Upper/Lower Strength Ratio
The upper/lower strength ratio is competition bench press 1RM divided by competition squat 1RM for the same lifter, a measure of how upper- and lower-body strength are balanced. It is also searched as the bench-to-squat ratio or upper/lower body strength ratio. Neither a higher nor a lower ratio is inherently better; the value describes where a lifter sits in the distribution. Figures are derived directly from the raw competition results of the OpenPowerlifting database (public domain / CC0, snapshot 14 June 2026), restricted to raw (unequipped), drug-tested entries. These are norms for competitive powerlifters, not the general population.
Data source: OpenPowerlifting (CC0) About this study
Reference population: Competitive powerlifters worldwide in raw (unequipped), drug-tested competitions, from the public-domain OpenPowerlifting database.
Upper/Lower Strength Ratio Norms Chart by Age and Sex
| Age | Sex | Percentile | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5th | 25th | 50th | 75th | 95th | ||
| 12-17 | Male | 0.500 | 0.573 | 0.633 | 0.703 | 0.842 |
| Female | 0.415 | 0.486 | 0.546 | 0.615 | 0.750 | |
| 18-35 | Male | 0.531 | 0.600 | 0.653 | 0.712 | 0.821 |
| Female | 0.429 | 0.500 | 0.550 | 0.610 | 0.714 | |
| 36-59 | Male | 0.543 | 0.625 | 0.690 | 0.766 | 0.932 |
| Female | 0.450 | 0.521 | 0.577 | 0.644 | 0.788 | |
| 60-79 | Male | 0.493 | 0.615 | 0.707 | 0.824 | 1.103 |
| Female | 0.462 | 0.538 | 0.613 | 0.712 | 0.972 | |
What to expect by age group
| Age | Males | Females |
|---|---|---|
| 12-17 | 0.573 to 0.703 | 0.486 to 0.615 |
| 18-35 | 0.600 to 0.712 | 0.500 to 0.610 |
| 36-59 | 0.625 to 0.766 | 0.521 to 0.644 |
| 60-79 | 0.615 to 0.824 | 0.538 to 0.712 |
Detailed Breakdowns
Select an age group and sex below for detailed percentile charts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this ratio mean?
It is the competition bench press 1RM divided by the competition squat 1RM for the same lifter. A ratio of 0.65 means the lifter's best bench is 65% of their best squat. Most lifters squat more than they bench, so the ratio is typically below 1.
Is a higher or lower ratio better?
Neither. This is a balance measure, not a performance score. A very low ratio suggests the bench lags the squat; a very high ratio the reverse. That is why these pages show where a value sits in the distribution rather than rating it good or bad.
Whose numbers are these?
Competitive powerlifters in raw (unequipped), drug-tested competitions worldwide, from the public-domain OpenPowerlifting database. They are trained competitors, not the general population.
Why might a lifter appear in more than one age group?
Each meet performance is counted once, in the age group the lifter was at that meet (entries duplicated across divisions of the same meet are merged). A lifter who competed at 30 and again at 65 contributes to both brackets. This matches how the squat, bench, and deadlift norm pages are built.
Why are some age groups missing?
The 80+ bracket had too few qualifying entries to publish stable 5th and 95th percentiles (a fixed minimum of 400 entries per cell and a bootstrap stability check), so it is omitted rather than published as an unstable distribution.