Overhead Press Strength Standards

Modeled — anchored to measured lifts

How strong is your overhead press? Graded Beginner → Elite for your sex, bodyweight and age. Intermediate for a 180 lb man is about 124 lb; for a 140 lb woman about 53 lb.

How do you compare?

Weight lifted (lb)

Reps

Bodyweight (lb)

Sex

Age

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Standards are benchmarks for tracking progress and finding weak points — not the last word on your training.

Overhead Press is not contested in meets, so no competition data exists for it. Its ladder is modeled by applying a fixed ratio to a measured anchor lift: 0.62x bench (M) / 0.6x (F) — OHP commonly 60-65% of flat bench. That ratio is a conventional strength relationship used in coaching practice and selected by Strenf — a modelling assumption, not a measurement and not a published finding. How modeled standards work.

Is your overhead press good? Common loads, graded

Tiers below are before age adjustment. Use the calculator above for your own bodyweight, age and rep count.

A 95 lb overhead press is Novice for a 180 lb man — 43 kg, 0.53× bodyweight; 29 lb short of Intermediate.
A 135 lb overhead press is Intermediate for a 180 lb man — 61 kg, 0.75× bodyweight; 58 lb short of Advanced.
A 185 lb overhead press is Intermediate for a 180 lb man — 84 kg, 1.03× bodyweight; 8 lb short of Advanced.
A 225 lb overhead press is Elite for a 180 lb man — 102 kg, 1.25× bodyweight.
A 25 lb overhead press is below the Beginner standard for a 140 lb woman — 11 kg, 0.18× bodyweight; 6 lb short of Beginner.
A 40 lb overhead press is Beginner for a 140 lb woman — 18 kg, 0.29× bodyweight; 1 lb short of Novice.
A 60 lb overhead press is Intermediate for a 140 lb woman — 27 kg, 0.43× bodyweight; 31 lb short of Advanced.
A 70 lb overhead press is Intermediate for a 140 lb woman — 32 kg, 0.5× bodyweight; 21 lb short of Advanced.
A 95 lb overhead press is Advanced for a 140 lb woman — 43 kg, 0.68× bodyweight; 18 lb short of Elite.
A 120 lb overhead press is Elite for a 140 lb woman — 54 kg, 0.86× bodyweight.

Standards by bodyweight

Men

Overhead Press strength standards for men. Each cell is the estimated one-rep max in pounds (lb) needed to reach that Strenf tier at that bodyweight in pounds (lb), before age adjustment. Modeled: a fixed ratio (0.62x bench (M) / 0.6x (F) — OHP commonly 60-65% of flat bench) applied to a measured anchor lift, not measured for overhead press itself. Data generated 2026-06-12.
Bodyweight (lb)	Beginner (lb)	Novice (lb)	Intermediate (lb)	Advanced (lb)	Elite (lb)
120 lb	48 lb	62 lb	83 lb	128 lb	150 lb
130 lb	52 lb	68 lb	90 lb	139 lb	162 lb
140 lb	56 lb	73 lb	97 lb	150 lb	175 lb
150 lb	60 lb	78 lb	103 lb	160 lb	188 lb
160 lb	64 lb	83 lb	110 lb	171 lb	200 lb
170 lb	68 lb	88 lb	117 lb	182 lb	212 lb
180 lb	72 lb	94 lb	124 lb	193 lb	225 lb
190 lb	76 lb	99 lb	131 lb	203 lb	238 lb
200 lb	80 lb	104 lb	138 lb	214 lb	250 lb
210 lb	84 lb	109 lb	145 lb	225 lb	262 lb
220 lb	88 lb	114 lb	152 lb	235 lb	275 lb
230 lb	92 lb	120 lb	159 lb	246 lb	288 lb
240 lb	96 lb	125 lb	166 lb	257 lb	300 lb
250 lb	100 lb	130 lb	172 lb	268 lb	312 lb
260 lb	104 lb	135 lb	179 lb	278 lb	325 lb
270 lb	108 lb	140 lb	186 lb	289 lb	338 lb
280 lb	112 lb	146 lb	193 lb	300 lb	350 lb
290 lb	116 lb	151 lb	200 lb	310 lb	362 lb
300 lb	120 lb	156 lb	207 lb	321 lb	375 lb
310 lb	124 lb	161 lb	214 lb	332 lb	388 lb

