Shoulder Size Standards for Lifters (in)

The average shoulder size for lifters is 47 in for men and 41 in 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 (in)

Rating	Male	Female
Very Small	41	36
Small	44	38
Medium	47	41
Large	51	44
Very Large	55	47

What is the average shoulder size?

Men

47 in

Women

41 in

The average shoulder size for lifters across all heights is 47 in for men and 41 in for women.

What shoulder size is large? A shoulder size of 51 in for men or 44 in for women is large. A very large shoulder size is 55 in for men or 47 in for women.

What shoulder size is small? A shoulder size of 44 in for men or 38 in for women is small. A very small shoulder size is 41 in for men or 36 in for women.

Male Shoulder Size Standards by Height (in)

Height	XS	S	M	L	XL
5 ft 3 in	38	41	45	48	52
5 ft 4 in	39	42	45	49	52
5 ft 5 in	39	42	45	49	53
5 ft 6 in	40	42	46	49	53
5 ft 7 in	40	43	46	50	53
5 ft 8 in	40	43	47	50	54
5 ft 9 in	41	44	47	51	54
5 ft 10 in	41	44	47	51	55
5 ft 11 in	41	44	48	51	55
6 ft 0 in	41	45	48	52	56
6 ft 1 in	42	45	48	52	56
6 ft 2 in	42	45	49	53	57
6 ft 3 in	42	46	49	53	57
6 ft 4 in	43	46	50	53	57
6 ft 5 in	43	46	50	54	58

Female Shoulder Size Standards by Height (in)

Height	XS	S	M	L	XL
5 ft 0 in	35	37	39	42	44
5 ft 1 in	35	37	39	42	45
5 ft 2 in	35	37	40	42	45
5 ft 3 in	35	38	40	43	45
5 ft 4 in	36	38	40	43	46
5 ft 5 in	36	38	41	43	46
5 ft 6 in	36	39	41	44	46
5 ft 7 in	37	39	41	44	47
5 ft 8 in	37	39	42	44	47
5 ft 9 in	37	39	42	45	48
5 ft 10 in	37	40	42	45	48
5 ft 11 in	38	40	43	45	48
6 ft 0 in	38	40	43	46	49
6 ft 1 in	38	41	43	46	49

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.