Is a 280 kg squat good?
Short answer: it depends entirely on your bodyweight, and here is the table that says by how much.
At 82.5–87.5 kg bodyweight, 280 kg is the 99th percentile — world-class.
Percentile
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20,457 judged squats, men, 82.5–87.5 kg
No lift entered. The curve is every judged squats in this class — add yours to it.
Not your class?
280 kg is 617 lb. The chart is preloaded with it — change the number to check your own.
What 280 kg means at every bodyweight
The same lift is a different achievement at 60 kg and at 120 kg. This is the whole answer, not one row of it.
Men
| Bodyweight | Percentile | Band | Median for the class |
|---|---|---|---|
| up to 52.5 kg | 99+ | World-class | 72.5 |
| 52.5–57.5 kg | 99+ | World-class | 106.6 |
| 57.5–62.5 kg | 99+ | World-class | 127.5 |
| 62.5–67.5 kg | 99+ | World-class | 150.0 |
| 67.5–72.5 kg | 99+ | World-class | 152.5 |
| 72.5–77.5 kg | 99+ | World-class | 170.0 |
| 77.5–82.5 kg | 99+ | World-class | 182.5 |
| 82.5–87.5 kg | 99+ | World-class | 185.0 |
| 87.5–92.5 kg | 99th | World-class | 197.5 |
| 92.5–97.5 kg | 98th | World-class | 200.0 |
| 97.5–102.5 kg | 96th | World-class | 210.0 |
| 102.5–107.5 kg | 93rd | Elite | 217.5 |
| 107.5–112.5 kg | 91st | Elite | 217.5 |
| 112.5–117.5 kg | 91st | Elite | 222.5 |
| 117.5–122.5 kg | 84th | Elite | 235.0 |
| 122.5–127.5 kg | 85th | Elite | 229.1 |
| 127.5–132.5 kg | 85th | Elite | 230.0 |
| 132.5–137.5 kg | 79th | Advanced | 240.0 |
| 137.5 kg and above | 70th | Advanced | 245.0 |
Women
| Bodyweight | Percentile | Band | Median for the class |
|---|---|---|---|
| up to 52.5 kg | 99+ | World-class | 82.5 |
| 52.5–57.5 kg | 99+ | World-class | 95.0 |
| 57.5–62.5 kg | 99+ | World-class | 100.0 |
| 62.5–67.5 kg | 99+ | World-class | 107.5 |
| 67.5–72.5 kg | 99+ | World-class | 111.0 |
| 72.5–77.5 kg | 99+ | World-class | 117.5 |
| 77.5–82.5 kg | 99+ | World-class | 117.5 |
| 82.5–87.5 kg | 99+ | World-class | 120.0 |
| 87.5–92.5 kg | 99+ | World-class | 120.0 |
| 92.5–97.5 kg | 99+ | World-class | 120.0 |
| 97.5–102.5 kg | 99+ | World-class | 127.5 |
| 102.5–107.5 kg | 99+ | World-class | 127.5 |
| 107.5–112.5 kg | 99+ | World-class | 130.0 |
| 112.5–117.5 kg | 99+ | World-class | 132.5 |
| 117.5–122.5 kg | 99+ | World-class | 137.5 |
| 122.5–127.5 kg | 99+ | World-class | 142.0 |
| 137.5 kg and above | 99+ | World-class | 142.5 |
The road from here
| Lift | Percentile | Band |
|---|---|---|
| 280.0 | 99th | World-class |
| 290.0 | 99th | World-class |
| 300.0 | 99th | World-class |
| 310.0 | 99th | World-class |
Men at 82.5–87.5 kg bodyweight. Percentile gained per 10 kg, so you can see what the next plate is actually worth.
Who these numbers describe. Everyone in this dataset entered a powerlifting competition. They are stronger than the general gym population, so a 50th percentile here is well above an average gym-goer — we would rather tell you that than quietly flatter you. Nobody has ever published a trustworthy random sample of what people lift in commercial gyms; what exists instead is app data that people type in themselves.