Part of the data ring
WHITELIGHTS

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

Age 20 to 23

Average total at 20 to 23

Median 550 kg for men in this age band, from 47,172 judged lifts.

Where a total lands at this age

Intermediate Advanced Elite World-class 0255075100 310390470550630710790 kg lifted →
kg

Percentile

47,172 judged totals, men aged 20 to 23

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

SOURCE·Judged competition results (OpenPowerlifting)·47,172 judged totals, 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

47,172 lifters, all bodyweights pooled.

PercentileLift (kg)Lift (lb)Band
10th427.5942Novice
20th470.01,036Intermediate
25th485.01,069Intermediate
30th500.01,102Intermediate
40th525.01,157Intermediate
50th550.01,213Advanced
60th577.51,273Advanced
70th605.01,334Advanced
75th620.01,367Advanced
80th637.51,405Elite
90th685.01,510Elite
95th727.51,604World-class
99th805.01,775World-class

SOURCE·Judged competition results (OpenPowerlifting)·47,172 judged totals, men aged 20 to 23·REVIEWED JUL 2026

Women, 20 to 23

17,693 lifters, all bodyweights pooled.

PercentileLift (kg)Lift (lb)Band
10th227.5502Novice
20th255.0562Intermediate
25th265.0584Intermediate
30th275.0606Intermediate
40th292.5645Intermediate
50th308.0679Advanced
60th325.0717Advanced
70th345.0761Advanced
75th355.0783Advanced
80th367.5810Elite
90th400.0882Elite
95th432.5953World-class
99th490.01,080World-class

SOURCE·Judged competition results (OpenPowerlifting)·17,693 judged totals, 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 total standards by bodyweight class, where the age breakdown appears again inside your own class.

Powerlifting total at 20 to 23 — common questions

What is the average total at 20 to 23?

550 kg (1,213 lb) is the median for men in this band, from 47,172 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 total 638 kg or more, and the top 5% 728 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 total 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.