“Intermediate” and “advanced” get thrown around a lot in gym conversation, usually without much agreement on what they mean. Strength standards exist to put a number behind the label — but it’s worth understanding what that number actually represents before you take it too seriously.
How bodyweight-ratio standards work
Rather than a flat number (“squat 140kg to be intermediate”), good strength standards express each tier as a multiple of your own bodyweight — for example, an intermediate male lifter’s squat sits around 1.5× bodyweight, while an intermediate deadlift sits closer to 2×. This scales the standard to you rather than forcing a 60kg lifter and a 120kg lifter onto the same absolute bar.
The five tiers, roughly
- Beginner — your first few weeks of barbell training; close to an untrained baseline
- Novice — 3–6 months of consistent training, still making rapid week-to-week gains
- Intermediate — roughly 1–2 years in, where most people plateau into needing real programming
- Advanced — several years of focused training, visibly stronger than most gym-goers
- Elite — the top tier of dedicated, typically drug-free lifters, reached only after years of dedicated work
What these numbers are — and aren’t
Bodyweight-ratio strength standards are built from aggregated data across large numbers of gym-going lifters, not from competition results or a controlled study. They’re a useful compass for “roughly where do I sit,” not a precise scientific instrument, and they say nothing about your training age, injury history, or which lifts you’ve actually prioritized. It’s completely normal to be advanced on deadlift and novice on overhead press — different lifts respond to different amounts of practice and different individual leverages.
Use standards as a compass, not a scoreboard
The most useful thing a strength standard does isn’t tell you what tier you’re in today — it’s show you the next milestone up, so you have a concrete target instead of an abstract “get stronger.” Chase the next number, not the label.
Check your own numbers against squat, bench, and deadlift standards individually on our Strength Standards Calculator, or check a single lift directly with the Squat, Bench, and Deadlift calculators.
Example: the same lifter across three lifts
Imagine an 80 kg lifter with a 140 kg squat, 100 kg bench press and 180 kg deadlift. As bodyweight multiples that is a 1.75× squat, a 1.25× bench and a 2.25× deadlift. On most bodyweight-ratio charts that would put the bench in the intermediate range while the deadlift sits closer to advanced — a common pattern, because the deadlift usually progresses fastest in the first years of training.
This is where standards are most useful: they reveal which lift is lagging relative to the others. A lifter whose bench is a full tier behind their squat and deadlift has a clear training priority.
How to use strength standards in your training
- Test or estimate your current maxes. A recent heavy single is best, but a 1RM estimate from a hard set of 3–5 works well.
- Enter them in the strength standards calculator with your current bodyweight.
- Find your weakest lift relative to its tier and give it extra volume or a second weekly session.
- Re-check every 8–12 weeks. Standards are a long-term compass; weekly changes are mostly noise.
Strength standards vs scoring formulas
Standards tell you how you compare with other lifters of your bodyweight on individual lifts. Scoring formulas such as DOTS, Wilks and IPF GL compare your total across all bodyweights, which is how meets choose a best lifter. If you compete, both are useful — see DOTS vs Wilks vs IPF GL for how those formulas differ.
Frequently asked questions
Are strength standards the same for men and women?
No. Standards are built separately for men and women because absolute strength and strength-to-bodyweight ratios differ. Always compare against the right chart.
How long does it take to reach “advanced”?
It varies widely with genetics, training age, bodyweight and consistency. Many lifters take several years of structured training to reach advanced on all three lifts.
Do strength standards apply to equipped lifting?
Most published standards assume raw lifting. Equipped lifts are heavier, so raw charts will overstate an equipped lifter’s level.