Age 17 · boys and girls · the scale by bodyweight, not a guessed average
Average Squat for a 17 Year Old
There is no reliable average squat 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
- 331 lb150 kg
- Novice from 276 lb125 kg · Advanced from 496 lb225 kg · Elite from 606 lb275 kg
- Girls · 14365–16575 lbkg · Intermediate from
- 193 lb88 kg
- Novice from 116 lb53 kg · Advanced from 231 lb105 kg · Elite from 309 lb140 kg
Boys · 220 lb100 kg bodyweight · age 17
- Beginner
- from the bar
- Novice
- from 276125
- Intermediate
- from 331150
- Advanced
- from 496225
- Elite
- from 606275
- World Class
- from 728330
Girls · 154 lb70 kg bodyweight · age 17
The markers are the median among 17-year-olds who compete in our data: 364 lb165 kg for boys, 215 lb98 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 squat 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.
331 × 3 ≈ 364 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 squat
364lb
Intermediate
at or above 25% of boys competing in the data aged 17 at your bodyweight
A 1.66× bodyweight squat is Intermediate for a 220 lb100 kg boy at 17. Advanced starts at 495 lb225 kg, 131 lb59 kg away.
Standards at 17
Squat standards for 17 year olds, by bodyweight
| Bodyweight | Beginner | Novice | Intermediate | Advanced | Elite | World Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| under 14365 | 45201% | 165752% | 198908% | 29813558% | 36416587% | 43719899% |
| 14365–16575 | 45201% | 193882% | 2311056% | 34715757% | 42419290% | 50923199% |
| 16575–18785 | 45201% | 2201002% | 2651208% | 39718065% | 48522095% | 582264100% |
| 18785–20995 | 45201% | 2481123% | 29813510% | 44620277% | 54624898% | 655297100% |
| 20995–231105rail row | 45201% | 2761255% | 33115015% | 49622586% | 60627599% | 728330100% |
| 231105–254115 | 45201% | 3031379% | 36416524% | 54624894% | 667303100% | 800363100% |
| 254115–276125 | 45201% | 33115011% | 39718034% | 59527094% | 728330100% | 873396100% |
| 276125+ | 45201% | 36516626% | 43819954% | 65729899% | 803364100% | 964437100% |
| Bodyweight | Beginner | Novice | Intermediate | Advanced | Elite | World Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| under 12155 | 45201% | 83382% | 1386320% | 1657535% | 22010082% | 26512097% |
| 12155–14365 | 45201% | 99451% | 1657520% | 1989040% | 26512087% | 31714497% |
| 14365–16575rail row | 45201% | 116531% | 1938820% | 23110550% | 30914093% | 370168100% |
| 16575+ | 45201% | 132602% | 22010036% | 26512065% | 35316098% | 423192100% |
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 squat less than it. Reaching 331 lb150 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 squats 22 lb10 kg more than the median 17-year-old; the median girl 11 lb5 kg more. 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
Squatting 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.
- Gradual progression under qualified instruction, and attentive spotting on every heavy squat. In practice that means technique before load, small jumps, and the rack's safeties set.
In practice: a coach, PE teacher or experienced adult checks the set-up and the depth before load goes on; every heavy set is inside a rack with the safeties set; 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 grinder with a friend behind you. 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
- 364165 / 21598
- Age 18
- 386175 / 226103
Boys / girls, lbkg: the median squat 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 1,160,161 verified squat attempts by 422,537 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 squat, 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 squat less at the median than untested ones (men: 408 lb vs 430 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 back squat taken to competition depth, hip crease below the top of the knee, high bar or low bar, in sleeves or bare knees. That is the lift a meet judges and the one the competition percentiles come from. A squat cut above parallel is an easier lift and will not compare.
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 squat inside a rack with the safeties set, or with two spotters. 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: 422,537 raw lifters (best successful competition squat each), sanctioned meets only, para and equipped divisions excluded.
- Stronger's Strength Score scale for the squatStrongerThe 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
- NSCA Strength and Conditioning Professional Standards and GuidelinesNational Strength and Conditioning Association / Strength and Conditioning Journal2017-12NSCA: NSCA Strength and Conditioning Professional Standards and Guidelines
- 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 squat standardsStrength LevelA published table we compare our six levels against (self-submitted user data).
For lifters, parents and coaches
Squatting at 17, answered
What is the average squat for a 17 year old?
Nobody knows, honestly. No study has measured a representative sample of 17-year-olds on the barbell squat, 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, 364 lb165 kg, and 215 lb98 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 squat for a 17 year old?
For a 220 lb100 kg 17-year-old boy, Intermediate starts at 331 lb150 kg and Advanced at 496 lb225 kg. For a 154 lb70 kg girl, Intermediate starts at 193 lb88 kg and Advanced at 231 lb105 kg. Intermediate at 17 is a genuinely strong teenager.
Is it safe for a 17 year old to squat?
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 squatting?
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 squatting 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. 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)
Does a 17 year old need a spotter to squat?
A rack with the safeties set, every set, and a spotter or coach on the heavy ones. The NSCA's professional standards say attentive spotting must be provided, and the American Academy of Pediatrics' guidance for parents asks for proper supervision and spotting. Set the safeties just below the bottom of the squat and teach the 17-year-old to dump the bar onto them before the first heavy set: the rack is the spotter that never misjudges a rep.
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 squat their bodyweight?
It is a milestone, not a requirement. For a 220 lb100 kg 17-year-old boy, a bodyweight squat is Beginner on the scale, and 1% of 17-year-old competitors in our data at that bodyweight squat less than it. For a 154 lb70 kg girl it is Novice, and 8% of 17-year-old competitors at that bodyweight squat 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 squat in kg?
The same scale, in kilograms. For a 100 kg 17-year-old boy, Intermediate starts at 150 kg and Advanced at 225 kg; for a 70 kg girl, Intermediate starts at 88 kg and Advanced at 105 kg. The lb/kg toggle at the top of the page switches every number, including the table.
My 17 year old wants a bigger squat. 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.
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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Squat standards at 17: Intermediate from 331 lb for a 220 lb boy and from 193 lb for a 154 lb girl. Median among 17-year-old competitors in our data: boys 364 lb, girls 215 lb. Previous: Average Squat for a 16 Year Old. Next: Average Squat for a 18 Year Old.