The median best-ever competition bench press for women is 138 lb — among 94,477 female raw powerlifters aged 20–45, at all bodyweights. The 25th percentile is 116 lb and the 90th is 193 lb.
| Percentile | Lift |
|---|---|
| 5th | 88 lb (40 kg) |
| 10th | 99 lb (45 kg) |
| 25th | 116 lb (53 kg) |
| 50th (median) | 138 lb (63 kg) |
| 75th | 165 lb (75 kg) |
| 90th | 193 lb (88 kg) |
| 95th | 215 lb (98 kg) |
Source: OpenPowerlifting database, build 2026-07-25-606a59af (public domain). Percentiles computed by Motus. Method.
No signup, no email. This runs in your browser and Motus does not store what you enter.
Everyone in this table entered a judged powerlifting meet. They are not a sample of gym-goers and they are not a sample of the general population. People who compete in powerlifting have self-selected for being strong, have usually trained specifically for a one-rep max, and lift under competition commands — which is typically harder than the same lift performed in a gym.
If you have never competed, your comparison point is not the 50th percentile here. A more honest reading: this tells you what strong, specifically-trained women at your bodyweight actually do.
We publish no figure for the average woman in the general population, because no comparable dataset of measured one-rep maxes among non-competitors exists. Numbers of that kind circulating online generally come from user-submitted app data, from estimated rather than measured maxes, or from tables with no stated sample. Full method and limitations.
Bodyweight is the single biggest driver of absolute strength, so the all-bodyweight table above is a blunt comparison. These are the same numbers computed within ±5 lb of each bodyweight:
Motus builds periodized training that adapts to your recovery — one system for strength, endurance, and everything in between.
See how Motus works