Wilks Score Calculator

How to Calculate a Wilks Score: The Wilks Formula Explained

Don’t let the polynomial scare you. The whole thing is just three steps, and the calculator handles the ugly one for you. First, you get your coefficient from your bodyweight. Then you add your three lifts into one total. Then you multiply. Done. All the complexity hides inside that coefficient — the final step is just multiplication.

Wilks 2020 formula: Wilks score = total (kg) × 600 ÷ (a + b×BW + c×BW² + d×BW³ + e×BW⁴ + f×BW⁵), where BW is your bodyweight in kilograms and a to f are the coefficients for men or women in the table below. The original Wilks formula used the same fifth-degree polynomial shape, but it used 500 instead of 600 as the numerator and a different set of coefficients.

You don’t need to solve that polynomial by hand — honestly, nobody does that at the gym. But it helps to know what it’s doing. As your bodyweight climbs, that polynomial grows, so 600 divided by a bigger number gives you a smaller coefficient. That’s the whole trick: heavier lifters need a bigger total to hit the same score, because the formula already expects them to lift more.

You use the men’s coefficients for men and the women’s coefficients for women, because the two polynomials were fitted separately. You never mix them, and you never use a coefficient from one version with the numerator from another. If you put a Wilks 2020 coefficient into the original 500-numerator formula, you get a number that belongs to neither version.

Worked Examples: Calculate Wilks Score by Bodyweight

Every example below checks out against the coefficient table above — no magic numbers, no hand-waving. Each score is just total × coefficient, rounded to one decimal place, so you can follow along with a pocket calculator if you want.

The Same Total Does Not Mean the Same Score

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. A 70 kg man totalling 500 kg scores 446.1, while a 100 kg man totalling 600 kg scores 437.6. Yes — the heavier guy lifted 100 kg more, and he still scores lower. Wilks is basically saying: lifting 500 kg at 70 kg is the harder feat. You might disagree with that — plenty of lifters do, and it’s a fair debate — but you can’t just switch versions halfway through to get a nicer number.

This is also why bodyweight strategy is trickier than people think. Gain weight and your coefficient drops, so your total has to climb faster than the coefficient falls — otherwise your score goes down even though you’re lifting more. Lose weight and your coefficient climbs, but you might lose strength with it. And please, don’t chase a Wilks score by crash-cutting weight. A score that goes up while your total goes down isn’t progress. It’s just a smaller lifter with less strength.

What Is a Good Wilks Score?

Quick reality check: no federation publishes one official Wilks band table, so don’t let anyone sell you one as gospel. The bands below are a practical guide for Wilks 2020 scores — useful, but still a guide. And remember the version trap: Wilks 2020 numbers run higher than original Wilks numbers for the same lifter, because the numerator jumped from 500 to 600. Never judge a Wilks 2020 score with an old-Wilks ruler.

Test it yourself. That 90 kg guy with a 500 kg total? 383.5 — solid competitive. The 83 kg guy with 600 kg? 481.0 — elite. And the 60 kg woman with 300 kg? 395.7, just a whisker short of advanced. That last one is actually useful: she can see exactly what she needs — about 303 kg at the same bodyweight crosses 400 (400 ÷ 1.3190 = 303.3 kg). That’s a target you can train for, not a vague ‘get stronger’.

You do not chase a band by changing versions. If your old Wilks score was 400 and your Wilks 2020 score is 481, you did not suddenly become 81 points stronger. The scale changed. You compare a new score only with scores from the same version, and you track your own progress in that version over time.

Wilks Score vs DOTS Calculator vs IPF GL Points

If you hang around powerlifting long enough, you’ll bump into three scoring systems, and they all answer the same question with different maths — and wildly different scales. The trick is simple: use the one your federation uses, and never, ever compare a number from one system with a number from another.

That’s why the numbers look so alien next to each other. A lifter can score in the hundreds on Wilks and DOTS, but only around 100 on IPF GL points — IPF GL just uses a completely different scale. One system isn’t ‘wrong’ and the other ‘right’. They’re different rulers. Compare DOTS with DOTS, Wilks with Wilks, and IPF GL with IPF GL, and check your federation’s rulebook before you claim anything official.

Practical rule of thumb: competing in the IPF? Then IPF GL points are your official score, full stop. Competing somewhere else, or just training for fun? Use whatever your federation names — often DOTS these days — and keep Wilks around for comparing with older Wilks results. Pick one system, stick with it, and track yourself in that system over time. Jumping between systems to find a flattering number helps nobody, least of all you.

Wilks Score Without Deadlift, for a Single Lift, and for a Meet

Here’s a trap a lot of people fall into. Wilks scores a full total — squat plus bench plus deadlift. That’s it. If you feed it just squat and bench, or a single lift, the calculator will still spit out a number, because maths doesn’t care. But that number is not a competition Wilks score. It’s a training comparison at best. Label it as a partial score, and never present it as a meet score.

For an actual meet, use your best successful lifts — not your gym bests — and your competition bodyweight, not your everyday walking-around weight. And check the version your federation actually uses: if they score with DOTS or IPF GL, your Wilks number is an unofficial side comparison, not your official result. Score yourself officially first, then keep Wilks as a clearly labelled extra if you want it.

One more thing Wilks doesn’t do: age. The formula adjusts for bodyweight and sex only. Masters and junior lifters get scored against the open standard, full stop. Some contexts use separate age adjustments, but those aren’t part of Wilks itself. So if you’re comparing a masters lifter with an open lifter on Wilks alone, say so — don’t pretend the formula adjusted for age when it didn’t.

Wilks Calculator in Kg and Lb

One unit, start to finish — that’s the only rule here. The formula works in kilograms, so if you lift in pounds, divide by 2.205 first. An 83 kg lifter is about 183.0 lb (83 × 2.205), and a 600 kg total is about 1,323.0 lb. Convert both numbers together, before you multiply anything, and never mix kilograms and pounds in the same calculation. An 83 kg bodyweight with a 1,323 lb total gives you a nonsense score, because that coefficient was never meant for a 1,323-unit total.

You convert bodyweight and total together, before you multiply, and you never mix units inside one calculation. If you enter an 83 kg bodyweight with a 1,323 lb total, you get a nonsense score, because the coefficient for 83 kg does not belong to a 1,323-unit total. You convert first, you check the converted numbers, and then you calculate.

And keep it to one decimal place, like the examples above. Five decimal places might look impressive, but your bodyweight, your plate loading, and a judging call all carry real-world rounding anyway. One decimal is honest precision. Anything more is just pretending.

Use Your Result: Wilks Score Progress Tracker

A Wilks check is only useful if you keep it. Print this page, or save it as a PDF from your browser, and jot your numbers in the log below. Same version, same lifts, same bodyweight rules next time — change any of those and the comparison falls apart.

Recheck after a meet or a solid training block, not after every session. Real relative strength moves slowly, so your score should too. If it jumps in a week, something changed — the version, the unit, or the lift standard. Check those first before you start celebrating.