rankings
Where your lift sits in three reference populations. Source under each chart.
Percentile rank against ~143 000 raw-lifter records from OpenPowerlifting public meet data (snapshot 2026-05-16, CC0). Cohort cells segmented by sex × age (per-year, 15–80) × bodyweight class (IPF) × equipment.
Most lifters: raw — just bar, belt, knee sleeves. Equipment only changes the powerlifting cohort; the two other modes are unequipped barbell-equivalent comparisons.
how you compare
how long it took others
Powerlifting mode only — lifters who competed at least twice. Other modes are cross-sectional and will say so.
other lifts at your level
real competition medians
Median lifts (the 50th percentile) of competitors who entered a sanctioned powerlifting meet, segmented by sex and IPF bodyweight class. Drawn from ~143 000 raw-lifter records in the OpenPowerlifting public dataset (CC0, snapshot 2026-05-16). Use the calculator above for your specific age and equipment combination.
| cohort | squat | bench | deadlift | total | n |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M, 83 kg, age 30, raw | 210 kg | 135 kg | 240 kg | 582.5 kg | 331 |
| M, 93 kg, age 30, raw | 215 kg | 140 kg | 240 kg | 592.5 kg | 475 |
| M, 105 kg, age 30, raw | 235 kg | 152.5 kg | 255 kg | 642.5 kg | 485 |
| F, 63 kg, age 30, raw | 122.5 kg | 65 kg | 147.5 kg | 335 kg | 161 |
| F, 69 kg, age 30, raw | 125 kg | 67.5 kg | 150 kg | 340 kg | 209 |
Source: openpowerlifting.org · CC0 · snapshot 2026-05-16 · n = lifters in cohort cell. Cohort-axis methodology in /method §5.
method notes
When a cell has n < 30, the system widens hierarchically (exact age → all ages → ±1 BW class → global) and shows the widening explicitly. Two non-powerlifting comparators also available: real StrengthLevel gym-logger data, and an ACFT/NHANES civilian-baseline pipeline (see /method §5). For an age-projection on the same DOTS data, see Strength Age. For the US Army deadlift baseline in full, the ACFT deadlift standards reference. For projection from a top set of one lift, the bench press 1RM calculator.
how to use it
- Pick lift, sex, and bodyweight class — pick the lift (squat / bench / deadlift / total), your sex, and the IPF bodyweight class that fits your weigh-in weight.
- Pick age and equipment — pick your age (per year, 15–80) and equipment (raw / wraps / single-ply / multi-ply). Cohorts are computed cell-by-cell, so age and equipment matter.
- Enter your lift — enter your best matching lift in kg. The percentile read is computed against lifters in that exact cohort cell; if the cell has fewer than 30 lifters, LiftGauge widens (exact age → all ages → ±1 BW class → global) and shows which widening level was used.
- Compare trajectory and crosslift — open the trajectory tab to see how lifters in your cohort progress meet-over-meet, and the crosslift tab to see how your three lifts compare to each other inside your cohort.
frequently asked
- What does percentile rank mean for powerlifting?
- Your percentile is the fraction of lifters in your cohort cell who lift less than you. A 90th percentile bench means 90 % of competitors at your sex, age, bodyweight class, and equipment lift less. LiftGauge shows percentile p1–p99 plus an explicit decile band so you can read it as "top 10 %" rather than a precise number.
- How big is the OpenPowerlifting dataset behind this?
- About 4 million meet entries from 143 000+ unique raw lifters in the dataset that LiftGauge uses (snapshot 2026-05-16). Each entry has lift kg, bodyweight, age, sex, equipment, and federation. Source: openpowerlifting.org, CC0 license, refreshed every few weeks.
- Why does my cohort widen when I pick an unusual age?
- If your exact age × bodyweight × equipment cell has fewer than 30 lifters, LiftGauge widens to "all ages" first, then ±1 bodyweight class, then global. This trades cohort-specificity for statistical confidence. The widening level is shown explicitly so you know whether the percentile is "vs your exact cohort" or "vs a broader population".
- Does training history (months/years lifting) factor in?
- Not directly — OpenPowerlifting does not record training age. The percentile is against everyone who turned up to a meet at your bodyweight, age, sex, equipment. A 35-year-old novice and a 35-year-old 10-year veteran sit in the same cell; the percentile reflects the meet-day output, not the path to it.
- What counts as raw vs equipped?
- Raw = belt + chalk + non-supportive sleeves, no knee wraps, no bench shirt, no squat suit. Wraps = belt + chalk + knee wraps. Single-ply / multi-ply = supportive bench shirts and squat suits. The cohort cell separates each — comparing raw to equipped numbers crosses populations and inflates the percentile.
- What lift makes you "elite" in powerlifting?
- The conventional benchmarks for raw open: ~90th percentile in your cohort = nationally competitive, ~95th = international level, ~99th = world-record territory. Absolute numbers vary heavily by weight class — a 200 kg bench is 95th percentile at 83 kg male but median at 120 kg male. The whole point of the percentile read is that it normalises across the cohort.