How to calculate it
Divide the weight you lift, or your total across several lifts, by your bodyweight. A 150 lb lifter with a 225 lb bench press has a ratio of 1.5. A 200 lb lifter with a 275 lb bench has a ratio of 1.375. The heavier lifter moves more pounds; the lighter lifter moves more per pound of bodyweight.
Why it matters
Absolute strength is the weight on the bar. Relative strength lets people of different sizes compare themselves fairly, which is why many strength sports use weight classes or pound-for-pound ratios. It also gives a lifter who is changing weight a number that stays meaningful as they do.
Limits
A ratio does not account for height, limb length or body composition, and it is not a measure of health. Use your own ratio over time as the comparison, rather than someone else's.
In percentages
The same idea is sometimes written as a percentage: a 1.5 ratio is 150% of bodyweight.
Using it in your training
Track the ratio for one or two lifts you care about and look at it every few months. If your bodyweight drops while your lifts hold, the ratio rises, and the reverse is also true. A rising ratio can come from lifting more, weighing less or both, so read it alongside the weights themselves.
In One Fitness Hub
- The 1000 lb club calculator takes an optional bodyweight and shows your estimated total as a multiple of it. The sample on the page shows a total of 5.53 times bodyweight.
- The calisthenics 1RM calculator builds on your bodyweight for bodyweight movements.
- The 1000+ board is one of four kinds of leaderboard, and the only one with a fixed threshold, so a ratio helps lifters of any size read their own numbers.
Common questions
Is relative strength better than absolute strength?
Neither is better. They answer different questions: how much you can move, and how much you can move for your size.
What is a good relative strength ratio?
It depends on the lift, experience and body size, so there is no single figure. Your own ratio over time is the useful comparison.
Do I need my bodyweight to see a ratio?
Yes. The calculator asks for it as an optional field, and the ratio appears when you enter it.
Related terms
- 1000 lb total: The 1000 lb total is the combined best one-rep max of your barbell squat, bench press and deadlift, and the 1000 pound club recognises totals of 1,000 lb (453.6 kg) or more.
- E1RM: E1RM, short for estimated one-rep max, is the heaviest weight you could lift for one repetition, worked out from a set you actually did rather than a maximal single.
- PR (personal record): A PR, or personal record, is your best result so far on a particular lift, cardio effort or workout.
Keep reading
General education and fitness estimates, not medical or dietary advice. Figures from the app are informational and are not reviewed by a certified personal trainer.