Part of the data ring
WHITELIGHTS

Real judged lifts. Zero self-reported numbers. This is what strong actually is.

Age 20 to 23

Average deadlift at 20 to 23

Median 228 kg for men in this age band, from 47,151 judged lifts.

Where a deadlift lands at this age

Intermediate Advanced Elite World-class 0255075100 130160190220250280310 kg lifted →
kg

Percentile

47,151 judged deadlifts, men aged 20 to 23

No lift entered. The curve is every judged deadlifts in this class — add yours to it.

SOURCE·Judged competition results (OpenPowerlifting)·47,151 judged deadlifts, men aged 20 to 23·REVIEWED JUL 2026

From 1.8 million judged lifts to one percentile

  1. Take only judged lifts. Every row is an attempt performed on a competition platform in front of three referees. Anything from a phone, a survey or a training log is not in the archive at all.
  2. Drop equipped lifts. Raw only — no squat suits, no bench shirts. A suit is worth tens of kilos and would silently inflate every figure on the page.
  3. Count each lifter once, at their best. Somebody who competes twenty times is one data point, not twenty, so the curve is a population of people rather than a population of meets.
  4. Split by sex and 5 kg bodyweight class, then by age band. A lift is a different achievement at 60 kg and at 120 kg, so a single national average would be an average of two different questions.
  5. Sort the class and read off the 99 cut points. Your percentile is the position of your lift in that sorted list — not a score, a rank against named people.
  6. On an age page, pool every bodyweight class. Age is the only thing allowed to vary, which is what makes this page answer "what does age do" rather than "what should someone my size lift".
  7. Publish nothing thin. A slice with fewer than 500 lifters is not given a page: its tails would be noise dressed as a standard.
percentile(x)  =  100 × count(best_raw ≤ x) ÷ n

  class   =   sex  ×  5 kg bodyweight bucket  [ ×  age band ]
  n       =   lifters in that class, each counted once, at their best
  x       =   your lift, in kilograms

  band    =   01–19  novice        50–79  advanced      95–99  world class
              20–49  intermediate  80–94  elite

The full method, including what is excluded and why →

Men, 20 to 23

47,151 lifters, all bodyweights pooled.

PercentileLift (kg)Lift (lb)Band
10th180.0397Novice
20th195.0430Intermediate
25th200.0441Intermediate
30th207.5457Intermediate
40th217.5480Intermediate
50th227.5502Advanced
60th237.5524Advanced
70th250.0551Advanced
75th255.0562Advanced
80th260.0573Elite
90th280.0617Elite
95th295.0650World-class
99th327.5722World-class

SOURCE·Judged competition results (OpenPowerlifting)·47,151 judged deadlifts, men aged 20 to 23·REVIEWED JUL 2026

Women, 20 to 23

17,690 lifters, all bodyweights pooled.

PercentileLift (kg)Lift (lb)Band
10th100.0220Novice
20th112.5248Intermediate
25th117.5259Intermediate
30th120.0265Intermediate
40th127.5281Intermediate
50th135.0298Advanced
60th142.5314Advanced
70th150.0331Advanced
75th152.5336Advanced
80th160.0353Elite
90th170.0375Elite
95th182.5402World-class
99th205.0452World-class

SOURCE·Judged competition results (OpenPowerlifting)·17,690 judged deadlifts, women aged 20 to 23·REVIEWED JUL 2026

Read this next to your bodyweight

Age bands pool every bodyweight class, so a 60 kg lifter and a 120 kg lifter are in the same column here. That makes the page good for one question — how does age move the number — and bad for another: what should someone of my size lift.

For that second question, go to the deadlift standards by bodyweight class, where the age breakdown appears again inside your own class.

Deadlift at 20 to 23 — common questions

What is the average deadlift at 20 to 23?

228 kg (502 lb) is the median for men in this band, from 47,151 judged competition lifts with every bodyweight class pooled. Half of that group lifted less and half lifted more.

What counts as strong at 20 to 23?

Within this age band the top fifth of men deadlift 260 kg or more, and the top 5% 295 kg or more. Everyone counted here entered a powerlifting meet, so the bar is higher than a gym average.

Does this account for bodyweight?

No — this page pools every bodyweight class so that age is the only thing changing. For a figure that holds your size fixed, use the deadlift standards for your own bodyweight class, which repeat the age breakdown inside that class.

See all 10 sites in this family, with what each one answers

Published by

Amit Sharma

Auckland real-estate agent and marketer. Builds free, sourced data tools.