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Strength-to-weight calculator: DOTS and IPF GL

Enter a bodyweight and a total to get DOTS and IPF GL scores.

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Raw totals favour heavy lifters. DOTS and IPF GL (classic, meaning raw, powerlifting) adjust a total for bodyweight using published coefficients; the chart shows the scaling behind the idea.

Calculate your score

Worked example: a man at 81.65 kg with a 587 kg total (the form needs JavaScript to recalculate).

  • 400.0DOTS
  • 81.9IPF GL points (classic)
  • 7.19xtotal per kg of bodyweight

Valid bodyweight range for DOTS: men 40-210 kg, women 40-150 kg. Outside it we clamp to the nearest edge and say so. DOTS = total x 500 / (a + b*bw + c*bw^2 + d*bw^3 + e*bw^4). IPF GL = total x 100 / (A - B*e^(-C*bw)).

Why lighter lifters win per kilogram and heavier lifters win in absolute terms

Force scales with muscle cross-section and mass with volume, so strength should rise more slowly than bodyweight. Fitting the totals of 286,601 male raw lifters by bodyweight band gave a total that rises roughly as bodyweight to the power 0.54, near the 0.67 allometric exponent recommended for force testing (Jaric 2002).

0.81.01.21.46080100120140Bodyweight (kg)Relative to an 81.65 kg lifter (= 1.00)Total lifted (kg)Total per kg of bodyweightObserved medians: 123-131 kg lifters lift 1.21x the total of 79-84 kg liftersObserved medians: 123-131 kg lifters lift 0.78x as much per kg as 79-84 kg lifters
If total ∝ bodyweight^0.54, a heavier lifter lifts more in total but less per kilogram. Lines are the fitted model; dots are observed medians for the 79-84 kg and 123-131 kg bands. Sample: 764,143 qualifying raw squat-bench-deadlift male entries, 286,601 lifters, file dated Oct 24, 2026. Sources: OpenPowerlifting, size-normalisation review, allometric modelling study.

Caveats. Exponent is empirical and descriptive, from self-selected competitors across federations with possible data errors; the band-midpoint fit is mine. Allometry gives different exponents for different tasks (Jaric noted task-specific normalisation). Batterham & George warn the exponent is not size-independent. The exponent is descriptive and the band-midpoint fit is ours; it is not a law. The chart covers men only.

Totals needed for a given score

The total each bodyweight needs for DOTS 300 and 400. At 81.65 kg a man needs 587.0 kg for 400; at 127 kg he needs 709.3 kg, which is 1.21 times as much.

Total needed for DOTS 300
BodyweightMen: total for DOTS 300Women: total for DOTS 300
60 kg355.4 kg270.6 kg
70 kg399.4 kg296.7 kg
81.65 kg440.3 kg321.6 kg
90 kg464.0 kg336.5 kg
100 kg487.4 kg351.6 kg
110 kg506.5 kg363.9 kg
127 kg532.0 kg379.5 kg
Total needed for DOTS 400
BodyweightMen: total for DOTS 400Women: total for DOTS 400
60 kg473.9 kg360.8 kg
70 kg532.5 kg395.5 kg
81.65 kg587.0 kg428.8 kg
90 kg618.6 kg448.7 kg
100 kg649.9 kg468.7 kg
110 kg675.4 kg485.3 kg
127 kg709.3 kg506.0 kg

How the formulas were checked

  • Men's coefficients reproduce the OpenPowerlifting Dots column (median relative error 1e-5 over 20,000 rows; occasional larger deviations likely from bodyweight clamping). Fitted range ~40-210 kg men, 40-150 kg women (coachway).
  • Women's coefficients were also checked by Mr Buff on 2026-10-26 against the Dots column of the OpenPowerlifting file dated 2026-10-24: first 20,000 raw squat-bench-deadlift female rows, median relative error 7e-6 (a few outliers up to 10% where bodyweight is clamped).
  • Men's classic powerlifting: median relative error 3e-5, max 2.2e-4 over 20,000 raw male rows. Other categories untested. IPF says coefficients are regression-derived from elite 'Golden Standard Samples' (>=16% of world records), actual May 2020 to Dec 2023; later versions may differ.
  • Women's classic powerlifting coefficients were also checked by Mr Buff on 2026-10-26 against the Goodlift column of the same OpenPowerlifting file: 20,000 raw female rows, median relative error 3.5e-5, maximum 2.1e-4. Only classic (raw) powerlifting is offered; the equipped and bench-only sets were not tested.
  • Scores are comparisons for sport, not a measure of health or fitness. All such formulas carry some bias; one validation found Wilks unbiased for bench and total but biased towards heavier lifters in the deadlift.
Sources: DOTS listing, OpenPowerlifting, IPF GL 2020, Vanderburgh 1999, Ferland 2020

Sources

  1. OpenPowerlifting data export (database file dated 2026-10-24) Public competition results; accessed
  2. DOTS calculator and coefficient listing Calculator page; accessed
  3. IPF GL coefficients 2020 (PDF) Federation document; accessed
  4. Jaric et al. 2002: Muscle strength testing: use of normalisation for body size accessed
  5. Batterham et al. 1997: Allometric modeling does not determine a dimensionless… accessed
  6. Vanderburgh et al. 1999: Validation of the Wilks powerlifting formula accessed
  7. Ferland et al. 2020: Efficiency of the Wilks and IPF Formulas at Comparing… accessed

Not medical advice. Published research, summarised for general information. Speak to a doctor or qualified coach before changing training, food or weight.

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