The formula

DOTS runs your bodyweight (in kg) through a fifth-degree polynomial, a long math curve, then multiplies the result by your total. The curve uses a different set of numbers for men and women.

coefficient = 500 / (A + B·x + C·x² + D·x³ + E·x⁴ + F·x⁵)
DOTS = total × coefficient

The coefficients for male lifters are:

A =  -307.75076
B =    24.0900756
C =    -0.1918759221
D =     0.0007391293
E =    -0.000001093
F =     0

The coefficients for female lifters are:

A =  -57.96288
B =   13.6175032
C =   -0.1126655495
D =    0.0005158568
E =   -0.0000010706
F =    0

That number multiplies against your total in kg to give your DOTS. The curve is set so that strong meet totals land in the 300 to 600 range.

How to read your score

These are rough landmarks for raw lifters who do not get tested, set against IPF results.

DOTS	Typical experience level
200	Beginner — just starting structured training
250	Novice — 6–12 months consistent
300	Intermediate — 2–4 years structured
350	Upper-intermediate
400	Advanced — top 10–15% of serious raw
450	Elite — local/state meet contender
500	Regional/national level
550+	National/international tested raw
600+	World-class, tested raw

DOTS vs. Wilks vs. IPF GL

DOTS took over from Wilks as the go-to powerlifting score in 2019 and 2020. Wilks read a bit off at the light and heavy ends of the scale. DOTS uses a cleaner pool of lifters and fixes that drift.

The IPF, the International Powerlifting Federation, runs its own newer score for sanctioned meets called IPF GoodLift (GL). GL changes by event. It uses one set of numbers for raw lifting and another for geared lifting, and it splits three-lift totals from single-lift events. GL and DOTS do not line up one to one, but both ask the same thing: how strong are you for your size?

Kinoku shows DOTS, IPF GL, Wilks 2, and FFMI in the app, so you can read one total four ways. The Wilks calculator on this site also runs the old Wilks 1 (1994) score, handy for checking old federation records. See "Reading the DOTS Score" in /learn for the full story.

Privacy

This calculator runs in your browser. It makes no network call to score your lift. Nothing is saved or logged. Turn off your network first and the page still works.

Track this in Kinoku

The Strength Standards feature scores DOTS, IPF GL, Wilks, and FFMI from your training record, with percentiles from offline tables. It is part of Elite Analytics.