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Wilks score calculator
Enter your sex, bodyweight and powerlifting total. You get your Wilks score on the original formula and on Wilks 2020, its revision on a 600-point scale, plus the total needed for 5, 10 or 20 more points and the total that scores the same at other bodyweights.
Example result
351.12
421.85
A 550 kg total at 90 kg bodyweight.
- 411.5 kgat 60 kg
- 493 kgat 75 kg
- 550 kgat 90 kg
- 587.5 kgat 105 kg
- 610.5 kgat 120 kg
| Score | Total | Added |
|---|---|---|
| 356.12 (+5) | 558 kg | +8 kg |
| 361.12 (+10) | 566 kg | +16 kg |
| 371.12 (+20) | 581.5 kg | +31.5 kg |
Wilks score examples
Each example shows both versions. Where they disagree is the point.
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Example 1
A 52 kg woman against a 90 kg man
A woman at 52 kg with a 290 kg total, compared with the 90 kg man totalling 550 kg in the default result.
- Sex
- Women
- Bodyweight
- 52 kg
- Total
- 290 kg
- Wilks361.52
- Wilks 2020 (600 scale)424.13
On the original Wilks she beats him by about 10 points. On Wilks 2020 the gap shrinks to 2, because the revision rebalanced men's and women's coefficients. Before a best-lifter award, check which version the meet uses.
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Example 2
A super heavyweight
A 125 kg lifter with a 750 kg total.
- Sex
- Men
- Bodyweight
- 125 kg
- Total
- 750 kg
- Wilks427.38
- Wilks 2020 (600 scale)505.20
That's better than three in four raw competitors in his class, scored the same way. At his size each 10 points costs about 18 kg, so the next block should be built around the one lift with the most room.
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Example 3
A 1,150 lb total at 165
A 165 lb man with an 1,150 lb total, comparing himself with a gym-mate who weighs 200 lb.
- Sex
- Men
- Bodyweight
- 165 lb
- Total
- 1150 lb
- Wilks372.24
- Wilks 2020 (600 scale)445.31
The chips settle the gym argument: the 200 lb lifter needs about 1,291 lb to match him. Ten more points costs him about 31 lb.
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Example 4
Right at the median
A woman weighing 160 lb with a 700 lb total.
- Sex
- Women
- Bodyweight
- 160 lb
- Total
- 700 lb
- Wilks308.28
- Wilks 2020 (600 scale)375.41
That Wilks sits right at the median for raw competitors in the 69 to 76 kg class. Adding 23 lb to the total is worth 10 points, about 8 lb on each lift.
Wilks or Wilks 2020?
Robert Wilks of Powerlifting Australia wrote the original formula, and the IPF used it until the end of 2018. In February 2020 Powerlifting Australia released a revised version, rebalancing the coefficients on new data so men's and women's results and the extreme bodyweights line up better with the middle classes.
The revision scores around 600 points where the original scored around 500, so the two can't be swapped. OpenPowerlifting keeps them as separate formulas for that reason. You can see the difference on Powerlifting Australia's own Wilks page: it lists Tony Reinmuth's 967 kg total at 166 kg as 610 points, which is the 2020 scale. On the original Wilks the same total scores 527.
What is a good Wilks score?
For raw full-power competitors, a median man's best total scores about 350 to 360 Wilks and a median woman's about 305 to 315. The top 10% of men start around 425 to 440. On Wilks 2020, add roughly a fifth: the median man lands near 420.
Competitors are a stronger-than-average group, so a score near their median is a strong score for anyone who trains. The same table for the other formulas is on the DOTS and IPF GL points pages.
| Bodyweight class | Wilks, median | Wilks, 90th percentile | Wilks 2020, median | Wilks 2020, 90th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men, 67.5 to 75 kg | 349 | 429 | 417 | 511 |
| Men, 82.5 to 90 kg | 349 | 426 | 420 | 512 |
| Men, 100 to 110 kg | 359 | 437 | 429 | 522 |
| Women, 57 to 63 kg | 315 | 407 | 373 | 481 |
| Women, 69 to 76 kg | 304 | 393 | 370 | 479 |
Does anyone still use Wilks?
