1RMcalculators and rep estimation tables are essential training tools for everyone. Doesn’t matter if you’re a veteran lifter or a beginner looking to burn fat and look good naked these tables help you plan and progress your workouts.
Discover what 1RM tables are how to use them. And more important.
How to use your one rep max in training programs to optimize your results.
What Is a One-Rep Max and How Do I Find It
Your one-rep max (1RM) is the maximum amount of weight you can lift for a single repetition. And it’s specific to each exercise.
You only need to test your 1RM for the major compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, the bench press, and the likes.
Ideally your 1RM is done with perfect form. That means a full range of motion with your technique being spot on.
However.
If I’m being honest, technique suffers slightly when pushing your limits. But, it needs to remain near perfect. Drifting too far off course too often leads to catastrophic incidents.
There’s no need to give 110%. Your health is more important than adding another 5 or 10 pounds to the bar.
If you’re hurt you can’t train.
Too serious of an injury, and you’ll be out of the gym for some time. The longer you’re away from the gym, the more your physique morphs into that of a coach potato.
So, think longevity.
The Athlete’s Physique coaching and programs are designed for a lifetime of looking and feeling good.
Always error on the conservative side.
Do I Really Need to Do a 1RM Test
Is 1RM Testing necessary?
Of Course not.
But!
It’s a good idea.
So, what’s the big deal with a 1RM than?
While bragging rights might pop into your head, calculating your one-rep max is good for more than that.
Sure, it’s fun to know how you stack up against other guys and gals in the gym, but there are better reasons to care how much you can lift.
- Better results in a shorter time.
- Programming your workouts based on your one-rep max helps you achieve optimal workout intensity leading to better results in less time.
- Keeps you on track and healthy.
- Knowing your 1RM guides your training intensity so you reduce your risk of injury or overtraining and running yourself into the ground.
- Lets you measure progress.
- Keeping track of your one-rep max tests allows you to track your efforts. You can see if you’re getting stronger and building muscle. If your 1 RM is going up. You’re getting stronger and building muscle.
- Removes all the guess work.
- Pair your 1RM with rep-max table below and it’s easy to determine how heavy your weight are for your workouts.
Too Much of A Good Thing
1RM tests aren’t always the way to go.
While tracking your 1RM has many benefits and the only 100% accurate way to know your max, is to actually lift as much as you can.
But heavy frequent testing is not without risk.
That’s why the majority of powerlifters only test their true one-rep max a couple of times a year.
But you can still track without putting yourself through the intensity of maxing out.
Do a rep-max test.
No Need to Push Your Limits
Use Rep Charts to choose your weight.
You don’t have to overload the bar and risk injury to determine your 1RM.
Sometimes referred to as an AMRAP test, (As Many Reps As Possible), the rep-max test uses lighter weight and a little math to determine your 1RM.
A rep-max test fits into your training without disrupting it or exposing you to the same injury risk as loading up the weight. While it’s not as accurate, it provides an estimate that gets you close enough.
This is a better option because it doesn’t leave you as drained. Easier to maintain technique. And It doesn’t interrupt your training.
While there’s a rep-max test equation for any value up to 30 reps, accuracy drops fast after 10 reps. Using a weight you can lift for 6 – 10 reps provides a satisfying balance between accuracy, intensity, and not as draining as a true one-rep max.
A rep-max test fits into your training without disrupting it or exposing you to the same injury risk as loading up the weight. While it’s not as accurate, it provides an estimate that gets you close enough.
This is a better option because it doesn’t leave you as drained. Easier to maintain technique. And It doesn’t interrupt your training.
After performing your rep-max test, use a table, RM calculator, or equation to predict your one-rep max based on the number of reps your completed and how much weight you used.
With this rep-max table, predicting your 1RM is easy.
Click for larger image.
How to use a 1RM Table
Using 1RM Table to Determine Your Max
- Along the top row find the number of reps you want to convert to a 1RM.
- Once you have found the reps column, follow it down until you hit the weight you used.
- Then follow the row of the weight use all the way to the left. The weight there is your estimated one rep max.
Example:
Image you pushed your dumbbell bench press to the limit. You used 60 pounds and completed 8 reps.
Looking at the top rows we see that 8 reps is about 80% of a 1RM. So we go down the 8 rep column until we find 60 pounds.
Once we locate 60 we follow that row all the way to the left where is says 75.
That means your estimated 1RM is 75 pounds.
Remember…
all 1RM calculations are estimations.
Everyone is a little different. Some are better at pumping out reps while other think anything over 5 is cardio.
Women tend to be better at pushing out more reps than men with lighter weight.
However, the table will get you in the ballpark. Definitely close enough to use in training, and gauge your progress in the gym.
The 1RM table is independent of units. Meaning that the same table can be used to determine your one rep max if you use pounds, kilos or even stones.
But I Want To Test My 1RM
So you still want to test your true one-rep max. The heck with the 1RM calculator, you want the real deal.
So, how often can you test it?
I recommend about every 4 – 6 months.
Any shorter and you run the risk of injury. And you don’t give yourself enough time to adapt to your training.
Two or 3 max tests per year is frequent enough to deliver sufficient feedback on your training. And provide accurate numbers for programming your workouts.
