LiftGauge

Is a 135 lb bench press good?

Short answer: it depends on bodyweight. A 135 lb (61 kg) bench press is elite for a lighter lifter and ordinary for a heavyweight. Here's the exact percentile at every bodyweight, against gym-goers and against competitors.

· OpenPowerlifting + StrengthLevel data

135 lb bench press for men percentile by bodyweight

Versus recreational gym-goers (StrengthLevel):

BodyweightPercentileReads as
50 kg 110 lb56thtop 50%
55 kg 121 lb46thtop 75%
60 kg 132 lb35thtop 75%
65 kg 143 lb26thtop 75%
70 kg 154 lb19thtop 90%
75 kg 165 lb15thtop 90%
80 kg 176 lb11thtop 90%
85 kg 187 lb7thbottom 10%
90 kg 198 lb5thbottom 10%
95 kg 209 lb5thbottom 10%
100 kg 220 lb4thbottom 10%
105 kg 231 lb4thbottom 10%
110 kg 243 lb4thbottom 10%
115 kg 254 lb4thbottom 10%
120 kg 265 lb3thbottom 10%
125 kg 276 lb3thbottom 10%
130 kg 287 lb3thbottom 10%
135 kg 298 lb3thbottom 10%
140 kg 309 lb3thbottom 10%

Versus raw competitors (OpenPowerlifting):

BodyweightPercentileReads as
53 kg 117 lb66thtop 50%
59 kg 130 lb20thtop 90%
66 kg 146 lb10thtop 90%
74 kg 163 lb8thbottom 10%
83 kg 183 lb7thbottom 10%
93 kg 205 lb6thbottom 10%
105 kg 231 lb6thbottom 10%
120 kg 265 lb6thbottom 10%
140 kg+ 309 lb6thbottom 10%

135 lb bench press for women percentile by bodyweight

Versus recreational gym-goers (StrengthLevel):

BodyweightPercentileReads as
40 kg 88 lb88thtop 25%
45 kg 99 lb84thtop 25%
50 kg 110 lb81thtop 25%
55 kg 121 lb76thtop 25%
60 kg 132 lb70thtop 50%
65 kg 143 lb65thtop 50%
70 kg 154 lb61thtop 50%
75 kg 165 lb57thtop 50%
80 kg 176 lb53thtop 50%
85 kg 187 lb49thtop 75%
90 kg 198 lb46thtop 75%
95 kg 209 lb42thtop 75%
100 kg 220 lb39thtop 75%
105 kg 231 lb35thtop 75%
110 kg 243 lb33thtop 75%
115 kg 254 lb30thtop 75%
120 kg 265 lb27thtop 75%

Versus raw competitors (OpenPowerlifting):

BodyweightPercentileReads as
43 kg 95 lb97thtop 5%
47 kg 104 lb79thtop 25%
52 kg 115 lb72thtop 50%
57 kg 126 lb57thtop 50%
63 kg 139 lb52thtop 50%
69 kg 152 lb42thtop 75%
76 kg 168 lb40thtop 75%
84 kg 185 lb37thtop 75%
120 kg+ 265 lb35thtop 75%

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

Is a 135 lb bench press good?
It depends entirely on bodyweight. A 135 lb bench press is elite for a lightweight lifter and average-to-good for a heavyweight. The tables on this page give the exact percentile at every bodyweight, against both recreational gym-goers (StrengthLevel) and competitive powerlifters (OpenPowerlifting).
135 lb bench press — what bodyweight makes it impressive?
Read down the bodyweight column: the lighter you are, the higher the percentile a fixed 135 lb bench press represents, 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 same bar is a top-tier lift at one bodyweight and a working set at another.
Is the comparison against gym-goers or competitors?
Both, side by side. The recreational percentile uses StrengthLevel's self-reported logs — the right yardstick if you train at a commercial gym. The competitive percentile uses OpenPowerlifting meet data — the yardstick if you plan to compete. The same lift usually ranks higher against gym-goers than against competitors.

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.