Your Wilks score equals your powerlifting total (in kilograms) multiplied by a coefficient determined by your body weight and sex. The coefficient comes from a polynomial formula, but in practice, most lifters look it up in a table or use an online calculator. A score above 300 is solid for a recreational lifter, above 400 is competitive, and above 500 puts you in elite territory.
What the Wilks Score Measures
The Wilks score solves a basic fairness problem in powerlifting: how do you compare a 60 kg lifter’s total to a 120 kg lifter’s total? Heavier lifters move more weight in absolute terms, but the relationship between body weight and strength isn’t a straight line. It’s curvilinear, meaning each additional kilogram of body weight produces diminishing returns in strength. Robert Wilks introduced the formula in 1995, using regression analysis of 5,000 ranked powerlifters to map that curve and flatten it into a single comparable number.
The result is a score that, in theory, lets any two lifters compare strength regardless of how much they weigh. Powerlifting federations use it to determine best lifter awards at meets and to rank athletes across weight classes.
The Calculation in Three Steps
The actual math is straightforward once you have the right inputs.
Step 1: Get your total in kilograms. Add your best squat, bench press, and deadlift. If your lifts are in pounds, divide by 2.205. For example, a 1,200 lb total converts to roughly 544 kg.
Step 2: Find your Wilks coefficient. This is a number between roughly 0.5 and 1.3, determined by your body weight and sex. You can find it using a coefficient table (Powerlifting Australia publishes a detailed one broken down to increments of 0.05 kg) or by plugging your body weight into the polynomial formula described below. For example, a 69.45 kg male has a coefficient of 0.8971.
Step 3: Multiply. Your Wilks score equals your total times your coefficient. If that 69.45 kg male totals 544 kg, his Wilks score is 544 × 0.8971 = 488.
That’s it. The same process works for individual lifts if you want to compare just your squat, bench, or deadlift across weight classes, though federations typically apply the formula to bench press and total only.
How the Coefficient Is Calculated
Behind each coefficient is a sixth-degree polynomial. The formula looks like this:
Coefficient = 500 / (a + b·x + c·x² + d·x³ + e·x⁴ + f·x⁵)
Here, x is the lifter’s body weight in kilograms, and a through f are fixed constants that differ for men and women. For men using the original formula, those constants are:
- a = −216.0475144
- b = 16.2606339
- c = −0.002388645
- d = −0.00113732
- e = 7.01863 × 10⁻⁶
- f = −1.291 × 10⁻⁸
Women use a separate set of constants: a = 594.31747775582, b = −27.23842536447, c = 0.82112226871, d = −0.00930733913, e = 4.731582 × 10⁻⁵, f = −9.054 × 10⁻⁸.
You don’t need to compute this by hand. Online Wilks calculators do it instantly, and most meet software handles it automatically. But knowing the formula exists helps you understand why your coefficient changes so precisely with small shifts in body weight.
Original vs. Revised (Wilks 2.0)
In 2020, Wilks released updated coefficients sometimes called “Wilks 2.0.” The revision aimed to improve fairness across body weight classes and between sexes, using a larger and more current dataset. Some federations, including Powerlifting Australia, adopted the updated version. Others still use the original 1995 coefficients.
Before calculating your score, check which version your federation uses. The two versions produce different numbers for the same lifter, so comparing a Wilks 2.0 score to an original Wilks score is like comparing miles to kilometers. Most online calculators let you select which version you want.
Known Biases in the Formula
No single formula perfectly equalizes strength across every body weight, and validation research has identified a few spots where the Wilks formula bends. A study analyzing the formula’s accuracy found no bias for men or women in bench press or total, which is where it’s officially applied. However, when used for the deadlift alone, heavier lifters of both sexes are slightly disadvantaged. Women’s squat scores show a favorable bias toward intermediate weight classes.
The practical takeaway: the Wilks formula works well for its intended purpose of comparing bench press totals and powerlifting totals. Using it to compare individual squat or deadlift performances across weight classes is less reliable, especially at the extremes of body weight. This is one reason some federations have explored alternative formulas like the IPF GL Points or the DOTS system.
What Counts as a Good Score
Wilks scores cluster around predictable ranges. For men, a score of 300 to 350 reflects a strong intermediate lifter with a few years of training. Scores between 400 and 450 are competitive at regional and national meets. Breaking 500 is elite, the kind of score that wins best lifter awards at high-level competitions.
For women, the ranges shift slightly lower in absolute terms because the separate coefficients already account for sex-based differences in muscle mass. A woman scoring 400 is at roughly the same competitive tier as a man scoring 400. That’s the whole point of the formula: a given score is supposed to mean the same thing regardless of who earned it.
If you’re tracking your own progress, the Wilks score is useful for seeing whether you’re getting stronger relative to your body weight over time. A lifter who gains 10 kg of body weight and 40 kg on their total might feel stronger, but the Wilks score reveals whether that trade was efficient or whether the extra weight just padded the absolute numbers.