Wilks Calculator: Wilks Score and Wilks Formula

Wilks calculator

Unit

Total

Squat, bench press and deadlift added together.

Body weight

lb

Formula category

DOTS and Wilks each have a men's formula and a women's formula, with different coefficients.

How it works. Enter a total and body weight in the same unit and choose a formula category. The calculator converts pounds at 0.45359237 kg per lb, applies DOTS and the original Wilks formula as defined in the OpenPowerlifting source code, and rounds each score to 2 decimals.

The calculation runs in your browser.

What a Wilks score is

The Wilks score turns a powerlifting total into a number adjusted for body weight, so a lighter lifter and a heavier lifter can be compared on one scale. It is the total multiplied by the Wilks coefficient, a multiplier that depends on body weight. Within the same formula and formula category, a higher score represents a larger total relative to body weight under that formula. Robert Wilks developed the formula.

The Wilks formula

Wilks score = total × 500 / (a + b × bw + c × bw² + d × bw³ + e × bw⁴ + f × bw⁵)

Total and body weight (bw) are in kilograms. This calculator uses the original Wilks formula with the coefficients below, as in the OpenPowerlifting source code. It does not use the 2020 update to the formula, which has different coefficients and a 600 point scale, so its scores are not comparable with these. OpenPowerlifting limits body weight to 40 to 201.9 kg for the men's formula and 26.51 to 154.53 kg for the women's formula. Outside that range, the calculator uses the nearest end of it, as OpenPowerlifting does.

Men's formula
a	`-216.0475144`
b	`16.2606339`
c	`-0.002388645`
d	`-0.00113732`
e	`0.00000701863`
f	`-0.00000001291`

Women's formula
a	`594.31747775582`
b	`-27.23842536447`
c	`0.82112226871`
d	`-0.00930733913`
e	`0.00004731582`
f	`-0.00000009054`

Wilks, DOTS and other formulas

Powerlifting federations use different scoring formulas. The IPF uses its own GL points, which this page does not calculate. Wilks and DOTS are different formulas, so a Wilks score and a DOTS score for the same total are different numbers. Compare scores from the same formula.

Example

A 600 kg total at 90 kg body weight with the men's formula gives a Wilks score of 383.04 and a DOTS score of 387.96. A 500 kg total at 60 kg with the women's formula gives a Wilks score of 557.44 and a DOTS score of 554.27. In pounds, a 1150 lb total at 185 lb with the men's formula gives a Wilks score of 345.96 and a DOTS score of 350.00.

Questions

What is a Wilks score?

A score that adjusts a powerlifting total for body weight, so lifters of different body weights can be compared.

What is the Wilks formula?

Total × 500, divided by a fifth degree polynomial of body weight, with total and body weight in kg. The men's and women's formulas use different coefficients, shown above.

Which version of the Wilks formula does this use?

The original formula. It does not use the 2020 update, which has different coefficients and a 600 point scale.

Does this calculate IPF GL points?

No. The IPF uses its own GL points, which this page does not calculate.

For coaches

Wolvec is an AI platform for fitness coaches and online personal trainers, the whole coaching setup rather than an add-on to it.

Wilks calculator