Male vs Female Average Strength – The Top 10 Facts

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Top Ten Key Statistics About Average Human Strength​

1. An average male beginner should comfortably be able to lift a weight of 135lbs in the bench press.
2. The average weight for a male beginner to deadlifting is 125lbs
3. An intermediate male lifter can bench press 215lbs
4. An intermediate-level male weight lifter can deadlift 335lbs
5. A female beginner can lift 125% in the big three exercises
6. The average female beginner can lift between 50% and 125% of their body weigh
7. The average man can barbell curl 65 lbs with the correct form
8. The clean and jerk record for the 240lbs class is 531lbs, held by Ruslan Nurudinov
9. The clean and jerk record for the 121lbs class is 366lbs, held by Om Yun Chol
10. Becca Swanson is the only woman to lift 2,000 lbs over three big lifts (1) (2)

10 Average Male Strength Stats​

It’s one of the most commonly asked questions among male weightlifters. How much can the average male lift? It’s not an easy question, and it’s quite subjective, especially when our big egos seem to get in the way. That’s why the old adage, “leave your ego the gym door”, is so fitting.

So let’s have a look at the numbers that the average male can lift in some of the most common weightlifting exercises you can find, such as the bench press, squat and deadlift.

1. How much can the average man bench press?​

The average man can bench press roughly 135lbs, however, with some training, he can boost his bench press to 185lbs for a single rep max. The average man can bench press 185 lbs for a 1 rep max, 160 lbs for 5 reps, 150 lbs for 8 reps and 140 lbs for 10 reps.

2. How much can the average man deadlift?​

The average man, according to some statistics and surveys, is 155 lbs. With some quality training and some good old hard work, though, within a few months, he can improve his deadlift to 285 lbs. For a single one-rep max, an average can lift 285lbs, 245lbs for 5 reps, 225lbs for 8 reps and 215lbs for 10 reps.

3. How much can the average man squat?​

The squat, unlike other weight training lifts, requires a tremendous amount of strength and, more importantly, needs to be performed with the correct technique. That aside, the average man can squat about 230 lbs for their one rep max, 200 lbs for 5 reps, 180 lbs for 8 reps and 170 lbs for 10 reps.

4. How much can the average man overhead press?​

The “BIG THREE” are common to most guys lifting weights. However, exercises like the overhead press and the bent-over row are a little less known, especially when it comes to finding accurate numbers regarding weights. That said, these lifts are sometimes performed in competition, giving us a good baseline to make some estimates.

The average man overhead presses 115 lbs for a one-rep max, 100 lbs for 5 reps, 90 lbs for 8 reps, and 85 lbs for 10 reps.

5. How much can the average man barbell row?​

As with most weight-lifting exercises, there are several ways to perform them. For instance, pro bodybuilders start from the “Romanian deadlift” position, while powerlifters start with the bar on the mate. So how much can the average man barbell row? about 175lbd for their one rep max, 160lbs for 5 reps, 150lbs for 8 reps and 140lbs for 10 reps.

6. How much can the average man barbell curl?​

Barbell curls are my favorite movement. Unfortunately, though, I’m lifting well below what the average man does. It’s one of the drawbacks of being a cyclist. After 12 months of solid training, the average man can barbell curl 120lbs as their one rep max, 105lbs for 5 reps, 95lbs for 8 reps and 90lbs for 10 reps.

7. What percentage of males lifting weights can bench press 135 lbs?​

Its believed that roughly 44% of both females and males aged between 13 and 40 are able to lift 135lbs.

8. How strong are the US Marine Corps?​

Pull-ups are an excellent basic exercise to not only build strength but measure it; That’s why the US Marine Corps use it to test enlistees. According to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness, men aged 18 and over should be able to perform a minimum of 8 pull-ups. US Marine Corps, however, are expected to perform 10 pull-ups with a strict form giving them a test result of 50%.

9. What’s the world record for the male deadlift?​

Hafthor Björnsson deadlifted 5o1 kgs or 1102lbs on May 5th, 2020. Hafthor is a native of Iceland and achieved this feat on home soil.

10. What’s the record for the male clean and jerk?​

The world record for the male clean and jerk is 190kgs, achieved way back at the Seoul Olympics in 1988. Naim Süleymanoğlu, weighed 60kgs at the time, meaning he lifted a whipping 3X his body weight. The record still stands. (3) (4) (5)

10 Average Female Strength Stats​

Are women stronger than men? Actually, when it comes to lower body exercises, they are, and by a lot too. In this section, though, we won’t be comparing women to men or women to women. Instead, we’re going to look at how much the average 100 lb female weightlifting beginner can lift across the most common exercises.

1. How much can the average female bench press?​

A 100-pound woman can bench press up to 78 lbs. Although women have much stronger lower bodies than men, their upper bodies are typically weaker. This is why you see such a large discrepancy between how much a woman can squat and how much she can bench press.

2. How much can the average female deadlift?​

A 100-pound woman can deadlift between 100 and 150 lbs. The deadlift is one of the lifts where weightlifters can push some big weight, and women are no different when it comes to deadlifts. Beginner women can generally lift roughly 100% to 125% of their body weight.

3. How much can the average female squat?​

A 100-pound woman can squat 125 lbs. Women are much stronger per pound of body weight when it comes to squats and deadlifts. In this sense, it’s not surprising to see that a beginner female weightlifter with the correct squat technique can squat 125% of their body weight.

4. How much can the average female overhead press?​

The average female beginner who weighs 100 lbs has a one rep max of 19 lbs. However, elite female weightlifters who also weigh 100 lbs have a one-rep max of 114 lbs.

5. How much can the average female barbell row?​

The average female beginner who weighs 100 lbs has a one-rep max of 25 lbs. that being said, more elite or “experienced” female athletes with the same body weight of 100 lbs have a one-rep max of 149 lbs.

6. How much can the average female barbell curl?​

The average female beginner to weightlifting who weighs 1o00 lbs can lift 9lbs as their one rep max. Again. more elite women are able to lift more, with their one rep max being as high as 98 lbs.

7. What’s the biggest lift by a female weightlifter?​

The G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) when it comes to powerlifting is American Becca Swanson. Listen to these phenomenal numbers. How much weight does Swanson lift compared to the average woman lift?

Her upper body strength is impressive, with a bench press of 600 lbs. But it’s not just her bench press strength, Swanson’s impressive muscle mass can squat 854 lbs, and her deadlift comes in at nearly 700 lbs. Becca Swanson is the only female ever to lift over 2,000 lbs across the big three lifts.

8. How much did Becca Swanson squat?​

Swanson has a record-setting square of 854 lbs or 388 kgs. Swanson also tried professional wrestling for a while before deciding to call it a day.

9. What’s the world record for a female deadlift?​

American mother Tamara Walcott set a world record deadlift of 639 lbs, although some still believe that Becca Swanason still holds the record of 694 lbs. Walcottt is quoted as saying, “nothing or no one could have deterred me from my goal once I set my mind to it. It was really empowering to take control of my life and do something that felt rewarding.”

10. What’s the world record for the female clean and jerk?​

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, China’s Li Wenwen lifted 182 kgs or 412 lbs in the clean and jerk at the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 2021.