Overhead press standards by age and bodyweight

Adult strict overhead press standards work as bodyweight multipliers, and the ladder is the lowest of the four standards lifts. Adult male: untrained 0.4×, novice 0.55×, intermediate 0.85×, advanced 1.1×, elite 1.4× of bodyweight. Adult female: untrained 0.25×, novice 0.35×, intermediate 0.55×, advanced 0.7×, elite 0.9×. Below 18, the engine flips into teen mode — soft framing only (still-building / typical / above-typical-beginner / unusually-strong), per AAP guidance against maximal lifts before skeletal maturity. Two different scales for two different populations.

The multiplier values here are ExRx-aligned StrengthMath methodology— the directional shape of the ladder mirrors ExRx's published training-population table for the strict overhead press; the exact per-band numbers are this engine's framing of the ratios, not a peer-reviewed dataset. OHP is the lift where “bodyweight on the bar” is unusually impressive — at 1.0× of bodyweight it lands at advanced for an adult male (1.0 / 1.1 = 91% of advanced), the same band a 1.5× bench press or a 2.0× squat clears. If your strict press is parked at 0.7× of bodyweight as an adult male, you're at intermediate; the next milestone is bodyweight overhead, which gets you to advanced. Plug your numbers into the StrengthMath calculator hub (or read the band logic in the methodology page) to see where you land.

Adult male overhead press standards

The adult-male multiplier ladder runs untrained 0.4× → novice 0.55× → intermediate 0.85× → advanced 1.1× → elite 1.4× of bodyweight. The 0.55× bodyweight strict press is the gym-floor litmus for novice — a 70 kg adult male pressing roughly 38 kg overhead with no leg drive is where most non-lifting men land within their first year of structured pressing, and it's the reference anchor the engine uses for teen-mode framing too.

Multipliers are ExRx-aligned StrengthMath methodology. Bodyweight and lifted weight must be in the same unit; multipliers are unitless and carry through identically for lb-mode lifters.

The interesting band on this table is the 0.85× → 1.1× jump from intermediate to advanced — that's a 25% of bodyweight gap, and for most adult-male lifters bodyweight overhead is the milestone that gates advanced. A 100 kg adult male strict-pressing 100 kg lands at 91% of advanced (just shy); the same lifter at 110 kg is fully advanced. The page that walks through that specific number lives at Is a 100 kg overhead press good? The climb to elite (1.4×) takes years of dedicated pressing, and the 1.4× ceiling is real — pure-strict-press absolute records have been lower than push-press records by roughly the same gap for decades.

Adult female overhead press standards

The adult-female multiplier ladder is structurally similar but lower across the board: untrained 0.25× → novice 0.35× → intermediate 0.55× → advanced 0.7× → elite 0.9× of bodyweight. Worth saying out loud — the female-vs-male gap reflects training-population averages, not an individual woman's ceiling. Elite competitive female lifters routinely clear novice and intermediate adult-male multipliers; the band is calibrated to typical numbers, not to capacity. The gap is also widest on OHP — adult-female elite (0.9×) sits roughly where adult-male intermediate (0.85×) does, a wider gap than on bench or squat — because upper-body lean-mass distribution is the dominant driver here and the lift can't recruit lower-body power to compensate.

Multipliers are ExRx-aligned StrengthMath methodology. The ratio gap between male and female multipliers describes population averages, not individual capacity.

The litmus number on the female ladder is a strict press at 0.5× of bodyweight, which sits between novice and intermediate. A 65 kg adult female lifter strict-pressing 33 kg is in the back half of novice; at 36 kg she's into intermediate. A clean bodyweight strict press for an adult female is well above elite (0.9×) and a genuinely rare number — at 1.0× she's 11% above the elite line, similar to how an adult male at 1.55× bench is 3% above elite. The absolute load looks small because the multiplier base is small, not because the lift is easy.

