Ideal weight calculator
"Ideal weight" is four different answers depending on who you ask, so this calculator gives you all of them — Devine, Robinson, Miller and Hamwi — alongside the healthy BMI range for your height. Then it explains why a trained lifter should expect to sit above every one of them.
An estimate for training decisions — not medical advice.
The four formulas
Each is a base weight at 5 ft (152 cm) plus a per-inch increment.
| Formula | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| Devine (1974) | 50 kg + 2.3 kg/in | 45.5 kg + 2.3 kg/in |
| Robinson (1983) | 52 kg + 1.9 kg/in | 49 kg + 1.7 kg/in |
| Miller (1983) | 56.2 kg + 1.41 kg/in | 53.1 kg + 1.36 kg/in |
| Hamwi (1964) | 48 kg + 2.7 kg/in | 45.5 kg + 2.2 kg/in |
Where these formulas came from
All four are the same shape — a base weight at five feet plus an increment per inch — and none of them came from athletics. Devine (1974) was written to calculate drug dosages. Hamwi (1964) was a diabetes nutrition tool. Robinson and Miller (1983) refit the same idea on better data.
They persist because they're easy arithmetic, not because they describe a target anyone should train toward. Notice that none of them ask about your frame, your sport, or how much muscle you carry.
What a lifter should aim at instead
Pick a body composition, not a weight. A lifter at 12% body fat is in good shape whether that lands at 75 kg or 95 kg, and the way there is progressive overload plus enough protein — not a scale target copied from a 1974 dosing table.
If you want a number to steer by, use the trend: bodyweight over months next to your e1RM on the main lifts. Weight up and lifts up is muscle; weight up and lifts flat is not.
Frequently asked questions
Which ideal weight formula is most accurate?
None is "accurate" — they're conventions. Robinson and Miller sit closest to modern healthy-BMI ranges; Hamwi runs highest for men.
Why is my ideal weight lower than my actual weight?
Usually muscle, if you train. These formulas assume an average, untrained body composition and no formula here has ever seen a squat.
Is there an ideal weight for lifting?
Only in weight-class sports, where the ideal is the top of a class you can make comfortably. Otherwise, aim at composition and performance.
Your workouts deserve a witness
Choose a character, log your first session, and let it grow with you — free on iPhone.
Download on the App Store Launching soon on the App Store