Is a 220 kg deadlift good?
Weighted across 96,871 OpenPowerlifting raw male meet results, fewer than 53% record 220 kg (485 lb) or more. Bodyweight changes the answer more than anything else, so the tables below give the percentile for every men's and women's class, in kg and lb.
In OpenPowerlifting, fewer than 53% of 96,871 raw male meet results record 220 kg or more after bodyweight-class percentiles are weighted by entry count.
Exact-load note. 220 kg is 485 lb; it is not the same load as the nearby 495 lb milestone (4.5 kg difference). This page answers the exact 220 kg query. If that other load is on your bar, use the 495 lb deadlift page.
The figure describes recorded meet entries only — never the general population, and never unique people, since repeat competitors count each time. A fixed bar ranks very differently as bodyweight changes, so the tables below separate every men's and women's class, mark loads past the highest recorded breakpoint, and show both kg and lb. Find your class for the real answer, then use the percentile calculator for age, equipment, and exact-bodyweight control.
220 kg deadlift for men
OpenPowerlifting raw meet-result percentile by bodyweight class:
| Bodyweight | Percentile | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 53 kg 117 lb | 99th+ | top 1% of raw meet results or stronger |
| 59 kg 130 lb | 92nd | top 8% of raw meet results |
| 66 kg 146 lb | 80th | top 20% of raw meet results |
| 74 kg 163 lb | 68th | stronger than 68% of raw meet results |
| 83 kg 183 lb | 50th | stronger than 50% of raw meet results |
| 93 kg 205 lb | 41st | stronger than 41% of raw meet results |
| 105 kg 231 lb | 33rd | stronger than 33% of raw meet results |
| 120 kg 265 lb | 29th | stronger than 29% of raw meet results |
| 120 kg+ 265 lb+ | 30th | stronger than 30% of raw meet results |
220 kg deadlift for women
OpenPowerlifting raw meet-result percentile by bodyweight class:
| Bodyweight | Percentile | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 43 kg 95 lb | 99th+ | top 1% of raw meet results or stronger |
| 47 kg 104 lb | 99th+ | top 1% of raw meet results or stronger |
| 52 kg 115 lb | 99th+ | top 1% of raw meet results or stronger |
| 57 kg 126 lb | 99th+ | top 1% of raw meet results or stronger |
| 63 kg 139 lb | 99th+ | top 1% of raw meet results or stronger |
| 69 kg 152 lb | 99th+ | top 1% of raw meet results or stronger |
| 76 kg 168 lb | 99th | top 1% of raw meet results |
| 84 kg 185 lb | 98th | top 2% of raw meet results |
| 84 kg+ 185 lb+ | 97th | top 3% of raw meet results |
Where 220 kg stands in the field
For men, a 220 kg deadlift is a top-10% lift up to the 59 kg class, top-quartile through 66 kg, at or below the field median from 83 kg up.
For women, a 220 kg deadlift stays a top-10% lift at every recorded bodyweight, from 43 kg to 84 kg+.
Weighted across 96,871 raw male meet results, fewer than 53% record 220 kg or more. Weighted across 53,248 raw female meet results, fewer than 2% record 220 kg or more.
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
- Is a 220 kg deadlift good?
- A 220 kg deadlift ranks much higher in lighter classes than heavier classes — bodyweight decides. The tables on this page give the percentile at every qualifying bodyweight class in OpenPowerlifting raw meet results.
- 220 kg deadlift — what bodyweight makes it impressive?
- Read down the bodyweight column: the lighter you are, the higher the percentile a fixed 220 kg deadlift 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.
- What population does this comparison represent?
- OpenPowerlifting raw meet results, separated by sex and bodyweight class. It describes recorded competition entries rather than population prevalence, and n is a meet-result count rather than a unique-person count.
- How rare is a 220 kg deadlift?
- Among 96,871 raw male OpenPowerlifting meet-result entries, fewer than 53% record 220 kg or more after bodyweight-class weighting. Among 53,248 female entries, fewer than 2% do. The denominator is competition entries, not the general population — prevalence among all gym-goers is lower than either figure.
- Is deadlifting 220 kg impressive?
- In raw male meet results 220 kg reads around the 99th percentile in the 53 kg class and the 30th in the 120 kg+ class — bodyweight decides how impressive it is. The tables above give every class in between, for men and women.
- What percentage of meet results record 220 kg?
- Weighted across 96,871 raw male meet results, fewer than 53% record 220 kg or more. Weighted across 53,248 raw female meet results, fewer than 2% record 220 kg 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.
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.