Stronger
Units

Age 17 · boys and girls · the scale by bodyweight, not a guessed average

Average Bench Press for a 17 Year Old

There is no reliable average bench for a 17-year-old. Nobody has measured a representative sample, and the numbers that circulate are guesses. So we do not print one. Here instead is the six-level scale by bodyweight, the same six levels Stronger scores every lift on, and beside each level how rare it is among 17-year-olds who actually compete.

Boys · 20995–231105 lbkg · Intermediate from
187 lb85 kg
Novice from 143 lb65 kg · Advanced from 243 lb110 kg · Elite from 309 lb140 kg
Girls · 14365–16575 lbkg · Intermediate from
88 lb40 kg
Novice from 66 lb30 kg · Advanced from 121 lb55 kg · Elite from 154 lb70 kg

Boys · 220 lb100 kg bodyweight · age 17

median 17-year-old competitor · 231 lb105 kg
Beginner
from the bar
Novice
from 14365
Intermediate
from 18785
Advanced
from 243110
Elite
from 309140
World Class
from 375170

Girls · 154 lb70 kg bodyweight · age 17

median 17-year-old competitor · 116 lb53 kg

The markers are the median among 17-year-olds who compete in our data: 231 lb105 kg for boys, 116 lb53 kg for girls. Treat them as a competition benchmark, not a general-population average; the lifters who enter a meet are its strong end.

Find your rank

Where does your bench sit at 17?

Scored against 17-year-olds, not adults. Enter a set of up to twelve reps and we estimate the max; you do not need to test one.

Sex
age 17 data

187 × 3 ≈ 206 lb one-rep max (Epley). Up to 12 reps keeps the estimate honest.

Calculations run in your browser. We measure usage, including strength levels and broad bodyweight ranges.

Your bench

206lb

Intermediate

at or above 14% of boys competing in the data aged 17 at your bodyweight

NOVINTADVELITEWC
206 lb93 kg

A 0.94× bodyweight bench is Intermediate for a 220 lb100 kg boy at 17. Advanced starts at 243 lb110 kg, 37 lb17 kg away.

Standards at 17

Bench press standards for 17 year olds, by bodyweight

Sex
Units
Boys, 17 · six levels by bodyweight · one-rep max in lbkg, bodyweight in lbkg · small figure: share of 17-year-old men competing in our data who bench less than that floor
BodyweightBeginnerNoviceIntermediateAdvancedEliteWorld Class
under 1436545201%88401%121555%1657530%2099575%26512097%
14365–1657545201%110501%143654%1878520%24311070%29813596%
16575–1878545201%121551%165755%2099525%26512070%33115097%
18785–2099545201%132601%176805%23110530%28713075%35316097%
20995–231105rail row45201%143651%187858%24311035%30914078%37517098%
231105–25411545201%154701%1989010%25411538%32014578%38617597%
254115–27612545201%165752%2099515%26512045%33115080%39718099%
276125+45201%176803%22010018%27612546%34215583%40818597%

These are not the adult standards scaled down by a guess, and we do not invent a separate teenage scale either. The floors are the same six Stronger uses at any age, so a number means the same thing on the app and on this page. What changes with age is the small figure under each floor, the share of 17-year-olds who compete in our data and bench less than it. Reaching 187 lb85 kg at 20995–231105 is Intermediate on the scale, and the figure beneath it tells you how rare that is at 17. Only brackets with at least a hundred 17-year-old competitors are shown; the top one is open-ended.

13 to 18

How 17 compares to the ages around it

Among competitors in our data, the median 18-year-old boy benches 17 lb8 kg more than the median 17-year-old; the median girl 5 lb2 kg more. Every point is a link.

All ages, 13 to 70+
  1. 13121558338
  2. 14154709242
  3. 15187859945
  4. 162099510849
  5. 1723110511653
  6. 1824811212155

boys, median competitor girls, median competitorage · lbkg · among lifters of that age who compete in our data

Training at this age

Benching at 17: what matters more than the number

We publish these numbers because teenagers search for them, and we would rather they found a page that takes their training seriously than a forum thread. So here is the part the forum leaves out.

