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lever pullover strength standards

What is a good lever pullover?

For a 180 lb male, an Intermediate lever pullover is about 99 lb (0.55x bodyweight). Advanced starts around 128 lb. Enter your own bodyweight below to get the exact standard and FVCP rank.

Good target 99 lb Intermediate at 180 lb
Next tier 128 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 pullover

A solid (Intermediate) lever pullover for a 180 lb male is about 99 lb (0.55x bodyweight). Use the calculator below to convert your own lever pullover into an FVCP percentile for your bodyweight. An Advanced lifter at this weight reaches 128 lb (0.71x bodyweight).

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

lever pullover demonstration
Estimated Standards

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

Primary Muscles lats
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 pullover?

Intermediate (competition scale)
Typical FVCP: 50th percentile
A 180 lb male lifting 99 lbs (0.55x bodyweight) on the lever pullover 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 lever pullover entries yet to publish a stable crowd benchmark. Until then, this panel shows the Intermediate standards baseline only:

99 lb Typical 1RM (Intermediate)
0.55x 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 pullover?

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 24 38 56 78 102
120 28 44 63 86 111
130 33 49 69 94 120
140 37 54 76 101 128
150 42 60 82 108 136
160 46 65 88 115 144
170 50 70 94 122 151
180 54 75 99 128 158
190 59 80 105 134 165
200 63 84 111 140 172
210 67 89 116 146 179
220 70 93 121 152 185
230 74 98 126 158 191
240 78 102 131 163 197
250 81 106 135 168 203
260 86 110 140 174 209
270 89 114 145 179 214
280 92 118 149 184 220
290 96 122 153 189 225
300 99 126 158 193 230
310 103 130 162 198 235

Is Your lever pullover Good?

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

Men (180 lb): a good (Intermediate) lever pullover is about 99 lb (0.55x bodyweight). Advanced lifters hit 128 lb (0.71x), and Elite is 158 lb (0.88x).

Women (140 lb): a good (Intermediate) lever pullover is about 49 lb (0.35x bodyweight). Advanced lifters hit 70 lb (0.5x), and Elite is 94 lb (0.67x).

How Much Should You Be Able to lever pullover?

Men: a 180 lb male should lift about 99 lb at an Intermediate level (a beginner target is around 54 lb).

Women: a 140 lb female should lift about 49 lb at an Intermediate level (a beginner target is around 18 lb).

By bodyweight (men): A 150 lb lifter lifts about 82 lb, and a 220 lb lifter lifts about 121 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 98 lb, while by age 50 the Intermediate standard is about 87 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 pullover Strength?

How lever pullover 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 40 59 83 112 143
20 45 68 95 128 163
25 46 69 98 131 167
30 46 69 98 131 167
35 46 69 98 131 167
40 46 69 98 131 167
45 44 66 93 124 159
50 41 62 87 117 149
55 38 57 81 108 138
60 35 52 73 99 126
65 32 47 66 89 114
70 28 42 59 80 102
75 25 38 53 72 91
80 23 34 48 64 81
85 20 30 43 57 73
90 18 27 38 52 66

What Do lever pullover Strength Standards Mean?

Beginner

Stronger than 5% of lifters. You are building the mind-muscle connection for the lever pullover, learning to initiate the pull with your back rather than your arms, and developing basic grip strength.

Novice

Stronger than 20% of lifters. You can perform the lever pullover with proper scapular retraction and a controlled range of motion. You are progressively overloading and building back thickness and lat width.

Intermediate

Stronger than 50% of lifters. Your lever pullover shows strong back engagement with minimal momentum. You use RPE to regulate pulling intensity and train strategically to balance horizontal and vertical pull volume.

Advanced

Stronger than 80% of lifters. You have built substantial back development through the lever pullover with refined technique and heavy loads. Your grip is no longer a limiting factor, and you manage rowing and pulling fatigue across training blocks.

Elite

Stronger than 95% of lifters. Your lever pullover strength is exceptional. You can handle loads that most lifters cannot move with strict form, and your back development reflects years of high-volume, periodized pulling work.

How to Progress Your lever pullover

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

Beginner → Novice Building Your Foundation
  • Train the lever pullover 2x per week, focusing on initiating the pull from your back, not your arms.
  • Use linear progression with strict form - no swinging or excessive body English.
  • Pause briefly at peak contraction to build the mind-muscle connection.
  • Develop grip strength in parallel to avoid it becoming a bottleneck.
Track progress with the one rep max calculator →
Novice → Intermediate Structured Progression
  • Add a pull variation (different grip width, underhand, or single-arm) for balanced development.
  • Increase pulling volume to 10-15 sets per week across all back movements.
  • Program the lever pullover at RPE 7-8, saving RPE 9 work for top sets only.
  • Balance horizontal pulls (rows) with vertical pulls (pulldowns/pull-ups).
Plan your RPE-based sessions →
Intermediate → Advanced Periodized Training Blocks
  • Run 4-6 week blocks with progressive overload on the lever pullover.
  • Use RPE 8-9 for heavy sets with calculated backoff work at RPE 6-7.
  • Add controlled eccentrics and paused reps to break through plateaus.
  • Total back volume of 15-22 sets per week, distributed across pull patterns.
Program your backoff sets →
Advanced → Elite Mastery
  • Maximize the lever pullover through advanced intensity techniques and precise volume management.
  • Use periodized blocks with planned overreaching and supercompensation phases.
  • Refine execution: squeeze at contraction, controlled stretch, zero momentum.
  • Your back development should reflect years of disciplined, high-volume pulling.
View RPE-to-percentage chart →

How to Perform lever pullover

["Adjust the seat and handles of the leverage machine to a comfortable position.","Sit on the machine with your back against the pad and grasp the handles with an overhand grip.","Keep your arms slightly bent and your core engaged.","Slowly pull the handles towards your chest, squeezing your lats.","Pause for a moment at the peak contraction, then slowly return to the starting position.","Repeat for the desired number of repetitions."]

Read the complete lever pullover guide on FitnessVolt →

Where Do These lever pullover 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 pullover Good for Your Weight?

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