Overhead Press standards at 120 kg
Where a 120 kg lifter sits across the five training- population bands for the overhead press. Numbers are 1RM estimates — not working sets. Both male and female columns below; pick the one that applies.
This page is about bodyweight, not bar weight.
“120 kg” here means the lifter weighs 120 kg. If you meant a 120 kg overhead press on the bar, use Strength Check and enter the lift, reps, sex, age, and your actual bodyweight. The verdict changes a lot between, say, a 60 kg lifter and a 100 kg lifter using the same bar weight.
1RM standards (kg) at 120 kg bodyweight
| Band | Male | Female | ×bw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Untrained | 48 | 30 | 0.40× / 0.25× |
| Novice | 66 | 42 | 0.55× / 0.35× |
| Intermediate | 102 | 66 | 0.85× / 0.55× |
| Advanced | 132 | 84 | 1.10× / 0.70× |
| Elite | 168 | 108 | 1.40× / 0.90× |
Multipliers are ratio-of-bodyweight per ExRx training- population norms. Numbers in the male/female columns are 120 × the multiplier rounded to the nearest kg.
Cross-lift balance at 120 kg
Typical training-population ratios for a 120 kg lifter (StrengthMath methodology, practitioner consensus across NSCA Essentials + Practical Programming):
- Squat : overhead press — typically 1.2–1.5×
- Deadlift : overhead press — typically 1.4–1.6×
See the strength check calculator for the full balance report with your actual numbers.
Progression timeline (overhead press, 120 kg)
- Novice → Intermediate: 8–17 months on linear progression. Linear progression — 3-4 sessions/week, add 2.5 kg (or 5 lb) per session until it stalls. Eat enough.
- Intermediate → Advanced: 25–50 months. Periodization required — 4-5 sessions/week, weekly or monthly progression (5/3/1, DUP, conjugate). Linear adds stop working past this band.
Ranges sourced from Rippetoe Practical Programming + NSCA Essentials. Per-lift speed adjustment (squat fastest, OHP slowest) is StrengthMath methodology.
1RM reliability at 120 kg
A 120 kg male intermediate overhead press (102 kg) lifted at 5 reps projects to a 1RM of roughly 115 kg ± 3 kg (StrengthMath HIGH reliability band, ~±2% — informed by LeSuer 1997's directional finding that the four formulas converge at ≤5 reps; specific ± bound is SM methodology). At 8–10 reps the range widens to ~±5%; past 10 reps it gets noisy. Use the check calculator for your actual numbers + the four-formula breakdown.
Enter your weight × reps and get a percentile + reliability band + closing-the-gap timeline in one screen.
Adjacent overhead press standards
- 115 kg
- 120 kg
Need your exact bodyweight? Use Strength Check.
Other lifts at 120 kg