How Much Weight Can The Average Man Lift

Based on bench press standards and the average body weight of an American male, an untrained or novice man can often lift between 135 and 175 pounds.

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In This Article

    Strength Standards for Men
  
    Bench Press Standards
  
    Deadlift Standards
  
    Squat Standards
  
    Overhead Press Standards
  
    World Records
  "Average" is a tricky word when it comes to weight lifting. Fitness level, body type and exercise experience make for a lot of variation. But weightlifting standards can help you get a grasp on roughly how much weight a typical man can lift.

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 Beyond the bench press, you can also take a look at the current men's standards for tried-and-true tests of strength, such as the deadlift and squat. These numbers help paint a broader picture of how much weight the average American man is able to lift — or should be able to lift under normal conditions — at different fitness experience levels.

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   Throughout this page, the terms used to describe sex and gender are the words used in the original sources.

What Are Strength Standards for Men? Strength standards are an estimate of the one-rep max weight for different types of exercises, according to ExRx.net. In any weight-lifting category, standards are based on lifts properly performed with no additional gear (except lifting belts, which are allowed).

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 As you look through the national standards for different lifts, keep in mind that these numbers don't exactly show how much the average man can lift, per ExRx.net. These numbers are based on about 70 years of gathered performance data. So it's totally normal if your personal records don't exactly match the standard for your body weight.

Instead, these values are a rough example of what an “average” healthy adult man can lift, based on their body weight and experience level. Here, the data are broken down into three categories, including untrained (no prior lifting experience), novice (several months of experience) and intermediate (a few years of experience).

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 Bench Press Standards for Men by Body Weight

The bench press can serve as one indicator of your strength in other exercises, according to a small March 2013 study in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. Researchers found that those who had higher max loads for the bench press also lifted more weight for at least four other exercises, including hammer curl, barbell biceps curl, overhead triceps extension and dumbbell shoulder press.

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 "Bench press has been a staple exercise for both testing and training the upper body strength of athletes in many professional sports including American football and basketball," write researchers, noting its consistent use as a measure for upper-body strength in numerous studies among the non-athlete population, too.

Body weight plays a key role in how much weight an individual is able to lift.The average American adult man weighs about 199 pounds, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. And the average, untrained 198-pound man bench presses about 135 pounds, according to ExRx.net.

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 Use the chart below to get an idea of how you compare to the national average for the bench press.

National Bench Press Standards by Body Weight Body Weight Untrained Novice Intermediate 148 lbs 110 lbs 140 lbs 170 lbs 165 lbs 120 lbs 150 lbs 185 lbs 181 lbs 130 lbs 165 lbs 200 lbs 198 lbs 135 lbs 175 lbs 215 lbs 220 lbs 140 lbs 185 lbs 225 lbs 242 lbs 145 lbs 190 lbs 230 lbs 275 lbs 150 lbs 195 lbs 240 lbs 319 lbs 155 lbs 200 lbs 245 lbs 320 lbs 160 lbs 205 lbs 250 lbs Source: ExRx.net: “Bench Press Strength Standards” Related Reading How Do You Stack Up Against the Average Bench Press? Deadlift Standards for Men by Body Weight In addition to the many benefits of deadlifting — like strengthening your glutes, legs and back — this classic barbell lift is a reliable and repeatable way to assess one-rep maxes, according to a small March 2018 study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning.

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 Use the chart below to get an idea of how you stack up against the national average deadlift, according to ExRx.net.

National Deadlift Standards by Body Weight Body Weight Untrained Novice Intermediate 148 lbs 125 lbs 235 lbs 270 lbs 165 lbs 135 lbs 255 lbs 295 lbs 181 lbs 150 lbs 275 lbs 315 lbs 198 lbs 155 lbs 290 lbs 335 lbs 220 lbs 165 lbs 305 lbs 350 lbs 242 lbs 170 lbs 320 lbs 365 lbs 275 lbs 175 lbs 325 lbs 375 lbs 319 lbs 180 lbs 335 lbs 380 lbs 320 lbs 185 lbs 340 lbs 390 lbs Source: ExRx.net: “Deadlift Strength Standards” Squat Standards for Men by Body Weight Alongside the bench press and deadlift, the squat is another solid indicator of overall strength, according to a small May 2015 study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. Researchers found the squat to be a good measure of improvements in strength and explosiveness in training.

