Is a 1,000 lb Total Good? DOTS and IPF GL Points

DOTS points and IPF GL points from a total or a bench press

How do you rank a 132 lb lifter against a 242 lb one? This DOTS calculator turns a powerlifting total or a bench press, plus body weight and sex, into DOTS points and IPF GL (Goodlift) points, for raw or equipped lifting, in pounds or kilograms. A man at 198 lb with a 1,450 lb raw total gets 425.73 DOTS and 87.53 GL points, and the result adds the total he would need for 300 to 500 DOTS and 60 to 100 GL at his weight.

Where the confusion starts: one total, four scores

The same 1,450 lb at 198 lb is 420.33 on Wilks, 425.73 on DOTS, 87.53 on raw GL and 72.66 on equipped GL. Four numbers for one performance, and a meet sheet, a ranking site and a gym chat may each quote a different one. Comparing a DOTS score from one place with a GL score from another tells you nothing.

The fix is not a better formula but the same formula on both sides of the comparison. That is why the calculator prints DOTS and GL together and keeps every table inside one scale.

Two scores, worked out side by side

DOTS was developed by Tim Konertz for the German federation BVDK. The coefficient is 500 / (ax⁴ + bx³ + cx² + dx + e), x being body weight in kilograms, with one set of five numbers for men and one for women, used for full power and the bench press alike. IPF GL is the formula of the International Powerlifting Federation: 100 / (A - B e^{-C x}), with eight parameter sets, one for each combination of sex, raw or equipped, and full power or bench press.

Both scores at once. No need to know in advance which one your meet or ranking uses.

Raw and equipped kept apart. GL treats a single-ply suit and shirt as a different sport; DOTS does not, and the result says which number moved.

Goals in pounds. The points you want become the total you need, at your body weight.

Six choices between you and a score

Units - pounds or kilograms. Pounds are converted at 0.45359237 kg before either formula, because both were fitted in kilograms.
Sex - each formula has separate coefficients for men and women.
Event - full power, where the result is the total of squat, bench press and deadlift, or bench press only.
Raw or equipped - raw (classic) means no supportive suit or shirt; equipped means single-ply gear. Only the GL points change with this choice.
Body weight - from the weigh-in if you competed, decimals with a dot, for example 197.6.
Total or bench press - in the same unit, matching the event. Then read DOTS on the dark tile, GL beside it, the goal tables and the same result at body weights 10 and 20 lb (5 and 10 kg) either side.

Which score to quote, and when

The table is a decision aid, not a ruling: the rules of your federation or meet always come first. Most people land in the second row: comparing a total with friends or with numbers seen online.

Your situation	Quote	Why
IPF or an IPF affiliate meet	IPF GL	the formula the IPF uses for best lifter
Comparing yourself with friends or online	DOTS	one curve for raw and equipped, widely quoted
Meet rules name Wilks	Wilks	use the Wilks calculator, not DOTS
Raw lifter against an equipped one	GL, each in own category	DOTS would score the suit as strength
Bench-only meet	GL bench, or DOTS on the bench	never against a full power score
Tracking your own progress	either, but always the same one	a change of formula looks like progress

Six lifters, three formulas

Every case is a full power raw total, apart from the two bench press rows. Wilks is added for comparison.

Man, 132 lb, 1,000 lb total - light class against the heavy man below.
Result: 383.51 DOTS, 74.47 GL, 387.60 Wilks.

Man, 181 lb, 1,300 lb total - Wilks put him 8.6 points ahead of the 132 lb lifter; DOTS puts him 17.0 ahead.
Result: 400.54 DOTS, 82.08 GL, 396.18 Wilks.

Man, 242 lb, 1,700 lb total - heavier still, and the three formulas agree he is the strongest of the three men.
Result: 457.06 DOTS, 93.28 GL, 454.08 Wilks.

Woman, 148 lb, 805 lb total - the same total in a lighter class would score more.
Result: 378.17 DOTS, 76.84 GL, 374.14 Wilks.

Man, 181 lb, 315 lb raw bench - DOTS on a single lift is small; GL bench uses its own curve and lands on the same scale as a total.
Result: 97.05 DOTS, 72.17 GL bench.

