Check deadlift strength standards, explore deadlift progress charts, compare rep PRs, and dive into deadlift videos, FAQs, and related articles.
Strength levels for a 200lb male, age 30 · enter your details.
First, learn to deadlift with good form using the tutorial videos below. Once you can deadlift your body weight with good form, deadlifting 1.5x your body weight is a key basic strength level for most lifters.
A double bodyweight deadlift would be a significant marker that you are significantly above the general population and can consider yourself strong.
A classic life-goal milestone for strength enthusiasts is a 500lb (227kg) deadlift.
The strength levels slider above gives an overview of deadlift strength levels, calculated for your specific age, sex, and body weight.
Deadlifting rewards lifters who eat big and are not scared of being a higher body weight.
"The Deadlift: Pushing the Floor" - Mark Rippetoe.
"Squeeze the Slack Out of the Bar Before You Deadlift" - Barbell Logic.
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Why the deadlift still defines raw strength“There is no reason to be alive if you can't do deadlift!”
For male lifters, pulling 1.5× bodyweight is a beginner-to-intermediate benchmark, 2× bodyweight is solidly intermediate, and 2.5× bodyweight is advanced. A 185 lb male lifter hitting 275 lbs (1.5×), 370 lbs (2×), or 460 lbs (2.5×) illustrates these tiers. For women, pulling 1× bodyweight is a good beginner milestone, and 1.5× bodyweight is advanced. The deadlift tends to outpace the squat by 20–30% for most lifters.
A 185 lb deadlift is a reasonable starting point for newer lifters. For a 185 lb male, pulling your own bodyweight (1×) is on the lower end of beginner-to-intermediate. If you have been training for a year or more and are still at 185 lbs, there is meaningful room to grow with consistent progressive overload. For a lighter lifter — say 135 lbs bodyweight — a 185 lb pull starts to represent intermediate strength.
Yes — pulling 1.5× your bodyweight is a solid beginner milestone that shows genuine progress. A 185 lb lifter pulling 275 lbs, or a 200 lb lifter pulling 300 lbs, has built a real foundation of strength. Many casual gym-goers never hit this mark. With dedicated training, most people can surpass 1.5× bodyweight within their first 1–2 years.
At 110 kg (approximately 242 lbs), the answer depends on the lifter's bodyweight. For a lighter lifter around 70 kg (154 lbs), pulling 110 kg is 1.57× bodyweight — a solid intermediate pull. For a heavier lifter at 90 kg (198 lbs), it represents 1.22× bodyweight, which is beginner-to-intermediate territory. Use the strength standards on this page to see exactly where 110 kg falls for your specific size.
Absolutely — a 500 lb deadlift is elite-level strength by any measure. At 500 lbs, even a 220 lb lifter is pulling 2.27× bodyweight, which lands firmly in advanced-to-elite territory. A 500 lb pull is rare in the general gym population and represents years of dedicated, focused training. It is a meaningful milestone toward the 1000lb Club total alongside squat and bench press.
New lifters should start with just the bar (45 lbs) and focus entirely on technique. A realistic first-month goal is 135 lbs with solid form. After 3–6 months of consistent training, targeting 225 lbs (two plates) is achievable for most male beginners. Women commonly reach 95–135 lbs in their first few months. The deadlift responds quickly to training for beginners — consistent practice and progressive overload will produce fast early gains.
Among men who actively train with barbells, the average deadlift tends to fall in the 225–315 lb range. Among the general male population with no dedicated strength training, the average is significantly lower — many untrained men struggle to lift more than 135–185 lbs with proper form. Trained male lifters who focus on the deadlift typically progress to 315–405 lbs within a few years of consistent work.
Use a 1RM estimation formula on any working set of 1–8 reps. For example, pulling 315 lbs for 5 reps estimates a 1RM of roughly 354 lbs using the Brzycki formula. The deadlift 1RM calculator linked from this page runs all 7 major formulas simultaneously. For the most accurate deadlift estimate, use a set in the 2–5 rep range — higher rep sets are less reliable for 1RM prediction on the deadlift.
