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How strong should you be for your age?

By Stelvo Team · · 6 min read · How we source this

Short answer: compared with people who compete, a typical man in his 20s or 30s benches about 1.5 times his bodyweight, squats 2.2–2.3 times and deadlifts 2.5–2.7 times; a typical woman about 0.9–0.95, 1.6–1.8 and 1.9–2.1 times. Those multiples are 9–17% lower in the 50s than in the 30s, and roughly 25–40% lower past 70. Most people are well below them: among men tested at the Cooper Clinic, the median bench on a machine was 1.06 times bodyweight at 20–29 and 0.75 at 50–59. Strength peaks between your late 20s and your 30s and declines from midlife.

How strong should you be for your age?

Here is the median competitor's best lift at each age, divided by their bodyweight at the time — a number you can check against your own. We computed it from the OpenPowerlifting archive of sanctioned meet results (bulk data, public domain, snapshot of 26 September 2026): raw (unequipped) lifters, sanctioned meets dated 2020 or later, disqualifications excluded, and each lifter's best result at that age.

Age Men: bench Men: squat Men: deadlift Women: bench Women: squat Women: deadlift
13 0.91× 1.47× 1.82× 0.67× 1.27× 1.56×
14 1.07× 1.70× 2.03× 0.72× 1.37× 1.65×
15 1.20× 1.91× 2.24× 0.77× 1.44× 1.73×
16 1.30× 2.08× 2.42× 0.82× 1.55× 1.84×
17 1.37× 2.19× 2.53× 0.88× 1.63× 1.92×
18 1.42× 2.25× 2.60× 0.92× 1.70× 1.99×
19 1.47× 2.32× 2.65× 0.95× 1.77× 2.07×
20–29 1.52× 2.33× 2.66× 0.95× 1.77× 2.08×
30–39 1.53× 2.22× 2.52× 0.89× 1.63× 1.94×
40–49 1.48× 2.04× 2.34× 0.86× 1.50× 1.83×
50–59 1.39× 1.87× 2.18× 0.80× 1.36× 1.71×
60–69 1.27× 1.68× 2.04× 0.72× 1.18× 1.59×
70 and over 1.08× 1.36× 1.77× 0.62× 0.99× 1.41×

Medians of lift ÷ bodyweight. At least 360 lifters in every cell — 87,258 men and 37,479 women benching in their 20s. The same data in pounds, by age and weight class, is in the posts on the average bench press, squat and deadlift.

At what age are you strongest?

Between your late 20s and your 30s. In the meet data, the bench multiple peaks in men's 30s and the squat and deadlift in their 20s, with women's lifts highest from 19 through the 20s. Population studies find the same window: pooled data on 49,964 people from twelve British studies showed men's grip strength peaking at a median of 51 kg between ages 29 and 39, and women's at 31 kg between 26 and 42 (Dodds et al., PLoS One, 2014).

How strong should a teenager be?

Teenagers get stronger fast even relative to their bodyweight: among boys who compete, the median bench goes from 0.91 times bodyweight at 13 to 1.47 at 19, and the deadlift from 1.82 to 2.65. Girls' multiples rise too, from 0.67 to 0.95 on the bench. These are teenagers in the youth divisions of federations such as USA Powerlifting who trained for the meet; a teenager who has never lifted will be well below them.

How strong is the average person my age?

Much weaker than a competitor, and nobody measures barbell lifts across the whole population. The best available comparison is the Cooper Institute's bench press norms, measured on a machine in 6,106 men who were patients at the Cooper Clinic. The median man pressed 1.06 times his bodyweight at 20–29, 0.93 at 30–39, 0.84 at 40–49, 0.75 at 50–59 and 0.68 at 60 and over (Cooper Institute bench press norms, as published by Henrico County Police). The test used a machine rather than a free barbell and the men were clinic patients rather than a random sample, so read it as a rough guide. And most adults do no strength training at all — only 31.0% of US adults do muscle-strengthening activity on two or more days a week (CDC/NCHS, 2022).

Age Cooper median bench (men, machine) Competitor median bench (men)
20–29 1.06× 1.52×
30–39 0.93× 1.53×
40–49 0.84× 1.48×
50–59 0.75× 1.39×
60 and over 0.68× 1.27× (60–69)

How much strength do you lose after 40?

Measured as a multiple of bodyweight, the median male competitor's squat is 16% lower in his 50s than in his 30s, his deadlift 13% lower and his bench 9% lower. Muscle mass decreases by approximately 3–8% per decade after the age of 30, faster after 60 (Volpi et al., Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care, 2004). The Cooper data, from clinic patients, falls further: 29% from the 20s to the 50s on the bench. Decade by decade, the decline in total strength is in how much strength do you lose with age?

How do I check my own numbers?

Divide your best lift by your bodyweight and read across the table at your age — or let the strength percentile calculator do it. Enter your age and it ranks the lift against competitors your age, as well as against your weight class and against everyday lifters.

How Stelvo handles this

Stelvo takes your age, sex and training history into account when it sets starting weights, then progresses them from what you actually lift, in small steps. It tracks your best sets, so you can see where you stand without testing a one-rep max.

FAQ

How much should a 40-year-old man bench?

Among competitors in their 40s, the median bench is 1.48 times bodyweight — 314 lb in absolute terms. Among Cooper Clinic men aged 40–49, tested on a machine, the median was 0.84 times bodyweight.

Is it normal to get weaker after 50?

Yes. Even among people who keep competing, the median squat as a multiple of bodyweight is 16% lower in the 50s than in the 30s.

How strong should a 15-year-old be?

Among 15-year-olds who compete, the median boy benches 1.2 times his bodyweight and deadlifts 2.24 times; the median girl 0.77 and 1.73 times. An untrained 15-year-old will lift much less, and that is normal.

Sources

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