Deadlift 1RM Calculator: Estimate Your Max Deadlift

Short answer

Enter the weight and reps of a hard deadlift set and the calculator estimates your one rep max (1RM) as the average of the Epley and Brzycki formulas. Example with made-up numbers: 140 kg for 3 reps gives about 151 kg. Epley says 154 kg, Brzycki says 148.2 kg, and the average is 151.1 kg.

The formulas

• Epley: 1RM = weight × (1 + reps ÷ 30)
• Brzycki: 1RM = weight × 36 ÷ (37 − reps), published in Brzycki, 1993

The calculator accepts 1 to 12 reps. Both formulas give the same number at 10 reps, and with 1 rep the result is the weight itself.

Percentage table for the example

The calculator shows every 5% from 100% down to 60%. A few rows for an estimated 151.1 kg deadlift:

To go the other way, from a percentage to the reps you can usually do, see the table in how to calculate your one rep max.

Typical rep ranges for the deadlift

For maximal strength, the American College of Sports Medicine suggests heavy sets of 1 to 6 reps with 3 to 5 minutes of rest; for muscle growth, mostly 6 to 12 reps with 1 to 2 minutes (ACSM, 2009). Deadlifts are usually kept at the low end of those ranges. Sets of 1 to 5 are common, because form tends to slip on long sets and each rep is tiring.

Deadlift-specific tips for a good estimate

• Use a set of 2 to 5 reps. The formulas stay closer with fewer reps, and the research behind them advises 10 reps or fewer (Reynolds et al., 2006). On the deadlift, a short set also keeps grip and lower-back fatigue from cutting the set short.
• Dead stop or touch-and-go, but keep it consistent. Resetting each rep from the floor is harder than bouncing the plates. Compare estimates only from sets done the same way.
• Grip changes the number. If you use straps, the estimate tells you what you can pull with straps, not what you can hold with a bare hand.
• Charts are rougher for the deadlift. A meta-regression of 269 studies built special tables for the bench press and leg press and one general table for all other lifts, because most of the data came from those two exercises (Nuzzo et al., 2024). The deadlift falls under the general table, so the reps next to any percentage are only a rough guide.
• Sumo and conventional are different lifts. Estimate each one from its own sets.

Safety if you test a real max

Nobody can spot a deadlift the way they spot a bench, so the safety rules are about you:

• Warm up with gradually heavier sets of fewer reps. The warm-up sets calculator works them out for you.
• Set up the same way every rep, with the bar close to your shins.
• End the set if your back position changes, the bar drifts away from your legs or a rep turns into a long grind.
• Leave room around the platform so you can lower or drop the bar safely.

If anything hurts, stop. A hard set of 2 to 5 reps is enough to estimate your max for most training, so you rarely need to test it.