How much is 1.5× bodyweight for my weight class?

Taken at the men's class limits: 53 kg → 79.5 kg (175 lb); 59 kg → 88.5 kg (195 lb); 66 kg → 99 kg (220 lb); 74 kg → 111 kg (245 lb); 83 kg → 124.5 kg (275 lb); 93 kg → 139.5 kg (310 lb); 105 kg → 157.5 kg (345 lb); 120 kg → 180 kg (395 lb). A lifter below the limit of the class needs proportionally less for the same ratio; the tables above show the women's classes.

What percentage of meet results record 1.5× bodyweight?

Weighted across 99,386 raw male meet results, roughly 40% record 1.5× bodyweight or more. Weighted across 46,190 raw female meet results, roughly 4.3% record 1.5× bodyweight or more. The share is computed from per-bodyweight-class percentiles weighted by each class's meet-result count in the OpenPowerlifting raw dataset. n counts entries, not unique people, and the result is not a population survey estimate.

Why is the load taken at the class limit?

No — every load is the ratio multiplied by the class upper limit, the most a lifter in that class can weigh. That makes it the largest load the ratio can mean inside the class, and the percentile a floor for anyone lighter. For an exact-bodyweight read, enter your own bench press and bodyweight in the percentile calculator.

Is a 1.5× bodyweight bench press harder for heavier lifters?

Strength scales sub-linearly with bodyweight — heavier lifters lift more in absolute terms but less per kilo of bodyweight (Vanderburgh & Batterham 1999, PMID 10613442). For men the class median itself runs from 0.94× the limit at 53 kg to 1.27× at 120 kg, peaking at 1.52× in the 66 kg class. That is why cross-class comparison uses percentiles or coefficients rather than a multiplier.

Is a 1.5× bodyweight bench press good?

For an 83 kg man at the top of his class, a 1.5× bodyweight bench press is 124.5 kg (275 lb) — around the 49th percentile of 83 kg men's raw OpenPowerlifting meet results, below that class's 125 kg (275 lb) median. For a 63 kg woman it is 94.5 kg (210 lb), the 95th percentile, above the 60 kg (130 lb) median there. Weighted across 99,386 raw male meet results, roughly 40% record at least 1.5× the class limit; among 46,190 female entries, roughly 4.3% do. Loads here are anchored at each class's upper limit, the heaviest a lifter in it can weigh; that makes each printed load the biggest the ratio can mean in that class and each percentile a floor for a lighter lifter. There is no open-class row because the open class has no limit to anchor to.

Updated 2026-09-10 · OpenPowerlifting meet-result data

In OpenPowerlifting raw meet results, 1.5× bodyweight bench press at the 83 kg class limit — 124.5 kg (275 lb) — is stronger than 49% of 83 kg men's meet-result entries; at the 63 kg limit — 94.5 kg (210 lb) — it is top 5% of 63 kg women's entries.

1.5× bodyweight bench press for men load and percentile at each class limit

Each row multiplies the class limit by 1.5 and ranks the result inside that class's raw OpenPowerlifting meet-result entries — entry counts, not unique people.

Class limit	1.5× limit	Percentile	Reads as
53 kg 117 lb	79.5 kg175 lb	84th	top 16% of raw meet results
59 kg 130 lb	88.5 kg195 lb	56th	stronger than 56% of raw meet results
66 kg 146 lb	99 kg220 lb	49th	stronger than 49% of raw meet results
74 kg 163 lb	111 kg245 lb	51st	stronger than 51% of raw meet results
83 kg 183 lb	124.5 kg275 lb	49th	stronger than 49% of raw meet results
93 kg 205 lb	139.5 kg310 lb	59th	stronger than 59% of raw meet results
105 kg 231 lb	157.5 kg345 lb	69th	stronger than 69% of raw meet results
120 kg 265 lb	180 kg395 lb	78th	top 22% of raw meet results

1.5× bodyweight bench press for women load and percentile at each class limit

Each row multiplies the class limit by 1.5 and ranks the result inside that class's raw OpenPowerlifting meet-result entries — entry counts, not unique people.

