Dumbbell shoulder press strength standards

The dumbbell shoulder press e1RM that reaches each level, for men and women from 50 to 140 kg bodyweight. An 80 kg man is Intermediate at 20 kg; a 60 kg woman at 9 kg.

For the dumbbell shoulder 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 shoulder press one-rep max calculator.

Men

Men: the e1RM in kg that reaches each level at each bodyweight. Ratios 0.15 / 0.25 / 0.35 / 0.45 × bodyweight; below Novice is Beginner.
Bodyweight	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
50 kg	7.5	12.5	17.5	22.5
55 kg	8.5	14	19.5	25
60 kg	9	15	21	27
65 kg	10	16.5	23	29.5
70 kg	10.5	17.5	24.5	31.5
75 kg	11.5	19	26.5	34
80 kg	12	20	28	36
85 kg	13	21.5	29.5	38.5
90 kg	13.5	22.5	31.5	40.5
95 kg	14.5	24	33.5	43
100 kg	15	25	35	45
105 kg	16	26.5	37	47.5
110 kg	16.5	27.5	38.5	49.5
115 kg	17.5	29	40.5	52
120 kg	18	30	42	54
125 kg	19	31.5	44	56.5
130 kg	19.5	32.5	45.5	58.5
135 kg	20.5	34	47.5	61
140 kg	21	35	49	63

Men: the e1RM in lb that reaches each level at each bodyweight. Ratios 0.15 / 0.25 / 0.35 / 0.45 × bodyweight; below Novice is Beginner.
Bodyweight	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
110 lb	17	28	39	50
120 lb	18	30	42	54
130 lb	20	33	46	59
140 lb	21	35	49	63
150 lb	23	38	53	68
160 lb	24	40	56	72
170 lb	26	43	59	77
180 lb	27	45	63	81
190 lb	29	48	67	86
200 lb	30	50	70	90
210 lb	32	53	74	95
220 lb	33	55	77	99
230 lb	35	58	81	104
240 lb	36	60	84	108
250 lb	38	63	88	113
260 lb	39	65	91	117
270 lb	41	68	95	122
280 lb	42	70	98	126
290 lb	44	73	102	131
300 lb	45	75	105	135
310 lb	47	78	109	140

Women

Women: the e1RM in kg that reaches each level at each bodyweight. Ratios 0.1 / 0.15 / 0.25 / 0.3 × bodyweight; below Novice is Beginner.
Bodyweight	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
50 kg	5	7.5	12.5	15
55 kg	5.5	8.5	14	16.5
60 kg	6	9	15	18
65 kg	6.5	10	16.5	19.5
70 kg	7	10.5	17.5	21
75 kg	7.5	11.5	19	22.5
80 kg	8	12	20	24
85 kg	8.5	13	21.5	25.5
90 kg	9	13.5	22.5	27
95 kg	9.5	14.5	24	28.5
100 kg	10	15	25	30
105 kg	10.5	16	26.5	31.5
110 kg	11	16.5	27.5	33
115 kg	11.5	17.5	29	34.5
120 kg	12	18	30	36
125 kg	12.5	19	31.5	37.5
130 kg	13	19.5	32.5	39
135 kg	13.5	20.5	34	40.5
140 kg	14	21	35	42

Women: the e1RM in lb that reaches each level at each bodyweight. Ratios 0.1 / 0.15 / 0.25 / 0.3 × bodyweight; below Novice is Beginner.
Bodyweight	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
110 lb	11	17	28	33
120 lb	12	18	30	36
130 lb	13	20	33	39
140 lb	14	21	35	42
150 lb	15	23	38	45
160 lb	16	24	40	48
170 lb	17	26	43	51
180 lb	18	27	45	54
190 lb	19	29	48	57
200 lb	20	30	50	60
210 lb	21	32	53	63
220 lb	22	33	55	66
230 lb	23	35	58	69
240 lb	24	36	60	72
250 lb	25	38	63	75
260 lb	26	39	65	78
270 lb	27	41	68	81
280 lb	28	42	70	84
290 lb	29	44	73	87
300 lb	30	45	75	90
310 lb	31	47	78	93

What each level means for the dumbbell shoulder 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 0.25 × for men and 0.15 × for women (20 kg and 9 kg at the example bodyweights). A couple of years of consistent training.
Advanced: From 0.35 × for men and 0.25 × for women (28 kg and 15 kg). Well past what a couple of years usually brings.
Elite: From 0.45 × for men and 0.3 × for women (36 kg and 18 kg). Competitive-level relative strength.

How to progress it in Beatweek

Dumbbell Shoulder 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 shoulder press standard: Dumbbell Shoulder Press, Seated Dumbbell Shoulder 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, 17.5 kg × 5 reads “Intermediate, 7.58 kg to Advanced”.

Google Play Android + Wear OS App Store iPhone + Apple Watch

Questions

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

On Beatweek’s table an 80 kg man reaches Intermediate at an e1RM of 20 kg (0.25 × bodyweight), Advanced at 28 kg and Elite at 36 kg. Novice starts at 12 kg.

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

On Beatweek’s table a 60 kg woman reaches Intermediate at an e1RM of 9 kg (0.15 × bodyweight), Advanced at 15 kg and Elite at 18 kg. Novice starts at 6 kg.

What dumbbell shoulder 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, 0.25 × and 0.15 ×.

What counts as an elite dumbbell shoulder press?

Elite means competitive-level relative strength: an e1RM of 0.45 × bodyweight for men and 0.3 × for women, so 36 kg for an 80 kg man and 18 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 shoulder press the weight is one dumbbell, as Beatweek logs it: a pair of 30 kg dumbbells is 30 kg, not 60.