If I squat X, what should I be able to deadlift?

One really common questions on forums is that of relative levels of certain lifts. What should my front squat be compared to my back squat? If I can deadlift 225 pounds, what should I be able to power clean? And so on.

There are two answers to these questions.

The simple answer: There aren't any relative levels. All of your lifts should be higher than they are now. Don't worry about it, and get lifting.

The complicated answer: There are relative levels, and they're a useful guide to seeing if you've gone a bit too overboard on some exercises while neglecting others.

There are three really good resources for this.

Simplest and best are the strength standards from Rippetoe/Kilgore. Ideally, you want your different lifts to be at the same levels of training. If your squat is "Novice" while your deadlift is closing in on "Elite", you've got a problem and you know it means more squatting. Simple enough.

Next up, and limited to the bench press, is Charles Poliquin's "Achieving Structural Balance." This article takes you through a series of tests of exercises related to bench pressing. If one or more of those exercises is lagging, it's probably holding back your bench press.


Another is "How Much Can You Lift (Wimp)?" by Brad Kaczmarski, also for T-Nation. For this one, you plug in your numbers for one of the big three lifts - deadlift, bench press, or back squat - and get an idea of where your other lifts should be.

Ultimately, remember that these are just guidelines. You might find when you play around with them that:

- you need to try more than one "base number" and which one gives you the most information.

- some weights will be way out of line. If they're high, that's not bad, if they're terribly low, that probably is.

- only some exercises make the list. You won't find a relative numbers spreadsheet with everything.

-You won't always match up across the board on some exercises, depending on your build and how you execute the exercises.


You will vary from these numbers. Everyone will to some extent. You're just looking for glaring issues.

Ultimately this kind of things is just good for a rough guideline and some fun. Enjoy these, but remember they're just telling you what to work on. It's not prescriptive!