Strict, push press, or jerk: which counts as “overhead press” here

The bench multiplier ladder doesn't need to define what counts — a bench is a bench. Squat needs depth; deadlift needs stance and bar. Overhead press needs to define the lift itself, because three different lifts share the “overhead” label and they aren't interchangeable. The multipliers on this page assume a strict standing barbell overhead press: bar starts racked at the front delts, no leg drive, no rebend at the knee, lockout overhead with biceps near the ears. That's the lift the multiplier ladder was calibrated against, and it's the lift the engine assumes when it returns a band.

Push press uses leg drive on the dip-and-drive to launch the bar past the sticking point and runs roughly 20–30% higher 1RM than strict for the same lifter. The split-jerk and squat-jerk run higher still because the lifter drops under the bar rather than pressing it the full distance. If your number comes from a push press or a jerk, the band assignment from the higher-leverage variant runs one or two notches hotter than a strict-press re-test would give. A 90 kg adult male hitting a 110 kg push press might be at advanced on this ladder if it were strict — but the strict re-test from the same lifter is probably 85–90 kg, which lands at intermediate. Same lifter, same rack, two different bands. The full variant question — strict vs push press vs jerk vs seated barbell vs standing dumbbell — gets its own page at overhead press variants strength differentials.

What “ExRx-aligned” means (and what it doesn't)

ExRx publishes a strength-standards table that has been the de facto field reference for training-population bench / squat / deadlift / OHP norms since the 2000s. It's training-population synthesis — assembled from gym-floor and coaching reports rather than from a peer-reviewed dataset. That makes it broader than competitive-lifter databases (everyone in OPL is, by definition, a competitor) but it also means ExRx isn't Tier 1 — it isn't in JSCR or Sports Medicine, and there's no validation paper to cite for the multipliers.

The directional shape of the ladder used here — untrained → novice → intermediate → advanced → elite, with intermediate at roughly 0.85× bodyweight for adult-male strict press — is consistent across ExRx's published table. The exact per-multiplier values in the engine are StrengthMath's framing of those ratios, rounded to clean tenths and quarter-tenths for table-readability. This is why the methodology page labels the adult tables as “ExRx-aligned” rather than “ExRx-published” — the structure is borrowed; the exact numbers are this engine's.

What that means for you: read the band as a directional placement, not a sealed-tight benchmark. The difference between 0.82× bodyweight (high-novice-bound) and 0.88× bodyweight (low-intermediate) is well inside the noise the multiplier ladder is calibrated for. If your strict press sits 5% under a band line, you're in that band for all practical purposes.

OpenPowerlifting context — and why OHP is the odd one out

OpenPowerlifting (openpowerlifting.org) aggregates results from sanctioned powerlifting meets — IPF, USAPL, USPA, WRPF, and dozens of other federations. It's the canonical adult percentile reference for bench, squat, and deadlift. For overhead press, the dataset doesn't really apply.

Unlike squat, bench, and deadlift, the strict overhead press is not a current competition lift in mainstream powerlifting federations. The IPF dropped the press from competition in 1972 — the original sport had been three lifts (press, bench, squat — deadlift came in later) before judging the press for “strict” technique became unworkable, and modern IPF / USAPL / USPA / WRPF rules contest squat, bench, and deadlift only. OPL's database reflects that: there are press numbers in old federation archives, but a present-day OPL-style percentile distribution for the strict overhead press doesn't exist the way it does for the other three lifts.

The lift is still contested in two places. Strongman federations (Strongman Corporation, World's Strongest Man, IFSA) run standing strict press, log press, axle press, and a few others — but implements differ by event, so cross-event comparison is messy and the dataset is much smaller than OPL. Old-school strict-press federations (USAPL Olympic-press throwback events, the IAWA all-rounds federations) keep records for strict press as a stand-alone lift, and the all-time records there are the closest thing to an OHP equivalent of an OPL percentile — but the population is small and self-selected even by powerlifting standards. The practical reframing: for OHP, the multiplier ladder on this page is doing more work than OPL would for bench. There's no big competitive dataset to cross-check against; the band labels are the percentile context.