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 You can use the chart below to get an idea of how your squats compare to the national average squat standards.

National Squat Standards by Body Weight Body Weight Untrained Novice Intermediate 148 lbs 100 lbs 190 lbs 230 lbs 165 lbs 110 lbs 205 lbs 250 lbs 181 lbs 120 lbs 220 lbs 270 lbs 198 lbs 125 lbs 230 lbs 285 lbs 220 lbs 130 lbs 245 lbs 300 lbs 242 lbs 135 lbs 255 lbs 310 lbs 275 lbs 140 lbs 260 lbs 320 lbs 319 lbs 145 lbs 270 lbs 325 lbs 320 lbs 150 lbs 275 lbs 330 lbs Source: ExRx.net: “Squat Strength Standards” Overhead Press Standards for Men by Body Weight Shoulder presses help build upper-body strength and core stability, and they can even help improve your overall posture. Use the chart below to get an idea of the national standards for the men’s overhead press.

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 National Overhead Press Standards by Body Weight Body Weight

Untrained Novice Intermediate 148 lbs 70 lbs 95 lbs 120 lbs 165 lbs 75 lbs 100 lbs 130 lbs 181 lbs 80 lbs 110 lbs 140 lbs 198 lbs 85 lbs 115 lbs 145 lbs 220 lbs 90 lbs 120 lbs 155 lbs 242 lbs 95 lbs 125 lbs 160 lbs 275 lbs 95 lbs 130 lbs 165 lbs 319 lbs 100 lbs 135 lbs 170 lbs 320 lbs 100 lbs 140 lbs 175 lbs Source: ExRx.net: “Press Strength Standards” Beyond Average: World Records Stepping well outside of the average, the International Weightlifting Federation tracks the most exceptional weightlifters’ records at the Olympic games. As per IWF rules, athletes perform a series of snatch and clean-and-jerk barbell lifts, with the best weight of each individual lift being added to an overall total. These are the current world records for the clean and jerk.

55-kg (121-lb) weight class: 366 pounds, Om Yun Chol (People’s Republic of Korea), 2019 61-kg (134-lb) weight class: 384 pounds, Eko Yuli Irawan (Indonesia), 2018 67-kg (148-lb) weight class: 414 pounds, Pak Jong Ju (People’s Republic of Korea), 2019 73-kg (161-lb) weight class: 437 pounds, Shi Zhiyong (China), 2019 81-kg (179-lb) weight class: 459 pounds, Karlos Nasar (Bulgaria), 2021 96-kg (212-lb) weight class: 509 pounds, Tian Tao (China), 2019 109-kg (240-lb) weight class: 531 pounds, Ruslan Nurudinov (Uzbekistan), 2021

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  references
  
      ExRx.net: "Weightlifting Performance Standards"
    
      National Center for Health Statistics: "Body Measurements"
    
      ExRx.net: "Bench Press Strength Standards"
    
      Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: "Validity and Reliability of the Load-Velocity Relationship to Predict the One-Repetition Maximum in Deadlift"
    
      ExRx.net: "Deadlift Strength Standards"
    
      Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: "The Use of the Isometric Squat as a Measure of Strength and Explosiveness"
    
      ExRx.net: "Squat Strength Standards"
    
      Journal of Sports Science and Medicine: "Using Bench Press Load to Predict Upper Body Exercise Loads in Physically Active Individuals"
    
      International Weightlifting Federation: "Men's Olympic Records"
    
      International Weightlifting Federation: "2019 Technical and Competition Rules and Regulations"
    
      ExRx.net: "Press Strength Standards"
       




  references
  
      ExRx.net: "Weightlifting Performance Standards"
    
      National Center for Health Statistics: "Body Measurements"
    
      ExRx.net: "Bench Press Strength Standards"
    
      Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: "Validity and Reliability of the Load-Velocity Relationship to Predict the One-Repetition Maximum in Deadlift"
    
      ExRx.net: "Deadlift Strength Standards"
    
      Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: "The Use of the Isometric Squat as a Measure of Strength and Explosiveness"
    
      ExRx.net: "Squat Strength Standards"
    
      Journal of Sports Science and Medicine: "Using Bench Press Load to Predict Upper Body Exercise Loads in Physically Active Individuals"
    
      International Weightlifting Federation: "Men's Olympic Records"
    
      International Weightlifting Federation: "2019 Technical and Competition Rules and Regulations"
    
      ExRx.net: "Press Strength Standards"
    




Based on bench press standards and the average body weight of an American male, an untrained or novice man can often lift between 135 and 175 pounds.