Class limit	1.5× limit	Percentile	Reads as
43 kg 95 lb	64.5 kg140 lb	99th	top 1% of raw meet results
47 kg 104 lb	70.5 kg155 lb	91st	top 9% of raw meet results
52 kg 115 lb	78 kg170 lb	92nd	top 8% of raw meet results
57 kg 126 lb	85.5 kg190 lb	93rd	top 7% of raw meet results
63 kg 139 lb	94.5 kg210 lb	95th	top 5% of raw meet results
69 kg 152 lb	103.5 kg230 lb	96th	top 4% of raw meet results
76 kg 168 lb	114 kg250 lb	97th	top 3% of raw meet results
84 kg 185 lb	126 kg280 lb	99th	top 1% of raw meet results

Where 1.5× bodyweight stands in the field crossover read

For men, a 1.5× bodyweight bench press is top-quartile through 120 kg, at or below the field median from 66 kg up.

For women, a 1.5× bodyweight bench press stays a top-10% lift at every recorded bodyweight, from 43 kg to 84 kg.

Weighted across 99,386 raw male meet results, roughly 40% record 1.5× bodyweight or more. Weighted across 46,190 raw female meet results, roughly 4.3% record 1.5× bodyweight or more.

What the median lifter reaches ratio by class

For men the class median itself runs from 0.94× the limit at 53 kg to 1.27× at 120 kg, peaking at 1.52× in the 66 kg class. For women the class median itself runs from 0.70× the limit at 43 kg to 0.80× at 84 kg, peaking at 1.01× in the 57 kg class. The shape is the sub-linear scaling of strength with bodyweight documented by Vanderburgh & Batterham 1999: light lifters post the highest ratios, so one ratio means different things in different classes — the reason cross-class scoring uses DOTS and IPF GoodLift, not a multiplier. Score a total across the three coefficients with the powerlifting score calculator.

Competition bench is paused on the chest. García-Ramos, Janicijevic and Jukic (2021, Sports Health) compared touch-and-go with concentric-only bench in 113 adults (PMID 33541232); this is not a universal conversion to competition-paused bench. Compare results performed with consistent technique. These standards are raw (no bench shirt). Strength scales sub-linearly with bodyweight — heavier lifters lift more in absolute terms but less per kilo of bodyweight — Vanderburgh & Batterham 1999 (PMID 10613442) — so the most honest read of "is this good" is your percentile at your bodyweight, not the raw kilos.

FAQ

Is a 1.5× bodyweight bench press good?: At the 83 kg class limit, 1.5× bodyweight bench press is 124.5 kg (275 lb) and sits around the 49th percentile of 83 kg men's raw OpenPowerlifting meet results; for 63 kg women it is 94.5 kg (210 lb) at the 95th percentile. Lighter classes rank the same ratio higher and heavier classes lower — read your own class in the tables above.
How much is 1.5× bodyweight for my weight class?: Taken at the men's class limits: 53 kg → 79.5 kg (175 lb); 59 kg → 88.5 kg (195 lb); 66 kg → 99 kg (220 lb); 74 kg → 111 kg (245 lb); 83 kg → 124.5 kg (275 lb); 93 kg → 139.5 kg (310 lb); 105 kg → 157.5 kg (345 lb); 120 kg → 180 kg (395 lb). A lifter below the limit of the class needs proportionally less for the same ratio; the tables above show the women's classes.
What percentage of meet results record 1.5× bodyweight?: Weighted across 99,386 raw male meet results, roughly 40% record 1.5× bodyweight or more. Weighted across 46,190 raw female meet results, roughly 4.3% record 1.5× bodyweight or more. The share is computed from per-bodyweight-class percentiles weighted by each class's meet-result count in the OpenPowerlifting raw dataset. n counts entries, not unique people, and the result is not a population survey estimate.
Why is the load taken at the class limit?: No — every load is the ratio multiplied by the class upper limit, the most a lifter in that class can weigh. That makes it the largest load the ratio can mean inside the class, and the percentile a floor for anyone lighter. For an exact-bodyweight read, enter your own bench press and bodyweight in the percentile calculator.
Is a 1.5× bodyweight bench press harder for heavier lifters?: Strength scales sub-linearly with bodyweight — heavier lifters lift more in absolute terms but less per kilo of bodyweight (Vanderburgh & Batterham 1999, PMID 10613442). For men the class median itself runs from 0.94× the limit at 53 kg to 1.27× at 120 kg, peaking at 1.52× in the 66 kg class. That is why cross-class comparison uses percentiles or coefficients rather than a multiplier.

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.