  • Supervised, progressive resistance training is safe for adolescents. The NSCA's position stand finds no evidence that it harms growth or maturation, and the injuries in the research come from unsupervised lifting and poor technique.
  • Testing a one-rep max is a coach's call, not a max-out with friends. The NSCA says youth strength can be safely evaluated with 1RM procedures under qualified supervision, while the American Academy of Pediatrics' handout for parents says no one-rep maximums at all.
  • Technique first, then load in the smallest jumps the gym has, with attentive spotting on every bench set; the guidance agrees on gradual progression under qualified instruction.
  • “no evidence to suggest that resistance training will negatively impact growth and maturation”NSCA, Youth Resistance Training: Updated Position Statement Paper From the National Strength and Conditioning Association (2009), Printed S62, growth-cartilage discussion (PDF p. 3)
  • “can be safely evaluated by 1RM testing procedures”NSCA, Youth Resistance Training: Updated Position Statement Paper From the National Strength and Conditioning Association (2009), Printed S64, section on strength testing (PDF p. 5)
  • “gradual progression under qualified instruction and supervision”Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology position paper: resistance training in children and adolescents (2008), Author abstract, final paragraph
  • “attentive spotting must be provided”NSCA, NSCA Strength and Conditioning Professional Standards and Guidelines (2017), Standard 3.2, printed p. 11 / PDF page 11 (index 10)

In practice: a coach, PE teacher or experienced adult checks the setup before load goes on; the bar goes up in the smallest jumps the gym has; and the Find-your-rank module above is the way to know your max, not a spotter and a prayer. The Youth Resistance Training: Updated Position Statement Paper From the National Strength and Conditioning Association is the reference we build on.

Median competitor, 17 to 18

Age 17
231105 / 11653
Age 18
248112 / 12155

Boys / girls, lbkg: the median bench among lifters of each age who compete in our data. A competition benchmark, not a general-population average; it shows how much the strong end of each year moves, not what every 17-year-old should expect.

How we calculate

Where these numbers come from

Percentiles are built from 1,668,369 verified bench press attempts by 556,880 lifters, updated September 2026. We show the method so you can judge it.

The distribution. Our percentiles come from competition results in the OpenPowerlifting open dataset: each lifter's best successful raw bench, with sex, bodyweight and age recorded at the meet. These numbers describe competitive powerlifters, people who entered a sanctioned meet and trained for it. They are stronger than the general gym population, and far stronger than the general public. We say so wherever a percentile appears. Drug-tested divisions bench less at the median than untested ones (men: 276 lb vs 305 lb); the headline numbers pool both.

The levels. Six bands, the same six Stronger uses to score every lift in the app, and read the same way. Each cutoff is the floor of its band for that bodyweight, and crossing it puts you in. We do not redraw the scale from the competition data; we put the competition percentile beside every floor so you can see how rare each level is among people who compete.

Testing a one-rep max. Warm up to it in jumps that get smaller as the bar gets heavier, take three to five minutes between the last attempts, and use a spotter or safeties. If you would rather not max out, take a set of two to six clean reps and let the calculator estimate it; the Epley formula we use is accurate to within a few percent under ten reps.

Beginner
Can perform the movement with the empty bar or light weight; strength is still mostly a skill and nervous-system story.
Novice
Ahead of most people who do not train. Typically a few months of consistent, progressive work.
Intermediate
Ahead of the majority of regular gym-goers. Usually one to two years of structured training.
Advanced
Rare in a commercial gym. Years of programming, technique and bodyweight management.
Elite
The second-highest band on Stronger’s scale. Competition rankings are shown separately.
World Class
The highest band on Stronger’s scale, not a claim of a federation record or qualification.

Sources

All 196 cited sources

How our scale compares

Our six levels are Stronger's own scale, and the percentages beside them come from competition results. The published tables below are the ones people actually copy; we keep them here word for word, and say whose numbers they are, so you can see how a “good” bench on this page compares to what other sources call good. None of them measures the general population either.

