Deadlift standards for a 120 kg (265 lb) man
The median gym-goer at this bodyweight deadlifts 213 kg (470 lb); an advanced lifter 261 kg (575 lb). Among raw competitors the median lifter deadlifts 250 kg (550 lb) and the top 10% reach 308 kg (680 lb) — all from real data, in kg and lb.
Average deadlift for a 120 kg man
This is the everyday yardstick — what gym-goers who log their lifts actually deadlift at this bodyweight (the 105–120 kg / 231–265 lb band). Source: StrengthLevel (153 million+ self-reported gym-log lifts); self-reported, so it skews a little stronger than a typical gym floor.
| Level | man, 120 kg | in lb |
|---|---|---|
| Beginneraround a first-month lifter | 134 kg | 295 lb |
| Novicea few months of consistent training | 171 kg | 375 lb |
| Intermediatethe median logged gym-goer | 213 kg | 470 lb |
| Advancedstronger than 80% of gym-goers | 261 kg | 575 lb |
| Elitetop 5% of recreational lifters | 311 kg | 685 lb |
How a 120 kg man ranks among competitors
If you compete (or want to know where you'd land at a raw meet), this is the field. Based on 12,116 raw lifters in the 105–120 kg / 231–265 lb class.
| Percentile | man (raw) | in lb |
|---|---|---|
| Median competitormiddle of the meet field | 250 kg | 550 lb |
| Top 25%experienced competitor | 280 kg | 615 lb |
| Top 10%regionally competitive | 308 kg | 680 lb |
| Top 5%nationally competitive | 325 kg | 715 lb |
| Top 1%international / record territory | 357.5 kg | 790 lb |
At 120 kg (265 lb) the median raw competitor lifts 37 kg (80 lb) more than the median logged gym-goer — 250 kg (550 lb) versus 213 kg (470 lb) at the 50th percentile. Within the competitive field the top 10% reach 308 kg (680 lb), 58 kg (130 lb) above the median 250 kg (550 lb); the top 1% reach 357.5 kg (790 lb), a further 49.5 kg (110 lb) on top.
These are dead-stop pulls; raw competition allows both conventional and sumo stance on the same scoreboard, so the standard pools them. Dead-stop is the meet standard — touch-and-go reps use the stretch reflex off the floor and read higher than a competition pull. Vanderburgh & Batterham 1999 is why the deadlift standard climbs with bodyweight while strength-per-kilo falls (PMID 10613442).
FAQ
- What is the average deadlift for a 120 kg (265 lb) man?
- Among logged gym-goers at this bodyweight, the median (50th-percentile) deadlift is 213 kg (470 lb). A beginner is around 134 kg (295 lb) and an advanced lifter around 261 kg (575 lb). Source: StrengthLevel, 153 million+ self-reported gym-log lifts; self-reported, so the population skews stronger than a typical gym floor.
- What counts as a good deadlift at 120 kg?
- "Good" depends on the room you compare against. For a recreational lifter, anything above the 261 kg (575 lb) advanced mark is strong. To rank among people who actually compete, the median raw competitor at this bodyweight lifts 250 kg (550 lb) and the top 10% reach 308 kg (680 lb).
- What deadlift puts me in the top 1% at 120 kg?
- The 99th-percentile raw competitive deadlift for a 120 kg (265 lb) man is 357.5 kg (790 lb) — international and record territory. The top 5% (nationally competitive) starts at 325 kg (715 lb).
- Where does this data come from?
- Competitive figures are real OpenPowerlifting meet results (CC0 public dataset, snapshot 2026-05-16) for raw lifters at this exact sex and bodyweight class; the gym-goer figures are from StrengthLevel's 22,866,078 self-reported deadlift logs. No numbers are estimated — every figure is a percentile from the underlying sample.
Competitive figures: OpenPowerlifting (public competition meet data (CC0), snapshot 2026-05-16, CC0). Recreational figures: StrengthLevel (153 million+ self-reported gym-log lifts; self-reported). Full method at /method. Check your own lift on the percentile calculator.