Is a 315 Deadlift Good? It Depends on Your Bodyweight

Three 45 lb plates on each side: 315 lb is the deadlift number most lifters remember hitting. Whether it's a good deadlift depends on what you weigh.

The short answer: yes, a 315 lb deadlift (143 kg) is a good deadlift for most men. It's advanced if you weigh 140 lb or less, intermediate at about 141–180 lb, and a novice lift from about 181 to 250 lb bodyweight. For a woman under about 157 lb, a 315 deadlift is elite.

The deadlift runs higher than the squat and bench for almost everyone, so 315 means less on the deadlift than a 315 squat does. This guide shows what 315 means at every bodyweight, what it means for reps, and how far away 405 is.

Is 315 a good deadlift for my weight?

Strength standards compare your one-rep max with your bodyweight. A 180 lb lifter who deadlifts 315 lb has a ratio of 315 ÷ 180 = 1.75×.

We use the same rules of thumb as our deadlift standards by bodyweight guide. For men: about 1.25× bodyweight is novice, 1.75× is intermediate, 2.25× is advanced and 2.75× is elite. For women: 0.85×, 1.25×, 1.6× and 2.0×. These are common community standards, not science.

Here's a 315 lb one-rep max at different bodyweights:

In plain words:

• At 140 lb or less, 315 is 2.25× bodyweight or more: an advanced deadlift by common standards.
• At 150–180 lb, it's an intermediate deadlift. At 150 lb it's close to advanced; at 180 lb it's right on the intermediate line.
• At 190–250 lb, it's a novice-level number for a man. Heavier lifters usually pass 315 within their first year or two of training.
• For women, 315 is elite up to about 157 lb and advanced up to about 195 lb. Very few women outside competitive powerlifting pull three plates.

That's why 315 can sound huge or ordinary depending on who's saying it. If you're a 160 lb lifter pulling 315, you're well ahead of most people in a typical gym. If you're 230 lb, it's a good start, not the finish line.

315 lb in kg (and the kg version of three plates)

315 lb is 142.9 kg. In a kg gym, three 20 kg plates per side on a 20 kg bar is 140 kg, or 308.6 lb. To pull the full 315, load 142.5 kg (314.2 lb) or 145 kg (319.7 lb).

What if I deadlift 315 for reps?

If you can pull 315 for more than one rep, your max is higher than 315. Estimate it with the Epley formula, the same one Liftly uses:

Estimated 1RM = weight × (1 + reps ÷ 30)

Levels use the men's standards above. Epley counts even a single rep a little above the bar (315 × 1 works out to 325.5 lb), so a logged single in Liftly reads slightly higher than the first row.

The estimate is most accurate for sets of about 3–10 reps close to failure. High-rep deadlifts get sloppy fast and tire your grip and lower back before your legs, so most lifters keep heavy deadlift sets at 8 reps or fewer.

How close am I to a 315 deadlift?

If you can do one of these sets with a flat back and no hitching, your estimated max is already 315 lb or more (set weights rounded up to the next 5 lb):

If you're there, a single at 315 on a fresh day is a fair attempt. If grip is the thing that fails, try a mixed grip or hook grip for the heavy single, or use straps on your back-off sets so your back and legs get the work.

Is 405 a good deadlift?

Four plates is the next big milestone. Using the same men's standards:

So 405 is advanced for men at 180 lb or less, intermediate up to about 231 lb, and elite-level only under about 147 lb. 405 lb is 183.7 kg; the kg four-plate version (180 kg) is 396.8 lb.

How a 315 deadlift moves your Liftly back rank

Liftly ranks every muscle from Newbie to GOAT using your estimated one-rep max divided by your logged bodyweight. The deadlift is filed under Back in Liftly's exercise library, so it counts toward your back rank together with rows, pulldowns and pull-ups. The back score blends all of them, weighted toward your best three.

That blend matters a lot for deadlifters. Here's a 170 lb lifter who logs a 315 single plus a typical row and pulldown:

With only the deadlift logged, the back score would be 1.91×, which is Titan II. With all three lifts, the score is 1.29×, which is Elite I. Your deadlift pulls your back rank up, and your rows and pulldowns decide how far. If you've ever wondered why a big deadlift doesn't make your back rank sky-high, this is why: your upper back counts too. Pull-ups feed the same score; see how many pull-ups you should be able to do.

225, 315, 405, 495: what each plate milestone means

• 225 lb is a novice deadlift for men up to 180 lb and a beginner number above that. It's often the first plate milestone a new lifter hits.
• 315 lb is intermediate for most men between 141 and 180 lb.
• 405 lb is advanced at 180 lb or lighter.
• 495 lb is elite-level at 150–170 lb and advanced even at 210 lb.

The squat has its own version of this question: is a 315 squat good. Because the squat usually trails the deadlift, a 315 squat is the harder milestone for most people.

How to get from 225 to 315 (and on to 405)

1. Deadlift once or twice a week. Heavy pulls are tiring; one heavy day and one lighter variation (Romanian deadlift, paused or deficit pulls) works for most people.
2. Use double progression. Pick a rep range like 3–5 and add weight when every set reaches the top. The method step by step: how to track progressive overload.
3. Add weight in steps of 5–10 lb. The deadlift can take bigger jumps than the bench early on, but once the bar slows down, 5 lb steps last longer.
4. Fix your grip early. Chalk, a hook grip or a mixed grip for top sets, and straps for back-off work.
5. Log every working set. When 275 × 3 becomes 275 × 5, your estimated max went up by about 18 lb, even though the bar weight didn't.

FAQ

Is 315 deadlift good at 16?

Yes, it's a strong deadlift for a teenager. There's no reliable data on average deadlift by age, so compare by bodyweight instead: at 150 lb, 315 is 2.1× bodyweight, near advanced. Teens should build up with clean reps and avoid frequent max attempts.

Is 315 deadlift good for 180 lbs?

It's a solid intermediate deadlift. At 180 lb, 315 is exactly 1.75× bodyweight, the common intermediate line. 405 at 180 lb would be advanced.

Is a 405 deadlift good?

Yes, for most men. 405 is advanced at 180 lb bodyweight or less and intermediate up to about 231 lb. Above that it's still a big number, just a more common one for heavier lifters.

What is 315 lb in kg?

315 lb is 142.9 kg. The kg version of three plates is 140 kg (a 20 kg bar plus three 20 kg plates per side), which is 308.6 lb.

Is 315 deadlift good for a girl?

Yes, it's an elite deadlift for any woman under about 157 lb and advanced up to about 195 lb. Very few women outside competitive powerlifting pull 315.

Is 315 for 5 reps good?

Yes. 315 × 5 estimates a one-rep max of about 367.5 lb (167 kg), which is advanced for a man under about 163 lb and intermediate at 180–200 lb.