Skip to content

The Age Curve of Strength: Squat, Bench, and Deadlift by Age

The finding in one sentence

In 386,606 self-reported male gym bench presses, the median peaks at 209 lb in the 30-39 age bracket and is still 79.9% of that peak at 60+ (Fitness Volt; gym population, since verified competition percentiles carry no age dimension).

Quote this line with a link back to this page; the full methods and source labels are below.

How Does Strength Change With Age?

This study maps the squat, bench press, and deadlift across six age brackets in the Symmetric Strength self-reported gym population - real logged lifts, aggregated per age bracket with a 100-entry sample floor. The consistent pattern: medians peak in the 20s and 30s, hold up remarkably well through the 40s, and fall fastest after 60.

A plain statement of the data limitation: our verified OpenPowerlifting competition percentile tables carry no age dimension, so this page makes no verified-competition age claims. Everything in the curves below is the self-reported gym population, labeled as such; the second table is the FitnessVolt strength standards model (modeled tiers, not measurements). The two sources are never blended.

Squat by Age Bracket (Gym Population)

Self-reported squat percentiles per age bracket, all bodyweights pooled per bracket. "vs 20-29" compares each bracket's median with the 20-29 bracket of the same sex.

Self-reported gym squat 50th, 75th, and 90th percentile by age bracket and sex, from Symmetric Strength data.
Age Sex p50 p75 p90 vs 20-29 Samples
<20 Male 257 lb 314 lb 368 lb 94.1% 56,946
20-29 Male 273 lb 328 lb 386 lb 100% 203,317
30-39 Male 273 lb 329 lb 384 lb 100% 83,183
40-49 Male 270 lb 322 lb 376 lb 98.8% 23,882
50-59 Male 259 lb 311 lb 373 lb 94.6% 6,949
60+ Male 223 lb 284 lb 352 lb 81.7% 1,577
<20 Female 156 lb 179 lb 212 lb 93.3% 1,737
20-29 Female 167 lb 210 lb 251 lb 100% 12,910
30-39 Female 169 lb 204 lb 239 lb 101.4% 6,512
40-49 Female 171 lb 206 lb 236 lb 102% 1,708
50-59 Female 161 lb 203 lb 270 lb 96.2% 419
60+ Female 78 lb 142 lb 160 lb 46.5% 255

Self-reported gym lifts in pounds (Symmetric Strength, 2015 to 2026). The 50-59 and 60+ female cohorts are small (a few hundred entries); treat those rows as indicative, not precise.

Embed this table

Paste this snippet on your site. It quotes one stat from the table and credits this study with a standard link.

Bench Press by Age Bracket (Gym Population)

Self-reported bench press percentiles per age bracket, all bodyweights pooled per bracket. "vs 20-29" compares each bracket's median with the 20-29 bracket of the same sex.

Self-reported gym bench press 50th, 75th, and 90th percentile by age bracket and sex, from Symmetric Strength data.
Age Sex p50 p75 p90 vs 20-29 Samples
<20 Male 187 lb 223 lb 257 lb 90.9% 59,542
20-29 Male 206 lb 244 lb 283 lb 100% 209,369
30-39 Male 209 lb 247 lb 284 lb 101.6% 84,590
40-49 Male 206 lb 242 lb 279 lb 100% 24,200
50-59 Male 206 lb 239 lb 265 lb 100% 6,863
60+ Male 167 lb 200 lb 238 lb 81% 2,042
<20 Female 88 lb 103 lb 125 lb 86% 1,787
20-29 Female 103 lb 124 lb 147 lb 100% 12,840
30-39 Female 105 lb 123 lb 146 lb 102.4% 6,457
40-49 Female 109 lb 128 lb 153 lb 105.8% 1,690
50-59 Female 98 lb 118 lb 182 lb 96.1% 440
60+ Female 47 lb 94 lb 102 lb 46.3% 196

Self-reported gym lifts in pounds (Symmetric Strength, 2015 to 2026). The 50-59 and 60+ female cohorts are small (a few hundred entries); treat those rows as indicative, not precise.

Embed this table

Paste this snippet on your site. It quotes one stat from the table and credits this study with a standard link.

Deadlift by Age Bracket (Gym Population)

Self-reported deadlift percentiles per age bracket, all bodyweights pooled per bracket. "vs 20-29" compares each bracket's median with the 20-29 bracket of the same sex.

