Dumbbell curl strength standards

The dumbbell curl e1RM that reaches each level, for men and women from 50 to 140 kg bodyweight. An 80 kg man is Intermediate at 16 kg; a 60 kg woman at 6 kg.

For the dumbbell curl 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 curl one-rep max calculator.

Men

Men: 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

Men: 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

Women

Women: the e1RM in kg that reaches each level at each bodyweight. Ratios 0.05 / 0.1 / 0.15 / 0.25 × bodyweight; below Novice is Beginner.
Bodyweight	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
50 kg	2.5	5	7.5	12.5
55 kg	3	5.5	8.5	14
60 kg	3	6	9	15
65 kg	3.5	6.5	10	16.5
70 kg	3.5	7	10.5	17.5
75 kg	4	7.5	11.5	19
80 kg	4	8	12	20
85 kg	4.5	8.5	13	21.5
90 kg	4.5	9	13.5	22.5
95 kg	5	9.5	14.5	24
100 kg	5	10	15	25
105 kg	5.5	10.5	16	26.5
110 kg	5.5	11	16.5	27.5
115 kg	6	11.5	17.5	29
120 kg	6	12	18	30
125 kg	6.5	12.5	19	31.5
130 kg	6.5	13	19.5	32.5
135 kg	7	13.5	20.5	34
140 kg	7	14	21	35

Women: the e1RM in lb that reaches each level at each bodyweight. Ratios 0.05 / 0.1 / 0.15 / 0.25 × bodyweight; below Novice is Beginner.
Bodyweight	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
110 lb	6	11	17	28
120 lb	6	12	18	30
130 lb	7	13	20	33
140 lb	7	14	21	35
150 lb	8	15	23	38
160 lb	8	16	24	40
170 lb	9	17	26	43
180 lb	9	18	27	45
190 lb	10	19	29	48
200 lb	10	20	30	50
210 lb	11	21	32	53
220 lb	11	22	33	55
230 lb	12	23	35	58
240 lb	12	24	36	60
250 lb	13	25	38	63
260 lb	13	26	39	65
270 lb	14	27	41	68
280 lb	14	28	42	70
290 lb	15	29	44	73
300 lb	15	30	45	75
310 lb	16	31	47	78

What each level means for the dumbbell curl

Beginner: Under 0.1 × bodyweight for men and 0.05 × for women (less than 8 kg at 80 kg, 3 kg at 60 kg). Where everyone starts.
Novice: From 0.1 × bodyweight for men and 0.05 × for women. A typical first year of consistent training lands here.
Intermediate: From 0.2 × for men and 0.1 × for women (16 kg and 6 kg at the example bodyweights). A couple of years of consistent training.
Advanced: From 0.3 × for men and 0.15 × for women (24 kg and 9 kg). Well past what a couple of years usually brings.
Elite: From 0.4 × for men and 0.25 × for women (32 kg and 15 kg). Competitive-level relative strength.

How to progress it in Beatweek

Dumbbell Curl 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 curl standard: Dumbbell Curl, Alternating Dumbbell Curl. 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, 15 kg × 5 reads “Intermediate, 6.5 kg to Advanced”.

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Questions

What is a good dumbbell curl for an 80 kg man?

On Beatweek’s table an 80 kg man reaches Intermediate at an e1RM of 16 kg (0.2 × bodyweight), Advanced at 24 kg and Elite at 32 kg. Novice starts at 8 kg.

What is a good dumbbell curl for a 60 kg woman?

On Beatweek’s table a 60 kg woman reaches Intermediate at an e1RM of 6 kg (0.1 × bodyweight), Advanced at 9 kg and Elite at 15 kg. Novice starts at 3 kg.

What dumbbell curl should I expect after a year of training?

The table is set so that a typical first year of consistent training lands in Novice: 0.1 × bodyweight for men and 0.05 × for women, which is 8 kg for an 80 kg man and 3 kg for a 60 kg woman. A couple of years usually reaches Intermediate, 0.2 × and 0.1 ×.

What counts as an elite dumbbell curl?

Elite means competitive-level relative strength: an e1RM of 0.4 × bodyweight for men and 0.25 × for women, so 32 kg for an 80 kg man and 15 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 curl the weight is one dumbbell, as Beatweek logs it: a pair of 30 kg dumbbells is 30 kg, not 60.