My max deadlift is 465 pounds and my best squat 355, so there is a 110-pound difference and the deadlift is 131% higher than the squat. I have heard people say that they should be about equal. Of course leverages come into play more than anything here. I am just curious about other people’s ratios.
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In my 20s…my squat was also 465 and my deadlift was 450
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In my late 30’s at my strength peak, my best gym single was a 500lb squat and a 615lb conventional deadlift.
I never had any desire to step on a powerlifting platform. I never pushed the limits of my squat quite as hard as my deadlift when it came to heavy singles, and I likely could have moved another 25-50 lbs. Knocking on age 45, I’m now in the “don’t really know, don’t really care” camp wrt heavy singles.
My former lifting partner had less variation when it came to singles, with his best gym squat being 545 and his best deadlift was 585. He also had better rep strength than me, and could out rep me by 5 or 6 on both lifts if we were working with 405 on squat and 495 on deadlift. He was also saucin’ pretty hard, and I’m lifetime natty with no TRT.
Without seeing you move, my hunch tells me you’ve got some room to improve on your squat. I didn’t realize you were this strong. You are a female, correct?
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Most people’s deadlift will be higher, typically your deadlift will be much higher than your squat when you start but your squat will increase faster and “close the gap” over time
Exceptions will be for heavier lifters due to leverages/mobility
If a beginner has a higher squat than deadlift it’s often because they aren’t going to parallel
My best squat was 507 and best deadlift was around 550 but I think I could have done closer to 600 if I’d been doing it “fresh”
My PR raw squat when I was competing: 405 with a 535 deadlift in 165 lb class.
You know what improved that ratio the most?? Top secret training secret coming up: A single ply squat suit and aggressive knee wraps:shushing_face:
Long femurs suck for squatting and I’m not “long legged” either but life just doesn’t care.
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In my 20’s when I did some powerlifting in the 220lb Class, my best meet squat was 490lbs and best meet deadlift was 650lbs.
I hurt my back when I was 29 years old and could do neither a squat or deadlift until I was 40 years old. I figured out how to squat efficiently and my squat strength began to improve. My off season body weight was in the low 240’s. My training weight in squats was 495lbs for 2 sets of 10 reps, with maybe 2 RIR. My training weight in deadlifts was 505lbs for 2 sets of 10 reps, with maybe 3 or 4 RIR. As I dropped weight for the stage I could still maintain that strength to a body weight of about 220lbs (where I stopped all thigh work and heavy deadlifts.) I was cycled on AAS for contests, so I was just as strong at 220lbs on AAS as I was around 240+lbs off cycle.
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For sure. I guy I have talked about a few times worked out at the gym that I trained from 44 years old through 65 years old who powerlifted in the 275lb Class. He was sponsored by Metal (powerlifting support gear). He used multi-ply suits, plus he became a “seamstress” and customized his suits. His best squat was 1,100lbs and best deadlift was in the low 700’s.
It was nearly a complete workout for him to get into the suit. He had thin smooth leg sleeves to make it “possible” to get into the legs of the suit. And used his body weight with a strap put on a pin in the power rack to get the suit up his torso.
At my peak, before a nasty oblique tear, my best squat hovered around 640 with wraps and 665 on my deadlift.
Everyone’s ratio is going to be wildly different, enough so that it’s pretty much impossible to give you an average. The reason for this is levers, it could also be exercise frequency, a big squat builds a big deadlift but not the other way around (generally). Efficiency also plays a role and that just comes over time.
Bigger guys with a wider and thicker base and short femurs will obviously be good Squatters. A belly to bounce off of helps too. The heavier you get generally the worse your deadlift leverages will become as it gets harder and harder to get into a efficient starting position, which is why you see light guys excel at deadlifts 90% of the time.
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600 is a good deadlift.
Do you have short legs and a long torso?
You are a female, correct?
Why the hell did you assume this?
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What’s wrong with being female?!
Usually DL is a bit stronger. When we go to a elite numbers, the gap may grow depending on how gifted you are. Some sre insane pullers, others super strong squatters.
My best gym squat is 495lbs and DL 563lbs. I think that’s quite average difference if I compare it to the lifters I know.
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If the way that I interact with people online has them thinking I’m a woman, then I’m doing something wrong. To be fair, this is the only this has happened.
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My best meet deadlift 500lb and squat 345lb (weighed 194lb). Hit 375lb squat in the gym but doesnt count.
My father competed in the 181s back in the 80s and he had a very similar lift disparity. The epitome of “the meet doesn’t start til the bar hits the floor.”
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Past posts somehow put that idea in my head.
That’s still a good base of strength!
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That was both an encouragement and a warning
The final results only came when the deadlift was done. The beauty of the deadlift, if you were a stronger deadlifter, is that you knew exactly how much weight it took to improve your final placing above your competition.
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This. I hated this so much. I get pissed thinking about how much I hated geared powerlifting. I don’t think people realize the heavy toll it can take. The gear “helps”…yeah, it does. But it also puts you in the position of supporting far more weight.
And the gear… fuuuuuck. The near hypertensive crisis you are in when you are in the hole on a squat or at the chest on a bench. It can’t be healthy.
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No…just normal 5’7" and at the time i was 180lbs
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Don’t forget the additional weight that can be squatted that compresses the spine with as much as 200lbs more than can be squatted raw.
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