Tony Poland

September 29, 2026, 6:17 pm | Read time: 5 minutes

The deadlift is one of the most demanding basic exercises in strength training. But what weight is typical at age 20, at 50, or at 70? Is there a fixed number? Short answer: No, there isn’t. Individual performance is influenced by various factors–including body weight, previous training experience, movement quality, and personal physical conditions.

Those who regularly engage in strength training and have a good basic fitness level can still use certain performance benchmarks. The so-called 1RM (One-Rep Maximum) is often used. This value describes the highest weight that can be lifted for exactly one repetition with proper technique. It serves as a rough guide to assess one’s performance in the deadlift.

Strongest at 20? Here’s What the Guidelines Say

The following guidelines from Markus Bremen for men are based on a body weight of 176 pounds. For a reasonably fit, regularly training man who is neither a beginner nor a competitive athlete, the benchmark at age 20 is about 287 pounds. At 30, it’s around 276 pounds, and at 40, about 253 pounds. The values continue to decrease: “A 50-year-old should be able to deadlift about 220 pounds. A 60-year-old should reach about 198 pounds, and a 70-year-old about 165,” says the personal coach.

Markus Bremen explicitly emphasizes a conservative approach: The values are meant to be closer to the reality of an average gym-goer than to the peak performances of ambitious strength athletes. That’s why you might find significantly higher numbers online. According to his assessment, these often come from self-recorded training data of individuals who have been specifically strength training for years.

Also interesting: How many pull-ups should men and women be able to do

Strength Knows No Gender–But Different Guidelines

The differences between men and women in deadlifting are smaller than in some other strength exercises. Markus Bremen assumes that women, with a comparable training level relative to body weight, usually achieve about 65 to 75 percent of the male multipliers. In deadlifting and squats, the values are relatively closer, while in bench pressing, the differences are greater. The reason: “Lower body strength is less gender-specific than upper body strength,” he reveals. And in deadlifting, the initial power comes from the legs, hips, and glutes.

The guidelines for women follow the same principle as for men but are lower. For example, with a body weight of 132 pounds, a regularly training woman at age 20 is around 154 pounds in the 1RM, at 30 around 148 pounds, and at 40 about 132 pounds. “At 50 years, about 119 pounds are set, at 60 around 104 pounds, and at 70 about 88 pounds,” says Markus Bremen.

The Biological Clock Lifts Along

Notably, as age increases, the benchmark decreases. Why is that? The methodology used here assumes a strength peak between the ages of 25 and 30. After that, a strength loss of 8 to 10 percent per decade with continued training is realistic, according to the fitness expert.

To counteract this, it is advisable to continue training regularly. This way, you can maintain your performance over many years. Additionally, people bring very different prerequisites. Training age, technique, and body structure play an important role.

In other words, a trained 60-year-old doesn’t need to measure up to a 30-year-old’s performance to determine that they are strong. It’s more sensible to look at one’s development over a longer period.

More on the topic

For Your Own Orientation Bench Press in the Age Check: How Much Weight Is Realistic?

For Orientation Squats in the Age Check: How Much Weight Is Realistic?

The Kilo Trap: Why Absolute Numbers Can Be Misleading

A number like “220 pounds deadlift” initially sounds clear. But it’s not. Because 220 pounds is different for someone weighing 132 pounds than for someone weighing 220 pounds.

That’s why Markus Bremen doesn’t just work with fixed kilogram figures but with body weight multipliers. The previously mentioned benchmarks serve merely as concrete examples for 176 pounds body weight for men and 132 pounds for women. “Body weight must be made transparent in the assessment–otherwise, the numbers seem arbitrary,” emphasizes the expert.

Also, technique should never be underestimated. Deadlifting is not just a pure strength test. Lever ratios, movement execution, and individual conditions influence how much weight someone can lift. This means two people of the same age and body weight can show different performances.

The Best Number Is Your Own

So what is realistic in deadlifting as you age? Markus Bremen’s values provide a guideline–nothing more. They are explicitly not a medical or clinical norm. Pre-existing conditions, training age, technique, and individual physical conditions can cause personal performance to deviate significantly from the guidelines.

Especially in strength training, the focus should not be on chasing a specific number. A technically clean deadlift with a weight suitable for your starting situation is more important in the long run than a one-time personal record. Lifting 220 pounds at age 50 doesn’t automatically mean you’ve trained “correctly”–and lifting less at age 70 doesn’t mean you’re weak.

The much better question is: How does my strength develop in relation to my age, body weight, and training experience? That’s exactly what Markus Bremen’s guidelines provide a useful framework for.