Age 18 · boys and girls · the scale by bodyweight, not a guessed average
Average Deadlift for a 18 Year Old
There is no reliable average deadlift for a 18-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 18-year-olds who actually compete.
- Boys · 20995–231105 lbkg · Intermediate from
- 441 lb200 kg
- Novice from 331 lb150 kg · Advanced from 551 lb250 kg · Elite from 661 lb300 kg
- Girls · 14365–16575 lbkg · Intermediate from
- 193 lb88 kg
- Novice from 154 lb70 kg · Advanced from 270 lb122 kg · Elite from 386 lb175 kg
Boys · 220 lb100 kg bodyweight · age 18
- Beginner
- from the bar
- Novice
- from 331150
- Intermediate
- from 441200
- Advanced
- from 551250
- Elite
- from 661300
- World Class
- from 794360
Girls · 154 lb70 kg bodyweight · age 18
The markers are the median among 18-year-olds who compete in our data: 452 lb205 kg for boys, 270 lb122 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 deadlift sit at 18?
Scored against 18-year-olds, not adults. Enter a set of up to twelve reps and we estimate the max; you do not need to test one.
441 × 3 ≈ 485 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 deadlift
485lb
Intermediate
at or above 45% of boys competing in the data aged 18 at your bodyweight
A 2.21× bodyweight deadlift is Intermediate for a 220 lb100 kg boy at 18. Advanced starts at 550 lb249 kg, 65 lb29 kg away.
Standards at 18
Deadlift standards for 18 year olds, by bodyweight
| Bodyweight | Beginner | Novice | Intermediate | Advanced | Elite | World Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| under 14365 | 45201% | 198901% | 2651208% | 33115030% | 39718065% | 47621693% |
| 14365–16575 | 45201% | 2311051% | 3091406% | 38617530% | 46321075% | 55625297% |
| 16575–18785 | 45201% | 2651201% | 3531609% | 44120045% | 52924085% | 63528899% |
| 18785–20995 | 45201% | 2981351% | 39718013% | 49622555% | 59527092% | 714324100% |
| 20995–231105rail row | 45201% | 3311502% | 44120025% | 55125078% | 66130098% | 794360100% |
| 231105–254115 | 45201% | 3641653% | 48522040% | 60627591% | 728330100% | 873396100% |
| 254115–276125 | 45201% | 3971807% | 52924055% | 66130097% | 794360100% | 952432100% |
| 276125+ | 45201% | 43819928% | 58426585% | 730331100% | 876397100% | 1,052477100% |
| Bodyweight | Beginner | Novice | Intermediate | Advanced | Elite | World Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| under 12155 | 45201% | 110501% | 138634% | 1938823% | 27612583% | 33115098% |
| 12155–14365 | 45201% | 132601% | 165752% | 23110525% | 33115088% | 39718099% |
| 14365–16575rail row | 45201% | 154701% | 193884% | 27012238% | 38617595% | 463210100% |
| 16575+ | 45201% | 176801% | 2201008% | 30914061% | 44120099% | 529240100% |
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 18-year-olds who compete in our data and deadlift less than it. Reaching 441 lb200 kg at 20995–231105 is Intermediate on the scale, and the figure beneath it tells you how rare that is at 18. Only brackets with at least a hundred 18-year-old competitors are shown; the top one is open-ended.
13 to 18
How 18 compares to the ages around it
Eighteen is where the teenage curve hands over to the adult standards. Every point is a link.
boys, median competitor girls, median competitorage · lbkg · among lifters of that age who compete in our data
Training at this age
Deadlifting at 18: 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.
- Gradual progression under qualified instruction and supervision. A deadlift is not spotted the way a squat is, so the supervision goes on the set-up and the back position on every rep.
In practice: a coach, PE teacher or experienced adult checks the set-up and the back position before load goes on; every rep starts with the back set and ends on the floor, with no dropping from the top; 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 rounded-back grinder. The Youth Resistance Training: Updated Position Statement Paper From the National Strength and Conditioning Association is the reference we build on.
Median competitor, 18 to 18
- Age 18
- 452205 / 270122
Boys / girls, lbkg: the median deadlift 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 18-year-old should expect.
How we calculate
Where these numbers come from
Percentiles are built from 1,366,901 verified deadlift attempts by 480,472 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 deadlift, 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 deadlift less at the median than untested ones (men: 474 lb vs 496 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. The app divides your best estimated one-rep max by your bodyweight and compares it with a set of multipliers for each lift, so each cutoff is the floor of its band for that bodyweight, and crossing it puts you in. World Class starts at 1.2 times the Elite floor. 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.
