What Is a Supertotal? The Five-Lift Strength Test

A supertotal is one number that covers slow strength and fast strength. You add your best squat, bench press, deadlift, snatch and clean and jerk. The result tells you how strong you are and how well you turn that strength into speed.

Powerlifting tests three lifts. Weightlifting tests two. The supertotal asks you to be good at both sports at once, which is why it is a popular goal for strength athletes who get bored chasing one total.

What counts toward a supertotal

Your supertotal is the sum of five best lifts. Use the heaviest successful single you made in each lift under the same standards you would accept in competition.

• Squat: hip crease below the top of the knee, then stand up.
• Bench press: bar touches the chest, pause until it is still, then press to lockout.
• Deadlift: lift the bar to a standing lockout with knees and hips locked.
• Snatch: bar goes from the floor to overhead in one movement.
• Clean and jerk: bar goes to the shoulders, then overhead in a second movement.

Count kilograms, not pounds, so you can compare with other lifters. Record each lift on its own line so you can see which lift pulls your number up and which one holds it back.

Why the five lifts belong together

The powerlifts build maximal force. The Olympic lifts teach you to apply that force fast. Training both gives you a broad base that carries over to almost any sport.

Research on weightlifters shows how much the fast lifts demand. In a review of the sport, Storey and Smith reported that the isometric peak force of weightlifters is about 15-20% greater, and their rate of force development about 13-16% greater, than in other strength and power athletes (Storey and Smith, 2012).

"During the performance of these lifts, weightlifters have achieved some of the highest absolute and relative peak power outputs reported in the literature."

Storey A, Smith HK. Unique aspects of competitive weightlifting: performance, training and physiology. Sports Medicine, 2012. PubMed

A supertotal rewards that power. A big squat helps your clean recovery. A strong pull from the floor helps your deadlift and your snatch. Each lift feeds the others.

How to test your supertotal

You can test all five lifts in one long session or split them across two days. Pick the format you can repeat later, so each new test compares fairly with the last one.

One-day test

Run the lifts in this order:

1. Snatch
2. Clean and jerk
3. Squat
4. Bench press
5. Deadlift

Put the Olympic lifts first. They need speed and precision, and fatigue costs you more on them than on the slow lifts. Rest 10 to 15 minutes between lifts.

Two-day test

Test the snatch, clean and jerk and squat on day one. Test the bench press and deadlift on day two. Leave 24 to 48 hours between the days. This format usually gives a higher deadlift, because you pull it fresh.

Is one test day enough?

Yes, for most lifters. A systematic review of 32 studies found that 1RM tests had a median coefficient of variation of 4.2%, and 92% of the reported reliability coefficients were 0.90 or higher (Grgic et al., 2020). A well-run test day gives you a number you can trust and build from.

How to choose attempts

Give yourself three attempts per lift. That matches both sports. The IPF Technical Rulebook allows three attempts on each lift, and it requires each attempt to rise by at least 2.5 kg.

Your first attempt should feel easy. Your second should be close to a known best. Your third is for a personal record.

• Opener: about 90% of your expected best. You should make it on a bad day.
• Second: about 95 to 97%. This locks in a solid number.
• Third: 100% or a small jump above it.

Be extra careful with Olympic lift attempts.

An analysis of 3,144 lift results from 528 medallists at IWF Senior World Championships found that success rates in both the snatch and the clean and jerk fell from the first attempt to the third (Erdağı et al., 2024). Even the best lifters in the world miss more as the bar gets heavier, so keep your jumps small on the fast lifts.

Warm-up guide

Use the same warm-up pattern for each lift:

• Empty bar: 2 sets of 5
• 50% of your opener: 1 set of 3
• 70%: 1 set of 2
• 85%: 1 single
• Opener

On the snatch and clean and jerk, take singles from 70% upward. Multiple reps at heavy loads waste energy you need for the test.

What a good supertotal looks like

There is no official federation for the supertotal, so there is no fixed standard. Compare yourself with yourself. Track your total and two ratios that show balance:

• Snatch to clean and jerk: a common coaching rule of thumb is that lifters snatch about 80% of their clean and jerk. A much lower ratio points to snatch technique.
• Clean and jerk to back squat: coaches often expect a clean and jerk of about 75 to 85% of their back squat. A lower ratio means your strength is ahead of your speed.

If your squat and deadlift are high but your snatch is low, put more weekly practice into the fast lifts. If your Olympic lifts are strong but your powerlifts lag, add heavier sets of 3 to 5 on the squat, bench and deadlift.

Retest on a schedule

Test your full supertotal every 12 to 16 weeks. Testing more often cuts into training time. In between, use heavy singles in training as checkpoints rather than full test days.

Write down bodyweight on each test day. A supertotal is easier to judge when you can see if strength rose faster than bodyweight.

Build it in the free builder

Open the builder and enter your five best lifts as reference maxes: squat, bench press, deadlift, snatch and clean and jerk. Add how many days you can train each week. The builder fills each session with loads based on those maxes.

Want a ready plan first? Browse the starter programs, pick one that fits your schedule, and retest your supertotal at the end of the block.