Use these strict press standards to benchmark your press against lifters of similar size. If you call it an overhead press, OHP, or even a military press, this is the same general strength-level question.
The press moves more slowly than squat or deadlift, so standards help keep expectations realistic. A strict press that looks modest in absolute pounds can still be genuinely advanced once bodyweight is considered.
Set your real details so the standards reflect your profile instead of the default starting values.
Sign in to create your free lifting log. Track your real lifts over time and see how your strength level stacks up against these standards.
The overhead press climbs more slowly than the other big barbell lifts, so many lifters underestimate what counts as genuinely strong pressing.
That is why strict press and overhead press standards by bodyweight matter. A press that looks modest in absolute pounds can still be advanced once bodyweight, sex, and age are factored in.
These standards are built to give your press the right context instead of making it compete with lifts that naturally move more weight.
For many male lifters, pressing around half bodyweight is an early milestone, while pressing bodyweight is elite. For many female lifters, lower absolute numbers still represent very strong relative pressing. Use the personalised standards here rather than guessing from gym myths.
Yes. A strict 135 pound press is a serious benchmark for most lifters. Depending on your size and sex, it may fall around advanced or even elite territory. That is exactly the kind of question these standards are meant to answer.
Usually, yes. Most lifters use strict press, overhead press, OHP, and military press to mean the same general standing barbell press benchmark. Technique details can vary a little, but if you want strength levels for that movement, this page is the right place to start.
A push press uses a knee dip and leg drive to help move the bar overhead. A strict press should be done with stiff legs and no knee flexion, so the press is driven by the upper body instead of getting momentum from the lower body.
That is normal. The strict press is usually the hardest of the big four barbell lifts to progress on, and the strength standards reflect that. A lower pressing number can still be very respectable.
