Wilks Score

Wilks Score: what is it?

Raw totals cannot rank lifters fairly, because heavier athletes lift more in absolute terms and less per kilo. Dividing by bodyweight overcorrects in the other direction and hands every win to the lightest competitors. Robert Wilks built a formula in the 1990s that sits between the two: a curve fitted to actual competition results, so a lifter is scored against what athletes at their bodyweight typically achieve rather than against a straight-line assumption. For twenty-five years it was the default way to answer "who was the best lifter in the room?"

How the calculation works

The score is the powerlifting total multiplied by a coefficient. The coefficient is 500 divided by a fifth-degree polynomial in bodyweight: a + bx + cx squared + dx cubed + ex to the fourth + fx to the fifth, where x is bodyweight in kilograms. The six coefficients are different for men and women, which is why a Wilks calculator always asks for sex as well as weight.

The polynomial produces a curve that falls as bodyweight rises, sharply at the light end and gently at the heavy end. That shape is the whole point: it matches how real strength scales with body size, which a simple division does not. Because the coefficients are long decimal constants, nobody computes them by hand - use a published calculator or an official table.

What replaced it, and why

The original Wilks formula was fitted to competition data from the early 1990s. Lifting standards moved on, particularly in the women's and heavier categories, and the curve gradually stopped describing the current population. Two responses followed: an updated Wilks formula, usually called Wilks 2, refitted to newer data, and the IPF's own scoring system, IPF GL Points, which the International Powerlifting Federation adopted in place of Wilks around 2020 and which has separate coefficients for raw and equipped lifting.

For a coach, the practical consequence is that "my Wilks is X" is ambiguous unless you know which formula produced it. Say which one you used, and never compare a number from one system with a number from another.

Using it outside powerlifting

The formula was built for the powerlifting total - squat plus bench plus deadlift, in competition conditions. Applying it to a single lift, to gym lifts with different depth or pause rules, or to a client who has never competed produces a number that looks precise and means very little.

Where it does earn its place in a general coaching practice is as a fair comparison inside a group. If you coach a mixed squad and want a leaderboard that does not simply rank people by size, a bodyweight-adjusted score is the fairest simple option available - provided everyone lifts to the same standard.

• State which formula you used. Wilks, Wilks 2, DOTS and IPF GL are all different numbers.
• Apply it to a full three-lift total, in consistent conditions, or the score is decorative.
• Keep technique standards identical across the group before you rank anyone.
• Bodyweight is measured at weigh-in; a client who cut water is scored on a weight they do not really carry.

What it does not fix

No coefficient corrects for age, and no coefficient corrects for training age. A 22-year-old and a 55-year-old with identical Wilks scores have not done the same thing, which is why masters competitions apply a further age coefficient on top.

It also does not correct for the fact that different body proportions favour different lifts. A lifter with long arms and a short torso is built for the deadlift and against the bench press; the total smooths that out somewhat, but the formula has no visibility into it.