Women

Overhead Press strength standards for women. Each cell is the estimated one-rep max in pounds (lb) needed to reach that Strenf tier at that bodyweight in pounds (lb), before age adjustment. Modeled: a fixed ratio (0.62x bench (M) / 0.6x (F) — OHP commonly 60-65% of flat bench) applied to a measured anchor lift, not measured for overhead press itself. Data generated 2026-06-12.
Bodyweight (lb)	Beginner (lb)	Novice (lb)	Intermediate (lb)	Advanced (lb)	Elite (lb)
120 lb	26 lb	35 lb	46 lb	78 lb	97 lb
130 lb	29 lb	38 lb	49 lb	84 lb	105 lb
140 lb	31 lb	41 lb	53 lb	91 lb	113 lb
150 lb	33 lb	44 lb	57 lb	98 lb	122 lb
160 lb	35 lb	46 lb	61 lb	104 lb	130 lb
170 lb	37 lb	49 lb	65 lb	110 lb	138 lb
180 lb	40 lb	52 lb	68 lb	117 lb	146 lb
190 lb	42 lb	55 lb	72 lb	124 lb	154 lb
200 lb	44 lb	58 lb	76 lb	130 lb	162 lb
210 lb	46 lb	61 lb	80 lb	136 lb	170 lb
220 lb	48 lb	64 lb	84 lb	143 lb	178 lb
230 lb	51 lb	67 lb	87 lb	150 lb	186 lb
240 lb	53 lb	70 lb	91 lb	156 lb	194 lb
250 lb	55 lb	72 lb	95 lb	162 lb	202 lb
260 lb	57 lb	75 lb	99 lb	169 lb	211 lb
270 lb	59 lb	78 lb	103 lb	176 lb	219 lb
280 lb	62 lb	81 lb	106 lb	182 lb	227 lb
290 lb	64 lb	84 lb	110 lb	188 lb	235 lb
300 lb	66 lb	87 lb	114 lb	195 lb	243 lb
310 lb	68 lb	90 lb	118 lb	202 lb	251 lb

Same standards in kilograms (kg)

Men

Overhead Press strength standards for men, in kilograms. Each cell is the estimated one-rep max in kilograms (kg) needed to reach that Strenf tier at that bodyweight in kilograms (kg), before age adjustment. Converted from the pound figures above at 1 lb = 0.45359237 kg. Data generated 2026-06-12.
Bodyweight (kg)	Beginner (kg)	Novice (kg)	Intermediate (kg)	Advanced (kg)	Elite (kg)
54 kg	22 kg	28 kg	38 kg	58 kg	68 kg
59 kg	24 kg	31 kg	41 kg	63 kg	74 kg
64 kg	25 kg	33 kg	44 kg	68 kg	79 kg
68 kg	27 kg	35 kg	47 kg	73 kg	85 kg
73 kg	29 kg	38 kg	50 kg	78 kg	91 kg
77 kg	31 kg	40 kg	53 kg	83 kg	96 kg
82 kg	33 kg	42 kg	56 kg	87 kg	102 kg
86 kg	34 kg	45 kg	59 kg	92 kg	108 kg
91 kg	36 kg	47 kg	63 kg	97 kg	113 kg
95 kg	38 kg	50 kg	66 kg	102 kg	119 kg
100 kg	40 kg	52 kg	69 kg	107 kg	125 kg
104 kg	42 kg	54 kg	72 kg	112 kg	130 kg
109 kg	44 kg	57 kg	75 kg	116 kg	136 kg
113 kg	45 kg	59 kg	78 kg	121 kg	142 kg
118 kg	47 kg	61 kg	81 kg	126 kg	147 kg
122 kg	49 kg	64 kg	85 kg	131 kg	153 kg
127 kg	51 kg	66 kg	88 kg	136 kg	159 kg
132 kg	53 kg	68 kg	91 kg	141 kg	164 kg
136 kg	54 kg	71 kg	94 kg	146 kg	170 kg
141 kg	56 kg	73 kg	97 kg	150 kg	176 kg