Image Credit: Hirurg/iStock/GettyImages

Strength Standards for Men
Bench Press Standards
Deadlift Standards
Squat Standards
Overhead Press Standards
World Records

Throughout this page, the terms used to describe sex and gender are the words used in the original sources.

Body Weight Untrained Novice Intermediate 148 lbs 110 lbs 140 lbs 170 lbs 165 lbs 120 lbs 150 lbs 185 lbs 181 lbs 130 lbs 165 lbs 200 lbs 198 lbs 135 lbs 175 lbs 215 lbs 220 lbs 140 lbs 185 lbs 225 lbs 242 lbs 145 lbs 190 lbs 230 lbs 275 lbs 150 lbs 195 lbs 240 lbs 319 lbs 155 lbs 200 lbs 245 lbs 320 lbs 160 lbs 205 lbs 250 lbs

Source: ExRx.net: “Bench Press Strength Standards”

How Do You Stack Up Against the Average Bench Press?

Body Weight Untrained Novice Intermediate 148 lbs 125 lbs 235 lbs 270 lbs 165 lbs 135 lbs 255 lbs 295 lbs 181 lbs 150 lbs 275 lbs 315 lbs 198 lbs 155 lbs 290 lbs 335 lbs 220 lbs 165 lbs 305 lbs 350 lbs 242 lbs 170 lbs 320 lbs 365 lbs 275 lbs 175 lbs 325 lbs 375 lbs 319 lbs 180 lbs 335 lbs 380 lbs 320 lbs 185 lbs 340 lbs 390 lbs

Source: ExRx.net: “Deadlift Strength Standards”

Body Weight Untrained Novice Intermediate 148 lbs 100 lbs 190 lbs 230 lbs 165 lbs 110 lbs 205 lbs 250 lbs 181 lbs 120 lbs 220 lbs 270 lbs 198 lbs 125 lbs 230 lbs 285 lbs 220 lbs 130 lbs 245 lbs 300 lbs 242 lbs 135 lbs 255 lbs 310 lbs 275 lbs 140 lbs 260 lbs 320 lbs 319 lbs 145 lbs 270 lbs 325 lbs 320 lbs 150 lbs 275 lbs 330 lbs

Source: ExRx.net: “Squat Strength Standards”

Body Weight Untrained Novice Intermediate 148 lbs 70 lbs 95 lbs 120 lbs 165 lbs 75 lbs 100 lbs 130 lbs 181 lbs 80 lbs 110 lbs 140 lbs 198 lbs 85 lbs 115 lbs 145 lbs 220 lbs 90 lbs 120 lbs 155 lbs 242 lbs 95 lbs 125 lbs 160 lbs 275 lbs 95 lbs 130 lbs 165 lbs 319 lbs 100 lbs 135 lbs 170 lbs 320 lbs 100 lbs 140 lbs 175 lbs

Source: ExRx.net: “Press Strength Standards”

      ExRx.net: "Weightlifting Performance Standards"
    
      National Center for Health Statistics: "Body Measurements"
    
      ExRx.net: "Bench Press Strength Standards"
    
      Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: "Validity and Reliability of the Load-Velocity Relationship to Predict the One-Repetition Maximum in Deadlift"
    
      ExRx.net: "Deadlift Strength Standards"
    
      Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: "The Use of the Isometric Squat as a Measure of Strength and Explosiveness"
    
      ExRx.net: "Squat Strength Standards"
    
      Journal of Sports Science and Medicine: "Using Bench Press Load to Predict Upper Body Exercise Loads in Physically Active Individuals"
    
      International Weightlifting Federation: "Men's Olympic Records"
    
      International Weightlifting Federation: "2019 Technical and Competition Rules and Regulations"
    
      ExRx.net: "Press Strength Standards"