IPF GL
calculator

Turn a powerlifting total into IPF GL ("Goodlift") points — the bodyweight-adjusted score the International Powerlifting Federation adopted in 2020 to replace Wilks. Classic or equipped, full power or bench, in pounds or kilos, with the coefficients behind the number.

An IPF GL calculator turns a powerlifting total — squat plus bench press plus deadlift — into one number that adjusts for bodyweight, so lifters of different sizes and both sexes can be ranked on one scale. Pick your sex, equipment, and event; enter your bodyweight and total. The score is your total in kilograms times 100, divided by an exponential function of your bodyweight. A 200 lb (90.72 kg) male lifting classic (raw) with an 1,100 lb (498.95 kg) total scores about 66 GL points.

How the math works

The IPF GL ("Goodlift") formula was adopted by the International Powerlifting Federation on 1 May 2020, replacing Wilks for international competition. Where Wilks divides 500 by a fifth-degree polynomial of bodyweight, GL divides your total by an exponential function of bodyweight. Your total in kilograms is multiplied by 100, then divided by A − B·e^(−C·x), where x is your bodyweight in kilograms and A, B, C depend on sex, equipment, and event.

Everything reduces to kilograms before the exponential runs, which is why the score does not change between units: enter 200 lb or 90.72 kg for the same lifter and the pounds convert with the exact factor (1 lb = 0.45359237 kg) to the same points. The lb/kg toggle changes what you type, not the number that comes out.

Worked example

A male lifter weighing 200 lb (90.72 kg) with a classic (raw) total of 1,100 lb (498.95 kg):

• Denominator: 1199.72839 − 1025.18162 × e^(−0.00921×90.72) = 755.16
• GL points: 498.95 × 100 / 755.16 = 66.07

A female lifter weighing 132 lb (60 kg) with a 661 lb (300 kg) classic total scores 67.81. Her 300 kg total ranks just above his 498.95 kg total — a large gap in raw weight and bodyweight, reduced to two comparable numbers. That reduction is the entire job of the coefficient.

The same male lifter scores 317 under the original Wilks formula. Same lifter, same total, two different scores on two different scales: a Wilks number and a GL number are not interchangeable, which is exactly why it matters which one a result was computed under.

The score still weights bodyweight

Adjusting for bodyweight is the whole point, so the score falls as you get heavier at a fixed total. Take an identical 500 kg classic total across bodyweights (men):

The 500 kg total scores 82.00 at 60 kg and 58.12 at 120 kg — about 41% higher for the lighter lifter. That built-in weighting is a modelling choice, and choosing the model is exactly what the IPF did when it moved off Wilks.

A GL score only compares within its category

This is the part most calculators leave implicit. There is not one GL formula — there are separate coefficient sets for each sex, for classic (raw) versus equipped (single-ply), and for the full three-lift total versus bench-only. Because each set is fitted on its own competition data, the scores live on their own scales. A classic-raw total scoring 66 and an equipped-bench lift scoring 66 are not "the same performance." They came from different coefficients.

So a GL number is comparable only against other GL numbers in the same sex, equipment, and event. Comparing a raw lifter's GL to an equipped lifter's GL, or a full-power score to a bench-only score, is comparing across scales — which the number is not built to support. When you read a GL figure off a leaderboard, check which category it came from before reading anything into it.

Why GL replaced Wilks

Both scores answer the same question — how good is this total for this bodyweight — but with different math. Wilks divides 500 by a fifth-degree polynomial of bodyweight; GL divides the total by A − B·e^(−C·x). The exponential term shrinks toward zero as bodyweight rises, so the denominator settles toward A and the curve flattens, rather than bending the way a high-order polynomial can at the extremes. Fitted to a larger and more recent set of results, GL ranks heavyweights and the very light differently from Wilks. Swap the formula and the field reorders, so a GL score and a Wilks score are not comparable to each other.

The IPF recalibrates the coefficient set periodically; the numbers here are the 2020 set that has been in force since the switch. Other bodyweight-adjusted scores you'll see are the original Wilks (1997), Wilks-2 (2020), and DOTS, each with its own coefficients and its own ranking.

When this calculator is wrong

A bodyweight-adjusted score is a comparison under one formula, not an absolute measure of strength. Because the weighting is baked into the coefficients — an identical 500 kg total scores about 41% higher at 60 kg (82.00) than at 120 kg (58.12) — a different model reorders the same lifters, which is why the IPF replaced Wilks with GL points in 2020 (opinions.md O12). The counter-case: for one lifter tracking their own GL over time at a stable bodyweight, the formula is held constant, so the number is a clean personal-progress proxy. The formula-choice problem bites when you compare different lifters, across categories, or across a federation's scoring change — not when you watch your own score move.

Two more limits worth naming:

• It scores a competition total, not a gym day. The GL number assumes a squat, bench, and deadlift you could make on the same platform on the same day. Best-ever lifts from three separate sessions inflate it.
• The coefficients are fitted, and they extrapolate at the edges. They're regressed on competition results by weight class, roughly 40–200 kg (88–441 lb) of bodyweight. A very light junior or a super-heavyweight sits where the fit is least certain.

What to do with the result

Use the score to compare like with like: your total against another lifter's total in the same sex, equipment, and event, or your own score across a training block. Recompute it whenever your total or bodyweight changes — a lighter bodyweight at the same total raises the score, which is worth knowing before a weight cut but is not a reason to chase one.

If your goal is competition, GL points are the number IPF-affiliated meets report, so track that one. Keep a Wilks figure too if you want continuity with older results — just don't compare the two formulas against each other, and don't compare a GL score across equipment or event categories.

Common questions

What is a good IPF GL score?

It depends on sex, weight class, equipment, and era, and there's no governing-body threshold for "good." The beginner-to-elite bands on calculator sites are crowd-sourced from those sites' user data, not an IPF standard, so treat them as rough. A more honest read is relative: compare your score to lifters in your division and category at meets. As a rough anchor, competitive international totals land around 100 GL points.

What's the difference between IPF GL and Wilks?

Both convert a total into a bodyweight-adjusted score, but they use different math and different data. Wilks (1997) divides 500 by a fifth-degree polynomial of bodyweight; GL (2020) divides the total by an exponential function. They give different numbers for the same lifter and rank the field differently, which is why a score is only comparable within one formula. The IPF used Wilks through 2019 and switched to GL on 1 May 2020.

Can I compare a classic GL score to an equipped one?

No. Classic (raw) and equipped (single-ply) use different coefficient sets, as do the full three-lift total and bench-only. Each set is fitted separately, so the scores sit on different scales. A GL number is only comparable within the same sex, equipment, and event.

Does the GL score change between pounds and kilograms?

No. The formula works in kilograms, so pounds are converted first with the exact factor (1 lb = 0.45359237 kg). A lifter gets the same score whether they enter imperial or metric — the unit toggle only changes what you type.

Do I use my competition total or my gym maxes?

The score is designed for a competition total — a squat, bench, and deadlift you could make on one platform on one day. Combining three best-ever gym lifts from separate sessions gives a higher number than a real meet would, so it isn't comparable to competition scores.

How often does the IPF update the coefficients?

The IPF re-fits the GL coefficients periodically as the competition dataset grows. The set used here is the 2020 fit that has been in force since the formula replaced Wilks. Because the numbers can be recalibrated, a GL score is tied to a coefficient vintage as well as to a category.