Deadlift standards for a 74 kg (163 lb) man
The median gym-goer at this bodyweight deadlifts 133 kg (295 lb); an advanced lifter 171 kg (375 lb). Among raw competitors the median lifter deadlifts 200 kg (440 lb) and the top 10% reach 250 kg (550 lb) — all from real data, in kg and lb.
Average deadlift for a 74 kg man
This is the everyday yardstick — what gym-goers who log their lifts actually deadlift at this bodyweight (the 66–74 kg / 146–163 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, 74 kg | in lb |
|---|---|---|
| Beginneraround a first-month lifter | 73 kg | 160 lb |
| Novicea few months of consistent training | 100 kg | 220 lb |
| Intermediatethe median logged gym-goer | 133 kg | 295 lb |
| Advancedstronger than 80% of gym-goers | 171 kg | 375 lb |
| Elitetop 5% of recreational lifters | 212 kg | 465 lb |
How a 74 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 12,857 raw lifters in the 66–74 kg / 146–163 lb class.
| Percentile | man (raw) | in lb |
|---|---|---|
| Median competitormiddle of the meet field | 200 kg | 440 lb |
| Top 25%experienced competitor | 227.5 kg | 500 lb |
| Top 10%regionally competitive | 250 kg | 550 lb |
| Top 5%nationally competitive | 265 kg | 585 lb |
| Top 1%international / record territory | 292.5 kg | 645 lb |
At 74 kg (163 lb) the median raw competitor lifts 67 kg (150 lb) more than the median logged gym-goer — 200 kg (440 lb) versus 133 kg (295 lb) at the 50th percentile. Within the competitive field the top 10% reach 250 kg (550 lb), 50 kg (110 lb) above the median 200 kg (440 lb); the top 1% reach 292.5 kg (645 lb), a further 42.5 kg (95 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 74 kg (163 lb) man?
- Among logged gym-goers at this bodyweight, the median (50th-percentile) deadlift is 133 kg (295 lb). A beginner is around 73 kg (160 lb) and an advanced lifter around 171 kg (375 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 74 kg?
- "Good" depends on the room you compare against. For a recreational lifter, anything above the 171 kg (375 lb) advanced mark is strong. To rank among people who actually compete, the median raw competitor at this bodyweight lifts 200 kg (440 lb) and the top 10% reach 250 kg (550 lb).
- What deadlift puts me in the top 1% at 74 kg?
- The 99th-percentile raw competitive deadlift for a 74 kg (163 lb) man is 292.5 kg (645 lb) — international and record territory. The top 5% (nationally competitive) starts at 265 kg (585 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.