ποΈ Wilks Calculator
Compare lifters of any size with the official Wilks formula.
Your Wilks Score (2020 formula)
How to Use This Wilks Calculator
A 500 kg total means something different at 60 kg bodyweight than at 120 kg, and the Wilks formula is how powerlifting compares them. Enter your bodyweight and your best squat, bench, and deadlift total, and you get your Wilks score on the current 2020 formula, plus the classic pre-2020 number for comparison against older records.
Enter your bodyweight as weighed at the meet or in training.
Enter your total: best squat plus best bench plus best deadlift, in the same unit.
Pick male or female, since the coefficients differ, and kg or lb for your unit.
Read your 2020 Wilks score at the top. Higher is better, and the number lets you rank lifters across every weight class.
The Wilks Formula
Robert Wilks, CEO of Powerlifting Australia, built the formula as a fifth-degree polynomial fitted to world-record data: it models how much a human of a given bodyweight should lift, then scores you against that curve. Lighter lifters get larger coefficients because a kilo lifted at 60 kg bodyweight is a bigger achievement than the same kilo at 120 kg. The 2020 revision rebalanced the coefficients so middle and extreme weight classes compare more fairly and men's and women's performances align better.
Worked Example: 90 kg Man, 500 kg Total
With the 2020 men's coefficients, a 90 kg bodyweight gives a coefficient of 0.7670. Multiply the 500 kg total by 0.7670 to get a Wilks score of 383.5. The same lifter in pounds, 198.4 lb bodyweight and 1,102.3 lb total, gets the identical 383.5, because the formula converts to kilograms internally. Enter those numbers above to verify.
2020 vs Classic Wilks
The original formula, used for decades, divides 500 by its polynomial; the 2020 version divides 600 by a refitted one. In practice the 2020 numbers run higher for most lifters, so a 400 classic Wilks might read 430-plus on the new formula. That breaks comparisons across eras: always note which version a score uses, the way you would note raw versus equipped. This calculator shows both, so you can translate old meet results into new numbers and see where you really stand.
Federations have started moving on. The IPF now uses its own GL points system for international rankings, but Wilks remains the common language of gym rivalries, online leaderboards, and local meets worldwide. When someone quotes a Wilks number without a version, assume 2020 for anything recent and classic for anything before 2020.
What Counts as a Good Wilks Score?
Rough 2020-formula landmarks for men: 300 is a solid novice-to-intermediate lifter, 350 is a respectable intermediate, 400 is advanced and competitive at local meets, 450 is elite, and 500-plus is national-to-world level. Women's numbers run a little higher for equivalent achievement because the formula normalizes across sexes imperfectly; add roughly 20 to 30 points to each landmark as a guide. The most useful comparison is against your past self: a Wilks that climbs while bodyweight holds steady is unambiguous proof of progress.
Wilks vs DOTS vs IPF Points
Wilks is not the only normalization in town. DOTS, built from a larger modern dataset, is gaining ground at local meets and many lifters find it fairer across today's weight classes. The IPF's GL points system now decides international rankings with separate formulas for classic and equipped lifting. All three answer the same question, who lifted most relative to size, and they usually agree on rankings within a meet while disagreeing on the exact numbers.
For comparing against history, match the formula to the era: pre-2020 records live on classic Wilks, recent ones on 2020 Wilks or DOTS. Converting between them is approximate, not exact, because the curves differ by weight class. When a leaderboard does not name its formula, treat the numbers as ordered correctly but not precisely comparable to your own differently-computed score.
Improving Your Wilks Score
Two levers move the number: raise the total or lower the bodyweight. Raising the total at constant bodyweight is unambiguous progress and the healthier goal for most lifters. Cutting weight to game the coefficient sometimes works on paper, but lost bodyweight usually costs strength, and the formula knows it: the coefficient rises slower than the total typically falls. The lifters with the best Wilks scores got there by getting stronger over years at a stable, well-fed bodyweight, not by chasing the lightest class they could survive.
Keep perspective on the number itself. Wilks compares you to a statistical curve, not to the lifter next to you, and curves get refitted as the sport evolves. Use it to settle gym debates, track multi-year progress, and set realistic goals. The iron never cared about the formula, and neither should your training.
Worked Example: The 180-lb Lifter's 1,200 Total
A 180-lb (81.6 kg) male lifter totals 1,200 lbs (squat 440, bench 315, deadlift 445). The Wilks formula multiplies the total by a bodyweight coefficient that favors lighter lifters: at 81.6 kg the men's coefficient sits in the mid-0.6s, giving a Wilks in the high 300s. That is a strong intermediate score: competitive at local meets, working toward the 400-plus marks that contend regionally.
