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barbell standing wide military press strength standards

What is a good barbell standing wide military press?

For a 180 lb male, an Intermediate barbell standing wide military press is about 133 lb (0.74x bodyweight). Advanced starts around 174 lb. Enter your own bodyweight below to get the exact standard and FVCP rank.

Good target 133 lb Intermediate at 180 lb
Next tier 174 lb Advanced standard
Gym median Separate tab Self-reported, not blended
Check My Level Estimate Your 1RM Methodology
Evidence ledger No blended rankings
Primary source FitnessVolt standards model
Available views Standards
Coverage 21 bodyweights × 5 levels

Competition results, gym submissions, and reader logs stay labeled separately so the ranking source is clear.

Quick Answer barbell standing wide military press

A solid (Intermediate) barbell standing wide military press for a 180 lb male is about 133 lb (0.74x bodyweight). Use the calculator below to convert your own barbell standing wide military press into an FVCP percentile for your bodyweight. An Advanced lifter at this weight reaches 174 lb (0.97x bodyweight).

FitnessVolt standards, with FVCP competition rankings shown separately from gym percentiles

barbell standing wide military press demonstration
Estimated Standards

How strong is your barbell standing wide military press? Compare your 1RM against standards for 21 bodyweight categories, from Beginner to Elite.

Primary Muscles delts
Equipment barbell
Standards Coverage 21 bodyweights × 5 levels
Difficulty Intermediate
Type Compound

Estimated Standards - The level table for this exercise is modeled from FitnessVolt strength ratios for a related base lift, not from direct measurements of this movement. Learn about our methodology

How Strong Is Your barbell standing wide military press?

Intermediate (competition scale)
Typical FVCP: 50th percentile
A 180 lb male lifting 133 lbs (0.74x bodyweight) on the barbell standing wide military press ranks Intermediate on the FVCP competition scale, stronger than ~50% of verified competition lifters at this bodyweight. Enter your own numbers above to see where you stand.

That clears the median for this bodyweight and gives you a useful benchmark for the next tier.

Over 40? Our calculator also reports an age-adjusted percentile and an age-30 equivalent using the McCulloch age factor, so masters lifters are compared to lifters their own age. See the age-adjusted (Masters 40+) standards below for the full breakdown.

FVCP competition ranking, shown separately from gym percentiles and reader logs
Your FVCP:
Age-adjusted percentile
lb Age-30 equivalent 1RM

FVCP competition ranking, shown separately from gym percentiles and reader logs
th percentile

Illustrative: a normal-distribution model anchored to the real Beginner to Elite percentile thresholds for your bodyweight. The marker shows where your lift falls, not a measured frequency count.

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to track your progress over time.

Reader Data Is Still Building

We do not have enough reader-submitted barbell standing wide military press entries yet to publish a stable crowd benchmark. Until then, this panel shows the Intermediate standards baseline only:

133 lb Typical 1RM (Intermediate)
0.74x x Bodyweight

Baseline figures for a 180 lb male at Intermediate level, from the standards table. This is not reader-submitted data. So far readers have logged a lift here.

Enter your numbers above first. We publish reader benchmarks only after a sample threshold is met.

How Much Should You barbell standing wide military press?

Use this table to find the standard closest to your bodyweight. The tiers are standards, not claims about reader submissions.

How a male lifter's expected 1RM scales with bodyweight at each level. Exact numbers in the table below.

BW (lbs) Beginner Novice Intermediate Advanced Elite
110 29 50 76 108 144
120 36 57 85 119 155
130 41 64 94 129 167
140 47 71 102 138 178
150 52 78 110 148 189
160 58 85 118 156 199
170 63 91 125 166 209
180 69 98 133 174 219
190 74 104 140 182 228
200 79 109 147 190 236
210 84 116 155 198 246
220 89 121 161 206 254
230 94 127 167 213 262
240 98 132 174 220 270
250 103 138 180 227 278
260 108 144 186 234 285
270 112 148 192 241 293
280 117 154 198 247 300
290 121 159 203 254 306
300 125 164 209 259 314
310 130 168 214 266 320

Is Your barbell standing wide military press Good?

A quick read on what counts as a good barbell standing wide military press at each level, for a typical male and female lifter.

Men (180 lb): a good (Intermediate) barbell standing wide military press is about 133 lb (0.74x bodyweight). Advanced lifters hit 174 lb (0.97x), and Elite is 219 lb (1.22x).

Women (140 lb): a good (Intermediate) barbell standing wide military press is about 67 lb (0.48x bodyweight). Advanced lifters hit 95 lb (0.68x), and Elite is 126 lb (0.9x).

How Much Should You Be Able to barbell standing wide military press?

Men: a 180 lb male should lift about 133 lb at an Intermediate level (a beginner target is around 69 lb).

Women: a 140 lb female should lift about 67 lb at an Intermediate level (a beginner target is around 27 lb).

By bodyweight (men): A 150 lb lifter lifts about 110 lb, and a 220 lb lifter lifts about 161 lb at an Intermediate level. Find your exact bodyweight in the table above.

By age (men): at an Intermediate level a 30 year old male lifts about 131 lb, while by age 50 the Intermediate standard is about 116 lb. See the By Age tab for every age band.

FitnessVolt standards, with FVCP competition rankings shown separately from gym percentiles

How Does Age Affect barbell standing wide military press Strength?

How barbell standing wide military press standards change across different age groups. Values represent a 1RM in lbs.

How a male lifter's expected 1RM changes with age at each level. Exact numbers in the table below.