Self-reported gym deadlift 50th, 75th, and 90th percentile by age bracket and sex, from Symmetric Strength data.
Age Sex p50 p75 p90 vs 20-29 Samples
<20 Male 309 lb 368 lb 432 lb 93.7% 51,992
20-29 Male 329 lb 394 lb 459 lb 100% 193,714
30-39 Male 329 lb 391 lb 449 lb 100% 81,180
40-49 Male 327 lb 386 lb 437 lb 99.2% 23,901
50-59 Male 320 lb 365 lb 423 lb 97.2% 6,847
60+ Male 272 lb 316 lb 379 lb 82.7% 2,236
<20 Female 176 lb 205 lb 240 lb 86.7% 1,560
20-29 Female 204 lb 251 lb 295 lb 100% 11,694
30-39 Female 206 lb 251 lb 300 lb 101.1% 6,091
40-49 Female 204 lb 247 lb 291 lb 100.3% 1,666
50-59 Female 195 lb 260 lb 313 lb 96.1% 398
60+ Female 96 lb 178 lb 222 lb 47% 303

Self-reported gym lifts in pounds (Symmetric Strength, 2015 to 2026). The 50-59 and 60+ female cohorts are small (a few hundred entries); treat those rows as indicative, not precise.

Embed this table

Paste this snippet on your site. It quotes one stat from the table and credits this study with a standard link.

The Modeled Age Tiers (FitnessVolt Strength Standards)

A different kind of table: the FitnessVolt strength standards model by-age tiers (male, intermediate and advanced levels shown). These are modeled benchmarks for trained lifters at each age, NOT percentiles of a measured population, and they are shown here only as a second labeled reference.

Age Squat Bench Press Deadlift
Intermediate Advanced Intermediate Advanced Intermediate Advanced
20 279 lb 371 lb 211 lb 284 lb 327 lb 429 lb
30 287 lb 381 lb 217 lb 291 lb 336 lb 440 lb
40 287 lb 381 lb 217 lb 291 lb 336 lb 440 lb
50 255 lb 339 lb 193 lb 259 lb 299 lb 392 lb
60 216 lb 286 lb 163 lb 219 lb 252 lb 331 lb
70 175 lb 232 lb 132 lb 177 lb 205 lb 268 lb

Male, in pounds. Source: FitnessVolt strength standards model (modeled level tables, not competition percentiles and not the gym population above).

What the Curve Shows (and What It Cannot)

Among self-reported male gym lifters, the squat median holds 81.7% of its 20-29 median at 60+, and the deadlift holds 82.7%. The 30s and 40s brackets sit within a few percent of the 20s in every lift - consistent training preserves strength far longer than most lifters expect.

Two honest caveats. First, this is a cross-section, not a longitudinal study: the 60+ bracket is a different (and self-selected) group of people than the 20-29 bracket, not the same lifters aged forward. Second, the oldest brackets are the smallest cohorts, especially for women, so their medians move more with each new entry. The age-related decline in the literature (sarcopenia accelerating past 50) matches the shape here, but the magnitudes are population-specific.

To see where your own lifts sit at your age, the by-age tabs on each strength standards page use these same gym age cohorts.

How Can You Use This Data?

Cite This Study

Press-ready stat: "In 386,606 self-reported male gym bench presses, the median peaks at 209 lb in the 30-39 age bracket and is still 79.9% of that peak at 60+ (Fitness Volt; gym population, since verified competition percentiles carry no age dimension)."

APA

Fitness Volt. (2026). The Age Curve of Strength. Retrieved from https://fitnessvolt.com/strength-standards/research/age-curve-of-strength/

MLA

Fitness Volt. "The Age Curve of Strength." Fitness Volt, 2026, https://fitnessvolt.com/strength-standards/research/age-curve-of-strength/. Copied Copy failed - select the text and copy manually

Embed This Data

Drop the FitnessVolt strength badge on your site - it links back here automatically. Or embed the full study with an iframe.

FitnessVolt Strength Standards

Copied Copy failed - select the text and copy manually Copied Copy failed - select the text and copy manually Copied Copy failed - select the text and copy manually

Download the Data

Get the full table behind this study as a spreadsheet-ready CSV. The download matches the numbers shown on this page exactly. Please credit Fitness Volt and link back to this page when you use the data.

Download CSV

Direct link: https://fitnessvolt.com/wp-json/rpe-training/v1/standards/research-csv/age-curve-of-strength

About This Research

The Age Curve of Strength is published by Fitness Volt and is built from Symmetric Strength self-reported gym lifts aggregated by age bracket (100-entry sample floor), with the FitnessVolt strength standards model age tiers shown as a separately labeled reference. Verified OpenPowerlifting competition percentiles carry no age dimension, so this report makes no verified-competition age claims. Populations and models are labeled and never blended.

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.