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Wilks Score Calculator (Powerlifting)

Calculate a powerlifting Wilks score from bodyweight and total lifted, using the published 1994 Wilks coefficient formula, in metric or imperial units.

Wilks score
319.2
Wilks coefficient
0.6384

How it works

The Wilks score is a powerlifting formula for comparing lifters of different bodyweights on a level footing: it scales a lifter's total by a sex-specific coefficient computed from their bodyweight, so a lighter lifter's total and a heavier lifter's total can be compared directly. This uses the original 1994 Wilks coefficients published by Robert Wilks for the IPF — a fixed formula, not a fact that changes over time, the same kind of published constant this site uses for the Navy body fat and Devine ideal-weight formulas.

The coefficient is 500 ÷ (a + b·x + c·x² + d·x³ + e·x⁴ + f·x⁵), where x is bodyweight in kilograms and a-f are five published constants that differ for men and women. Wilks score is then simply that coefficient multiplied by the total lifted, also in kilograms — imperial entries are converted to kilograms first, since the coefficients are calibrated for metric bodyweight, then the score converts back cleanly since it's just a multiplication.

FAQ

Why does a heavier lifter need a bigger total for the same Wilks score?

The coefficient shrinks as bodyweight increases (heavier lifters generally have more raw strength available before accounting for leverage and mass), so a heavier lifter's total gets scaled down more. That's the entire point of the formula — it's designed so a smaller lifter and a much larger lifter with proportionally similar relative strength land on similar Wilks scores.

Is this the same coefficient set federations use today?

Some federations have since adopted a revised 2020 Wilks coefficient set, but the original 1994 version calculated here remains the most widely recognized and cited 'Wilks score' outside of federation-specific rankings, and it's the version most lifters mean when they refer to their Wilks score informally.

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