Back Squat Strength Standards Measured — competition data

How strong is your back squat? Graded Beginner → Elite for your sex, bodyweight and age. Intermediate for a 180 lb man is about 296 lb; for a 140 lb woman about 160 lb.

How do you compare?

Weight lifted (lb)

Reps

Bodyweight (lb)

Sex

Age

Claim this standing — free on Strenf

These thresholds are percentiles of 413,867 competitive lifters (best raw back squat 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	114 lb	150 lb	197 lb	302 lb	348 lb
130 lb	123 lb	162 lb	213 lb	328 lb	377 lb
140 lb	132 lb	174 lb	230 lb	353 lb	406 lb
150 lb	142 lb	187 lb	246 lb	378 lb	435 lb
160 lb	151 lb	199 lb	263 lb	403 lb	464 lb
170 lb	161 lb	212 lb	279 lb	428 lb	493 lb
180 lb	170 lb	224 lb	296 lb	454 lb	522 lb
190 lb	180 lb	237 lb	312 lb	479 lb	551 lb
200 lb	189 lb	249 lb	328 lb	504 lb	580 lb
210 lb	199 lb	262 lb	345 lb	529 lb	609 lb
220 lb	208 lb	274 lb	361 lb	554 lb	638 lb
230 lb	218 lb	287 lb	378 lb	580 lb	667 lb
240 lb	227 lb	299 lb	394 lb	605 lb	696 lb
250 lb	236 lb	312 lb	410 lb	630 lb	725 lb
260 lb	246 lb	324 lb	427 lb	655 lb	754 lb
270 lb	255 lb	336 lb	443 lb	680 lb	783 lb
280 lb	265 lb	349 lb	460 lb	706 lb	812 lb
290 lb	274 lb	361 lb	476 lb	731 lb	841 lb
300 lb	284 lb	374 lb	493 lb	756 lb	870 lb
310 lb	293 lb	386 lb	509 lb	781 lb	899 lb

Women

Bodyweight	Beginner	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
120 lb	73 lb	100 lb	137 lb	233 lb	278 lb
130 lb	79 lb	108 lb	148 lb	252 lb	301 lb
140 lb	86 lb	117 lb	160 lb	271 lb	324 lb
150 lb	92 lb	125 lb	171 lb	291 lb	348 lb
160 lb	98 lb	133 lb	182 lb	310 lb	371 lb
170 lb	104 lb	142 lb	194 lb	330 lb	394 lb
180 lb	110 lb	150 lb	205 lb	349 lb	417 lb
190 lb	116 lb	158 lb	217 lb	368 lb	440 lb
200 lb	122 lb	167 lb	228 lb	388 lb	463 lb
210 lb	128 lb	175 lb	239 lb	407 lb	487 lb
220 lb	134 lb	183 lb	251 lb	427 lb	510 lb
230 lb	141 lb	192 lb	262 lb	446 lb	533 lb
240 lb	147 lb	200 lb	274 lb	465 lb	556 lb
250 lb	153 lb	208 lb	285 lb	485 lb	579 lb
260 lb	159 lb	217 lb	296 lb	504 lb	602 lb
270 lb	165 lb	225 lb	308 lb	524 lb	626 lb
280 lb	171 lb	234 lb	319 lb	543 lb	649 lb
290 lb	177 lb	242 lb	331 lb	562 lb	672 lb
300 lb	183 lb	250 lb	342 lb	582 lb	695 lb
310 lb	189 lb	259 lb	353 lb	601 lb	718 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	72	110	154	220	281	2,568
Men 115–123 lb	127	176	230	287	344	2,783
Men 123–132 lb	155	215	276	347	408	7,366
Men 132–149 lb	187	254	325	386	448	20,538
Men 149–165 lb	226	298	364	430	491	39,235
Men 165–182 lb	259	331	397	463	525	49,081
Men 182–198 lb	270	350	419	485	551	41,899
Men 198–220 lb	298	375	446	518	590	50,912
Men 220–243 lb	314	397	474	551	628	34,023
Men 243–276 lb	314	408	502	584	672	21,618
Men 276–309 lb	315	419	515	610	705	7,626
Men 309–2205 lb	320	440	546	661	773	5,008
Women 0–115 lb	95	138	182	226	276	14,133
Women 115–123 lb	121	160	204	248	292	10,604
Women 123–132 lb	132	176	220	265	309	14,809
Women 132–149 lb	143	187	234	281	331	29,876
Women 149–165 lb	154	198	254	303	358	24,628
Women 165–182 lb	154	204	259	314	375	14,300
Women 182–198 lb	154	209	265	325	391	8,753
Women 198–220 lb	154	209	270	331	397	6,094
Women 220–243 lb	165	220	281	347	410	3,681
Women 243–276 lb	165	226	298	369	441	2,766
Women 276–309 lb	159	237	314	397	468	1,116
Women 309–2205 lb	179	237	314	408	510	450

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 back squat for a 180 lb man?

Around 296 lb reaches Intermediate on the Strenf ladder; 522 lb is Elite. Thresholds scale with bodyweight — see the full table.

How are these back squat 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 back squat 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

Bench Press · 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