On the flip side it’s infrequent enough that it doesn’t get in the way of your normal workouts.
Note: Testing only applies to your major exercises!
Isolation exercises, like lateral raises and biceps curls don’t benefit from 1RM testing.
Measure a few key lifts like a variation of a squat , deadlift, and press. This provide more than enough information to tell if you’re getting stronger and building muscle.
Using 1RM to Max Table
This one rep max table is a handy reference.
It tells you what percentage of your 1RM you’e working at a given rep. Or how many reps you can expect at a specific percentage of your 1RM.
Since everyone is built just a little different the relationship between 1RM and number of reps at a given percentage don’t align perfectly.
The standard formula is 3% per rep. A 2 RM is 97% of a 1RM. A 5 RM is 88% of your 1 RM. But the NSCA had done lots of research and found a slightly different relationship. So I included their reps to 1RN to percentage values.
Click 1RM Table for large version. One rep max table show what percentage of 1RM you can hit for specific number of reps.
Using 1RM Table to Determine Your Working Sets
These Rep Max tables work in both directions.
Not only do they predict your one rep max, but guide your working sets.
What percentage of your one-rep max you should lift depends on your goal.
While not cast in stone, the chart below outlines a good starting place:
Speed & Power
50 – 60%
3 – 5 Reps/Set
Build Muscle
70 – 80%
8 – 12 Reps/Set
Strength
85 – 95%
3 – 5 Reps/Set
But there’s nothing magical about those numbers. Using a wide variety of reps and absolute intensities has it’s advantages.
No matter you goal, you’ll be best served by alternating your phases of training. Work at a low intensity for a while. Like 10-12 reps at 70% intensity. Then ramp things up and do a “block” of higher intensity, like 3-5 reps at 90%.
Let’s look at an example
Say you’re doing a 5×5 protocol with dumbbell bench press to build strength.
Using your bench press 1RM and referencing our tables, it’s easy to estimate how much to use for each set on the dumbbell bench.
Steps to find your rep max with the 1RM Table
For this example imagine your bench press max is 200 pounds. Split that number in half to determine how much to use for each arm and you end up with 100 pounds.
Because dumbbells aren’t as stable as the bench press we can’t lift as much. So we’ll drop it down to 90 pounds per arm.
- Find 90 in the 100% column (the 1 Rep column)
- Then follow that row across until it intersects with the 5RM column. Here we can see your estimated 5 rep max for the dumbbell bench is 80.
Use a 1RM chart to pick warm-up and working sets
1RM Chart for Working Sets
So, we’ve seen that your 5RM is 80 pounds.
You can’t use that for every set. So, stay in the 90 pound row, but start with your 10RM weight. In this example it’s 67 pounds. Round to the closest dumbbell for your first work set. In this case it’s 65 pounds
As you progress through your sets, follow the chart to guide your weight increases.
Progression for 5×5 Workout
- Set 1: 65×5
- Set 2: 75×5
- Set 3: 80×5
- Set 4: 75×5
- Set 5: 70 or 75×5
This is a good place to use micro-plates for small increases in weight. Remember, progressive overload is one of the keys to success in the gym.
How To Increase Your 1RM
To increase your 1RM you’ll want to work on technique, not just building strength. Working on those two elements also helps improve neuromuscular efficiency. Which is the third element required in increasing your 1RM.
It’s important to take breaks. Always pushing yourself works in the short-run. But, down the road you’ll plateau. Or worse…
get injured.
So, follow the lead of the tortoise. Slow and steady wins the race.
To increase your 1RM and get better at lifting heavy weights, you have to lift heavy weights. You must train close to your 1RM. That’s where absolute intensity comes into play.
When training for absolute strength I do most of my training at 80% (absolute Intensity) and above. Though I don’t hit 100% often.
As for rep ranges, I progress from 5 down to heavy singles over the course of weeks.
Even though I hit a few heavy singles I’m not machining out. My absolute Intensity hovers around 90%. Meaning I could do 3 or 4 reps at that weight.
The key is to push as hard and fast as you can. Lift each rep like it was a 1RM attempt. Doing so helps improve neuromuscular efficiency.
There’s a great video here if you want more programing info to help improve your 1RM.
1RM Estimation Tables
Printable one rep max chart (1RM Table) for maxes between 0 and 100.
Printable one rep max chart (1RM Table) for maxes between 100 and 200.
Printable one rep max chart (1RM Table) for maxes between 200 and 300.
Printable one rep max chart (1RM Table) for maxes between 200 and 300.
Printable one rep max chart (1RM Table) for maxes between 400 and 500.
Printable one rep max chart (1RM Table) for maxes between 500 and 600.
Relative Intensity Table
Now that yo know your 1RM and the weight you can expect to max out on at different reps, you can use the relative intensity table below to help choose your training weights.
Relative Intensity Table for reps that fall in the 11 to 20 rep range.
As you can see from the table, the majority of your sets and training belongs in the moderate plus category represented by the yellow rows.
The relative intensity of a moderate intensity set is about 86% of what you could do. Absolute and relative intensity can get confusing. But it’s not that bad if you follow the table. Follow the link below if you want an example….
Relative Intensity Tables
- Click here for reps between 1and 10.
- Click here for reps from 11-20.
- More detail on the the use of a Relative Intensity Table.