Squat 1RM Calculator: Estimate Your Max Squat From Any Set

Short answer

Enter the weight and reps of a hard squat set and the calculator estimates your one rep max (1RM) as the average of the Epley and Brzycki formulas. Example with made-up numbers: 100 kg for 5 reps gives about 115 kg. Epley says 116.7 kg, Brzycki says 112.5 kg, and the average is 114.6 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. Below 10 reps, Epley reads a little higher than Brzycki, so the average sits between them.

Percentage table for the example

The calculator shows every 5% from 100% down to 60%. A few rows for an estimated 114.6 kg squat:

Typical rep ranges for the squat

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 it puts the emphasis on 6 to 12 reps with 1 to 2 minutes of rest (ACSM, 2009). On the squat, sets above 8 to 10 reps can end because of breathing and overall fatigue before the legs give out, which makes them a weaker input for a 1RM estimate.

Squat-specific tips for a good estimate

• Keep the depth the same. A set cut above parallel lets you use more weight and inflates the estimate. Only compare sets squatted to the same depth, ideally with the same bar position (high bar or low bar).
• Use a set of about 3 to 6 reps. The research on 1RM prediction suggests staying at 10 reps or fewer with these equations; in a bench and leg press study, 5-rep sets predicted best (Reynolds et al., 2006).
• Leg press tables don't apply. A meta-regression of 269 studies found that people do more reps on the leg press than on the bench at the same percentage of 1RM, so it built separate tables for those two and one general table for everything else, including the squat (Nuzzo et al., 2024). There was less data on the squat itself, so treat the reps you see on any chart as a rough guide.
• Belts and knee sleeves change the numbers a little. Estimate from sets done with the same gear you will use in training.

Safety if you test a real max

• Squat inside a rack with the safety arms set just below the bottom of your squat, and check the height with an empty bar.
• Learn how to bail out of a failed rep before you need it.
• Warm up with gradually heavier sets of fewer reps.
• End the attempt if your knees cave in or your hips shoot up much faster than the bar.

If anything hurts, stop. An estimate from a hard set of 3 to 5 is enough for most training, so you seldom need to test a true max.