Shoulder Size Standards for Lifters (cm)

The average shoulder size for lifters is 120 cm for men and 104 cm for women. Compare your unflexed shoulder size by gender and height below.

Body Part

Size Unit

Inches (in)

Centimetres (cm)

Our shoulder size standards are based on 1,489 measurements from Strength Level users from 2022 to 2026. More...

Overall Shoulder Size Standards (cm)

Rating	Male	Female
Very Small	103	91
Small	111	97
Medium	120	104
Large	130	111
Very Large	140	119

What is the average shoulder size?

Men

120 cm

Women

104 cm

The average shoulder size for lifters across all heights is 120 cm for men and 104 cm for women.

What shoulder size is large? A shoulder size of 130 cm for men or 111 cm for women is large. A very large shoulder size is 140 cm for men or 119 cm for women.

What shoulder size is small? A shoulder size of 111 cm for men or 97 cm for women is small. A very small shoulder size is 103 cm for men or 91 cm for women.

Male Shoulder Size Standards by Height (cm)

Height	XS	S	M	L	XL
165 cm	99	107	115	124	133
170 cm	101	109	117	126	136
175 cm	103	110	119	128	138
180 cm	104	112	121	130	140
185 cm	106	114	123	133	142
190 cm	108	116	125	135	145
195 cm	109	117	127	136	147

Female Shoulder Size Standards by Height (cm)

Height	XS	S	M	L	XL
155 cm	89	94	100	107	114
160 cm	90	96	102	109	115
165 cm	91	97	104	110	117
170 cm	93	99	105	112	119
175 cm	94	100	107	114	121
180 cm	96	101	108	115	122
185 cm	97	103	110	117	124

What do the standards mean?

Very Small (XS)	Higher than 5% of users.
Small (S)	Higher than 20% of users.
Medium (M)	Higher than 50% of users.
Large (L)	Higher than 80% of users.
Very Large (XL)	Higher than 95% of users.

How to Measure Shoulder Size

For the closest comparison, measure your shoulder unflexed with a flexible tape on bare skin or light clothing. Stand with your arms relaxed. Ask someone to run the tape around the widest part of both shoulders, over the outer deltoids and across the upper chest and back. Keep the tape flat and snug without compressing the skin, and use the same method each time. Community measurements are self-reported, so individual technique may vary.

Is shoulder size the same as shoulder width?

No. The tape wraps around both shoulders, the upper chest and the upper back. Shoulder width is a straight-line measurement across the body and is not comparable with these standards.

Data behind the shoulder size standards

Strength Level analysed 1,489 qualifying results from 109,154 community measurements to produce our shoulder size standards. We will continue to update them as more community data becomes available. See our standards timeline.

Total results	109,154
Qualifying results	1,489
Male results	1,260
Female results	229
Results with height	1,483
Data start	30 September 2022
Data cutoff	23 July 2026

Each qualifying result represents one user's unflexed shoulder measurement after quality checks. Height comparisons use results with a supported height.