OPL is not used for ages under 18 on any of the four lifts on this site. Most powerlifting federations restrict youth competition, the under-18 entries that do exist are sparse and self-selected, and the AAP recommendation against maximal lifts at this age makes a competitive percentile a poor framing tool for a teen lifter regardless. The teen-mode soft bands on this site never reference OPL.

Teen mode (under 18): soft framing only

For a lifter under 18, the engine returns a different shape: still-building, typical, above-typical-beginner, or unusually-strong — never elite, advanced, or intermediate. The thresholds are anchored to the adult-male novice multiplier (0.55× bodyweight on strict press) as a stable reference scale, with cutoffs at 50%, 100%, and 150% of that anchor:

The teen anchor is identical in shape to the bench, squat, and deadlift teen anchors — only the underlying novice multiplier changes (0.55× for OHP vs 1.5× for deadlift vs 1.25× for squat vs 1.0× for bench). Adult bands are calibrated against population-level competitive distributions, OpenPowerlifting data is sparse and structurally less applicable to OHP than to the other three lifts, and growth-driven changes in bodyweight and skeletal maturity over a single year produce ratio fluctuations that adult bands aren't calibrated for. The soft framing isn't a polite hedge; it's the right shape for the data we have.

The recommendation that anchors teen mode is verbatim from AAP:

Preadolescents and adolescents should avoid power lifting, body building, and maximal lifts until they reach physical and skeletal maturity.

That's the 2008 AAP policy statement, retained verbatim in the 2020 clinical report. The carve-out is narrower than “don't lift”: supervised resistance training with proper technique is considered safe and broadly endorsed for kids who can follow instruction. The carve-out is for competitive powerlifting, bodybuilding, and singles/doubles at maximal load. Submaximal training and rep-based programming stay green-lit. For OHP specifically, the lift's smaller absolute loads and the stabilization demands above the head make it a textbook example of where the AAP carve-out applies cleanly: a 14-year-old can press submaximal for sets of 5–8 with proper technique in a well-supervised setting; a 14-year-old shouldn't be testing a 1RM standing strict press.

What these standards do NOT capture

The multiplier ladder reads exactly two numbers — your strict overhead press and your bodyweight — and assigns a band. It doesn't see equipment (push press vs strict, log press vs barbell, dumbbell vs barbell, seated vs standing), grip width (narrow-grip presses move 5–10% lower in some lifters than a clean shoulder-width grip), technique drift (a layback past vertical at the top of the press is a partial cheat into incline-bench-press mechanics), bar path, overhead mobility limits (lifters who can't pack the bar fully overhead end up pressing in front of the head and lose leverage), training age, fatigue state, or whether the rep was a grindy maximum or a tidy single. It also doesn't model age decade for adults — a 60-year-old at 0.85× bodyweight is intermediate by the same band line as a 30-year-old, even though the two presses mean different things in context. The full list of un-modeled factors lives on the methodology page alongside the engine's own disclosure.

Overhead mobility is the most common adult reason a band assignment feels off on OHP — more so than equipment is for bench or stance is for deadlift. Lifters who can't lock the bar in line with the mid-foot at the top end up pressing in a forward bar path that recruits the chest into the work and reads visually as a layback press. The multiplier ladder treats both the same, but the layback version can move 5–10% more load while training a different movement pattern. If your band assignment feels generous, film the rep in profile and check whether the bar finishes over the ears or in front of them.

Variant differentials matter on OHP more than on any of the other three lifts, because there are more variants and they spread further apart. Strict barbell, push press, jerk, log press, axle press, seated barbell, standing dumbbell, and seated dumbbell all live under the “overhead press” umbrella, with different bands. The variants page covers the percentage spreads. To plug a submaximal set into the multiplier framework, run your 5-rep or 3-rep load through the 1RM calculator first to get an estimated 1RM, then divide by bodyweight. The 1RM formula choices are covered in detail in the best-formula comparison.

