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Squat max chart

Enter your squat max to get the load at every percentage from 50% to 100%, rounded to 2.5 kg or 5 lb, and the reps a set to failure there usually gives. The squat chart by bodyweight shows where that max sits among competitive lifters.

Unit

Example result

Your max

140kg

80% for working sets

112.5kg

Loads rounded to 2.5 kg. Reps are what a set to failure at that load usually gives.

Squat percentages of 140 kg
% of 1RMLoadReps to failure
100%140 kg1
95%132.5 kgabout 2
90%125 kgabout 4
85%120 kgabout 6
80%112.5 kgabout 8
75%105 kgabout 11
70%97.5 kgabout 13
65%90 kgabout 17
60%85 kgabout 21
55%77.5 kgabout 25
50%70 kgabout 31
Build a squat session at these loads

Squat percentage chart

Each percentage of your squat max and the reps it usually allows. If your form breaks before your strength does, read the reps with 2 in reserve.

% of 1RMReps to failureReps with 2 in reserveLoad for a 140 kg max
100%1—140 kg
95%2—132.5 kg
90%42125 kg
85%64120 kg
80%86112.5 kg
75%119105 kg
70%131197.5 kg
65%171590 kg
60%211985 kg
55%252377.5 kg
50%312970 kg

Squat chart examples

Four squatters, from a first percentage block to a meet peak.

  • Example 1

    Off linear progression

    Four months into adding weight every session, with a squat estimated at 100 kg, switching to sets of 5.

    Your 1RM
    100 kg
    • Your max100 kg
    • 80% for working sets80 kg

    80 kg for 5 leaves about 3 in reserve. Start the block there, not at the last weight that ground out, and let the reps tell you when to move up a row.

    Build a squat session at these loads Open with these numbers

  • Example 2

    Two plates at 63 kg

    A woman at 63 kg bodyweight who squats 225 lb, two 45s a side.

    Your 1RM
    225 lb
    • Your max225 lb
    • 80% for working sets180 lb

    225 lb is 102 kg, the median squat for women at 57 to 63 kg among raw competitors. Sets of 8 with 2 or 3 in reserve sit at the 75% row, 170 lb.

    Build a squat session at these loads Open with these numbers

  • Example 3

    Heavy doubles at 250 kg

    A 93 kg powerlifter with a 250 kg squat, planning heavy doubles.

    Your 1RM
    250 kg
    • Your max250 kg
    • 80% for working sets200 kg

    Doubles at the 90% row, 225 kg, leave about 2 in reserve. The 95% row, 237.5 kg, is a double to failure, which belongs in a peak week, not a training week.

    Build a squat session at these loads Open with these numbers

  • Example 4

    Squatting alone at home

    A 52-year-old with a 120 kg squat training in a garage with no spotter.

    Your 1RM
    120 kg
    • Your max120 kg
    • 80% for working sets95 kg

    Stay where a missed rep is unlikely: sets of 5 at the 80% row, 95 kg, leave about 3 in reserve. Save the top rows for days the safeties are set.

    Build a squat session at these loads Open with these numbers

How many reps can you squat at a percentage?

The chart's reps come from a formula, and real squatters spread widely around it. In one study of trained lifters squatting 70% of their max, summarized by Stronger By Science, reps averaged 14, give or take 4, and ran from 6 to 28. The chart says 13.

To find your own column, do one set at 70% to 75% and log the reps and how many you had left. The RIR calculator shows whether your max is higher than the one you entered.

How much should you squat?

This chart uses OpenPowerlifting results: raw competitors' career-best squats, a stronger-than-average group. The median man at 82.5 to 90 kg squats 190 kg, about 2.2 times bodyweight; the median woman at 57 to 63 kg squats 102.5 kg, about 1.7 times.

Compare yours by sex and bodyweight on the squat standards page.

Squat by bodyweight among raw powerlifting competitors, in kg
Bodyweight25th percentileMedian75th percentile
Men, 67.5–75 kg142.5 kg165 kg190 kg
Men, 75–82.5 kg155 kg180 kg205 kg
Men, 82.5–90 kg165 kg190 kg215 kg
Men, 90–100 kg177.5 kg202.5 kg230 kg
Men, 100–110 kg187.5 kg215 kg245 kg
Women, 52–57 kg80 kg95 kg112.5 kg
Women, 57–63 kg85 kg102.5 kg120 kg
Women, 63–69 kg92.5 kg110 kg127.5 kg
Women, 69–76 kg95.5 kg115 kg135 kg
Women, 76–84 kg100 kg117.5 kg140 kg

Squat technique

The lift this chart is for

Barbell Back Squat

Quads, Glutes, Adductors

Depth is the hidden variable. A max set a few centimeters high makes every row too heavy for full-depth squats, so count only reps where your hip crease passes your knee.

How to do it

  1. Set the bar in the rack at about armpit height, step under it and rest it on the meaty part of your upper back, hands just outside your shoulders.
  2. Squeeze your shoulder blades together, stand up to lift the bar off the hooks and take two or three short steps back.
  3. Set your feet about shoulder width, toes turned slightly out, then breathe deep into your belly and tighten your trunk as if bracing for a punch.
  4. Bend at the hips and knees at the same time and sit straight down between your heels, knees moving forward and out in line with your toes.
  5. Go down until the crease of your hip passes below the top of your knee, keeping your whole foot on the floor.
  6. Drive up through your midfoot, keep your chest and hips rising at the same speed, and breathe out only once you are standing tall.

Cues

  • Big breath and brace before every rep
  • Knees out over your toes
  • Chest and hips rise together

Common mistakes

  • Squats getting shallower as the bar gets heavier: film from the side, count only reps where your hip crease sinks below your knee, and strip weight until they all do.
  • Hips shooting up first out of the bottom: the bar ends up over your toes and the set turns into a good morning, so drop the load and push your upper back into the bar as you stand.

Full squat guide

Make it fit you

  • One max per squat

    High bar, low bar and front squats each have their own max. The front squat to back squat calculator converts between them.

  • Same belt, same max

    Take the max with the setup you train in. A belted max used for beltless sets makes every row too heavy.

  • Lighter weeks by row

    For a lighter week, keep the reps and drop a row or two, about 10%: the step RIRLift suggests when a lift stalls.

  • Re-test from a set, not a single

    When the 80% row gives you 10 reps, enter a new max from that set with the one-rep max calculator.

Questions

How many reps can you squat at 90% of your max?

About 4 to failure by the chart, or 2 with 2 in reserve.

Is 225 a good squat?

Among raw competitors, 225 lb (102 kg) is the median for women at 57 to 63 kg and below the 10th percentile for men across all bodyweights, so for a man it is a first milestone rather than a competitive number.

How rare is a 300 lb squat?

Among raw competitors, pooling all bodyweights, 300 lb (136 kg) falls between the 10th and 25th percentile for men and between the 75th and 90th percentile for women.

Should I squat to failure to find my max?

No. Stop with 1 or 2 reps left, enter the set with its reps in reserve in the one-rep max calculator, and use that max here.

Does the chart work for front squats?

Yes, as long as you enter a front squat max, not your back squat max.

Sources

Squat by the set, not the chart

Log load, reps and RIR on each squat set and RIRLift keeps your estimated squat max current, then picks your next squat weight from the reps you actually did.

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