  • Strength Level Limited · 18 tables (lb, ratio, kg)Male and female Strength Level usersOriginally based on fixed Kilgore/ExRx tables in 2007. Publisher says July 2015 replaced that model with community-data regressions; May 2016 incorporated joint lift/bodyweight modelling. Current table belongs to the 2026 refresh. These are not independent probability estimates for all adults.
  • StrengthLog · 12 tables (kg, lb)Men and women who use StrengthLogStrengthLog says the standards are calculated from user training logs; no Kilgore derivation is claimed. Sample date, age distribution, lift-verification protocol and detailed statistical construction are not supplied on the inspected page.
  • Lon Kilgore / Kilgore Academy · 1 table (kg)Men and women, ages 15–89Author combines scientific literature, published drug-tested classic/raw lifting results and coaching observation. The author resource page explicitly says the 2023 revision supersedes prior tables. No cell-level dataset or reproducible estimation code is provided.
  • The Aasgaard Company · 2 tables (lb)Adult Men / Adult WomenSource specifies Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training, 3rd edition techniques. Every bench numeric cell matches the inspected 2007 ExRx table, but level names differ. This is documented numerical identity, not proof of an unpublished licensing or authorship history.
  • ExRx.net · 1 table (lb)Adult men and womenExplanatory source credits Dr. Lon Kilgore, the training definitions in Practical Programming (Kilgore, Rippetoe, Pendlay), Starting Strength exercise technique and published lifting-performance standards. Numeric identity with the publisher-hosted 2012 Starting Strength sheet is directly established. Kilgore now says…
  • Gravitus, Inc. · 5 tables (lb)Male / Female Gravitus usersPublisher-owned app logs; best estimated 1RM per lifter, Brzycki formula, extreme outliers excluded. Asterisks designate weight points with fewer than 50 lifters, estimated by the publisher through allometric scaling. These estimated rows are retained as explicitly modelled published standards, not recomputed or repre…
  • Strength Origins · 2 tables (lb)Men / Women; raw, drug-tested, sanctioned full-power competitors, ages 16–65Publisher, not this inventory, processed OpenPowerlifting using Power Query; best-total performance per lifter-year, valid nonzero full SBD results, raw and drug-tested, weight classes rebinned to IPF style. No underlying data were downloaded or recomputed for this job.
  • BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation / Springer Nature · 2 tables (kg, ratio)47 male Australian elite police officersPrimary retrospective cohort measurements; barbell touches chest, full extension, bench contact maintained. Same lead coach across tests.
  • Quincy Police Department / Board of Fire and Police Commission · 2 tables (ratio)MALE / FEMALE police-officer applicantsOfficial agency publication attributes POWER minimums to national norms and an approximately equivalent percentile standard across age/sex groups; underlying normative dataset and edition are not named.
  • BrianMac Sports Coach · 1 table (ratio)men / womenAuthor-published coaching judgment; no cell-level dataset or derivation is given. A separate McArdle citation is used by the page’s assessment machinery, but the source does not prove these two good thresholds are that table.
  • Topend Sports / Robert Wood · 1 table (ratio)adults; both sexes as stated by the publisherThe author explicitly attributes the scores to personal experience, not a federation, research sample or ACSM norm.
  • Healthline · 1 table (lb)Men / Women, ages 18–59; page explains sex as assigned at birthThe page links ExRx for these standards. Unlike the fixed numerical 2007 ExRx/2012 Starting Strength cells, this page prints ranges. No inspected evidence establishes how those range endpoints were constructed.
  • 100% RAW Powerlifting Federation · 1 table (lb)Women competing in 100% RAW; ranking-informed performance classes, not population normsFAQ identifies PowerliftingWatch rankings, primarily 2008–2010, as the backbone of Elite standards, with formulas, federation input and judgment. Other classes are related to Elite. The female FAQ explicitly discusses limited participation and hypothetical stronger fields. No uniform male×factor derivation is stated.
  • TriageMethod · 1 table (ratio)Women using the publisher’s health-targets assessment; no sampled population disclosedPublisher explicitly sets female standards at approximately 60–75% of male standards, varying by movement. This is a stated coaching method; no fixed 0.6 factor is applied or inferred here.

What apps publish about their own users

  • Strength Level: average bench of 212 lb among male Strength Level cohort; no fixed bodyweightMethod: Self-submitted lifts feed fitted strength/bodyweight distributions. Rep sets can be converted to estimated 1RM. FAQ describes removal of implausible, duplicate, bot-like and unusually frequent entrie…. Not a general-population figure.
  • Strength Level: average bench of 112 lb among female Strength Level cohort; no fixed bodyweightMethod: Self-submitted lifts feed fitted strength/bodyweight distributions. Rep sets can be converted to estimated 1RM. FAQ describes removal of implausible, duplicate, bot-like and unusually frequent entrie…. Not a general-population figure.
  • StrengthLog / Styrkelabbet: median bench of 100 kg among male users in the 24,408-user bench standards cohortMethod: Public standards cite users’ training logs, but do not fully disclose selection, deduplication or fitting. The separate 2019 Swedish report analyzes logged single repetitions, not a stated rep-max co…. Not a general-population figure.
  • StrengthLog / Styrkelabbet: median bench of 47 kg among female users in the 24,408-user bench standards cohortMethod: Public standards cite users’ training logs, but do not fully disclose selection, deduplication or fitting. The separate 2019 Swedish report analyzes logged single repetitions, not a stated rep-max co…. Not a general-population figure.