Woman, 132 lb, 185 lb raw bench - almost the same GL as the man above, with less than 60% of his weight on the bar.
Result: 93.15 DOTS, 72.19 GL bench.

For scale: OpenPowerlifting tests its code on a published world championship result, an equipped total of 1,035 kg at 92.04 kg, which is 112.85 GL points. This calculator gives the same number.

Pounds on the bar for 400 DOTS or 80 GL, class by class

Totals needed for 400 DOTS and for 80 GL at the top of each IPF class (140 kg and 100 kg stand in for the open classes). The equipped column shows how much more a suit has to move for the same GL points.

Class limit	400 DOTS	80 GL raw	80 GL equipped
Men 59 kg (130.1 lb)	1,030.4 lb	1,065.9 lb	1,211.4 lb
Men 74 kg (163.1 lb)	1,218.6 lb	1,201.3 lb	1,423.2 lb
Men 83 kg (183.0 lb)	1,306.3 lb	1,274.1 lb	1,527.3 lb
Men 93 kg (205.0 lb)	1,386.0 lb	1,348.2 lb	1,626.3 lb
Men 105 kg (231.5 lb)	1,462.2 lb	1,428.5 lb	1,725.5 lb
Men 140 kg (308.6 lb)	1,609.2 lb	1,617.9 lb	1,924.5 lb
Women 52 kg (114.6 lb)	723.5 lb	698.5 lb	866.0 lb
Women 63 kg (138.9 lb)	819.9 lb	806.1 lb	976.9 lb
Women 76 kg (167.6 lb)	911.7 lb	894.6 lb	1,074.9 lb
Women 100 kg (220.5 lb)	1,033.4 lb	988.9 lb	1,191.3 lb

In the middle classes 400 DOTS and 80 raw GL sit close together in pounds, which is a handy rough link between the two scales. At the extremes they drift apart again, so the link is a rule of thumb, not a conversion.

What lifters ask before a meet

What is a good DOTS score?

No federation publishes official DOTS levels, so it is easier to think in pounds. A man at 183 lb needs a 1,306.3 lb total for 400 DOTS, a woman at 138.9 lb needs 819.9 lb. The calculator prints the totals for 300 to 500 points at your own weight.

DOTS or Wilks: what is the difference?

Both divide a constant by a polynomial of body weight, but DOTS uses a fourth-degree curve with newer coefficients and Wilks a fifth-degree one. In the middle classes the scores are close; at 308 lb with a 2,000 lb total they part by almost 10: 497.45 DOTS against 507.10 Wilks.

Why do GL points change with equipment and DOTS do not?

GL was fitted separately to raw and equipped results, because a suit adds pounds to the squat and bench. DOTS has one curve for both. The same 1,450 lb at 198 lb is 87.53 raw GL and only 72.66 equipped GL, while DOTS stays at 425.73.

Can I get GL points below 77 lb of body weight?

No. The GL formula is not defined below 35 kg (77.2 lb), so the calculator shows DOTS only and says why. DOTS itself holds the coefficient at the 40 kg limit below that weight.

Do DOTS points work for the bench press alone?

Yes, with the same coefficient as for a total, so the number is small: 315 lb at 181 lb is 97.05 DOTS. GL has its own bench parameters, which put a bench on the same scale as a total: 72.17 GL for the same lift.

Should I cut to a lower class for more points?

Only if the total survives the cut. The body weight table in the result shows the same total 10 and 20 lb lighter and heavier; compare the points there with what you expect to lose on the bar.

Related tools

Wilks Calculator

The original Wilks and the revised Wilks-2 score for the same total - See the calculator

Strength Progress Calculator

How fast your lifts grow, and when you reach the total you are after - See the calculator

One Rep Max (1RM) Calculator

Estimate your max from a set of reps to pick meet attempts - See the calculator

Calorie Deficit Calculator

A controlled cut toward a lower weight class - See the calculator

Calorie Surplus Calculator

Moving up a class with a planned surplus - See the calculator

Protein Intake Calculator

Daily protein for a meet prep block - See the calculator

Is a 1,000 lb powerlifting total good for a 198 lb man?

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