DOTS Calculator: Powerlifting Score From Your Total and Bodyweight

What the DOTS score is

DOTS turns your powerlifting total (squat + bench press + deadlift) into one number that accounts for bodyweight, so lifters of different sizes, men and women, can be compared on the same scale. The formula is:

DOTS = total × 500 ÷ (A × bw⁴ + B × bw³ + C × bw² + D × bw + E)

where bw is your bodyweight in kg and the coefficients depend on sex (OpenPowerlifting, 2020):

Bodyweight is capped at 40 to 210 kg for men and 40 to 150 kg for women; values outside that range use the nearest limit.

A worked example

Two made-up lifters. A man weighing 83 kg with a 600 kg total scores about 405 DOTS. A woman weighing 63 kg with a 400 kg total scores about 430 DOTS. She lifts less in kilos but scores higher, because the formula weighs the total against what is typical for her bodyweight and sex.

DOTS vs Wilks

Wilks is the older formula that powerlifting used for decades. The IPF dropped it in 2019 for IPF Points and moved to IPF GL Points in 2020 (Lift Vault). IPF Points can't compare men and women, so the German federation BVDK, which runs mixed-sex team events, made its own formula: DOTS, written by Tim Konertz (OpenPowerlifting, as above). Today USAPL and USPA use DOTS to pick their best lifters outside the masters categories (Lift Vault, as above).

The formulas give different numbers for the same lift, so only compare a DOTS score with other DOTS scores.

How to read your score

There is no official table of good or bad DOTS scores. The most useful comparisons are:

• Your own score over time, which also tells you if a cut or bulk helped your relative strength.
• Lifters in your federation, weight class and division, using public meet results.

Use real competition lifts or carefully tested maxes; estimated maxes from the gym tend to run high. Raw and equipped totals aren't comparable. If you test maxes, warm up well, use safeties or spotters, and stop if something hurts.