Bench Press Strength Standards (lb)

A 225 lb bench press beats 22.1% of male competitive powerlifters and beats 97.4% of female competitive powerlifters in the OpenPowerlifting dataset.

This page shows how a bench press ranks for men and women at every bodyweight. The numbers come from the OpenPowerlifting database, a public domain archive of sanctioned meet results, filtered to raw (unequipped) lifts and reduced to each lifter's single best bench so no one is counted twice.

Read it in two parts. The strength levels table uses traditional bodyweight multiples that gym lifters can aim for, from untrained through elite, while the percentile tables rank competitive powerlifters, who are stronger than the average gym-goer. Treat those percentiles as a hard grading curve rather than a snapshot of the general public.

Viewing in lb. Switch to kg

Strength levels by bodyweight

Traditional bodyweight-multiple estimates. Each cell is a bodyweight multiple applied to the row bodyweight, rounded to the nearest 5 lb.

Men (lb)

Bodyweight (lb) UntrainedNoviceIntermediateAdvancedElite
120 6090120180240
140 70105140210280
150 75115150225300
160 80120160240320
170 85130170255340
180 90135180270360
200 100150200300400
220 110165220330440
240 120180240360480

Women (lb)

Bodyweight (lb) UntrainedNoviceIntermediateAdvancedElite
120 355570110145
140 406585125170
150 457090135180
160 507095145190
170 5075100155205
180 5580110160215
200 6090120180240
220 65100130200265
240 70110145215290

Percentiles among competitive powerlifters (lb)

Each row is a bodyweight class from the dataset. Columns are the bench press at the 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 99th percentile within that class.

Men (lb)

Bodyweight class Lifters 25th50th75th90th99th
under 123 lb 8,888 88130171211331
123-140 lb 17,458 154187220254337
140-160 lb 45,811 187226259292353
160-180 lb 79,997 225259298331391
180-200 lb 84,555 248287325364437
200-220 lb 58,728 265309353391463
220-240 lb 45,150 281330375419496
240-260 lb 23,041 287342397441524
over 260 lb 34,269 309364424474570

Women (lb)

Bodyweight class Lifters 25th50th75th90th99th
under 123 lb 29,951 88105127149198
123-140 lb 36,788 105121148171220
140-160 lb 36,704 110132155182240
160-180 lb 24,478 116138165198265
180-200 lb 13,685 117143171198276
200-220 lb 6,252 121143171204270
220-240 lb 4,134 127149176209276
240-260 lb 2,508 130154182215290
over 260 lb 3,265 138165204234320

How rare is a big bench press?

Percent of competitive powerlifters whose best bench press is below each weight.

Bench Press (lb) Percent of men below Percent of women below
135 lb 3.2% 57.0%
185 lb 10.1% 90.2%
225 lb 22.1% 97.4%
275 lb 45.3% 99.5%
315 lb 67.3% 99.9%
365 lb 85.1% 100.0%
405 lb 92.6% 100.0%

Methodology

These standards are computed from the public domain bulk data published by OpenPowerlifting, which aggregates results from sanctioned powerlifting meets. The data is released into the public domain, so it can be reused and republished freely.

Only raw (unequipped) lifts are included, so figures reflect lifts performed without a bench shirt, squat suit, or supportive equipment beyond a belt and sleeves. For each lifter we keep only their single best result on this lift, which prevents someone with many logged meets from counting more than once. This snapshot was generated on 2026-07-11 from 1,876,119 raw competition entries, covering 397,897 men and 157,765 women for the bench press.

One honest caveat: everyone in this dataset chose to compete in powerlifting, and competitive powerlifters are considerably stronger than the general gym population. These percentiles therefore understate how rare a given lift is among all men or women. A lift that beats a modest share of competitors would beat a far larger share of the untrained public.

Frequently asked questions

How rare is a 225 lb bench press?

A 225 lb bench press beats 22.1% of the men in this competitive dataset, so it sits below the middle of the pack among people who compete in powerlifting. Because those lifters are far stronger than average, the same 225 lb bench would beat a much larger share of untrained and recreational gym-goers.

How rare is a 315 lb bench press?

A 315 lb bench press beats 67.3% of male competitive powerlifters, placing it comfortably above the median in a field of dedicated lifters. Among the general gym population it is rarer still, since competitors bench far more than the typical untrained man.

How much should a 200 lb man be able to bench press?

An intermediate 200 lb man should aim for a bench press of about 200 lb, roughly one times bodyweight. In the competitive data the median lifter in the 200-220 lb class benches 309 lb, but that group trains specifically for the lift and is stronger than the average gym member.

What is a good bench press for a woman?

A good bench press for a woman is roughly 0.6 times bodyweight at an intermediate level, about 90 lb for a 150 lb lifter. Among competitive women the median in the 140-160 lb class benches 132 lb, and those lifters are stronger than the typical gym-goer.

What percentage of people can bench 135 lb?

Among competitive powerlifters, about 96.8% of men and 43.0% of women can bench at least 135 lb. These figures come from a population that trains for strength, so in the general public the share who can bench 135 lb is lower, especially among people who do not lift.

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