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DOTS calculator
Enter your sex, bodyweight and powerlifting total in kilograms or pounds. The calculator returns your DOTS score, the total you'd need for 5, 10 or 20 more points at the same bodyweight, and the total that earns the same score at other bodyweights.
Example result
337.54
A 500 kg total at 83 kg bodyweight.
- 400 kgat 60 kg
- 470.5 kgat 75 kg
- 522 kgat 90 kg
- 559.5 kgat 105 kg
- 587.5 kgat 120 kg
| Score | Total | Added |
|---|---|---|
| 342.54 (+5) | 507.5 kg | +7.5 kg |
| 347.54 (+10) | 515 kg | +15 kg |
| 357.54 (+20) | 530 kg | +30 kg |
DOTS score examples
DOTS exists to put a 60 kg woman and a 110 kg man on one scoreboard. These four lifters show what that looks like.
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Example 1
A 300 kg total at 60 kg
A woman in the 57 to 63 kg class with a 300 kg total.
- Sex
- Women
- Bodyweight
- 60 kg
- Total
- 300 kg
- DOTS332.56
Within 5 points of the 83 kg man totalling 500 kg in the default result: on a DOTS scoreboard they are level. In her class that score sits above the median for raw competitors, and 10 more points costs under 10 kg.
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Example 2
A 1,400 lb total at 242
A lifter in the 100 to 110 kg class, totalling 1,400 lb at 242 lb bodyweight.
- Sex
- Men
- Bodyweight
- 242 lb
- Total
- 1400 lb
- DOTS376.40
Above the median DOTS for raw competitors his size but short of the 75th percentile. Ten points takes almost 40 lb on the total. Cutting to 230 lb would only drop the total he needs for this score to 1,372 lb, so his points are in the lifts, not the scale.
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Example 3
Smaller total, bigger score
A 148 lb man with an 1,100 lb total.
- Sex
- Men
- Bodyweight
- 148 lb
- Total
- 1100 lb
- DOTS386.09
300 lb less on the bar than the 242 lb lifter, and about 10 DOTS more. If the meet awards best lifter on DOTS, he beats him. His 10 points cost under 30 lb, a single block's work.
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Example 4
Planning a best-lifter push
A woman at 181 lb with an 800 lb total, aiming for a best-lifter award at her next meet.
- Sex
- Women
- Bodyweight
- 181 lb
- Total
- 800 lb
- DOTS337.59
The table under the result is her plan: about 12 lb for 5 points, about 24 lb for 10. That's 8 lb on each lift, which is how she should plan her attempts.
What is a good DOTS score?
Scored with DOTS, the median raw full-power competitor's best total comes to about 350 to 360 points for men and about 310 for women, across the middle bodyweight classes. Around 430 to 440 puts a man in the top 10% of his class; for women it's about 400. Competitors are a stronger-than-average group, so a score near their median is a strong score for anyone who trains.
The same table, worked out for the other formulas, is on the Wilks and IPF GL points pages.
| Bodyweight class | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile | 90th percentile | 95th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men, 67.5 to 75 kg | 306 | 351 | 393 | 430 | 455 |
| Men, 82.5 to 90 kg | 314 | 354 | 395 | 431 | 454 |
| Men, 100 to 110 kg | 320 | 362 | 404 | 441 | 464 |
| Women, 57 to 63 kg | 269 | 313 | 360 | 405 | 433 |
| Women, 69 to 76 kg | 268 | 310 | 357 | 402 | 434 |
Where DOTS comes from
DOTS was written by Tim Konertz for the BVDK, Germany's IPF affiliate, after the IPF moved to its own points formula. The BVDK runs team competitions where men and women lift on one team, and the IPF's formula at the time didn't compare across sexes, so the Germans built their own. The name stands for Dynamic Objective Team Scoring, an expansion Konertz says came after the acronym.
OpenPowerlifting, the public database of meet results, offers DOTS as one of its ranking options alongside Wilks and IPF GL points.
DOTS vs Wilks vs IPF GL
On the raw competitor data above, DOTS and the original Wilks land within a few points of each other for most classes, so a DOTS score reads much like a Wilks score. IPF GL is on a different scale entirely: 100 points is the average elite lifter at your bodyweight, so a man's total worth 350 DOTS scores around 70 to 72 GL.
Use the formula your meet uses. To see all of them at once from your three lifts, use the powerlifting calculator.
How DOTS is calculated
DOTS multiplies your total in kilograms by 500 divided by a fourth-degree polynomial in bodyweight, with separate constants for men and women. Bodyweight is held between 40 and 210 kg for men and 40 and 150 kg for women; outside that range the edge value is used. Pound inputs are converted to kilograms first.
Men: a = −0.000001093, b = 0.0007391293, c = −0.1918759221, d = 24.0900756, e = −307.75076. Women: a = −0.0000010706, b = 0.0005158568, c = −0.1126655495, d = 13.6175032, e = −57.96288. The score is shown to two decimals.
DOTS = total × 500 ÷ (a·bw⁴ + b·bw³ + c·bw² + d·bw + e)
83 kg man: denominator = 740.64
500 × 500 ÷ 740.64 = 337.54Make it fit you
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Score the weigh-in, not the scale at home
Meets score you at the official weigh-in bodyweight. Use that number here when you compare with meet results.
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Check a weight-class move first
The chips under the result show the total that earns your score at other bodyweights. If moving up needs more total than you'd realistically gain, stay put.
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Use a meet total for meet comparisons
The percentiles above are meet totals, where every lift is judged. A gym total with high squats or bounced benches scores higher than it would on the platform.
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Track one score, not three
DOTS, Wilks and IPF GL rank lifters slightly differently. Pick the one your federation uses and track that over time.
Questions
What is a good DOTS score?
For raw competitors, the median man scores roughly 350 to 360 and the median woman about 310. The table above breaks it down by bodyweight class and percentile.
What does DOTS stand for?
Dynamic Objective Team Scoring. Its author, Tim Konertz, says the acronym was chosen before the expansion.
Is DOTS better than Wilks?
They give similar numbers for most lifters. DOTS is newer, and the original Wilks has a 2020 revision on a different scale, which can make Wilks scores confusing to compare.
Do I enter my total in kilograms or pounds?
Either. Pounds are converted to kilograms before scoring, so the result is the same.
Does DOTS adjust for age?
No. DOTS uses only sex, bodyweight and total.
How do I raise my DOTS score?
At a fixed bodyweight, every kilogram on the total adds the same number of points, so a bigger total is the only lever. The table under the result shows how much each step costs.
Related calculators and templates
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Powerlifting calculator
Total, every score and your percentile from three lifts.
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Wilks score calculator
The older formula, in both its versions.
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IPF GL points calculator
The score IPF meets use.
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Strength standards calculator
Each lift and your total against raw competitors your size.
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Top set and back-off sets
A way to push the total without running out of recovery.
Sources
Move the total, move the score
Log load, reps and RIR on every squat, bench and deadlift set and RIRLift keeps each lift's estimated max current, then sets the next session's loads from what you did.
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