Training Max Calculator

One-rep max, kg

Training max, % of the one-rep max

Rounding step, kg

Result

Training max, kg125
Percentage table95%: 120 — about 2 reps 90%: 112.5 — about 3 reps 85%: 107.5 — about 5 reps 80%: 100 — about 8 reps 75%: 95 — about 10 reps 70%: 87.5 — about 13 reps 65%: 82.5 — about 16 reps 60%: 75 — about 20 reps 55%: 70 — about 25 reps 50%: 62.5 — about 30 reps
85% of training max, kg107.5
70% of training max, kg87.5
One-rep max, kg140
Why a training maxA training max sits below the true max so the programme runs on weights you can hit on an ordinary day, not only a perfect one.

This result is informational only and is not professional advice.

Programmes run on the training max

Builds a table of working weights as percentages of a one-rep max, rounded to the plates you actually have.

Most strength programmes work in percentages of a maximum, but not the true one-rep max — a training max, usually ninety percent of it. The reason is practical: a true max happens on a perfect day, and training happens on ordinary ones.

The second wrinkle is rounding. The arithmetic says 107.1 kilograms and the bar takes multiples of 2.5. The table brings every number to something that actually loads.

What this calculator shows

The training max and a table of percentages from it
The repetitions each percentage typically allows
The key working weights at 85 and 70 percent

What to keep in mind

Repetitions come from a reversed Epley formula and hold for compound lifts up to about ten reps.
Every weight is rounded to the chosen step, so the percentages in the table are approximate.

FAQs

Why use a training max?

So the programme runs on weights you can hit any day rather than only at peak. Ninety percent of the true max is the usual choice.

How many reps at 80 percent?

About seven or eight on compound lifts. At 85 it is roughly five, at 90 three or four.

How should working weights be rounded?

To the nearest step the plates allow, usually 2.5 kilograms. Half a percent of error is invisible in training.

When should the max be retested?

Once a cycle, typically every four to six weeks. Many programmes skip testing and simply add 2.5 kilograms to the upper-body training max and 5 to the lower.

Worked example

A 140 kilogram squat

Input: One-rep max 140 kg, training max 90%, 2.5 kg step

Output: A 125 kg training max, with 85% at 107.5

Note: The gap between the calculated 107.1 and the loadable 107.5 is under half a percent and changes nothing. Trying to run the programme off a true 140, on the other hand, soon produces missed sets.

Useful links

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Training Max Calculator

Result

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