What is a Powerlifting Wilks?

Powerlifting wilks is a score that compares your strength to the strength of lifters of the same weight class, and it’s used in competitions to determine the best lifter. It’s calculated using a formula considering your body weight and the total of the squat, bench press, and deadlift. The higher your wilks, the more you’re able to lift compared to the other lifters in your class.

The formula is based on the best lifters in each weight class, ensuring that heavier and lighter lifters are able to compete equally. It’s important to note that this is only true if the weight classes are identical, which isn’t always the case in powerlifting, as the standards and benchmarks for each weight class can vary between different federations & competition rules.

Introduction to the Dots Calculator for Powerlifting

Wilks has its problems, however. For one, it’s based on data from raw lifting only up to 1992, and even then, a sizable percentage of the lifters competing in this sample were using early equipment that doesn’t hold a candle to modern squat suits, bench shirts, knee wraps, and other implements used in equipped lifting today.

There’s also the issue of how it determines a lifter’s maximum capacity in a given weight class. Simple calculations based on how many times your bodyweight you can lift would have some major issues, as it does not scale in a linear manner and would heavily disadvantage heavier lifters versus their lighter counterparts. This is why we need something better, but that will require some time and experimentation.