjustment

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

FAQ

What is a good bench press for a 180 lb man?

Around 201 lb reaches Intermediate on the Strenf ladder; 362 lb is Elite. Thresholds scale with bodyweight — see the full table.

How are these bench press standards calculated?

Directly from competition percentiles of the OpenPowerlifting dataset. Tiers run Beginner, Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Elite, adjusted for sex, bodyweight and age.

Does age affect the bench press standard?

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.

Related standards

Back Squat · Deadlift · Overhead Press · Incline Bench Press · Dumbbell Bench Press · Seated Cable Row

Standards: Strenf Standards Model v1 · primaries derived from OpenPowerlifting competition data (public domain) · full methodology · Track your lifts free on Strenf