Common questions

What is a good overhead press for a man? For a woman?

Bodyweight-relative, and the multipliers are noticeably lower than any other lift. The StrengthMath strength-standards engine uses ExRx-aligned multipliers: for adult men, untrained 0.4× bodyweight, novice 0.55×, intermediate 0.85×, advanced 1.1×, elite 1.4×. For adult women, untrained 0.25×, novice 0.35×, intermediate 0.55×, advanced 0.7×, elite 0.9×. An 80 kg adult male strict-pressing 70 kg sits at intermediate (0.875×); a clean bodyweight strict press is advanced. The strict overhead press at 1.0× of bodyweight is the lift that feels disproportionately impressive on the gym floor — and it should, because the multiplier ladder says so.

Why are the OHP multipliers so much lower than bench or squat?

The strict overhead press isolates the smallest engine of the four standards lifts — deltoids and triceps with stabilization from the upper back and core, no leg drive, no bench arch, no pull-from-floor leverage. Bodyweight bench is novice (1.0×); bodyweight squat is below novice (sits between untrained 0.8× and novice 1.25×); bodyweight deadlift is novice (1.0×). Bodyweight strict overhead press is advanced (sits between intermediate 0.85× and advanced 1.1× — closer to advanced). The lift's ceiling is structurally lower because the muscles doing the work are smaller, so the same band labels fall on smaller absolute multipliers.

Does push press or jerk count as overhead press here?

No. The multiplier ladder on this page assumes a strict overhead press: bar starts at the shoulders, no leg drive, no rebend at the knee, lockout overhead. Push press recruits leg drive on the dip-and-drive and runs roughly 20–30% higher 1RM than strict for the same lifter; the split-jerk runs higher still because the lifter drops under the bar. If your number comes from a push press, expect to land roughly one band higher than a re-test of strict pressing the same load would give. Variant differentials get a dedicated page at /guides/overhead-press-variants-strength-differentials.

How do I read these standards for a 17-year-old?

You don't — the engine returns teen soft framing for ages under 18. Adult bands (intermediate, advanced, elite) are not assigned to minors, and OpenPowerlifting is not used for under-18 framing (which matters less here than for the other three lifts, since OHP isn't an IPF/USAPL competition lift in the first place). The teen-mode bands are still-building / typical / above-typical-beginner / unusually-strong, anchored to the adult-male novice multiplier (0.55× bodyweight strict press) as a stable reference scale.

Where does OpenPowerlifting fit in for OHP?

Less directly than for bench, squat, or deadlift. The strict overhead press is not a current competition lift in IPF, USAPL, USPA, or any of the major modern powerlifting federations — they contest squat, bench, and deadlift only. Strict-press records and percentile distributions live in old-school federations (the IPF dropped the press from competition in 1972) and in strongman, where standing strict press, log press, and axle press are contested. OpenPowerlifting's dataset is structurally not the right percentile reference for OHP. Use it for adult bench / squat / deadlift percentile context; for OHP, the multiplier ladder on this page is doing more work.

Where to next

If you came in with a submax-rep number rather than a tested 1RM, start with the 1RM calculator to get an estimate, then divide by bodyweight to read your band on this page's tables. To compare your strict press against your bench number at the same training age, the typical OHP-to-bench ratio is covered at overhead press to bench ratio: what's typical. For variant differentials (push press, jerk, seated, dumbbell), see overhead press variants strength differentials. For the worked-example read on bodyweight overhead, see Is a 100 kg overhead press good? The structural counterpart for bench at the same lifter weight lives at bench press standards by age and bodyweight. The methodology page documents the adult-vs-teen split and the sourcing posture in full.