Is There A Standard Squat/Bench/Deadlift Ratio?

A WannaBeBig poster wonders if there's an ideal ration between the amount of one's squat, bench, and deadlift which he should be shooting for. He asks:

I hear people talking frequently about "bad" ratios for squat/bench/dead, but I've never read a formula. I'm sure the right ratio varies person by person, but is there a guideline out there?

Opinions:

It differs for everyone. Most of the bench specialists have a sick bench, and dont' really care to discuss their squat and deadlift numbers. The most common top powerlifters have a big squat, followed by a deadlift which is less than their squat, followed by a bench lower than their deadlift. A plain example would be: 1000/600/800--> that's a normal ratio for a world class powerlifter. If you have say a 700 bench and a 600 deadlift, then you're most probably destined to be a bench specialist.

I've never heard of someone that can bench more than they can DL.

The 1000/600/800 ratio applies to PL'ers who use equipment, but it's not as applicable to raw ratios. Raw, most people will have a higher deadlift than squat, and a higher squat than bench. I know a lot of raw guys shoot for a ratio of about 400/300/500 on squat/bench/dead.

A very general, useful guide for an unequipped lifter:

Squat 2 x bw
bench 1.5 x bw
dead 2.5 x bw

That works out to a 4:3:5 ratio Once you reach elite levels or throw equipement into the mix, it changes/

A very, very informal study on the internet showed that most lighter lifters have a higher deadlift to squat, whereas heavier lifters have a higher squat. I think the turning point is around 231. Obviously this doesn't apply to everyone, and gear changes things as well...

I agree with Guido, I think a ratio of about 4:3:5 is pretty standard for someone under 220, raw.

yep with raw training its 3,4,5 bench squat dead, which is like exactly what i have cept higher squat

In my opinion, the squat should be higher than the deadlift, and the deadlift should be higher than the bench, something like 1000, 600, 800, but a lot of people don't do this.

Either way, I think it's safe to say that 99.99999999999% of lifters will always have a higher deadlift than squat unless they use equipment.

Depends on genetics... Really depends i wouldn't put a ideal number to it though.

those are accurate pl ratios for a parallel squat. atf squat however dramatically reduces the squat number like anthony said, regardless of body type, deadlift will always be higher than a full range squat.