About the Wilks Score Calculator
The Wilks score lets powerlifters compare their total (squat, bench, and deadlift combined) against lifters of different bodyweights and sexes on a level footing. This calculator applies the original Wilks polynomial coefficient formula to a lifter's bodyweight and total to produce that comparable score.
How It Works
Select sex, then enter bodyweight in kilograms and total weight lifted in kilograms. The calculator plugs bodyweight into a fifth-degree polynomial with sex-specific coefficients to derive a bodyweight-adjustment coefficient, then multiplies that coefficient by the total to produce the final Wilks score.
Formula & Methodology
The calculator uses two fixed sets of six coefficients (c0 through c5), one for men and one for women, both empirically fitted so that the resulting scale produces comparable scores across the bodyweight spectrum. Bodyweight in kilograms is raised to the first through fifth power, each multiplied by its respective coefficient, and the six terms are summed to get a denominator value. Dividing 500 by that denominator gives a bodyweight-specific coefficient, generally close to 1.0 for lifters near the middle of the weight range and larger for lifters at either extreme. Multiplying the raw total by this coefficient produces the final Wilks score, a number intended to be directly comparable between any two lifters regardless of their bodyweight.
Examples
Male lifter at 83 kg
An 83 kg male lifter totals 500 kg across squat, bench, and deadlift. Plugging 83 into the male polynomial coefficients and dividing 500 by the resulting denominator yields a coefficient, which multiplied by the 500 kg total produces a Wilks score in the mid-300s, a benchmark often cited as a solid intermediate-to-advanced total at that bodyweight.
Comparing two different bodyweights
A lighter lifter with a smaller total can end up with a higher Wilks score than a heavier lifter with a larger total, because the coefficient shrinks as bodyweight rises past the formula's midpoint, which is exactly the comparison the Wilks score is designed to make possible.
Advantages
- Allows direct comparison of lifters at completely different bodyweights on a single numeric scale.
- Uses the original, widely recognized Wilks coefficients that have been the historical standard for 'best lifter' comparisons in powerlifting.
- Requires only three inputs (sex, bodyweight, total), making it fast to check a score immediately after a meet.
Common Mistakes
- Entering bodyweight or total in pounds instead of kilograms, since the polynomial coefficients are calibrated specifically for kilograms.
- Using bodyweight measured on a different day than the total was lifted, rather than the official weigh-in bodyweight from the same competition.
- Assuming Wilks is the only or most current bodyweight-adjusted scoring system, when many federations have since adopted newer formulas such as DOTS or IPF GL points.
Edge Cases to Watch For
- If bodyweight or total is entered as zero or a negative number, the calculator returns an error rather than computing a nonsensical coefficient.
- The coefficient tables are fixed constants, so results depend entirely on the sex selected; there is no separate treatment for junior, master's, or other age classifications.
- The formula is unit-specific to kilograms; pounds must be converted to kilograms before entering bodyweight and total for the score to be meaningful.
- Because the polynomial is only calibrated within a realistic human bodyweight range, entering an extreme or unrealistic bodyweight can produce a distorted coefficient.
Common Use Cases
- Powerlifting competitors comparing their meet total against lifters in other weight classes.
- Meet directors and federations calculating 'best lifter' awards across multiple weight classes.
- Lifters tracking whether bodyweight changes are actually improving their pound-for-pound strength over time.