Strength standards

What’s a good barbell curl?

How much should you curl for your weight? Put in a set and see your rank from Iron to Radiant, scored the way the Evident app scores it. The average barbell curl and the standards for men and women by bodyweight are below.

I lift as
180 lb
Weight
lb
Reps
Age
Units

The weight is the whole bar: the bar (45 lb, or 20 kg) plus every plate.

Gold II

Stronger than 81% of guys

Next: Gold I at 100 lb × 5

Estimated one-rep max: 111 lb

  1. Iron
  2. Bronze
  3. Silver
  4. Gold
  5. Platinum
  6. Diamond
  7. Radiant

An estimate from strength standards for your sex, bodyweight and age. Percentages count people who don’t train. In the app every set you log counts, and your rank climbs as you do.

Barbell curl standards

The one-rep max where each rank starts, by bodyweight. Iron is anything below Bronze. Did a set of 8? The calculator turns it into a one-rep max.

Men

Barbell curl standards for men: one-rep max where each rank starts
BodyweightBronzeSilverGoldPlatinumDiamondRadiant
120 or less lb54 or less kg29134922703295441245715571
130 lb59 kg30145023723398451275815972
140 lb64 kg311453247635104471356216977
150 lb68 kg331556268137110501436517881
160 lb73 kg351659278539116531506818885
170 lb77 kg371762288941121551587219790
180 lb82 kg381865309342127581657520694
190 lb86 kg401867319744133601727921598
200 lb91 kg42197032101461386318082224102
210 lb95 kg43207333105481446518785233106
220 lb100 kg45217635109501496819488242110
230 lb104 kg46217836113521547020191251114
240 lb109 kg48228137117531607320895260118
250 or more lb113 or more kg50238438121551657521598268122

Women

Barbell curl standards for women: one-rep max where each rank starts
BodyweightBronzeSilverGoldPlatinumDiamondRadiant
120 or less lb54 or less kg17828134119552572339041
130 lb59 kg17829134219572674349342
140 lb64 kg18931144420602879369845
150 lb68 kg199331547226429833810447
160 lb73 kg2010341649236731874010950
170 lb77 kg2110361752247132924211552
180 lb82 kg2210381754257434964412055
190 lb86 kg23113918572677351004612557
200 lb91 kg24114119592780371044813059
210 lb95 kg25124220612883381095013662
220 lb100 kg26124420642987401135114164
230 lb104 kg27134621663090411175314666
240 lb109 kg28134722683193421215515169
250 or more lb113 or more kg29134922703296441255715671

For ages up to 35. Past 35 the standard drops about 6% a decade; the calculator adjusts for your age. Built on Strength Level’s published standards and scaled the way the Evident app scales them.

By the numbers

What’s a good barbell curl?

For a 180 lb guy, Silver starts at 65 lb, Gold at 93 lb, Platinum at 127 lb and Diamond at 165 lb for one rep. For a 140 lb woman, Silver starts at 31 lb, Gold at 44 lb, Platinum at 60 lb and Diamond at 79 lb for one rep.

Silver covers novice lifters, Gold intermediate, Platinum advanced and Diamond elite. Radiant is past elite.

  • Is a 65 curl good?

    For a 180 lb guy, a 65 lb curl for one rep is Silver III, stronger than about 51% of guys. At 150 lb bodyweight it is Silver II; at 210 lb it is Bronze I.

  • Is a 95 curl good?

    For a 180 lb guy, a 95 lb curl for one rep is Gold III, stronger than about 73% of guys. At 150 lb bodyweight it is Gold II; at 210 lb it is Silver I.

  • Is a 115 curl good?

    For a 180 lb guy, a 115 lb curl for one rep is Gold I, stronger than about 83% of guys. At 150 lb bodyweight it is Platinum III; at 210 lb it is Gold II.

  • Is a 135 curl good?

    For a 180 lb guy, a 135 lb curl for one rep is Platinum II, stronger than about 90% of guys. At 150 lb bodyweight it is Platinum I; at 210 lb it is Gold I.

  • Is a 35 lb curl good for a woman?

    For a 140 lb woman, a 35 lb curl for one rep is Silver II, stronger than about 58% of women. At 120 lb bodyweight it is Silver I; at 170 lb it is Silver III.

  • Is a 45 lb curl good for a woman?

    For a 140 lb woman, a 45 lb curl for one rep is Gold III, stronger than about 73% of women. At 120 lb bodyweight it is Gold II; at 170 lb it is Silver I.

  • Is a 65 lb curl good for a woman?

    For a 140 lb woman, a 65 lb curl for one rep is Platinum II, stronger than about 90% of women. At 120 lb bodyweight it is Platinum I; at 170 lb it is Gold I.

  • Is a 20 kg curl good?

    For an 80 kg guy, a 20 kg curl for one rep is Bronze III, stronger than about 32% of guys. For a 60 kg woman it is Gold III, stronger than about 75% of women.

  • Is a 30 kg curl good?

    For an 80 kg guy, a 30 kg curl for one rep is Silver III, stronger than about 53% of guys. For a 60 kg woman it is Platinum II, stronger than about 93% of women.

  • Is a 40 kg curl good?

    For an 80 kg guy, a 40 kg curl for one rep is Gold III, stronger than about 69% of guys. For a 60 kg woman it is Diamond I, stronger than about 98% of women.

How the rank works

How Evident ranks your curl

  1. Your best set becomes a one-rep max. Weight × (1 + reps ÷ 30), the Epley formula. A set of 5 at 185 is about a 216 max. The one rep max calculator does it for any set.
  2. It’s scored against people like you. Standards for your sex and bodyweight, and your age past 35.
  3. Seven ranks, three steps each. Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond have III, II and I. Radiant sits past elite.
  4. In the app it keeps moving. Every set has one weight and one rep goal: 10 reps. Beat 10 on your last, all-out set and the weight goes up next time. Rest is 1 min 30 s.

Watch your curl rank up.

Evident tells you what to lift every set, raises the weight when you earn it, and ranks every lift you log.

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Questions

Barbell curl questions.

How much should I curl for my weight?

For a 180 lb guy, Silver starts at 65 lb, Gold at 93 lb, Platinum at 127 lb and Diamond at 165 lb for one rep. For a 140 lb woman, Silver starts at 31 lb, Gold at 44 lb, Platinum at 60 lb and Diamond at 79 lb for one rep. Use the calculator above for your exact bodyweight and age.

How much can the average man curl?

Among men who lift, the middle of the pack at 180 lb is about 108 lb for one rep: the intermediate standard in Strength Level’s data, and Gold II in Evident. Counting men who don’t train, Evident’s estimate for the middle 180 lb guy is about 67 lb.

What’s a good barbell curl for a woman?

For a 140 lb woman, Silver starts at 31 lb, Gold at 44 lb, Platinum at 60 lb and Diamond at 79 lb for one rep. Among women who lift, the middle at 140 lb is about 52 lb, which is Gold II.

How does Evident rank my curl?

It turns your best set into a one-rep max with the Epley formula (weight × (1 + reps ÷ 30)), then compares it with standards for your sex, bodyweight and age. Seven ranks from Iron to Radiant, with three steps inside each rank below Radiant.

Where do these numbers come from?

Evident anchors every lift to Strength Level’s published standards, which are built from millions of logged lifts, then scales them for your sex, bodyweight and age the way the app does. Past 35, the bar drops about 6% a decade.

More strength standards