Standards

Bench Press Standards

Updated 31 Oct 2026 · Source: OpenPowerlifting meet data ↗

Enter your sex, bodyweight and best bench press to see where you rank among meet lifters in your class. The tables show the full spread for men and women and the middle bench by age.

Worked example

Bodyweight 181 lb puts you in the up to 183 lb class.
In that class the middle raw bench press is 270 lb.
Your 225 lb sits about the 20th percentile.

Raw bench press, men (lb)

Bodyweight class	10th	25th	50th	75th	90th	Lifters
up to 130 lb	116	154	187	226	265	6,918
up to 146 lb	154	187	220	254	287	13,997
up to 163 lb	182	209	243	281	309	34,879
up to 183 lb	204	237	270	309	342	59,808
up to 205 lb	220	254	292	331	369	61,469
up to 231 lb	237	276	320	358	402	53,426
up to 265 lb	248	292	342	391	441	33,941
over 265 lb	254	309	365	424	480	22,249

Raw bench press, women (lb)

Bodyweight class	10th	25th	50th	75th	90th	Lifters
up to 104 lb	66	80	99	121	143	3,519
up to 115 lb	77	94	110	132	154	9,248
up to 126 lb	83	99	121	143	165	14,787
up to 139 lb	88	105	127	149	176	22,369
up to 152 lb	94	110	132	160	185	22,435
up to 168 lb	99	116	138	165	193	21,186
up to 185 lb	99	121	143	171	198	14,989
over 185 lb	105	127	149	176	209	21,559

Raw bench press by age, all bodyweights (median, lb)

Age group	Men	Women
18-23	276	132
24-39	309	138
40-49	314	134
50-59	287	123
60+	231	100

Each lifter's best result per lift in 2016-2026, from the OpenPowerlifting archive (public domain). A cell is shown only with at least 200 lifters.

The average bench press for a man in meet results

We report the median, the lift right in the middle of the group, since a handful of huge benches would pull a plain average up. For men in meet results it rises with each class: 270 lb up to 183 lb, 292 lb up to 205 lb, and 365 lb in the class over 265 lb.

The default example checks a 181 lb man with a 225 lb bench. He lands in the up to 183 lb class at about the 20th percentile, where the 10th percentile is 204 lb and the 90th is 342 lb.

Why a gym crowd would score lower

These lifters signed up for a meet, trained for it and pressed with a pause under a referee. We kept only the best bench each one made in ten years. A typical gym-goer who benches now and then is not in this data at all.

That is why a bench around the 25th percentile here is still a strong lift for most people. Read the table as a ladder for people who train the lift seriously.

Women's bench press numbers

For women the classes start at up to 104 lb and the median bench climbs from 99 lb there to 149 lb in the class over 185 lb. A woman in the up to 139 lb class sits in the middle at 127 lb and reaches the 90th percentile at 176 lb.

Between neighboring classes the medians often differ by only 5 or 6 lb, so a few pounds of bodyweight barely change where you rank.

Which bench results went in

We took results from the public OpenPowerlifting archive, 2016 to 2026, for adults with a valid lift. Both bench-only meets and full three-lift meets count here, and each lifter adds a single best bench. Raw means no bench shirt, and a class is shown only with 200 or more lifters. Details are on our method page.

How age shifts the middle bench

Across all bodyweights, the men's median is 276 lb at 18 to 23, 309 lb at 24 to 39 and highest at 314 lb at 40 to 49. It drops to 231 lb at 60 and over. Women peak at 138 lb in the 24 to 39 group.

Getting a number to compare

You do not need a true one rep max to use this table. Enter a recent heavy set into the bench press calculator and use its estimate. If you do press a heavy single, use a spotter or set the safety bars just below chest height.

Dumbbell numbers do not belong in this table. Use the dumbbell bench max calculator for those, and see the strength standards page to compare your total.

Dumbbell Bench Max Calculator, Bench Press Calculator, Strength Standards, Deadlift Standards, Squat Standards

Questions

What is a good bench press for a 180 lb man?

In raw meet results, a man up to 183 lb sits in the middle at 270 lb and in the top quarter from 309 lb. Gym averages would be lower, since these are competitors.

Does a touch-and-go bench count?

Meet benches are paused on the chest, which is harder. A touch-and-go single can make you look a little stronger than a paused one, so pause your test reps if you can.

Why does the median rise so slowly in the heavy classes?

Heavier lifters bench more, but not in step with bodyweight. From up to 231 lb to over 265 lb the men's median gains only 45 lb.

How we calculate: every formula, with its author and year, is on our method page; data sources and their licenses are on sources.

This page uses data from the OpenPowerlifting project, https://www.openpowerlifting.org.

gymnical.com gives estimates from published formulas and public data. It is not medical advice and not a training prescription. Last reviewed November 2026.