Benchmark is built around one screen: enter a lift, tap Check, get an answer. But 'get an answer' hides a few decisions worth making on purpose - which lift to enter first, what number to put in, and what to do with the result once you have it. This checklist walks through your first check and the habit that makes the app worth keeping, in order, with nothing skipped.
What You'll Have in the Next 5 Minutes
A percentile for your current best lift, the tier word that goes with it, and a saved entry that Benchmark will use to calculate percentile drift the next time you check. No account, no setup screen, and no data leaving your phone.
Before You Start
- Your current best verified lift (or an honest working max) for bench, squat, or deadlift
- Your bodyweight, ideally from around the same week as the lift
- Benchmark installed - bench press is free forever, squat, deadlift and the composite unlock the rest
- Two minutes of quiet - the app runs entirely offline, so a bad signal won't slow you down
- Honesty about the number you enter: a real single, not a guess at what you could probably do
Run Your First Check
Step 1: Open Benchmark and choose a lift
Launch the app and pick bench press, squat, or deadlift - or the composite if you want all three combined. Benchmark keeps this to one screen on purpose: no exercise library to scroll, no template to build first.
Step 2: Enter the number and your bodyweight
Type your best lift and your current bodyweight into the two fields. Use kilograms or pounds, whichever you trained in - just stay consistent lift to lift so your history and your drift line stay honest.
Step 3: Tap Check and read the result
The percentile engine ships as precomputed curves on your device, so the result appears in a fraction of a second - there's no network call, and it works the same in airplane mode as it does on wifi. You'll see a percentile, a tier word, and a distribution curve with your number marked on it.
Track It Over Time
Step 4: Read the tier word before the percentile
The percentile tells you where you rank; the tier word tells you what that ranking means in plain language, without you having to guess whether the 82nd percentile is impressive. Read the tier first if numbers make you anxious, then check the curve to see how close you are to the next one.
Step 5: Check who you're actually being placed against
Every percentile is only as honest as its comparison group. Benchmark places your lift against 1.8 million judged lifts from sanctioned meets, but the specific slice that matters is the one matched to you - read the methodology screen once so you know exactly what you're looking at. Where these numbers actually come from is worth five minutes if you want the full picture.
Step 6: Let every check save itself, then come back after your next PR
You don't have to log anything - Benchmark saves every check automatically and flags new PRs on its own. The number that matters isn't today's percentile, it's percentile drift: whether your ranking is climbing as you get stronger, or just moving sideways because you're also getting heavier. Percentile explained in full covers how drift is calculated if you want the mechanics.
Common Questions
Common questions
Do I need to make an account to use Benchmark?
No. There's no account, no login, and no data leaving your phone - the percentile is computed on-device.
Is bench press really free forever?
Yes. Unlimited bench press checks with the full result screen - percentile, tier, curve, and drift - are free, permanently, with no trial and no cap.
How accurate are the percentiles?
The curves are derived from the OpenPowerlifting project's public dataset of judged meet results and checked against peer-reviewed strength norms to within 3%.
What if my lift isn't from a competition?
That's fine - enter your honest training max or best verified single. The comparison pool is competition lifters, but your number doesn't need to be.
Is 100kg on bench actually good?
It depends on your bodyweight, sex, and experience level. This breakdown walks through what 1.8 million judged lifts say about that specific number.
This article was drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by a human editor before publishing.