The IPF moved to its own formula in 2019 and to IPF GL points from May 2020, so IPF meets don't. Wilks stays on older results and in OpenPowerlifting's rankings, which offer Wilks next to DOTS and GL points.
On the competitor data above, the original Wilks and DOTS land within a few points of each other in most classes. If your meet uses DOTS, the DOTS calculator gives that number; the powerlifting calculator shows all of them from your three lifts.
How the Wilks score is calculated
The original Wilks multiplies your total in kilograms by 500 divided by a fifth-degree polynomial in bodyweight. Men: a = −216.0475144, b = 16.2606339, c = −0.002388645, d = −0.00113732, e = 7.01863 × 10⁻⁶, f = −1.291 × 10⁻⁸, with bodyweight held between 40 and 201.9 kg. Women: a = 594.31747775582, b = −27.23842536447, c = 0.82112226871, d = −0.00930733913, e = 0.00004731582, f = −0.00000009054, between 26.51 and 154.53 kg.
Wilks 2020 uses 600 over its own fifth-degree polynomial, the one OpenPowerlifting uses for Wilks 2020, with bodyweight held between 40 and 200.95 kg for men and 40 and 150.95 kg for women. Pound inputs are converted to kilograms first; scores are shown to two decimals.
Wilks = total × 500 ÷ (a + b·bw + c·bw² + d·bw³ + e·bw⁴ + f·bw⁵)
Wilks 2020 = total × 600 ÷ (its own polynomial)
90 kg man, 550 kg total:
Wilks = 550 × 500 ÷ 783.22 = 351.12
Wilks 2020 = 550 × 600 ÷ 782.27 = 421.85Make it fit you
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Say which Wilks you mean
When you post or compare a score, add the version. A 420 is a median result on Wilks 2020 and close to the top 10% on the original.
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Score the weigh-in bodyweight
Meet scores use the official weigh-in. Enter that, not your weight on another day.
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Compare meet totals with meet totals
The table above is built from meet totals, where every lift is judged. A gym total with high squats scores higher than it would on the platform.
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Check old records with the original
Results from before 2020 were scored on the original Wilks. Use the first number when you compare with them.
Questions
What is a good Wilks score?
For raw competitors, the median man scores about 350 to 360 on the original Wilks and the median woman about 305 to 315. On Wilks 2020 the median man is near 420.
What's the difference between Wilks and Wilks 2020?
Wilks 2020 rebalanced the coefficients on newer data and moved to a 600-point scale. Scores from the two aren't comparable.
Does the IPF use Wilks?
Not since 2018. The IPF used its own formula in 2019 and has used IPF GL points since May 2020.
Who created the Wilks formula?
Robert Wilks of Powerlifting Australia, which also published the 2020 revision.
Is Wilks the same as DOTS?
No, but for most raw lifters the original Wilks and DOTS are within a few points. The DOTS calculator gives the exact number.
Related calculators and templates
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DOTS calculator
The BVDK's formula, and a ranking option on OpenPowerlifting.
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IPF GL points calculator
The score that replaced Wilks at IPF meets.
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Powerlifting calculator
Every score and your percentile from three lifts.
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Strength standards calculator
Each lift against raw competitors your size.
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Top set and back-off sets
Heavy work on the three lifts without burning out.
Sources
- Powerlifting Australia, Wilks formula coefficient tables
- Powerlifting Australia, Wilks Formula 2 released (28 February 2020)
- OpenPowerlifting, original Wilks coefficients (wilks.rs)
- OpenPowerlifting, Wilks 2020 coefficients and scale (wilks2020.rs)
- International Powerlifting Federation, IPF formula history
- Wikipedia, Wilks coefficient
- OpenPowerlifting, raw full-power meet results (public domain)
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