One Rep Max (1RM) Calculator for Bench Press, Squat, and Deadlift

This formula isn’t foolproof, but it does tend to do a pretty good job for most lifters and athletes. I’d give it an 80-90% confidence interval regarding its accuracy, at least for my lifts.

Two things to keep in mind when using calculators like this are:

1. The higher the reps used in the calculator, the greater the chance of discrepancies. For example, you’ll typically get a more accurate estimated 1-RM off of a big double or triple versus a heavy set of 8-10.
   • Why Is This: In my coaching opinion and experience, athletes handle higher volume tough sets A LOT differently from one another. For example, my ability to grind a heavy set of 8 versus another lifter can vary greatly, which will reflect in bigger estimated 1-RM spreads.
2. The type of lift and muscle group being trained can also create discrepancies. Generally speaking, there’s more variance with deadlift 1-RMs when using this calculator than with bench press and squats.
   • Why Is This: My theory is that, like high volume sets, deadlifts and our ability to grind them out can vary a TON compared to bench presses and squats. When you hit your wall with a bench and squat, it’s a lot more definitive, whereas with heavy deads, it can get a little greyer.

Men’s That Fit Friend Strength Standards

My dudes, curious how to stack up to the That Fit Friend community? The following standards are based on my 12 years of coaching experience.

This includes pulling numbers and observations from what I’ve witnessed training clients, with my own training, and what I’ve observed via feedback from my review videos, articles, and social media.

Also, keep in mind that, like with most strength standards, the following could be argued as “arbitrary,” and I totally agree with that sentiment. Most strength standards lack context, but it’s still fun to see how you stack up!

Note that my community tends to be hyped-focused on lifting, so these numbers may seem high to some.

Squat Strength Standards	Bench Press Strength Standards	Deadlift Strength Standards
18-25: 185-275 lbs exceptional, 275+ lbs elite	18-25: 155-225 lbs exceptional, 225+ lbs elite	18-25: 255-325 lbs exceptional, 325+ lbs elite
26-35: 205-285 lbs exceptional, 285+ lbs elite	26-35: 185-235 lbs exceptional, 235+ lbs elite	26-35: 285-365 lbs exceptional, 365+ lbs elite
36+: 195-275 lbs exceptional, 275+ lbs elite	36+: 185-235 lbs exceptional, 235+ lbs elite	36+: 265-335 lbs exceptional, 335+ lbs elite

Women’s That Fit Friend Strength Standards

Squat Strength Standards	Bench Press Strength Standards	Deadlift Strength Standards
18-25: 145-225 lbs exceptional, 225+ lbs elite	18-25: 105-145 lbs exceptional, 145+ lbs elite	18-25: 185-265 lbs exceptional, 265+ lbs elite
26-35: 165-235 lbs exceptional, 235+ lbs elite	26-35: 115-155 lbs exceptional, 155+ lbs elite	26-35: 205-275 lbs exceptional, 275+ lbs elite
36+: 155-235 lbs exceptional, 235+ lbs elite	36+: 105-145 lbs exceptional, 145+ lbs elite	36+: 185-265 lbs exceptional, 265+ lbs elite

Maybe we should forget the training ideology of getting “as strong as possible,” and instead, worry about getting “as strong as we need.”

How Often Should You Check Your Maxes?

That all depends. Can you check them often without losing sight of your main training goals?

If so, then check as often as you want. There’s no harm in using calculators to stay motivated and see what you “could” potentially do.

Conversely, if you’re someone who tends to get stressed by arbitrary goals and numbers, then you may want to check less often. Once at the beginning and the end of a training block is more than enough.

This will often give you enough time to see an improvement, whereas if you’re checking all of the time, then you may see more fluctuations due to the variance of energy and outputs we can experience on a day-to-day basis.

At the End of the Day

Use 1-rep max calculators to track progress and motivate you, but don’t hold them as an end-all-be-all for your training.

They can be fun tools to play with. However, they’re not often rooted in the reality of our training and daily life. What a calculator says we can do may be different from what we can actually do.

Enjoy the process and avoid putting pressure on yourself to uphold what the formula says and what random strength standards say you “should” be at.

There’s no rush to get strong as strong as possible, so have fun with it!

References

1. Seo, D.-I., Kim, E., Fahs, C. A., Rossow, L., Young, K., Ferguson, S. L., … So, W.-Y. (2012). Reliability of the one-repetition maximum test based on muscle group and gender.