DOTS Calculator — Powerlifting Score by Bodyweight
Calculate your DOTS score from your squat, bench and deadlift total. Shows IPF GL and Wilks alongside it, because the three scales are not interchangeable.
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IPF GL uses a different curve for each event. Scoring an equipped total on the classic curve inflates it, so pick the one you lifted under. DOTS and Wilks have no equipped variant.
IPF GL (2020): The formula the IPF scores its own meets with, in force since 1 May 2020. Points are normalised so roughly 100 is world-record level, which makes GL the only one of the three whose number is readable on sight. Separate coefficients exist per event and per sex.
DOTS (2019): Tim Konertz's quartic, written for the German federation (BVDK) and adopted by most non-IPF federations and strength databases. Widely mislabelled as an IPF formula — it is not one. Fitted for 40–210 kg (men) and 40–150 kg (women); outside that range this tool clamps to the boundary rather than extrapolating.
Wilks (1994): The original relative-strength formula, and the one GL and DOTS were built to replace. Kept here because historical records and older databases are still expressed in it.
The three scales are not interchangeable: a GL of 85 and a DOTS of 450 are both national-level, but neither number converts into the other.
The formula
DOTS = Total_kg × 500 / (a·w⁴ + b·w³ + c·w² + d·w + e)
Full derivation and the conditions it holds under are in Method and basis, below.
Method and basis
How the figure above is derived, and when not to act on it.
What DOTS Measures
DOTS answers one question: how good is this total *for this bodyweight*? A 600 kg total means something very different at 59 kg than at 140 kg, and weight classes only partly solve that — they cannot rank the best lifter at a meet, or compare two lifters a class apart.
DOTS = Total_kg × 500 / (a·w⁴ + b·w³ + c·w² + d·w + e)
Where w is bodyweight in kilograms and the coefficients differ by sex:
| Term | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| w⁴ | −0.000001093 | −0.0000010706 |
| w³ | 0.0007391293 | 0.0005158568 |
| w² | −0.1918759221 | −0.1126655495 |
| w | 24.0900756 | 13.6175032 |
| constant | −307.75076 | −57.96288 |
Who Actually Wrote It
Tim Konertz, in 2019, for the German powerlifting federation (BVDK). This matters because DOTS is captioned "the IPF formula" almost everywhere, including by calculators that should know better. The IPF does not use DOTS. It scores its own meets with IPF GL points, adopted 1 May 2020.
What DOTS did win is the unofficial market: most non-IPF federations, most strength databases, and most lifters comparing numbers online use DOTS. If someone quotes you a score with no formula attached, it is probably this one.
The Fitted Range Is Not Infinite
The two curves are fitted for 40–210 kg (men)** and **40–150 kg (women). Outside those bounds the quartic turns over — push the bodyweight high enough and it starts awarding *more* points for being heavier, which is the opposite of what the formula exists to do. This calculator clamps to the nearest boundary rather than extrapolating past it.
Reading a DOTS Score
| DOTS | Level |
|---|---|
| under 200 | Novice |
| 200–300 | Beginner to intermediate |
| 300–400 | Intermediate to advanced |
| 400–450 | Advanced, competitive locally |
| 450–500 | Elite, nationally competitive |
| 500+ | World-class |
Do Not Convert Between Scales
A DOTS of 450 and an IPF GL of 85 both describe a nationally competitive lifter, but there is no conversion between them — they are separate fits to separate datasets. Quote the scale with the number, always.
WinSport Editorial & Research Standards
All formulas and reference values used in this tool are sourced from peer-reviewed scientific literature and validated clinical guidelines. Our research team continuously audits each calculator for accuracy and updates methodology as new evidence emerges.
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