Squat standards for a 120 kg (265 lb) man
The median gym-goer at this bodyweight squats 188 kg (415 lb); an advanced lifter 231 kg (510 lb). Among raw competitors the median lifter squats 230 kg (505 lb) and the top 10% reach 300 kg (660 lb) — all from real data, in kg and lb.
Average squat for a 120 kg man
This is the everyday yardstick — what gym-goers who log their lifts actually squat 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 | 116 kg | 255 lb |
| Novicea few months of consistent training | 149 kg | 330 lb |
| Intermediatethe median logged gym-goer | 188 kg | 415 lb |
| Advancedstronger than 80% of gym-goers | 231 kg | 510 lb |
| Elitetop 5% of recreational lifters | 277 kg | 610 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 10,764 raw lifters in the 105–120 kg / 231–265 lb class.
| Percentile | man (raw) | in lb |
|---|---|---|
| Median competitormiddle of the meet field | 230 kg | 505 lb |
| Top 25%experienced competitor | 265 kg | 585 lb |
| Top 10%regionally competitive | 300 kg | 660 lb |
| Top 5%nationally competitive | 315 kg | 695 lb |
| Top 1%international / record territory | 345 kg | 760 lb |
At 120 kg (265 lb) the median raw competitor lifts 42 kg (95 lb) more than the median logged gym-goer — 230 kg (505 lb) versus 188 kg (415 lb) at the 50th percentile. Within the competitive field the top 10% reach 300 kg (660 lb), 70 kg (155 lb) above the median 230 kg (505 lb); the top 1% reach 345 kg (760 lb), a further 45 kg (100 lb) on top.
These are competition-depth back squats: the IPF Technical Rules require the hip crease to drop below the top of the knee. A high squat will read 5–10% above your meet squat, so judge yourself against the standard at legal depth. Vanderburgh & Batterham 1999 explains why the kilos rise with bodyweight while strength-per-kilo falls (PMID 10613442) — read the percentile, not just the absolute number.
FAQ
- What is the average squat for a 120 kg (265 lb) man?
- Among logged gym-goers at this bodyweight, the median (50th-percentile) squat is 188 kg (415 lb). A beginner is around 116 kg (255 lb) and an advanced lifter around 231 kg (510 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 squat at 120 kg?
- "Good" depends on the room you compare against. For a recreational lifter, anything above the 231 kg (510 lb) advanced mark is strong. To rank among people who actually compete, the median raw competitor at this bodyweight lifts 230 kg (505 lb) and the top 10% reach 300 kg (660 lb).
- What squat puts me in the top 1% at 120 kg?
- The 99th-percentile raw competitive squat for a 120 kg (265 lb) man is 345 kg (760 lb) — international and record territory. The top 5% (nationally competitive) starts at 315 kg (695 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 24,851,640 self-reported squat 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.