Bench press strength standards

The bench press e1RM that reaches each level, for men and women from 50 to 140 kg bodyweight. An 80 kg man is Intermediate at 80 kg; a 60 kg woman at 33 kg.

Sex
Unit

e1RM 81.67 kg, 1.02 × bodyweight

Intermediate

38.33 kg to Advanced

Reps at 1 means the weight is your max. Otherwise the Epley estimate is used, as in the app.

No recent single? Estimate it on the bench press one-rep max calculator.

Men

Men: the e1RM in kg that reaches each level at each bodyweight. Ratios 0.5 / 1 / 1.5 / 1.9 × bodyweight; below Novice is Beginner.
BodyweightNoviceIntermediateAdvancedElite
50 kg25507595
55 kg27.55582.5104.5
60 kg306090114
65 kg32.56597.5123.5
70 kg3570105133
75 kg37.575112.5142.5
80 kg4080120152
85 kg42.585127.5161.5
90 kg4590135171
95 kg47.595142.5180.5
100 kg50100150190
105 kg52.5105157.5199.5
110 kg55110165209
115 kg57.5115172.5218.5
120 kg60120180228
125 kg62.5125187.5237.5
130 kg65130195247
135 kg67.5135202.5256.5
140 kg70140210266
Men: the e1RM in lb that reaches each level at each bodyweight. Ratios 0.5 / 1 / 1.5 / 1.9 × bodyweight; below Novice is Beginner.
BodyweightNoviceIntermediateAdvancedElite
110 lb55110165209
120 lb60120180228
130 lb65130195247
140 lb70140210266
150 lb75150225285
160 lb80160240304
170 lb85170255323
180 lb90180270342
190 lb95190285361
200 lb100200300380
210 lb105210315399
220 lb110220330418
230 lb115230345437
240 lb120240360456
250 lb125250375475
260 lb130260390494
270 lb135270405513
280 lb140280420532
290 lb145290435551
300 lb150300450570
310 lb155310465589

Women

Women: the e1RM in kg that reaches each level at each bodyweight. Ratios 0.3 / 0.55 / 0.85 / 1.15 × bodyweight; below Novice is Beginner.
BodyweightNoviceIntermediateAdvancedElite
50 kg1527.542.557.5
55 kg16.530.54763
60 kg18335169
65 kg19.53655.575
70 kg2138.559.580.5
75 kg22.541.56486.5
80 kg24446892
85 kg25.54772.597.5
90 kg2749.576.5103.5
95 kg28.552.581109
100 kg305585115
105 kg31.55889.5120.5
110 kg3360.593.5126.5
115 kg34.563.598132.5
120 kg3666102138
125 kg37.569106.5144
130 kg3971.5110.5149.5
135 kg40.574.5115155.5
140 kg4277119161
Women: the e1RM in lb that reaches each level at each bodyweight. Ratios 0.3 / 0.55 / 0.85 / 1.15 × bodyweight; below Novice is Beginner.
BodyweightNoviceIntermediateAdvancedElite
110 lb336194126
120 lb3666102138
130 lb3972111150
140 lb4277119161
150 lb4583128173
160 lb4888136184
170 lb5194145195
180 lb5499153207
190 lb57105162218
200 lb60110170230
210 lb63116179241
220 lb66121187253
230 lb69127196265
240 lb72132204276
250 lb75138213288
260 lb78143221299
270 lb81149230311
280 lb84154238322
290 lb87160247334
300 lb90165255345
310 lb93171264357

What each level means for the bench press

Beginner
Under 0.5 × bodyweight for men and 0.3 × for women (less than 40 kg at 80 kg, 18 kg at 60 kg). Where everyone starts.
Novice
From 0.5 × bodyweight for men and 0.3 × for women. A typical first year of consistent training lands here.
Intermediate
From 1 × for men and 0.55 × for women (80 kg and 33 kg at the example bodyweights). A couple of years of consistent training.
Advanced
From 1.5 × for men and 0.85 × for women (120 kg and 51 kg). Well past what a couple of years usually brings.
Elite
From 1.9 × for men and 1.15 × for women (152 kg and 69 kg). Competitive-level relative strength.

How to progress it in Beatweek

Barbell Bench Press runs on double progression: climb the rep range at one weight, then add 2.5 kg and start the range again. The chip on the exercise card says which it is today; "Why?" gives the one-sentence reason.

Counts toward the bench press standard: Barbell Bench Press, Paused Bench Press. Log any of them and the Progress screen shows your level and the kilograms to the next one, updated every workout.

Your level, every workout

Set bodyweight and sex once in the profile. Beatweek reads the best set you log and says it in one line: at 80 kg, 70 kg × 5 reads “Intermediate, 38.33 kg to Advanced”.

Questions

What is a good bench press for an 80 kg man?

On Beatweek’s table an 80 kg man reaches Intermediate at an e1RM of 80 kg (1 × bodyweight), Advanced at 120 kg and Elite at 152 kg. Novice starts at 40 kg.

What is a good bench press for a 60 kg woman?

On Beatweek’s table a 60 kg woman reaches Intermediate at an e1RM of 33 kg (0.55 × bodyweight), Advanced at 51 kg and Elite at 69 kg. Novice starts at 18 kg.

What bench press should I expect after a year of training?

The table is set so that a typical first year of consistent training lands in Novice: 0.5 × bodyweight for men and 0.3 × for women, which is 40 kg for an 80 kg man and 18 kg for a 60 kg woman. A couple of years usually reaches Intermediate, 1 × and 0.55 ×.

What counts as an elite bench press?

Elite means competitive-level relative strength: an e1RM of 1.9 × bodyweight for men and 1.15 × for women, so 152 kg for an 80 kg man and 69 kg for a 60 kg woman. The table ignores age, height and training age.

Methodology

These are Beatweek’s own tables, the ones the app uses: original round numbers, approximate and deliberately conservative. Each level is a ratio of your estimated one-rep max to bodyweight; the estimate is Epley, weight × (1 + reps / 30), from your best set. The tables ignore age, height and training age, so read them as a yardstick, not a validated norm. When sex is not set, the app uses the men’s table and says so. Table values are rounded to 0.5 kg or 1 lb.

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