Age Beginner Novice Intermediate Advanced Elite
15 52 78 111 151 194
20 59 89 127 172 222
25 61 91 131 177 228
30 61 91 131 177 228
35 61 91 131 177 228
40 61 91 131 177 228
45 57 86 124 167 216
50 53 81 116 157 202
55 50 75 108 145 188
60 45 69 98 133 171
65 41 62 88 121 155
70 37 56 80 108 139
75 33 50 71 97 124
80 29 44 63 86 111
85 27 40 57 77 99
90 24 36 52 70 89

What Do barbell standing wide military press Strength Standards Mean?

Beginner

Stronger than 5% of lifters. You are learning the bar path and loading on the barbell standing wide military press, building the controlled movement pattern and mind-muscle connection needed to train the target muscle effectively.

Novice

Stronger than 20% of lifters. You can perform the barbell standing wide military press with strict form and a smooth tempo. You are adding resistance progressively without sacrificing range of motion or using body English.

Intermediate

Stronger than 50% of lifters. Your barbell standing wide military press is performed with excellent control and targeted tension. You use RPE to manage isolation work intensity and program it strategically within your training split.

Advanced

Stronger than 80% of lifters. You have built significant strength on the barbell standing wide military press through disciplined, progressive training. You employ advanced techniques like drop sets, pauses, and tempo work to continue driving adaptation.

Elite

Stronger than 95% of lifters. Your barbell standing wide military press strength is at the upper end of what most lifters achieve. You have maximized the target muscle development through years of focused, periodized isolation work.

How to Progress Your barbell standing wide military press

Tier-specific training recommendations to move your barbell standing wide military press to the next level.

Beginner → Novice Building Your Foundation
  • Train the barbell standing wide military press 2x per week with slow, controlled reps.
  • Focus on full range of motion and eliminating momentum or swinging.
  • Keep sets at RPE 6-7 to develop proper movement patterns.
  • Build the mind-muscle connection - feel the target muscle working on every rep.
Track progress with the one rep max calculator →
Novice → Intermediate Structured Progression
  • Increase load progressively while keeping strict form on the barbell standing wide military press.
  • Program 3-4 sets of 8-15 reps at RPE 7-8.
  • Add a variation (different grip, angle, or equipment) to address development gaps.
  • Place isolation work after your primary compound movements.
Plan your RPE-based sessions →
Intermediate → Advanced Advanced Isolation Techniques
  • Use drop sets, paused reps, and partial reps to break through barbell standing wide military press plateaus.
  • Train at RPE 8-9 with advanced intensity techniques on your last 1-2 sets.
  • Manipulate tempo to increase time under tension without compromising form.
  • Manage total volume for the target muscle group across all exercises.
Calculate working set loads →
Advanced → Elite Mastery
  • Maximize barbell standing wide military press strength through precise programming and fatigue management.
  • Use periodized blocks to cycle between volume, intensity, and deload phases.
  • Quality of contraction matters more than load at this level.
  • Continuous refinement of technique will yield the remaining gains.
View RPE-to-percentage chart →

How to Perform barbell standing wide military press

["Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold the barbell with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width.","Lift the barbell to shoulder height, keeping your elbows slightly in front of the bar.","Press the barbell overhead, extending your arms fully.","Lower the barbell back to shoulder height and repeat for the desired number of repetitions."]

Read the complete barbell standing wide military press guide on FitnessVolt →

Where Do These barbell standing wide military press Standards Come From?

FitnessVolt keeps each data population labeled. Competition percentiles use verified raw meet results where available. Gym percentile tabs use self-reported Symmetric Strength data. Reader-submitted benchmarks appear only after enough entries are logged for this lift.

Standards data last refreshed: March 29, 2026

Is Your barbell standing wide military press Good for Your Weight?

Use this page to compare your barbell standing wide military press against clearly labeled standards and percentile datasets. Here is the cleanest way to read it:

  1. Start with Standards to find the tier closest to your bodyweight.
  2. Use Gym Percentiles when you want self-reported gym comparisons.
  3. Use Competition for verified meet-result percentiles where the lift supports it.
  4. Use By Age when age-segmented gym data is available.

If you do not know your 1RM, use the one rep max calculator to estimate it from any rep set. For example, if you can barbell standing wide military press 185 lbs for 5 reps, the calculator will estimate your max.

The important rule: do not mix the tabs. Standards, gym percentiles, competition percentiles, and reader logs answer different questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

A "good" barbell standing wide military press depends on your bodyweight, sex, and training background. The Intermediate tier is a useful first serious target, while Advanced and Elite represent much harder standards. Use the table above for the number closest to your bodyweight.
Many lifters can reach the Intermediate tier on the barbell standing wide military press after steady training, but the timeline depends on starting point, technique, programming, recovery, and bodyweight changes. Treat the tier as a benchmark, not a deadline.
Yes. Competition views use verified meet-result data where available, gym percentile views use self-reported gym cohorts, and reader-submitted benchmarks are shown only after enough entries are logged. The populations are labeled separately.
For weighted lifts, enter a clean raw 1RM or an estimated 1RM from a recent hard set. For rep-based movements, enter controlled full-range reps. Avoid equipped lifts, partial reps, or bounced reps unless you are comparing against the same style every time.

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Related Calculators

One Rep Max Calculator Estimate your one-rep max from any rep set Benchmarks Compare against competition data RPE Chart Training load percentages by RPE
Written by Tom Miller, CSCS · Reviewed by Editorial Team
Tom Miller, CSCS, is a Sr. Editor & Content Strategist with 10 years of experience in Powerlifting and Personal Training. As a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, he is dedicated to delivering informative, engaging, and reliable health and fitness content. His work has been featured on websites including the-sun.com, Well+Good, Bleacher Report, Muscle and Fitness, UpJourney, Business Insider, NewsBreak and more.