Now a 220-lb lifter totaling 1,350: heavier bodyweight means a lower coefficient (high 0.5s), landing in a similar Wilks neighborhood despite the bigger total. This is the formula doing its job: it asks "how strong for your size," not "how strong." The 180-lb lifter moving 6.7x bodyweight and the 220-lb lifter moving 6.1x are closer than the totals suggest.
Why Wilks Rewards Light Lifters (and Whether That Is Fair)
Wilks is a polynomial fit to historical powerlifting data, and like any fit it has biases: it tends to favor lighter lifters slightly, because strength scales with muscle cross-section (a squared term) while bodyweight scales with volume (a cubed term). Lighter lifters are "supposed" to be relatively stronger, and the formula encodes that.
Whether it is fair depends on the purpose. For comparing across weight classes at one meet, it is the accepted standard and fair enough. For tracking personal progress, absolute total matters more than any coefficient. And at the extremes (under 130 lbs or over 300), every formula strains; DOTS and IPF Points were built partly to address Wilks' edge cases. Use Wilks for its job (meet comparisons), not as a verdict on your worth.
Gym PR vs. Competition Total: What Counts
Gym PRs are training data; competition totals are the sport. A 1,200-lb gym total with high squats, bounced benches, and hitched deadlifts might be a 1,050-lb competition total under judging. The Wilks that matters for rankings, records, and qualifying is the competition one: three judges, calibrated plates, drug-tested if the federation requires it.
This does not make gym PRs worthless; they are how you track training. But enter a meet before claiming the number. First meets are humbling and instructive: the commands ("squat," "rack"), the waiting, the single attempts. Lifters who compete calibrate their training to reality; lifters who do not often train for a sport they have never played.
Pro Tips for Your First Meet
Open light: your opener should be something you can triple on your worst day (about 90 percent of your gym max). Bombing out (missing all three attempts at one lift) ends your day; an easy opener starts it. You can always jump up on attempts two and three.
Bring food, water, and patience. Meets run 6 to 9 hours, attempts come when they come, and the lifter who packed sandwiches outperforms the one running on adrenaline and venue vending machines. And get a handler if possible: someone to warm you up on time, pick attempts, and keep you calm is worth more than any gear.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good Wilks score?
On the 2020 formula, 300 marks a solid intermediate lifter, 400 is advanced and competitive locally, 450 is elite, and 500-plus is national to world level for men. Women's equivalent landmarks run roughly 20 to 30 points higher. The best use of the number is tracking your own progress at a stable bodyweight.
How is Wilks score calculated?
Your powerlifting total (squat + bench + deadlift) is multiplied by a coefficient from a fifth-degree polynomial of your bodyweight. Lighter lifters get bigger coefficients. The 2020 version uses 600 divided by the polynomial with rebalanced coefficients; the classic version used 500 with the original ones.
What is the difference between Wilks 2020 and classic Wilks?
The 2020 revision refitted the polynomial coefficients to balance extreme and middle weight classes better and align men's and women's scores. New-formula scores run higher for most lifters, so always state the version when comparing. This calculator shows both numbers side by side.
Is Wilks still used in powerlifting?
Yes, widely, though the IPF now ranks internationals on GL points. Wilks remains the standard for local meets, gym leaderboards, and online comparisons because everyone knows the scale. New results should use the 2020 formula; pre-2020 history lives on the classic one.
What is a good Wilks score for a woman?
Rough 2020 landmarks: 320-plus is strong intermediate, 420-plus advanced, 470-plus elite. Because the formula's sex normalization is imperfect, women's scores for equivalent achievement sit a bit above the men's landmarks. Compare within your own training history first, and against other women second.
Does Wilks work for single lifts?
Mathematically yes, but it was designed for the three-lift total and the coefficients assume that context. Single-lift comparisons usually use lift-specific formulas or just bodyweight multiples. A Wilks computed from a bench-only number will look odd next to full-total Wilks scores.
Why does my Wilks drop when I gain weight?
Because the coefficient shrinks as bodyweight rises: each added kilo of bodyweight is expected to add lifting capacity, so the formula demands more total to hold the score. If your total grew faster than the formula expects, Wilks rises; if you gained mostly non-functional weight, it falls. That is the formula doing its job.
What Wilks score do I need to be competitive?
At a typical local meet, 380 to 420 (2020) puts you in the mix in most men's classes. Regional and national competition usually starts around 430 to 460. Check your federation's recent results, since depth varies hugely by weight class and region.