DOTS, IPF GL & Wilks Score
Compare a powerlifting total across bodyweights using DOTS and IPF GL Points, with Wilks shown as legacy rather than as the default.
- 01Enter your bodyweight and your best successful attempt at each lift.
- 02Set equipment and event to match your competition category.
- 03Compare the three scores — but only against others using the same system.
What the terms mean
- Total
- Squat plus bench plus deadlift — best successful attempt at each.
- DOTS
- A 2019 scoring formula that adjusts a total for bodyweight. Current standard for many federations.
- IPF GL
- IPF Goodlift points — the official IPF system since May 2020.
- Wilks
- The long-standing scoring formula, now largely superseded.
- Classic / raw
- Lifted without supportive equipment beyond a belt and sleeves.
Intermediate range — DOTS is the current standard for most federations outside the IPF.
Note that IPF GL points are on a different scale entirely — roughly 100 represents an elite result, where DOTS and Wilks both run in the hundreds. Compare each system only against itself.
Method & sources
DOTS (Konertz, 2019) was built on modern competition data to correct known biases in Wilks at very light and very heavy bodyweights. USPA, WRPF and others adopted it from 2020.
IPF GL Points became the IPF's official system on 1 May 2020, replacing IPF Points. It uses separate coefficients for each combination of sex, equipment and event.
Wilks was the global standard for roughly 25 years and is shown here as legacy, because many older records and personal benchmarks are still expressed in it. If your federation has not specified a system, DOTS is the safer modern default.
IPF GL coefficients, International Powerlifting Federation (2020) · Konertz T, DOTS (2019) · Wilks R (1994)
What these numbers
actually tell you.
The three scales are not comparable
IPF GL points run to roughly 100 for an elite result, while DOTS and Wilks run in the hundreds. A GL of 72 and a DOTS of 352 can describe the same lifter. Never compare a number from one system against another.
Why DOTS is the default here
Wilks was the global standard for about twenty-five years but has documented bias at very light and very heavy bodyweights. DOTS was built on modern competition data to correct that, and USPA, WRPF and others adopted it from 2020. Wilks is retained because many older records and personal benchmarks are still expressed in it — but if your federation has not specified, DOTS is the safer modern choice.
What the bands mean
Roughly, under 200 DOTS is beginner territory, 300 novice, 375 intermediate, 450 advanced and 525 elite. These are orientation, not federation classifications, and they say nothing about how long you have trained or what your potential is.
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