Dumbbell bench press strength standards

The dumbbell bench press e1RM that reaches each level, for men and women from 50 to 140 kg bodyweight. An 80 kg man is Intermediate at 28 kg; a 60 kg woman at 12 kg.

For the dumbbell bench press the weight is one dumbbell, as Beatweek logs it: a pair of 30 kg dumbbells is 30 kg, not 60.

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

Men

Men: the e1RM in kg that reaches each level at each bodyweight. Ratios 0.15 / 0.35 / 0.5 / 0.65 × bodyweight; below Novice is Beginner.
Bodyweight	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
50 kg	7.5	17.5	25	32.5
55 kg	8.5	19.5	27.5	36
60 kg	9	21	30	39
65 kg	10	23	32.5	42.5
70 kg	10.5	24.5	35	45.5
75 kg	11.5	26.5	37.5	49
80 kg	12	28	40	52
85 kg	13	29.5	42.5	55.5
90 kg	13.5	31.5	45	58.5
95 kg	14.5	33.5	47.5	62
100 kg	15	35	50	65
105 kg	16	37	52.5	68.5
110 kg	16.5	38.5	55	71.5
115 kg	17.5	40.5	57.5	75
120 kg	18	42	60	78
125 kg	19	44	62.5	81.5
130 kg	19.5	45.5	65	84.5
135 kg	20.5	47.5	67.5	88
140 kg	21	49	70	91

Men: the e1RM in lb that reaches each level at each bodyweight. Ratios 0.15 / 0.35 / 0.5 / 0.65 × bodyweight; below Novice is Beginner.
Bodyweight	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
110 lb	17	39	55	72
120 lb	18	42	60	78
130 lb	20	46	65	85
140 lb	21	49	70	91
150 lb	23	53	75	98
160 lb	24	56	80	104
170 lb	26	59	85	111
180 lb	27	63	90	117
190 lb	29	67	95	124
200 lb	30	70	100	130
210 lb	32	74	105	137
220 lb	33	77	110	143
230 lb	35	81	115	150
240 lb	36	84	120	156
250 lb	38	88	125	163
260 lb	39	91	130	169
270 lb	41	95	135	176
280 lb	42	98	140	182
290 lb	44	102	145	189
300 lb	45	105	150	195
310 lb	47	109	155	202

Women

Women: the e1RM in kg that reaches each level at each bodyweight. Ratios 0.1 / 0.2 / 0.3 / 0.4 × bodyweight; below Novice is Beginner.
Bodyweight	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
50 kg	5	10	15	20
55 kg	5.5	11	16.5	22
60 kg	6	12	18	24
65 kg	6.5	13	19.5	26
70 kg	7	14	21	28
75 kg	7.5	15	22.5	30
80 kg	8	16	24	32
85 kg	8.5	17	25.5	34
90 kg	9	18	27	36
95 kg	9.5	19	28.5	38
100 kg	10	20	30	40
105 kg	10.5	21	31.5	42
110 kg	11	22	33	44
115 kg	11.5	23	34.5	46
120 kg	12	24	36	48
125 kg	12.5	25	37.5	50
130 kg	13	26	39	52
135 kg	13.5	27	40.5	54
140 kg	14	28	42	56

Women: the e1RM in lb that reaches each level at each bodyweight. Ratios 0.1 / 0.2 / 0.3 / 0.4 × bodyweight; below Novice is Beginner.
Bodyweight	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
110 lb	11	22	33	44
120 lb	12	24	36	48
130 lb	13	26	39	52
140 lb	14	28	42	56
150 lb	15	30	45	60
160 lb	16	32	48	64
170 lb	17	34	51	68
180 lb	18	36	54	72
190 lb	19	38	57	76
200 lb	20	40	60	80
210 lb	21	42	63	84
220 lb	22	44	66	88
230 lb	23	46	69	92
240 lb	24	48	72	96
250 lb	25	50	75	100
260 lb	26	52	78	104
270 lb	27	54	81	108
280 lb	28	56	84	112
290 lb	29	58	87	116
300 lb	30	60	90	120
310 lb	31	62	93	124

What each level means for the dumbbell bench press

Beginner: Under 0.15 × bodyweight for men and 0.1 × for women (less than 12 kg at 80 kg, 6 kg at 60 kg). Where everyone starts.
Novice: From 0.15 × bodyweight for men and 0.1 × for women. A typical first year of consistent training lands here.
Intermediate: From 0.35 × for men and 0.2 × for women (28 kg and 12 kg at the example bodyweights). A couple of years of consistent training.
Advanced: From 0.5 × for men and 0.3 × for women (40 kg and 18 kg). Well past what a couple of years usually brings.
Elite: From 0.65 × for men and 0.4 × for women (52 kg and 24 kg). Competitive-level relative strength.

How to progress it in Beatweek

Dumbbell Bench Press runs on double progression: climb the rep range at one weight, then add 2 kg per hand 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 dumbbell bench press standard: Dumbbell 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, 25 kg × 5 reads “Intermediate, 10.83 kg to Advanced”.

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Questions

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

On Beatweek’s table an 80 kg man reaches Intermediate at an e1RM of 28 kg (0.35 × bodyweight), Advanced at 40 kg and Elite at 52 kg. Novice starts at 12 kg.

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

On Beatweek’s table a 60 kg woman reaches Intermediate at an e1RM of 12 kg (0.2 × bodyweight), Advanced at 18 kg and Elite at 24 kg. Novice starts at 6 kg.

What dumbbell 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: 0.15 × bodyweight for men and 0.1 × for women, which is 12 kg for an 80 kg man and 6 kg for a 60 kg woman. A couple of years usually reaches Intermediate, 0.35 × and 0.2 ×.

What counts as an elite dumbbell bench press?

Elite means competitive-level relative strength: an e1RM of 0.65 × bodyweight for men and 0.4 × for women, so 52 kg for an 80 kg man and 24 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. For the dumbbell bench press the weight is one dumbbell, as Beatweek logs it: a pair of 30 kg dumbbells is 30 kg, not 60.