Powerlifting Total Calculator

A powerlifting total is a simple idea with a fussy reality. Add three best lifts — squat, bench, deadlift — and you get one number that sums up a day’s lifting. But totals from different lifters are not directly comparable: a 500 kg total at 74 kg is a different achievement from a 500 kg total at 120 kg, and a total quoted without its bodyweight leaves out the context that gives it meaning.

This calculator does the whole workflow in one place. Enter your best squat, bench, and deadlift from a single meet or testing day, plus your bodyweight, and it returns your total plus four points scores: DOTS, Wilks (original), Wilks-2, and IPF GL (Classic). One set of inputs, five outputs, each labelled with the system it belongs to.

Keeping the five together matters because lifters usually need more than one at once — the total for the record, DOTS for a federation-style comparison, Wilks and Wilks-2 for reading older and newer results, GL for IPF-style comparison. One input removes the copying errors that creep in when the same lifts are typed into three separate tools. The scoring math follows the published definitions for each system.

Strength tools / Total

Powerlifting Total Calculator

Squat + bench + deadlift → total, DOTS, Wilks, Wilks-2 and IPF GL in one workflow.

Method: total = squat + bench + deadlift. DOTS, Wilks, Wilks-2 and IPF GL (classic) use the same published formulas and coefficients as the standalone DOTS, Wilks and IPF GL calculators (see those pages for the full coefficient lists). GL points (≈50–110; not comparable to DOTS/Wilks). Estimates only.

Estimates only — see our Disclaimer.

How it works

The total

Total = squat + bench + deadlift.

All three lifts must come from the same meet or the same testing day, and all three must be in the same unit. The total is the sum of the three best successful lifts — one per lift — not the sum of every attempt.

The points

  • DOTS. Total × DOTS coefficient, using the published DOTS coefficient set for the sex and bodyweight entered. DOTS is a powerlifting scoring system used by some federations as a successor to Wilks; it is distinct from IPF GL points (the IPF’s own system).
  • Wilks (original). Total × Wilks coefficient, using the published original-Wilks coefficient set for the sex and bodyweight entered. Wilks is the earlier system, still useful for reading older results.
  • Wilks-2 (2020). Total × Wilks-2 coefficient, using the published Wilks-2 coefficient set for the sex and bodyweight entered. The 2020 revision, shown alongside the original so older and newer results can be compared.
  • IPF GL (Classic). Total × GL coefficient, using the published Classic (raw) GL coefficient set for the sex and bodyweight entered. The tool uses the Classic set only — there is no equipped GL option here.

The four points numbers are on different scales. A DOTS score, a Wilks score, a Wilks-2 score, and a GL score for the same total are not equal, and none can be converted into another by a fixed factor.

What to enter

  • Squat, bench, deadlift. Best successful lift in each, from one day, in the same unit.
  • Bodyweight. Weigh-in bodyweight. The DOTS and Wilks coefficients both depend on it, so use the weighed figure rather than a class label.
  • Sex. Male or female coefficient set. Both systems publish separate sets.

Honest limits

  • The total is only as honest as its three inputs. Gym lifts with loose judging are not meet lifts, even when the numbers match.
  • DOTS, Wilks, Wilks-2, and GL describe an average bodyweight-to-strength relationship fitted to group data. They do not describe any individual lifter’s build.
  • Points compare totals across bodyweights within powerlifting. They do not compare across sports, across sexes, or across different lift selections.
  • Mixing lifts from different days into one total produces a total nobody lifted. Keep the three lifts on one day.

FAQs

Best successful lifts — one per lift. A missed attempt does not count, even if the weight was on the bar. The total is the sum of the heaviest lift you completed in each of the three lifts.

No. Enter all three lifts in the same unit. If your log mixes units, convert two of the lifts before you type them in, so the total is a sum of like with like.

A total on its own has no bodyweight context — 500 kg means something different at 74 kg than at 120 kg. The anchored answer is on this page: the DOTS, Wilks, Wilks-2, and IPF GL scores next to your total. They each adjust the same total for bodyweight on their own scale. Compare your score against your own past scores on the same system, or against lifters scored on the same system. For what each scale means, see the DOTS Calculator, the Wilks Calculator, and the IPF GL Calculator.

Pick an opener you can hit on any day — a weight you have already lifted in training with good form, usually around 90–92% of your planned max. Take small jumps from there: the second attempt is the one you expect to make, and the third is the reach — a small personal record if the day is going well. Big jumps between attempts waste the day: a missed second leaves you with one shot at a weight you have never made. If you miss an attempt, repeat the weight rather than jumping higher.

Because they are different scoring systems with different curves and different scales. The same total at the same bodyweight earns a different number on each scale. Compare DOTS with DOTS, Wilks with Wilks, Wilks-2 with Wilks-2, and GL with GL, and label each number with its system.

Every 8–12 weeks is typical — frequent enough to see real progress, infrequent enough that normal week-to-week fluctuation does not swamp the signal. Retesting every week mostly measures noise.

No. Equipped lifting with a squat suit or bench shirt produces meaningfully higher totals that are not directly comparable with raw totals. Compare raw with raw and equipped with equipped, and label the style when you quote a total.

The total here is the three-lift powerlifting total: squat + bench + deadlift. A push/pull total or a single-lift result is a different total, and the points systems were designed for the three-lift format. Enter only a three-lift total for a points score in the sense these systems define.

If your bodyweight rose by more than your total did, the coefficient fell by more than the total rose. DOTS credits the total relative to bodyweight, so a heavier bodyweight needs a larger total gain to hold the same score.

See also