The median best-ever competition deadlift for a 220 lb man is 540 lb — among 24,762 male raw powerlifters aged 20–45 who competed at a bodyweight of 215–225 lb. The 25th percentile is 485 lb and the 90th is 650 lb.
Best-ever competition deadlift, male raw powerlifters, age 20–45, bodyweight 215–225 lb. n = 24,762.
| Percentile | Lift | × bodyweight |
|---|---|---|
| 5th | 408 lb (185 kg) | 1.85× |
| 10th | 441 lb (200 kg) | 2.00× |
| 25th | 485 lb (220 kg) | 2.20× |
| 50th (median) | 540 lb (245 kg) | 2.45× |
| 75th | 601 lb (273 kg) | 2.73× |
| 90th | 650 lb (295 kg) | 2.95× |
| 95th | 683 lb (310 kg) | 3.10× |
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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