Part of the data ring
WHITELIGHTS

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

Age 20 to 23

Average squat at 20 to 23

Median 198 kg for men in this age band, from 47,147 judged lifts.

Where a squat lands at this age

Intermediate Advanced Elite World-class 0255075100 100140180220260300 kg lifted →
kg

Percentile

47,147 judged squats, men aged 20 to 23

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

SOURCE·Judged competition results (OpenPowerlifting)·47,147 judged squats, 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

47,147 lifters, all bodyweights pooled.

PercentileLift (kg)Lift (lb)Band
10th145.0320Novice
20th165.0364Intermediate
25th170.0375Intermediate
30th175.0386Intermediate
40th187.5413Intermediate
50th197.5435Advanced
60th207.5457Advanced
70th220.0485Advanced
75th225.0496Advanced
80th232.5513Elite
90th252.5557Elite
95th272.5601World-class
99th305.0672World-class

SOURCE·Judged competition results (OpenPowerlifting)·47,147 judged squats, men aged 20 to 23·REVIEWED JUL 2026

Women, 20 to 23

17,690 lifters, all bodyweights pooled.

PercentileLift (kg)Lift (lb)Band
10th80.0176Novice
20th90.0198Intermediate
25th95.0209Intermediate
30th100.0220Intermediate
40th106.0234Intermediate
50th112.5248Advanced
60th120.0265Advanced
70th127.5281Advanced
75th132.5292Advanced
80th137.5303Elite
90th152.5336Elite
95th165.0364World-class
99th192.5424World-class

SOURCE·Judged competition results (OpenPowerlifting)·17,690 judged squats, 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 squat standards by bodyweight class, where the age breakdown appears again inside your own class.

Squat at 20 to 23 — common questions

What is the average squat at 20 to 23?

198 kg (435 lb) is the median for men in this band, from 47,147 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 squat 233 kg or more, and the top 5% 273 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 squat 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.