Our own figure, for comparison: the median competitor in the data benches 281 lb127 kg (men) and 127 lb58 kg (women).

For lifters, parents and coaches

Benching at 17, answered

What is the average bench press for a 17 year old?

Nobody knows, honestly. No study has measured a representative sample of 17-year-olds on the barbell bench press, and the figures that circulate online are guesses copied between sites, so we do not print one. The closest real number is the median among 17-year-old boys who compete in our data, 231 lb105 kg, and 116 lb53 kg for girls. That is a competition benchmark, not a general-population average: the lifters who enter a meet are its strong end. The table on this page gives the level for a 17-year-old at each bodyweight instead.

What is a good bench press for a 17 year old?

For a 220 lb100 kg 17-year-old boy, Intermediate starts at 187 lb85 kg and Advanced at 243 lb110 kg. For a 154 lb70 kg girl, Intermediate starts at 88 lb40 kg and Advanced at 121 lb55 kg. Intermediate at 17 is a genuinely strong teenager.

Is it safe for a 17 year old to bench press?

Yes, with supervision and technique first. The NSCA position stand on youth resistance training finds that properly supervised, progressive training is safe for adolescents and does not stunt growth. The injuries in the research come from unsupervised lifting, ego loads and poor technique, not from the barbell.

Should a 17 year old test a one-rep max?

Not casually. Growth plates are still open at 17, and a true max is the one set where technique is most likely to break. Estimate the max from a set of three to five reps instead; it is within a few percent, and the number on this page is exactly as useful. A qualified coach can supervise a max test when there is a reason for one.

Is 17 old enough to start bench pressing?

Yes, with a qualified adult watching. The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology's position paper says there is no minimum age for resistance training in children, and the NSCA's position stand lands in the same place: what matters is qualified instruction and supervision, technique before load, and gradual progression. An empty bar and a coach's eye is the right start at 17; a max attempt is not.

Sources: Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology position paper: resistance training in children and adolescents (Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, 2008) · Youth Resistance Training: Updated Position Statement Paper From the National Strength and Conditioning Association (National Strength and Conditioning Association, 2009)

Will bench pressing at 17 stunt growth or damage growth plates?

Not when it is supervised and progressive. The NSCA's position stand found no evidence that resistance training harms growth or maturation, and the American Academy of Pediatrics' 2020 clinical report found no apparent negative effect on linear growth. The injuries in the research come from unsupervised lifting and poor technique, which is exactly why the rule at 17 is technique first and small jumps.

Sources: Youth Resistance Training: Updated Position Statement Paper From the National Strength and Conditioning Association (National Strength and Conditioning Association, 2009) · Resistance Training for Children and Adolescents (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2020)

Does a 17 year old need a spotter?

Yes, on every bench set. The NSCA's professional standards say attentive spotting must be provided on the bench press, and the American Academy of Pediatrics' guidance for parents asks for proper supervision and spotting. In a power rack, set the safeties just below chest height as well: a spotter plus safeties is how the bar never pins a 17-year-old.

Sources: NSCA Strength and Conditioning Professional Standards and Guidelines (National Strength and Conditioning Association, 2017) · Strength Training (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2011)

Should a 17 year old be able to bench their bodyweight?

It is a milestone, not a requirement. For a 220 lb100 kg 17-year-old boy, a bodyweight bench is Intermediate on the scale, and 20% of 17-year-old competitors in our data at that bodyweight bench less than it. For a 154 lb70 kg girl it is Elite, and 80% of 17-year-old competitors at that bodyweight bench less. Nobody has measured how many 17-year-olds in general can do it, and we would not guess.

How much should a 17 year old bench in kg?

The same scale, in kilograms. For a 100 kg 17-year-old boy, Intermediate starts at 85 kg and Advanced at 110 kg; for a 70 kg girl, Intermediate starts at 40 kg and Advanced at 55 kg. The lb/kg toggle at the top of the page switches every number, including the table.

My 17 year old wants a bigger bench. What should I know?

Three things. Technique before load: a coach or an experienced adult should watch the setup before any weight goes on. Progression in small steps: five pounds a week is fast at this age. And sleep, food and patience beat any program. Most of the strength a 17-year-old will ever have has not arrived yet, and the goal is to still be lifting at 25.

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Keep going

Bench press standards at 17: Intermediate from 187 lb for a 220 lb boy and from 88 lb for a 154 lb girl. Median among 17-year-old competitors in our data: boys 231 lb, girls 116 lb. Previous: Average Bench Press for a 16 Year Old. Next: Average Bench Press for a 18 Year Old.