What Is My One-Rep Max if I Lift 245 lb for 3 Reps?

245 lb for 3 reps, run through all seven published formulas — median 267 lb, and the 20 lb they disagree by shown rather than hidden.

Estimated one-rep max267lb

median of seven formulas — the full range is 259 to 279 lb

Lowest of the seven 259 lb
Highest of the seven 279 lb
Your set was 92% of max

The set you actually did
lb
Units

The formulas are ratios, so the unit only changes the label — 225 kg for 5 works exactly like 225 lb for 5.

Every one-rep-max formula applied to this set
FormulaEquationEstimate
Brzycki 259 lb
O'Conner 263 lb
Lander 263 lb
Wathan 267 lb
Epley 270 lb
Lombardi 273 lb
Mayhew 279 lb

Fitted on sets of 2 to 10 reps. Above 10 the estimates drift apart and none of them is dependable.

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Last checked

267 lb works out to 2x45 + 2x10 per side plus the bar — call it 265 lb in practice, since gyms rarely stock the odd change. 3 reps sits at the reliable end of the range these formulas were fitted on, so the 20 lb spread here is about as tight as the method gets. Your 245 lb set represents about 92% of the estimated max.

Why 3 reps gives a tight estimate

A triple is close to the best case for this method. The low end of the two-to-ten band is where these regressions were sampled most heavily, and it shows here — the seven land within 20 lb of each other, 7.5% of the estimate, which is small enough that choosing a different formula would not change how you train. If the third rep slowed down but the bar never stalled, 267 lb is a defensible working number.

Training loads from a 267 lb max

Programmes are written as percentages of the max, not as absolute weights. From 267 lb, rounded to the nearest 5 lb:

PercentageLoadTypical set
95%255 lbHeavy single
90%240 lbDoubles and triples
85%225 lbSets of four to five
80%215 lbSets of six
75%200 lbSets of eight
70%185 lbVolume work, ten or more

267 lb is 2x45 + 2x10 per side plus the bar — 265 lb loaded. Plate maths gets easier at this weight, because most of the jumps land on whole 10s and 25s. The bottom three rows of that table are worth rounding generously; the top two are where you want to be precise, since 5 lb at 95% of 267 lb is the difference between a single and a missed single.

The formulas behind this answer, and their limitations

The table above the fold is Epley (1985), Brzycki (1993), Lombardi (1989), O'Conner (1989), Wathan (1994), Lander (1985) and Mayhew (1992), each applied to 245 lb for 3 reps; the headline figure is their median. All seven assume a set taken close to failure with clean technique. At 3 reps you are inside the band they were fitted on, so the largest error here is not the equation but judging how close your set really was to failure — three reps left in the tank reads exactly the same to them. They also under-rate strong, experienced lifters, who hold a higher percentage of max at any rep count than the regression average. The full account — the populations behind each equation, what a bounced rep does to it, and why we stop at ten reps — is set out on the methodology page. Warm up thoroughly and use safety bars or a spotter before going anywhere near 267 lb. This is a training estimate, not medical advice.

Common questions

245 lb for 3 reps is what one-rep max?

About 267 lb. The seven standard formulas range from 259 to 279 lb on these inputs, so the honest answer is “somewhere around 267”. In practice that is 2x45 + 2x10 per side plus the bar, or 265 lb loaded. Your 245 lb set is roughly 92% of that estimated max.

Why do the seven formulas disagree by 20 lb?

Each was fitted on a different group of lifters doing a different lift, so they curve differently as reps climb. At 3 reps that comes to 7.5%. Most calculators pick one of the seven silently; the spread is itself information about how much the number deserves to be trusted. All seven written out.

Should I try to lift 267 lb?

Not on the strength of an estimate from a 3-rep set, and not cold. A short set gives the tightest estimate this method produces, but 267 lb is still an extrapolation from 245 lb — work up to it over several weeks rather than in one session. Make small jumps near the top, and set safety bars or use a spotter. If the point is to programme your training rather than to test, you do not need to attempt it at all — use the percentages above and adjust when your working sets start moving easily.