Skip to content
lever military press strength standards

What is a good lever military press?

For a 180 lb male, an Intermediate lever military press is about 113 lb (0.63x bodyweight). Advanced starts around 147 lb. Enter your own bodyweight below to get the exact standard and FVCP rank.

Good target 113 lb Intermediate at 180 lb
Next tier 147 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 lever military press

A solid (Intermediate) lever military press for a 180 lb male is about 113 lb (0.63x bodyweight). Use the calculator below to convert your own lever military press into an FVCP percentile for your bodyweight. An Advanced lifter at this weight reaches 147 lb (0.82x bodyweight).

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

lever military press demonstration
Estimated Standards

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

Primary Muscles delts
Equipment lever
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 lever military press?

Intermediate (competition scale)
Typical FVCP: 50th percentile
A 180 lb male lifting 113 lbs (0.63x bodyweight) on the lever 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.

Help improve accuracy for everyone
Share your FVCP with friends
Thanks for contributing! lifters have shared their data for this exercise.
to track your progress over time.

Reader Data Is Still Building

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

113 lb Typical 1RM (Intermediate)
0.63x 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 lever 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 25 42 65 91 122
120 30 48 72 101 132
130 35 55 80 109 141
140 40 60 87 117 151
150 44 66 94 126 160
160 49 72 100 133 168
170 54 77 106 140 177
180 59 83 113 147 186
190 62 88 119 154 193
200 67 93 125 161 200
210 71 98 131 168 208
220 76 103 137 175 215
230 80 108 142 181 222
240 83 112 147 186 229
250 87 117 153 193 236
260 91 122 158 198 242
270 95 126 163 204 248
280 99 130 168 210 254
290 103 135 172 215 260
300 106 139 177 220 266
310 110 143 182 225 271

Is Your lever military press Good?

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

Men (180 lb): a good (Intermediate) lever military press is about 113 lb (0.63x bodyweight). Advanced lifters hit 147 lb (0.82x), and Elite is 186 lb (1.03x).

Women (140 lb): a good (Intermediate) lever military press is about 57 lb (0.41x bodyweight). Advanced lifters hit 80 lb (0.57x), and Elite is 107 lb (0.76x).

How Much Should You Be Able to lever military press?

Men: a 180 lb male should lift about 113 lb at an Intermediate level (a beginner target is around 59 lb).

Women: a 140 lb female should lift about 57 lb at an Intermediate level (a beginner target is around 23 lb).

By bodyweight (men): A 150 lb lifter lifts about 94 lb, and a 220 lb lifter lifts about 137 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 111 lb, while by age 50 the Intermediate standard is about 98 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 lever military press Strength?

How lever 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 44 66 94 128 165
20 50 76 108 146 188
25 51 77 111 150 193
30 51 77 111 150 193
35 51 77 111 150 193
40 51 77 111 150 193
45 48 73 105 142 183
50 45 69 98 133 172
55 42 64 91 123 159
60 38 59 83 113 145
65 35 52 75 102 131
70 31 48 68 91 118
75 28 42 60 82 105
80 25 37 54 73 94
85 23 34 48 66 84
90 20 30 44 59 76

What Do lever military press Strength Standards Mean?

Beginner

Stronger than 5% of lifters. You are learning the movement on the lever 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 lever 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 lever 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 lever 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 lever 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 lever military press

Tier-specific training recommendations to move your lever military press to the next level.

Beginner → Novice Building Your Foundation
  • Train the lever 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 lever 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 lever 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 lever 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 lever military press

["Adjust the seat height and position yourself on the machine with your back against the backrest.","Grasp the handles with an overhand grip and position your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.","Push the handles upward until your arms are fully extended, but do not lock your elbows.","Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower the handles back down to the starting position.","Repeat for the desired number of repetitions."]

Read the complete lever military press guide on FitnessVolt →

Where Do These lever 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 lever military press Good for Your Weight?

Use this page to compare your lever 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 lever 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" lever 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 lever 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.

Related Exercise Standards

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.