Work out your Wilks coefficient and Wilks score from your body weight and total weight lifted, so you can compare your powerlifting performance fairly against lifters of any size.
A Wilks score is a bodyweight-normalised strength figure used in powerlifting to compare lifters who don't weigh the same. It's calculated by multiplying the total weight you lifted by a "Wilks coefficient" that's worked out from your body weight and sex using a fixed formula. The result is a single number that lets a 60 kg lifter and a 140 kg lifter be ranked on a level footing, rather than simply comparing raw kilograms lifted — which would always favour the heavier lifter. Higher is better: a bigger Wilks score means you're relatively stronger for your bodyweight, regardless of what weight class you compete in.
Enter your squat + bench + deadlift total, or the figure for any single lift you want to normalise.
| Figure | Value |
|---|
The Wilks formula turns your body weight into a coefficient using a six-term polynomial, then multiplies your total by that coefficient. Men and women each use their own set of six constants (labelled a through f below), because the relationship between bodyweight and strength potential isn't identical across sexes.
As a second sanity check on the same formula: a 68.04 kg male lifter with a 589.67 kg total works out to a coefficient of roughly 0.7661 and a Wilks score of approximately 451.8 — a smaller lifter with a smaller total, but a higher Wilks score, which is exactly the point of the formula.
The table below shows the men's Wilks coefficient at a few round bodyweights, calculated directly from the formula above. Notice how the coefficient steadily falls as bodyweight rises — a lighter lifter needs a smaller total to reach the same Wilks score as a heavier one.
| Body Weight | Wilks Coefficient (Men) |
|---|---|
| 60 kg | 0.8529 |
| 70 kg | 0.7494 |
| 80 kg | 0.6827 |
| 90 kg | 0.6384 |
| 100 kg | 0.6086 |
| 110 kg | 0.5885 |
Raw totals aren't a fair way to rank lifters across different weight classes. As body mass increases, it increases faster than the strength a body can generate — muscle strength is roughly tied to the cross-sectional area of muscle, while bodyweight is tied to overall volume, and volume grows faster than area as size increases. In practical terms, that means a heavier, larger lifter has a natural leverage and mass advantage that lets them move bigger absolute numbers, even if a lighter lifter is training just as hard and is arguably "stronger" relative to their own frame. Robert Wilks, an Australian sports administrator who served as CEO of Powerlifting Australia, developed the Wilks formula in 1994 specifically to correct for this — turning bodyweight and total into one normalised figure so lifters of any size can be compared on equal terms, whether that's for open competition rankings or just personal benchmarking at your local gym.
Largely, yes — though it's worth being upfront about a change at the top level of the sport. The International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) moved away from the original Wilks formula for its own official competitions somewhere around 2018–2020, switching to its own "IPF GL Points" (Goodlift) system, and a revised "Wilks 2" coefficient set has also circulated as an alternative. That said, the 1994 Wilks formula implemented on this page remains the version most gyms, non-IPF federations, lifting apps and online communities default to when they say "Wilks score" — it's still the most widely recognised bodyweight-normalised strength figure in the sport, even if it's no longer the official scoring method at IPF-sanctioned meets.
The Wilks formula was developed in 1994 by Robert Wilks, a former CEO of Powerlifting Australia, and has since become a standard reference figure used across powerlifting internationally.
What is a good Wilks score?
There's no official grading scale attached to the Wilks formula, but among lifters and coaches a score of around 300 is commonly talked about as a solid intermediate benchmark, 400+ as a strong advanced level (our 99.79 kg / 680.39 kg worked example above lands at about 414.4), and 500+ is generally regarded as elite or competitive at national level. Treat these as loose, informally agreed reference points from the lifting community rather than an official standard — the Wilks formula itself doesn't define any categories.
How is the Wilks score calculated?
Your body weight is plugged into a six-term polynomial (a + b·x + c·x² + d·x³ + e·x⁴ + f·x⁵) using a fixed set of constants for your sex, and 500 is divided by the result to give your Wilks coefficient. Your Wilks score is then that coefficient multiplied by your total weight lifted. For example, a 99.79 kg male lifter gets a coefficient of about 0.6091, which multiplied by a 680.39 kg total gives a Wilks score of roughly 414.4.
Why does a lighter lifter sometimes have a higher Wilks score than a heavier lifter with a bigger total?
Because the coefficient falls as bodyweight rises, so a lighter lifter's total is scaled up proportionally more. For instance, a 60 kg lifter totalling 350 kg has a coefficient of about 0.8529, giving a Wilks score of roughly 298.5 — while a 110 kg lifter totalling 500 kg (150 kg more, in raw terms) has a lower coefficient of about 0.5885, giving a Wilks score of roughly 294.2. The lighter lifter's smaller total still edges out the heavier lifter's bigger one once bodyweight is normalised, which is exactly the comparison Wilks is designed to make.
Is the Wilks formula still used in powerlifting?
Yes, widely — although the IPF switched its own official competitions to a newer system called Goodlift (IPF GL Points) around 2018–2020, and a revised "Wilks 2" coefficient set also exists. Even so, the original 1994 Wilks formula used on this page remains the version most commonly seen in gyms, non-IPF federations, lifting apps and general online discussion of powerlifting performance.
What's the difference between my total and my Wilks score?
Your total is simply the raw kilograms you lifted — for example, your squat plus bench plus deadlift added together. Your Wilks score takes that total and adjusts it for your body weight and sex, turning it into a normalised figure that can be fairly compared against a lifter of a completely different size. Two lifters can have very different totals but an identical Wilks score, or the same total but different Wilks scores, depending on how much each one weighs.
Does the Wilks formula work the same way for men and women?
The overall approach is identical — a six-term polynomial of bodyweight produces a coefficient, which is then multiplied by the total — but men and women use entirely separate sets of six constants (a through f). This is because the relationship between bodyweight and typical strength potential doesn't track the same way for male and female lifters, so a single shared set of constants wouldn't normalise fairly across both sexes.
Who created the Wilks formula?
Robert Wilks, an Australian sports administrator who served as CEO of Powerlifting Australia, developed the formula in 1994. It was designed to give powerlifting a consistent, mathematically grounded way to compare lifters across different bodyweight classes, and it went on to become one of the most widely used strength-comparison figures in the sport internationally, well beyond Australia.
Can I use this calculator for a single lift instead of a full competition total?
Yes — the formula itself doesn't care whether the "total lifted" figure you enter is a squat, bench, deadlift or a combined total, it just needs a number in kilograms. Competition Wilks scores are conventionally based on the full squat + bench + deadlift total, but you can just as validly enter a single lift if you want to compare that lift specifically across bodyweights.
Select your sex, enter your body weight in kilograms, then enter the total weight you lifted — typically your squat, bench press and deadlift added together, though you can also enter a single-lift figure if you'd rather normalise just one movement. The calculator instantly shows your Wilks coefficient and your resulting Wilks score, along with a quick summary table of the figures used. If you'd like to see how your individual lifts stack up against typical bodyweight benchmarks before combining them into a Wilks score, try our Strength Standards Calculator.