Wilks calculator
The Wilks coefficient scores a powerlifting total relative to bodyweight. This calculator runs both versions: the original 1994 formula that most old records are quoted in, and the 2020 revision that replaced it. Both, from one entry.
If you are choosing a number to track going forward rather than reading an old record, DOTS is what most federations moved to.
- The other Wilks version
- 383.5
- DOTS equivalent
- 323.3
- Multiple of bodyweight
- 5.56x
An estimate from a published formula, not a measurement. Use it as a consistent yardstick for tracking change.
Two formulas with the same name
Robert Wilks published the original coefficient in 1994, and for twenty-five years it was how powerlifting compared lifters across weight classes. It is a fifth-order polynomial fitted to the competition data available at the time, scaled so the score lands near 500 for a world-class total.
In 2020 the formula was refitted against a much larger and more recent dataset and rescaled to a 600 reference. The two versions are not interchangeable: the same lifter scores differently under each, and a score quoted without its version is ambiguous.
Which one you are looking at
If you are reading a record from before 2020, or a gym leaderboard that has not been updated, it is almost certainly the 1994 formula. If a federation published it recently and did not say DOTS, it is likely the 2020 revision. The quickest tell is scale: a score in the high 400s under 1994 lands closer to 500 under 2020.
This calculator prints the version you did not choose alongside your result, so you can convert a quoted number without re-entering anything.
Why Wilks got replaced
The original fit was accused, with data behind it, of favouring lighter lifters in the middle weight classes and penalising the heaviest. That matters when the same coefficient decides best-lifter awards. The 2020 revision addressed part of it; DOTS, fitted independently over a broader range, addressed more of it and is what most federations adopted.
None of this makes old Wilks scores worthless. It makes them a historical scale that has to be read as such.
The honest limits of any coefficient
These formulas normalise for bodyweight and sex. They do not normalise for height, limb proportions, age, drug testing status, or equipment, all of which move a total more than a few kilograms of bodyweight does. A coefficient is a fair way to run a competition, not a measurement of who is stronger.
Questions people ask
Which Wilks version should I use?
Whichever your federation or your existing records use, so your numbers stay comparable. If nothing constrains you and you just want a score to track, use DOTS: it is the one most federations moved to and it is fitted to more data.
Why is my 2020 score higher than my 1994 score?
The revision is scaled to a 600 reference instead of 500, so the numbers sit higher across the board. It is a change of scale, not of your strength. Never compare a 1994 score to a 2020 one directly.
Does Wilks apply to a single lift?
The coefficient itself is just a function of bodyweight, so you can apply it to anything. Published Wilks standards assume a full three-lift total, so a single-lift score is only meaningful against your own history.
Does bodyweight on the day matter?
Considerably. The coefficient falls as bodyweight rises, so weighing in two kilograms heavier lowers your score for the same total. At a meet, use your official weigh-in figure, not what the scale said at home.
Related tools
Score it, then go improve it
Mekimeki tracks each competition lift separately with automatic 1RM estimates and PR flags, so you can watch the inputs to that score move.
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