F or people who are using a barbell at the gym but need to resort to dumbbell benching when at home due to lack of space, there is always this dilemma: how much dumbbell weight equals the barbell weight they are benching at the gym? If you are one of them, you probably know that it can also be confusing to transform your dumbbell benching weight into barbell when you have been working out at home for long. In this article, we explain how to make the conversions so you know precisely how much you need to load on the barbell or on the dumbbells before taking your seat on the weight bench so you can avoid the danger of straining a muscle or ending up with back or neck pain. Below you will find conversion tables for both women and men for the most common weight plate combinations, so you can use them every time you are working out without needing to pull out your phone to do the math.
Most weightlifters agree that they can lift more when exercising with a barbell, and the explanation is pretty simple. The secret stands in the weight stabilization the barbell offers. More specifically, during barbell benching, the two weights are connected through the bar so you are basically pushing a single more massive weight with both your hands. When using dumbbells, each of your hands has its own weight stack to manage, and it needs to focus not only on pushing them but on preserving a vertical course of movement. This requires more chest muscles to be involved and an extra effort to be spent to maintain the balance.
Dumbbells are not superior to barbells. Barbells are not superior to dumbbells. In my opinion, you should do them both.
You have more chances to progress using barbells, but then you have this study from 2020 that has sown that barbell presses activate the agonist and synergist muscles more while dumbbells help you work your arm flexors (biceps) to a higher degree, so you shouldn’t exclude one in the detriment of the other. Yet, the same study found the barbell to activate your pecs more, so you should prioritize these exercises.
Fit Woman Training with Dumbbells
You may be surprised when you do the transformation to see that you are able to lift more with the barbell. The average woman can lift 28% more with an Olympic weight set than with dumbbells, and the average man can lift 22% more since the range of movement is more restrained. Here are the formulas that apply in this case:
Barbell Weight (Women) = Dumbbell Weight (Women) x 1.28
Barbell Weight (Men) = Dumbbell Weight (Men) x 1.22
The table below illustrates the transformation values for both men and women for weights going from 10 lbs. to 300 lbs.
Dumbbell Bench Press Weight (BPW) |
Barbell BPW for Women |
Barbell BPW for Men |
---|---|---|
10 lbs. |
13 lbs. |
12 lbs. |
20 lbs. |
26 lbs. |
24 lbs. |
30 lbs. |
38 lbs. |
37 lbs. |
40 lbs. |
51 lbs. |
49 lbs. |
50 lbs. |
64 lbs. |
61 lbs. |
60 lbs. |
77 lbs. |
73 lbs. |
70 lbs. |
90 lbs. |
85 lbs. |
80 lbs. |
102 lbs. |
98 lbs. |
90 lbs. |
115 lbs. |
110 lbs. |
100 lbs. |
128 lbs. |
122 lbs. |
120 lbs. |
154 lbs. |
146 lbs. |
140 lbs. |
179 lbs. |
171 lbs. |
160 lbs. |
205 lbs. |
195 lbs. |
180 lbs. |
230 lbs. |
220 lbs. |
200 lbs. |
256 lbs. |
244 lbs. |
220 lbs. |
282 lbs. |
268 lbs. |
240 lbs. |
307 lbs. |
293 lbs. |
260 lbs. |
333 lbs. |
317 lbs. |
280 lbs. |
358 lbs. |
342 lbs. |
300 lbs. |
384 lbs. |
366 lbs. |
The fact that you will be benching less with dumbbells doesn’t need to be seen as a disappointment. In fact, if you manage to lift as much as the conversion table says, you are on track, experiencing the same weight variance as most elite lifters. This study has shown that most individuals bench 17% lighter when using dumbbells. Here are the formulas for women and men:
Dumbbell Weight (Women) = Barbell Weight (Women) x 0.72
Dumbbell Weight (Men) = Barbell Weight (Men) x 0.78.
The table below shows the values we have obtained when applying the conversion to weights from 10 lbs. to 300 lbs.
Fitness Woman Lifting Barbell Lying on Bench
Barbell Bench Press Weight (BPW) |
Dumbbell BPW for Women |
Dumbbell BPW for Men |
---|---|---|
10 lbs. |
7 lbs. |
8 lbs. |
20 lbs. |
14 lbs. |
16 lbs. |
30 lbs. |
22 lbs. |
23 lbs. |
40 lbs. |
29 lbs. |
31 lbs. |
50 lbs. |
36 lbs. |
39 lbs. |
60 lbs. |
43 lbs. |
47 lbs. |
70 lbs. |
50 lbs. |
55 lbs. |
80 lbs. |
58 lbs. |
62 lbs. |
90 lbs. |
65 lbs. |
70 lbs. |
100 lbs. |
72 lbs. |
78 lbs. |
120 lbs. |
86 lbs. |
94 lbs. |
140 lbs. |
101 lbs. |
109 lbs. |
160 lbs. |
115 lbs. |
125 lbs. |
180 lbs. |
130 lbs. |
140 lbs. |
200 lbs. |
144 lbs. |
156 lbs. |
220 lbs. |
158 lbs. |
172 lbs. |
240 lbs. |
173 lbs. |
187 lbs. |
260 lbs. |
187 lbs. |
203 lbs. |
280 lbs. |
202 lbs. |
218 lbs. |
300 lbs. |
216 lbs. |
234 lbs. |
Of course, there is! In the end, isn’t this the goal toward which we are all striving? And the big secret about how to get there isn’t that big actually. You need to become stronger in your upper body so your muscles can sustain more weight. This can be acquired if you bench every day, but doing extra strength exercises, even Smith machine workouts, can help you achieve your goal faster. Here are some tips we tried out that proved to be real game-changers:
Now that you know how each type of training works and how to transform between barbell and dumbbell BPW and the other way around, you can organize a routine that would include both home and gym training. Check our table every time you are not sure what weight to use, and never bench more than your body allows. Also, don’t forget that most instructors recommend taking in both barbell and dumbbell workouts, as they engage different muscle groups, and this combination can help you obtain better results.