Horizontal Pulling
Barbell Row Strength Standards
A barbell row number means nothing without knowing how strictly it was pulled, so these standards are written for a row you would not be embarrassed to film. Enter your bodyweight for your beginner to elite figures and see which level your best set lands in.
Find Your Barbell Row Level
Enter your bodyweight, pick your sex, and put in your best lift. Everything below updates as you type.
What the Barbell Row Really Measures
Horizontal pulling, plus everything holding you in position.
A barbell row asks you to hold a hinged position with a flat back while pulling a bar to your torso. The lats, rhomboids, mid traps and rear delts move the bar, and the hamstrings, glutes and spinal erectors spend the whole set fighting to keep you from standing up. That double demand is the point of the exercise, and it is why a heavy row builds the position that holds a heavy deadlift together.
It is also the lift most often ruined by enthusiasm. Rowing with a hip snap and a torso that rises through every rep turns it into a partial deadlift with an arm bend, and the weight can climb by a third with no gain in pulling strength. The figures here are for a row pulled from a fixed torso angle near 45 degrees or lower, with the bar reaching the body.
Where These Numbers Come From
Fifty-five percent of your deadlift, at every level.
The row is derived from the deadlift standard on our strength standards page, at 55 percent for every level. The deadlift is the site's reference for total pulling strength, and a strict row scales with it steadily because both are limited by the same back and hip musculature holding a loaded position.
There is a neat sanity check built into that number. At the intermediate level a man's row comes out slightly above his bench press standard, which matches the rough parity most coaches expect between a strict row and a bench for a balanced lifter. At the elite end the row falls to around three quarters of the bench, because a competition bench eventually outpaces an assistance lift.
| Level | Share of the deadlift standard |
|---|---|
| Beginner | 55 percent |
| Novice | 55 percent |
| Intermediate | 55 percent |
| Advanced | 55 percent |
| Elite | 55 percent |
These standards are estimates derived from typical ratios to the main lifts, rounded to the nearest 5 lb. The bench, squat, deadlift and overhead press figures they are built on are the bodyweight-ratio approximations published on our strength standards page, which are aligned with widely used references in the strength and conditioning field including ExRx.net. Nothing here is measured lab data, and no table anywhere else has been copied. Treat every figure as a target to aim at, not a verdict on you.
Barbell Row Standards for Men
Estimated 1-rep max including the bar, by bodyweight.
| Bodyweight | Beginner | Novice | Intermediate | Advanced | Elite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 110 lb | 60 lb | 90 lb | 120 lb | 150 lb | 180 lb |
| 130 lb | 70 lb | 105 lb | 145 lb | 180 lb | 215 lb |
| 150 lb | 85 lb | 125 lb | 165 lb | 205 lb | 250 lb |
| 170 lb | 95 lb | 140 lb | 185 lb | 235 lb | 280 lb |
| 190 lb (your bodyweight) | 105 lb | 155 lb | 210 lb | 260 lb | 315 lb |
| 210 lb | 115 lb | 175 lb | 230 lb | 290 lb | 345 lb |
| 230 lb | 125 lb | 190 lb | 255 lb | 315 lb | 380 lb |
| 250 lb | 140 lb | 205 lb | 275 lb | 345 lb | 415 lb |
Barbell Row Standards for Women
Estimated 1-rep max including the bar, by bodyweight.
| Bodyweight | Beginner | Novice | Intermediate | Advanced | Elite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 110 lb | 35 lb | 60 lb | 80 lb | 115 lb | 145 lb |
| 130 lb | 45 lb | 70 lb | 95 lb | 135 lb | 170 lb |
| 150 lb | 50 lb | 85 lb | 105 lb | 155 lb | 200 lb |
| 170 lb | 55 lb | 95 lb | 120 lb | 180 lb | 225 lb |
| 190 lb | 65 lb | 105 lb | 135 lb | 200 lb | 250 lb |
| 210 lb | 70 lb | 115 lb | 150 lb | 220 lb | 275 lb |
| 230 lb | 75 lb | 125 lb | 165 lb | 240 lb | 305 lb |
| 250 lb | 85 lb | 140 lb | 180 lb | 260 lb | 330 lb |
A Worked Example
Turning a set of six into a level and a target.
A 190 lb man deadlifting the intermediate standard of 380 lb should be rowing 210 lb for a single, with 260 lb as the advanced target. If he rows 155 lb for six strict reps, the estimate is about 185 lb, which puts him between novice at 155 lb and intermediate.
If that same lifter could row 225 lb with a hip snap, both numbers are true and only one belongs on this table. The strict figure is the one that tracks with his deadlift and predicts whether his upper back will hold under a heavy pull, which is the whole reason to row in the first place.
What These Standards Cannot Tell You
There is no single lift called the barbell row.
Pendlay rows from a dead stop on the floor, Yates rows with a torso near 60 degrees and classic bent rows at 45 degrees are three different exercises sharing a name. The dead-stop version is usually the lightest, the upright version the heaviest. These figures describe the middle case, so adjust your expectations by the style you use.
Body English is the other loose variable, and it is the one most people underestimate. A row that finishes with the torso ten degrees higher than it started has borrowed from the hips. If you want a number worth comparing, pick a torso angle, keep it for the whole set, and stop the set when it changes.
More Tools
Balance the pulling against the pressing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about these standards.
How much should I be able to barbell row?
At 190 lb bodyweight the intermediate barbell row is about 210 lb and the advanced mark about 260 lb. At 140 lb an intermediate woman is near 100 lb. Enter your bodyweight at the top of the page for your own figures.
What is the average barbell row weight?
For a 190 lb man who trains regularly, a strict estimated single sits between the novice and intermediate rows, about 155 to 210 lb, so working sets of six to eight land near 135 to 185 lb including the bar.
Should I row as much as I bench?
Roughly, yes, for most of your training life. At the intermediate level these standards put a strict row just above the bench press standard for the same person, which is a reasonable balance to aim for.
What percentage of my deadlift should my row be?
About 55 percent, which is the ratio these tables use. A lifter well below that is usually rowing very strictly or has a deadlift built more on leg drive than on back strength.
Does a Pendlay row count against these standards?
It is a harder version, since every rep restarts from a dead stop on the floor with no stretch reflex, so expect to handle less than the figures here. Compare Pendlay rows against your own previous Pendlay rows.
How are these barbell row standards calculated?
Each level is 55 percent of the deadlift standard for the same bodyweight and sex, rounded to the nearest 5 lb, then cross-checked against the bench press standard for balance. They are estimates from typical ratios, not measured data.