What is an average bench press for a 40-year-old?

In raw OpenPowerlifting meet results, the median for an 83 kg man at age 40 is 132.5 kg (290 lb), and for a 63 kg woman at age 40 it is 67.5 kg (150 lb). Bodyweight moves these medians more than a few years of age does — read your own class in the tables above.

At what age is the bench press strongest?

In these tables the 83 kg men's median peaks at age 30 with 137.5 kg (305 lb). Bodyweight-adjusted, the DOTS median across all classes peaks at age 28 for men and 23 for women and declines roughly 21% and 22% by age 60.

Why do some ages show a dash?

A dash is a cell with fewer than 30 recorded meet results at that exact age and bodyweight class. Publishing a median from a thinner cell would be noise, so the table fails closed instead. n counts meet-result entries, not unique people.

Do these averages describe everyone who trains the bench press?

No. Every number is the median of recorded raw OpenPowerlifting meet results at an exact competition age — people who entered a sanctioned meet. The general training population is weaker on average than meet entrants, so treat these as competition medians, not gym norms.

Average bench press by age

In raw OpenPowerlifting meet results, the median bench press for an 83 kg man is 130 kg (285 lb) at age 25 and 116.3 kg (255 lb) at age 60. The tables below track the recorded median at twelve competition ages from 18 to 70, per bodyweight class and sex, in kg and lb — 12,561 age-exact meet results in total.

Updated 2026-07-26 · OpenPowerlifting meet-result data

OpenPowerlifting records a median bench press of 130 kg (285 lb) at age 25 versus 116.3 kg (255 lb) at age 60 for 83 kg men in raw meet results.

Median bench press by age — men raw meet results

Each cell is the median recorded bench press at that exact competition age and bodyweight class, from 9,209 raw meet results across the shown cells. A dash means fewer than 30 meet results at that age and class — the cube refuses to publish a median there. n counts entries, not unique people.

Age	66 kg 146 lb	74 kg 163 lb	83 kg 183 lb	93 kg 205 lb	105 kg 231 lb
18	102.5225 lb	112.5250 lb	120265 lb	130285 lb	135300 lb
20	110245 lb	115255 lb	127.5280 lb	135300 lb	140310 lb
25	113.8250 lb	122.5270 lb	130285 lb	142.5315 lb	150330 lb
30	120265 lb	122.5270 lb	137.5305 lb	142.5315 lb	152.5335 lb
35	122.5270 lb	122.5270 lb	132.5290 lb	145320 lb	155340 lb
40	—	108.8240 lb	132.5290 lb	150330 lb	145320 lb
45	—	113.8250 lb	128.8285 lb	140310 lb	150330 lb
50	—	—	120265 lb	131.5290 lb	147.5325 lb
55	—	112.5250 lb	110245 lb	133.8295 lb	137.5305 lb
60	—	105230 lb	116.3255 lb	125275 lb	140310 lb
65	—	—	110245 lb	132.5290 lb	120265 lb
70	—	—	97.5215 lb	96.3210 lb	110245 lb

Median bench press by age — women raw meet results

The same exact-age medians for five women's classes from 52 to 76 kg, from 3,352 raw meet results. Women's meet participation skews younger, so the honest table is shorter — dashes mark ages the data cannot support.

Age	52 kg 115 lb	57 kg 126 lb	63 kg 139 lb	69 kg 152 lb	76 kg 168 lb
18	55120 lb	57.5125 lb	60130 lb	65145 lb	67.5150 lb
20	55120 lb	62.5140 lb	65145 lb	65145 lb	72.3160 lb
25	60130 lb	62.5140 lb	72.5160 lb	70155 lb	75165 lb
30	60130 lb	60130 lb	65145 lb	70155 lb	72.5160 lb
35	55120 lb	65145 lb	55120 lb	65145 lb	70155 lb
40	—	57.5125 lb	67.5150 lb	65.4145 lb	67.5150 lb
45	—	—	60130 lb	74.9165 lb	65145 lb
50	—	—	58.8130 lb	60130 lb	61.8135 lb
55	—	—	—	—	57.5125 lb
60	—	—	—	—	59.5130 lb
65	—	—	55120 lb	—	56.3125 lb

When is the bench press strongest? peak age

In the 83 kg men's class the highest median in these tables sits at age 30 (137.5 kg (305 lb)). Adjusted for bodyweight across every class, the DOTS median over 441,789 exact-age raw full-power meet results peaks at age 28 for men and 23 for women, and by age 60 sits about 21% and 22% below those peaks. Map your own result onto that curve with the strength age calculator.

Competition bench is paused on the chest; a touch-and-go rep inflates the number by 3–6% from the chest-bounce. The standards below are raw (no bench shirt). Because Strength scales sub-linearly with bodyweight — heavier lifters lift more in absolute terms but less per kilo of bodyweight (Vanderburgh & Batterham 1999 (PMID 10613442)), the most honest read of "is this good" is your percentile at your bodyweight, not the raw kilos.

FAQ

What is an average bench press for a 40-year-old?: In raw OpenPowerlifting meet results, the median for an 83 kg man at age 40 is 132.5 kg (290 lb), and for a 63 kg woman at age 40 it is 67.5 kg (150 lb). Bodyweight moves these medians more than a few years of age does — read your own class in the tables above.
At what age is the bench press strongest?: In these tables the 83 kg men's median peaks at age 30 with 137.5 kg (305 lb). Bodyweight-adjusted, the DOTS median across all classes peaks at age 28 for men and 23 for women and declines roughly 21% and 22% by age 60.
Why do some ages show a dash?: A dash is a cell with fewer than 30 recorded meet results at that exact age and bodyweight class. Publishing a median from a thinner cell would be noise, so the table fails closed instead. n counts meet-result entries, not unique people.
Do these averages describe everyone who trains the bench press?: No. Every number is the median of recorded raw OpenPowerlifting meet results at an exact competition age — people who entered a sanctioned meet. The general training population is weaker on average than meet entrants, so treat these as competition medians, not gym norms.

Figures: OpenPowerlifting (public competition meet data (CC0), dataset date 2026-05-10). Cell n is a meet-result count, not a unique-person count. Full method at /method. Check your own lift on the percentile calculator.