← Blog

What is the average bench press by age and weight?

By Stelvo Team · · 8 min read · How we source this

Short answer: it depends on whose average you mean. Among the 222,703 men who have competed in raw powerlifting since 2020, the median best bench press is 276 lb (125 kg), 1.44 times bodyweight; for 100,824 women it is 132 lb (60 kg), 0.87 times bodyweight. People who log their lifts on Strength Level average 212 lb (men) and 112 lb (women). And among men tested at the Cooper Clinic, the median was about 1.06 times bodyweight in their 20s and 0.84 in their 40s — on a machine. Competitors are the top of that range; most people who train bench less.

What is the average bench press for men?

About 1.4 to 1.5 times bodyweight among men who compete, and it rises with every weight class. 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, each lifter's best successful bench press, grouped by the IPF weight class of the bodyweight they weighed in at (International Powerlifting Federation technical rules). "Average" here is the median — the lifter in the middle — because a handful of very strong lifters pull the mean up.

Men's weight class Median bench Top 25% Top 10% Median × bodyweight Lifters
up to 59 kg (130 lb) 160 lb 204 lb 243 lb 1.32 8,203
59–66 kg (130–146 lb) 209 lb 243 lb 281 lb 1.50 13,074
66–74 kg (146–163 lb) 237 lb 276 lb 309 lb 1.51 29,187
74–83 kg (163–183 lb) 265 lb 303 lb 336 lb 1.51 46,328
83–93 kg (183–205 lb) 287 lb 325 lb 364 lb 1.46 45,883
93–105 kg (205–231 lb) 309 lb 353 lb 397 lb 1.42 39,022
105–120 kg (231–265 lb) 331 lb 386 lb 430 lb 1.36 24,578
over 120 kg (265 lb) 358 lb 419 lb 474 lb 1.21 16,428
All men 276 lb 331 lb 380 lb 1.44 222,703

Heavier men lift more in absolute terms but less per pound of bodyweight: the multiple peaks at about 1.5 in the middle classes and falls to 1.2 in the heaviest.

What is the average bench press for women?

About 0.9 to 1 times bodyweight among women who compete, with the median woman at 132 lb.

Women's weight class Median bench Top 25% Top 10% Median × bodyweight Lifters
up to 47 kg (104 lb) 88 lb 116 lb 138 lb 0.92 3,265
47–52 kg (104–115 lb) 110 lb 132 lb 154 lb 0.98 6,967
52–57 kg (115–126 lb) 121 lb 143 lb 165 lb 0.98 11,072
57–63 kg (126–139 lb) 127 lb 149 lb 176 lb 0.96 16,535
63–69 kg (139–152 lb) 133 lb 160 lb 187 lb 0.92 18,103
69–76 kg (152–168 lb) 143 lb 165 lb 198 lb 0.87 15,965
76–84 kg (168–185 lb) 143 lb 171 lb 198 lb 0.81 11,428
over 84 kg (185 lb) 149 lb 182 lb 209 lb 0.68 17,489
All women 132 lb 160 lb 187 lb 0.87 100,824

The median woman's bench is 48% of the median man's. The gap is wider than in the squat or deadlift, which matches laboratory findings: in a McMaster University study, women were about 52% as strong as men in the upper body and 66% in the lower body, mostly because of smaller muscle fibres (Miller et al., European Journal of Applied Physiology, 1993).

What is the average bench press by age?

It climbs steeply through the teens, peaks in the 20s and 30s, and declines from the 40s. Same data, grouped by age at the meet, counting each lifter's best bench at that age:

Age Men: median Men: top 10% Women: median Women: top 10%
13 132 lb 198 lb 88 lb 132 lb
14 165 lb 237 lb 99 lb 142 lb
15 198 lb 270 lb 110 lb 154 lb
16 226 lb 292 lb 116 lb 165 lb
17 243 lb 314 lb 127 lb 176 lb
18 254 lb 331 lb 132 lb 182 lb
19 270 lb 347 lb 138 lb 187 lb
20–29 298 lb 386 lb 143 lb 198 lb
30–39 320 lb 424 lb 143 lb 204 lb
40–49 314 lb 419 lb 138 lb 198 lb
50–59 287 lb 391 lb 127 lb 182 lb
60–69 251 lb 342 lb 110 lb 154 lb
70 and over 198 lb 282 lb 94 lb 128 lb

At least 580 lifters in every cell; 87,258 men and 37,479 women in their 20s. Age groups ignore bodyweight, and teenagers weigh less, which is part of why their numbers climb so fast.

What is a good bench press for a teenager?

Among teenagers who compete, the median boy benches 198 lb at 15 and 243 lb at 17; the median girl 110 lb at 15 and 127 lb at 17. These are lifters in the teen divisions of federations such as USA Powerlifting who trained for the meet — a teenager who has never trained will be well below them, and that is normal.

How does that compare with ordinary gym-goers?

Competitors are the strongest slice of any gym, so the everyday averages are lower. Strength Level, which builds its standards from lifts its users log — 10.9 million bench press results that passed its quality checks — puts the average bench at 212 lb for men and 112 lb for women (Strength Level, bench press standards). Its "intermediate" level for a 180 lb man, stronger than half of its users, is 220 lb.

The closest thing to a general-population measure comes from the Cooper Institute, which tested 6,106 men who were patients at the Cooper Clinic on a bench-press machine. Their median was 1.06 times 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 remember that only 31.0% of US adults do muscle-strengthening activity on two or more days a week at all (CDC/NCHS, 2022).

How much should I bench for my weight?

It depends on the comparison. A bench equal to your bodyweight is about the median for men in their 20s in the Cooper data and below it after 40 — 0.84 times bodyweight is the median at 40–49. The median competitor benches about 1.5 times bodyweight (men in the middle weight classes) and 0.95 times (women in their 20s). For where your own number sits — among gym-goers and among competitors of your weight class and age — use the strength percentile calculator. How rare a two-plate bench is on its own is in what percentage of gym-goers can bench 225?

How Stelvo handles this

Stelvo sets your first bench weights from your age, sex and training history, then suggests each session's weight from what you actually lifted last time, in small steps. Your best sets are tracked, so you can see your bench rise without testing a one-rep max.

FAQ

Is a 225 bench good?

For a man, yes. It is above Strength Level's average of 212 lb, and among competitors it sits between the medians of the 59–66 kg class (209 lb) and the 66–74 kg class (237 lb). For heavier competitors it is below the median — 287 lb at 183–205 lb.

What is the average bench press for a 16-year-old?

Among boys who compete, the median best bench at 16 is 226 lb; among girls, 116 lb. Untrained 16-year-olds bench far less.

Does bench press strength drop with age?

Yes, from the 40s. The median competitor's bench falls from 320 lb in his 30s to 287 lb in his 50s and 198 lb past 70; women's from 143 lb to 127 lb and 94 lb.

Sources

← All posts