Strength standards

How heavy should lateral raises be?

How much should you lateral raise 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 lateral raise and the standards for men and women by bodyweight are below.

I lift as
180 lb
Weight
lb
Reps
Age
Units

The weight is one dumbbell, the way you log it in the app.

Gold II

Stronger than 78% of guys

Next: Gold I at 35 lb × 5

Estimated one-rep max: 35 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.

Lateral raise 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

Lateral raise standards for men: one-rep max where each rank starts
BodyweightBronzeSilverGoldPlatinumDiamondRadiant
120 or less lb54 or less kg631362210341648226329
130 lb59 kg631362311351649226530
140 lb64 kg731472411371752246931
150 lb68 kg741572612391855257333
160 lb73 kg841672713411958267635
170 lb77 kg841782813432061288037
180 lb82 kg841783014452163298438
190 lb86 kg941883114472266308840
200 lb91 kg941993215492269329142
210 lb95 kg942093315512372339543
220 lb100 kg1052093516532474349845
230 lb104 kg105211036175525773510247
240 lb109 kg105221037175726803610648
250 or more lb113 or more kg115221038185827823810950

Women

Lateral raise standards for women: one-rep max where each rank starts
BodyweightBronzeSilverGoldPlatinumDiamondRadiant
120 or less lb54 or less kg327311517824113215
130 lb59 kg327312618825113315
140 lb64 kg427412619926123516
150 lb68 kg428413620928133717
160 lb73 kg4284147211029133818
170 lb77 kg4294147221031144019
180 lb82 kg4294157231132154219
190 lb86 kg5294167241133154420
200 lb91 kg52105168251135164621
210 lb95 kg52105178261236174822
220 lb100 kg53105188271237174923
230 lb104 kg53115189281339185124
240 lb109 kg53115199291340185324
250 or more lb113 or more kg63115199291441195525

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 lateral raise?

For a 180 lb guy, Silver starts at 17 lb, Gold at 30 lb, Platinum at 45 lb and Diamond at 63 lb for one rep. For a 140 lb woman, Silver starts at 7 lb, Gold at 12 lb, Platinum at 19 lb and Diamond at 26 lb for one rep.

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

  • Is a 15 lb lateral raise good?

    For a 180 lb guy, a 15 lb dumbbells lateral raise for one rep is Bronze I, stronger than about 45% of guys. At 150 lb bodyweight it is Silver III; at 210 lb it is Bronze II.

  • Is a 20 lb lateral raise good?

    For a 180 lb guy, a 20 lb dumbbells lateral raise for one rep is Silver II, stronger than about 56% of guys. At 150 lb bodyweight it is Silver II; at 210 lb it is Silver III.

  • Is a 25 lb lateral raise good?

    For a 180 lb guy, a 25 lb dumbbells lateral raise for one rep is Silver I, stronger than about 64% of guys. At 150 lb bodyweight it is Gold III; at 210 lb it is Silver II.

  • Is a 30 lb lateral raise good?

    For a 180 lb guy, a 30 lb dumbbells lateral raise for one rep is Gold III, stronger than about 72% of guys. At 150 lb bodyweight it is Gold II; at 210 lb it is Silver I.

  • Is a 5 lb dumbbells lateral raise good for a woman?

    For a 140 lb woman, a 5 lb dumbbells lateral raise for one rep is Bronze II, stronger than about 38% of women. At 120 lb bodyweight it is Bronze I; at 170 lb it is Bronze II.

  • Is a 10 lb dumbbells lateral raise good for a woman?

    For a 140 lb woman, a 10 lb dumbbells lateral raise for one rep is Silver I, stronger than about 63% of women. At 120 lb bodyweight it is Silver I; at 170 lb it is Silver II.

  • Is a 15 lb dumbbells lateral raise good for a woman?

    For a 140 lb woman, a 15 lb dumbbells lateral raise for one rep is Gold II, stronger than about 81% of women. At 120 lb bodyweight it is Gold I; at 170 lb it is Gold III.

  • Is a 10 kg dumbbell lateral raise good?

    For an 80 kg guy, a 10 kg dumbbell lateral raise for one rep is Silver II, stronger than about 60% of guys. For a 60 kg woman it is Platinum I, stronger than about 93% of women.

How the rank works

How Evident ranks your lateral raise

  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: 15 reps. Beat 15 on your last, all-out set and the weight goes up next time. Rest is 1 min.

Watch your lateral raise rank up.

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

Download on the App Store

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Questions

Lateral raise questions.

How much should I lateral raise for my weight?

For a 180 lb guy, Silver starts at 17 lb, Gold at 30 lb, Platinum at 45 lb and Diamond at 63 lb for one rep. For a 140 lb woman, Silver starts at 7 lb, Gold at 12 lb, Platinum at 19 lb and Diamond at 26 lb for one rep. Use the calculator above for your exact bodyweight and age.

How much can the average man lateral raise?

Among men who lift, the middle of the pack at 180 lb is about 36 lb per dumbbell 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 18 lb per dumbbell.

What’s a good lateral raise for a woman?

For a 140 lb woman, Silver starts at 7 lb, Gold at 12 lb, Platinum at 19 lb and Diamond at 26 lb for one rep. Among women who lift, the middle at 140 lb is about 15 lb per dumbbell, which is Gold II.

How does Evident rank my lateral raise?

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