Training Max Calculator

About the Training Max Calculator

A training max is a deliberately reduced version of your one rep max, used to set the weights in a strength programme. The idea is best known from Jim Wendler's 5/3/1, one of the most popular strength programmes of the last two decades, which bases every set on 90 percent of your true max rather than on the max itself. Training a little below your limit means every rep is done well, recovery is easier, and progress keeps coming for months instead of stalling after a few weeks.

This training max calculator works out your training max from your one rep max, or estimates it from a recent set of several reps. It then lists the working weights for all four weeks of a 5/3/1 cycle, rounded to the nearest plate increment you can load, and tells you what the training max should be for the next cycle.

How to Use the Training Max Calculator

Choose From one rep max or From a set.

Enter your one rep max, or the weight lifted and reps completed in a recent hard set.

Enter the training max percentage — 90 percent is the original 5/3/1 figure; 85 percent is a common, more conservative choice.

Enter the smallest jump in weight your plates allow, such as 2.5 kg or 5 lb.

Choose whether the lift is upper body or lower body.

The Formula

  training max  = one rep max × 90%
  working set   = training max × week percentage, rounded to your plates

  from a set (Epley):
      one rep max = weight × (1 + reps ÷ 30)

Step-by-Step Example

A lifter has a 100 kg one rep max on the bench press and uses the standard 90 percent.

  training max   100 × 90% = 90 kg

  Week 1   65%  58.5 → 57.5 kg × 5
           75%  67.5 → 67.5 kg × 5
           85%  76.5 → 77.5 kg × 5+
  Week 2   70%  → 62.5 kg × 3,  80% → 72.5 kg × 3,  90% → 80 kg × 3+
  Week 3   75%  → 67.5 kg × 5,  85% → 77.5 kg × 3,  95% → 85 kg × 1+
  Week 4   40%  → 35 kg × 5,    50% → 45 kg × 5,    60% → 55 kg × 5

For the next cycle, add 2.5 kg for an upper-body lift: a training max of 92.5 kg.

From a set: 100 kg for 5 reps gives an Epley estimate of 116.7 kg, and 90 percent of that is a training max of 105 kg.

In pounds: a 315 lb squat max gives a training max of 283.5, rounded to 285 lb, and the next cycle adds 10 lb for a lower-body lift, to 295 lb.

The 5/3/1 Percentages

Each cycle lasts four weeks and uses three main working sets per session:

  Week        Set 1        Set 2        Set 3
  1 (5s)      65% × 5      75% × 5      85% × 5+
  2 (3s)      70% × 3      80% × 3      90% × 3+
  3 (5/3/1)   75% × 5      85% × 3      95% × 1+
  4 (deload)  40% × 5      50% × 5      60% × 5

The plus sign marks an as-many-reps-as-possible set: do at least the listed reps, then keep going while your form stays good. The fourth week is a deload, a lighter week that lets the body recover before the next cycle. Some versions of the programme drop or move the deload week; the percentages for the first three weeks are the core.

Why Train Below Your Max?

Starting from 90 percent of your max feels too light at first, and that is the point. Lighter starting weights leave room for progress, make it easier to practise good technique, and reduce the fatigue and injury risk that come from grinding out near-maximal reps every week. The as-many-as-possible sets still let strong days show: if you comfortably beat the target reps, you are getting stronger. Wendler's advice is to "start too light", and many lifters who stall on other programmes make steady progress this way.

Progressing Each Cycle

After each four-week cycle, the training max goes up by a fixed amount: 5 lb (about 2.5 kg) for the bench press and overhead press, and 10 lb (about 5 kg) for the squat and deadlift. These small jumps add up to a sizeable increase over a year. If you fail to hit the minimum reps on a plus set, the usual fix is to reduce the training max by about 10 percent and build back up, rather than pushing on with weights that are too heavy.

Rounding to Your Plates

Exact percentages rarely match the plates in a gym. The calculator rounds each weight to the nearest increment you enter — 2.5 kg if your smallest plates are 1.25 kg each side, or 5 lb with 2.5 lb plates. If you have fractional plates, enter a smaller increment such as 1 kg; enter 0 to see the exact figures without rounding.

Beyond the Main Lifts

The training max is not only for the squat, bench press, deadlift and overhead press. The same idea works for any lift you want to progress steadily: base your working sets on a slightly conservative figure, add a small amount each cycle, and reset when progress stalls. Keep a separate training max for each lift, since they progress at different rates.

Understanding Your Result

The headline is your training max, rounded to your plates.

The calculation line shows the percentage of your one rep max used.

The week lines give the three working sets for each week of the cycle.

The next cycle line gives the training max to use after this cycle.

When Should You Use This Calculator?

Use it to set up a 5/3/1 cycle for the squat, bench, deadlift and press.

Use it to recalculate weights after a new max or a reset.

Use it to plan any programme that works from a training max.

Common Mistakes

Using your true max instead of 90 percent. The weights quickly become too heavy.

Using an inflated max. Base it on a recent, honest lift.

Adding too much each cycle. Small, steady jumps are the design.

Skipping the reset. If plus sets keep falling short, lower the training max.