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Wilks Calculator

Enter your powerlifting total and bodyweight to get your Wilks score, the standard way of comparing strength across weight classes.

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What is the Wilks Score?

The Wilks Score is a formula used in powerlifting to compare the relative strength of lifters of different bodyweights. It normalizes your powerlifting total (Squat + Bench + Deadlift) against a polynomial curve of world record performance at each weight class, producing a single number that allows fair cross-bodyweight comparison.

How is Wilks calculated?

The formula is: Wilks = Total × 500 / f(BW), where f(BW) is a 5th-degree polynomial calibrated separately for men and women. Developed by Robert Wilks of Powerlifting Australia in the 1990s.

Wilks vs DOTS

DOTS (Dots) is a newer coefficient adopted by the IPF in 2020, considered more accurate across very light and very heavy weight classes. For general training purposes both are good - Wilks remains the most widely recognized outside formal competition.

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What the Wilks score does

Strength does not scale linearly with bodyweight. A 60 kg lifter and a 120 kg lifter do not need double the total to be equally strong, because larger bodies carry proportionally less muscle per kilo and have worse leverages for their mass. The Wilks coefficient corrects for that, so a single number can rank lifters across every weight class.

Wilks = total (kg) × 500 ÷ (a + bx + cx² + dx³ + ex⁴ + fx⁵)

Here x is bodyweight in kilos and a through f are the published coefficients, different for men and women. The polynomial in the denominator is what makes the correction curve, and it is why you cannot do this one in your head.

The same total, different bodyweights

This table is the clearest way to see the correction. Every row is a 400 kg total by a male lifter, and the score falls as bodyweight rises.

BodyweightTotalWilks score
60 kg400 kg341.1
70 kg400 kg299.8
80 kg400 kg273.1
90 kg400 kg255.4
100 kg400 kg243.4
120 kg400 kg230

Wilks score chart

ScoreLevelWhat it means
Under 200BeginnerEarly stages, linear progress ahead
200 - 300NoviceProgressing consistently, building a base
300 - 400IntermediateSerious lifter, years of consistent training
400 - 450AdvancedHighly competitive, roughly the top 5 %
450 - 500EliteNational level competitor
500+World classTop international athletes

Wilks, DOTS and IPF GL

Wilks is the best known formula but no longer the only one. The IPF moved to its own GL points system in 2020, and DOTS is a popular alternative built on a newer dataset that many argue treats lighter and heavier lifters more fairly. Wilks remains the score most gyms and most online conversations use, largely because a decade of results are recorded in it, which makes it the most useful number for comparing yourself to anything you read online.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good Wilks score?
Above 300 marks a serious intermediate lifter. 400 is roughly the top 5 % of people who train, 450 is national competitive level, and above 500 is world class.
How do I calculate my Wilks score?
Add your best squat, bench press and deadlift into a total in kilos, then apply the Wilks polynomial for your gender using your bodyweight in kilos. The calculator above does the arithmetic.
Does the Wilks score account for age?
No. Wilks corrects for bodyweight and gender only. Age handicaps in masters competition are applied separately, usually through the McCulloch or Foster coefficients on top of the Wilks score.
Can I calculate Wilks in pounds?
The formula is defined in kilos, so convert first: divide pounds by 2.2046 to get kilos, for both your total and your bodyweight.

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