DOTS Calculator: Wilks & IPF GL Points
Compare lifters across bodyweights with DOTS, Wilks and IPF GL points, using the official coefficients.
- 2 cited sources
- Calculates in your browser
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Baseline
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Get my Baseline →Methodology
All three scoring systems share one idea: multiply your total by a coefficient derived from bodyweight so different-sized lifters can be compared.
- DOTS,
total × 500 ÷ poly4(bodyweight), a fourth-degree polynomial fitted separately for men and women. - Wilks (original), the same structure with a fifth-degree polynomial; the historical standard.
- IPF GL points,
total × 100 ÷ (A − B·e^(−C·bw)), with parameter sets per sex, event (full power or bench-only) and equipment (raw or equipped); the system used at IPF competitions.
Every coefficient is taken verbatim from the OpenPowerlifting codebase, the open-source project whose rankings the powerlifting world treats as canonical, and our DOTS implementation is regression-tested against OPL's own computed scores for eleven real meet entries.
Interpreting your result
As rough waypoints for raw full-power DOTS: 200 to 300 covers most recreational lifters, 300 to 450 is competitive club-to-national territory, 450 to 550 is national-to-international, and 600+ belongs to the sport's outliers. Wilks runs on a similar scale; IPF GL centres differently (100 GL ≈ a notional reference performance), so compare GL only with GL.
Scores are for comparing lifters at a moment in time, for tracking your own progress, your total in kilograms is the honest metric, since your score also moves with bodyweight.
Limitations
- Formulas are fitted to competition populations; extremes of bodyweight sit on the least-supported parts of the curves (inputs are clamped to each formula's published range).
- DOTS and Wilks here assume a full-power total; only IPF GL has bench-only parameters.
- No formula fully removes the bodyweight debate. They are the accepted compromise, not a solved problem.
Sources
Pull the receipts, 2 cited sources
FitTools · sources
- 01 OpenPowerlifting coefficients (dots.rs, wilks.rs, goodlift.rs)
- 02 OpenPowerlifting: lifter database used for regression vectors
Every formula cited ✓
Frequently asked questions
- What is a DOTS score?
- DOTS scales your total by a bodyweight-based polynomial so lifters of different sizes can be compared. It has become the default ranking metric on OpenPowerlifting and at many raw meets.
- What is a good DOTS score?
- Roughly: 250 to 300 is a solid recreational lifter, 350 to 450 is competitive at local and national level, and 500+ is international class. The very best raw lifters in the world exceed 600.
- DOTS, Wilks or IPF GL: which should I use?
- Whichever your federation and friends use; they all answer the same question with different fitted curves. IPF competitions use GL points; most raw meets and OpenPowerlifting rankings use DOTS; Wilks is the historical standard.
- Are these the official formulas?
- Yes, the coefficients are taken verbatim from the OpenPowerlifting codebase and our implementation is regression-tested against OPL's own published scores for real meet entries.
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