bench press 1RM calculator
Your bench press 1RM is your one-rep maximum on the bench press. Enter the heaviest set you can do — load × reps × RPE — and LiftGauge runs seven formulas (Epley, Brzycki, Lombardi, O'Conner, Wathan, Lander, Mayhew) in parallel, reports the mean and spread, and ranks your result against real OpenPowerlifting meet data. No signup, no ads, offline PWA.
For a meet-relevant estimate, use a paused top set. García-Ramos, Janicijevic and Jukic (2021, Sports Health, PMID 33541232) compared touch-and-go with concentric-only bench in 113 adults. That protocol does not establish a universal conversion to competition-paused bench.
estimated 1RM
Formula range and all 7 estimates
what is your bench press 1RM
Your bench press 1RM is the heaviest weight you can press for a single rep on the flat barbell bench, with hips down, both feet on the floor, and a pause-and-press if you're calling it raw and competition-legal. Touch-and-go reps are fine for training. The 1RM is a single number; what your hands and shoulders actually do under that number is everything. A grindy, slow lockout at RPE 10 is still a 1RM. A bounce off the chest with reactive flop and arched recovery is not — call that a touch-and-go single.
Because true 1RMs are stressful and rarely tested honestly, every formula on this page estimates the 1RM from a sub-maximal set. The cleanest input is 3–5 reps at RPE 8–9 on the bench — heavy enough that the percentage table is well-anchored, light enough that bar-speed didn't completely die. If you're benching with a pause every rep, mark it; the same load with touch-and-go will project a higher 1RM that won't carry over to a meet attempt.
why seven formulas, not one
Single-formula 1RM calculators hide disagreement between estimators. LeSuer, McCormick, Mayhew, Wasserstein & Arnold (1997, J Strength Cond Res 11:211–213) compared common equations against direct 1RM tests across squat, bench, and deadlift and found no single formula uniformly best. In LiftGauge's seven implemented equations, the scale-invariant full low-to-high range is about 5.6 % at 5 reps, 6.2 % at 8 reps, and 11.8 % at 12 reps. Picking one formula still means picking one estimator; the page therefore shows all seven.
LiftGauge runs all seven (Epley, Brzycki, Lombardi, O'Conner, Wathan, Lander, Mayhew) and shows the mean ± spread. RPE-anchoring follows Tuchscherer's Reactive Training Manual (RTS Press, 2008): a reps-and-RPE %1RM table. The RPE-adjusted estimate divides the load by the table percentage. The seven other formulas use load and reps only; their spread is disagreement between equations, not a statistical confidence interval or a measurement of technique.
bench press-specific notes
Use paused reps for a paused-bench estimate. Record grip width and technique so future sets are comparable. The calculator cannot detect a pause, bounce or sticking point; identical load and reps produce the same seven-formula estimate regardless of technique.
bench press percentile context
Reference cohort below is a neutral cell (raw, male, ~83 kg, all ages) for a head-line read. The full per-user cell — your sex, your bodyweight class, your age, your equipment — lives on /rankings. Source: OpenPowerlifting public meet data (CC0 source dump dated 2026-05-16; latest included meet 2026-05-10; 615,721 qualifying lift observations from 186,218 contributing rows in the trailing window beginning 2025-05-10; repeat competitors may contribute more than one observation).
RPE → load for bench press
common rep ranges for bench press
NPL = number of prescribed lifts per session in this intensity zone. Range is the productive band; below it is too little volume, above it is too much. Prilepin's zones are powerlifting-anchored — they apply to the bench press with the same shape.
how to use this page
- Pick your bar weight (15 kg, 20 kg, or 45 lb) and your unit (kg or lb) using the chips above.
- Enter the load as the total weight on the bar (bar included — or flip the "Load counts" chip to plates-only), reps you completed, and the RPE you'd call honestly (6 = easy, 10 = max effort).
- Read the headline mean ± spread band, the seven individual formula estimates, the RPE → load chart for your training percentages, and your percentile vs OpenPowerlifting meet data.
- For the full meet-card workflow (plate-load visual, warmup ramp, RPE → load grid), open /calculator. For percentile against your sex, bodyweight class, age, and equipment, open /rankings.
FAQ
- How accurate is a bench-press 1RM calculator?
- Across LiftGauge's seven equations, the full low-to-high range is about 5.6 % at 5 reps and widens toward 11.8 % at 12 reps. The equations themselves are lift-independent; individual accuracy still depends on the lifter and exercise (LeSuer et al. 1997, J Strength Cond Res 11:211–213). Treat the mean as an estimate, not a measured max.
- Touch-and-go or paused bench for the input?
- Use a paused set when estimating a competition-paused 1RM. For a touch-and-go training estimate, use touch-and-go reps and record that choice. García-Ramos et al. (2021) studied concentric-only versus touch-and-go bench, so their findings do not justify a fixed paused-bench percentage correction.
- What RPE should I input on bench?
- RPE 8–9 is the sweet spot. For the RPE-adjusted estimate, a single rep at RPE 10 equals the entered load; a multi-rep set at RPE 10 still estimates a heavier 1RM. RPE 9 means one paused rep in the tank against the sticking-point.
- Why does my bench 1RM estimate change so much between formulas?
- Mayhew (chosen by some 1RM calculators) tends to read high on bench past 4 reps; Brzycki tends to read low past 6 reps. Pure-linear formulas like Epley over-extend at high reps. The mean is the honest read.
- How often should I test my bench 1RM?
- For peaking blocks, every 6–8 weeks at most; for off-season strength work, every 12–16 weeks. Daily projection from training sets (this page) replaces frequent maxing — that's the entire point of an RPE-anchored 1RM estimate.
- Does this work for incline bench or close-grip?
- The formulas don't care about variation — they're rep-to-1RM curves. But the percentile lookup is competition-bench specific (flat, paused, raw). For variant lifts use the page for the implied 1RM only, not the percentile.