The lift. The standards assume a barbell deadlift from the floor on a standard bar, conventional or sumo, no straps, pulled in one movement, locked out and held. That is the lift a meet judges and the one the competition percentiles come from. Trap-bar pulls, rack pulls and strapped maxes are different lifts.
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 keep the back set and put the bar down the moment the position goes; a deadlift needs no spotter. 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
- OpenPowerlifting open datasetOpenPowerlifting project2026-09-05CC0Percentile curves, milestone shares, age curves and population counts: 480,472 raw lifters (best successful competition deadlift each), sanctioned meets only, para and equipped divisions excluded.
- Stronger's Strength Score scale for the deadliftStrongerThe six level floors per sex and bodyweight bracket, exactly as the app scores a lift.
- Youth Resistance Training: Updated Position Statement Paper From the National Strength and Conditioning AssociationNational Strength and Conditioning Association / Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research2009-08NSCA: Youth Resistance Training: Updated Position Statement Paper From the National Strength and Conditioning Association
- Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology position paper: resistance training in children and adolescentsCanadian Society for Exercise Physiology / Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism; abstract hosted by NLM2008-06Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology: Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology position paper: resistance training in children and adolescents
- Strength TrainingAmerican Academy of Pediatrics / HealthyChildren.org2011-07-08American Academy of Pediatrics: Strength Training
1 more cited source
- Strength Level deadlift standardsStrength LevelA published table we compare our six levels against (self-submitted user data).
For lifters, parents and coaches
Deadlifting at 18, answered
What is the average deadlift for a 18 year old?
Nobody knows, honestly. No study has measured a representative sample of 18-year-olds on the barbell deadlift, 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 18-year-old boys who compete in our data, 452 lb205 kg, and 270 lb122 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 18-year-old at each bodyweight instead.
What is a good deadlift for a 18 year old?
For a 220 lb100 kg 18-year-old boy, Intermediate starts at 441 lb200 kg and Advanced at 551 lb250 kg. For a 154 lb70 kg girl, Intermediate starts at 193 lb88 kg and Advanced at 270 lb122 kg. Intermediate at 18 is a genuinely strong teenager.
Is it safe for a 18 year old to deadlift?
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 18 year old test a one-rep max?
Not casually. Growth plates are still open at 18, 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 18 old enough to start deadlifting?
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 18; 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 deadlifting at 18 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. The injuries in the research come from unsupervised lifting and poor technique, which is exactly why the rule at 18 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)
Does a 18 year old need a spotter to deadlift?
Not a spotter in the way a squat or bench needs one: a deadlift cannot pin anyone, and if the position goes, the bar goes down. What a 18-year-old does need is supervision, a coach's eye on the set-up and the back position on every rep, which is what the guidance asks for: gradual progression under qualified instruction and supervision. Bumper plates or a rubber floor, a bar that starts at the right height, and no dropping from the top.
Sources: Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology position paper: resistance training in children and adolescents (Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, 2008)
Should a 18 year old be able to deadlift their bodyweight?
It is a milestone, not a requirement. For a 220 lb100 kg 18-year-old boy, a bodyweight deadlift is Beginner on the scale, and 1% of 18-year-old competitors in our data at that bodyweight deadlift less than it. For a 154 lb70 kg girl it is Novice, and 1% of 18-year-old competitors at that bodyweight deadlift less. Nobody has measured how many 18-year-olds in general can do it, and we would not guess.
How much should a 18 year old deadlift in kg?
The same scale, in kilograms. For a 100 kg 18-year-old boy, Intermediate starts at 200 kg and Advanced at 250 kg; for a 70 kg girl, Intermediate starts at 88 kg and Advanced at 122 kg. The lb/kg toggle at the top of the page switches every number, including the table.
My 18 year old wants a bigger deadlift. 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 18-year-old will ever have has not arrived yet, and the goal is to still be lifting at 25.
Track the number as it climbs, against lifters your age.
Stronger scores every set against standards adjusted for your bodyweight and sex, shows which muscle is lagging, and keeps the log so the progress is visible week to week. Technique first; the app keeps the score.
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Deadlift standards at 18: Intermediate from 441 lb for a 220 lb boy and from 193 lb for a 154 lb girl. Median among 18-year-old competitors in our data: boys 452 lb, girls 270 lb. Previous: Average Deadlift for a 17 Year Old.