Women

Overhead Press strength standards for women, in kilograms. Each cell is the estimated one-rep max in kilograms (kg) needed to reach that Strenf tier at that bodyweight in kilograms (kg), before age adjustment. Converted from the pound figures above at 1 lb = 0.45359237 kg. Data generated 2026-06-12.
Bodyweight (kg)	Beginner (kg)	Novice (kg)	Intermediate (kg)	Advanced (kg)	Elite (kg)
54 kg	12 kg	16 kg	21 kg	35 kg	44 kg
59 kg	13 kg	17 kg	22 kg	38 kg	48 kg
64 kg	14 kg	18 kg	24 kg	41 kg	51 kg
68 kg	15 kg	20 kg	26 kg	44 kg	55 kg
73 kg	16 kg	21 kg	28 kg	47 kg	59 kg
77 kg	17 kg	22 kg	29 kg	50 kg	62 kg
82 kg	18 kg	24 kg	31 kg	53 kg	66 kg
86 kg	19 kg	25 kg	33 kg	56 kg	70 kg
91 kg	20 kg	26 kg	34 kg	59 kg	73 kg
95 kg	21 kg	28 kg	36 kg	62 kg	77 kg
100 kg	22 kg	29 kg	38 kg	65 kg	81 kg
104 kg	23 kg	30 kg	40 kg	68 kg	85 kg
109 kg	24 kg	32 kg	41 kg	71 kg	88 kg
113 kg	25 kg	33 kg	43 kg	74 kg	92 kg
118 kg	26 kg	34 kg	45 kg	77 kg	96 kg
122 kg	27 kg	36 kg	47 kg	80 kg	99 kg
127 kg	28 kg	37 kg	48 kg	83 kg	103 kg
132 kg	29 kg	38 kg	50 kg	86 kg	107 kg
136 kg	30 kg	39 kg	52 kg	88 kg	110 kg
141 kg	31 kg	41 kg	53 kg	91 kg	114 kg

Age adjustment

Age changes the bar. An Intermediate overhead press for a 180 lb man is about 117 lb at 40, 109 lb at 50, and 100 lb at 60; for a 140 lb woman, about 49 lb, 46 lb, and 41 lb at the same ages.

Your lift is scaled by these multipliers before grading (derived from Masters competition data):

Age adjustment applied when grading a overhead press. Each value is a dimensionless multiplier applied to the lifter's estimated one-rep max before it is compared against the tier thresholds, so a higher multiplier means a smaller lift reaches the same tier. Derived from median best lift-to-bodyweight ratio by age band among Masters competitors, relative to the 24–34 band. This is a cross-sectional comparison between age groups, not a record of individuals ageing. Bands outside the listed range are clamped to the nearest value. Data generated 2026-06-12.
Age band (years)	Men (× multiplier)	Women (× multiplier)
14-17	×1.205	×1.193
18-23	×1.012	×0.993
24-34	×1.0	×1.0
35-39	×1.042	×1.064
40-44	×1.074	×1.095
45-49	×1.109	×1.129
50-54	×1.154	×1.182
55-59	×1.194	×1.234
60-64	×1.267	×1.326
65-69	×1.344	×1.396
70-79	×1.493	×1.566

FAQ

What is a good overhead press for a 180 lb man?

Around 124 lb reaches Intermediate on the Strenf ladder; 225 lb is Elite. Thresholds scale with bodyweight — see the full table.

What is a good overhead press for a 140 lb woman?

Around 53 lb reaches Intermediate; 113 lb is Elite. Overhead Press is not contested in meets, so there are no women's overhead press competition results to grade against. Women's thresholds here are derived from women's competition results for the anchor lift and scaled by the ratio shown on this page (0.62x bench (M) / 0.6x (F) — OHP commonly 60-65% of flat bench), then adjusted for bodyweight and age.

What is a good overhead press for my age?

For a 180 lb man, an Intermediate overhead press is about 117 lb at 40, 109 lb at 50, and 100 lb at 60. For a 140 lb woman: 49 lb at 40, 46 lb at 50, and 41 lb at 60 — based on strength-retention curves from Masters competition results.

How are these overhead press standards calculated?

By applying a fixed ratio to a measured anchor lift: 0.62x bench (M) / 0.6x (F) — OHP commonly 60-65% of flat bench. The ratio is a conventional coaching figure selected by Strenf, not a measured result. Tiers run Beginner, Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Elite, adjusted for sex, bodyweight and age.

What is the average overhead press by age?

There is no trustworthy general-population average for any gym lift — no such dataset exists, and sites publishing one are averaging their own users' self-reported entries. Overhead Press is not contested in meets, so Strenf grades it against standards modeled from lifts that are. Adjusted for age, an Intermediate overhead press for a 180 lb man is about 117 lb at 40, 109 lb at 50 and 100 lb at 60; for a 140 lb woman, 49 lb, 46 lb and 41 lb.

Does age affect the overhead press standard?

Yes — standards are age-adjusted using strength-retention curves derived from Masters competition results, so a 55-year-old is graded against age-appropriate expectations.