The median best-ever competition bench press for a 190 lb man is 298 lb — among 28,137 male raw powerlifters aged 20–45 who competed at a bodyweight of 185–195 lb. The 25th percentile is 265 lb and the 90th is 375 lb.
Best-ever competition bench press, male raw powerlifters, age 20–45, bodyweight 185–195 lb. n = 28,137.
| Percentile | Lift | × bodyweight |
|---|---|---|
| 5th | 209 lb (95 kg) | 1.10× |
| 10th | 231 lb (105 kg) | 1.22× |
| 25th | 265 lb (120 kg) | 1.39× |
| 50th (median) | 298 lb (135 kg) | 1.57× |
| 75th | 336 lb (153 kg) | 1.77× |
| 90th | 375 lb (170 kg) | 1.97× |
| 95th | 397 lb (180 kg) | 2.09× |
Source: OpenPowerlifting database, build 2026-07-25-606a59af (public domain). Percentiles computed by Motus. Method.
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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 men at your bodyweight actually do.
We publish no figure for the average man 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.
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