What Is My One-Rep Max if I Lift 365 lb for 5 Reps?

365 lb for 5 reps, run through all seven published formulas — median 426 lb, and the 23 lb they disagree by shown rather than hidden.

Estimated one-rep max426lb

median of seven formulas — the full range is 411 to 434 lb

Lowest of the seven 411 lb
Highest of the seven 434 lb
Your set was 86% 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 411 lb
O'Conner 411 lb
Lander 415 lb
Wathan 426 lb
Epley 426 lb
Lombardi 429 lb
Mayhew 434 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

426 lb works out to 4x45 + 1x10 per side plus the bar — call it 425 lb in practice, since gyms rarely stock the odd change. 5 reps sits comfortably inside the 2-to-10 range these formulas were fitted on, so this estimate is about as reliable as the method gets. Your 365 lb set represents about 86% of the estimated max.

How far 426 lb can be trusted

Five reps is the most common way people estimate a max and the rep count these equations were checked against most often. The seven put your max between 411 and 434 lb. A set of five is short enough that breathing and pacing do not dominate it, so what the bar does on the fifth rep is a fair proxy for what it would do on a single — which is the assumption the whole method rests on.

Training loads from a 426 lb max

Programmes are written as percentages of the max, not as absolute weights. From 426 lb, rounded to the nearest 5 lb:

PercentageLoadTypical set
95%405 lbHeavy single
90%385 lbDoubles and triples
85%360 lbSets of four to five
80%340 lbSets of six
75%320 lbSets of eight
70%300 lbVolume work, ten or more

426 lb is 4x45 + 1x10 per side plus the bar, 425 lb loaded. At this load the 23 lb the formulas disagree by is bigger than a pair of 10s, which is a good argument for programming off the lower estimate — 411 lb — and letting the bar prove you wrong rather than the other way round. Warm-up jumps also get long here; work up in percentages rather than in fixed plate increments.

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 365 lb for 5 reps; the headline figure is their median. All seven assume a set taken close to failure with clean technique. At 5 reps you are still inside the fitted band, but conditioning is now affecting the result alongside strength, and the seven have begun to curve away from each other. 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 426 lb. This is a training estimate, not medical advice.

Common questions

365 lb for 5 reps is what one-rep max?

About 426 lb. The seven standard formulas range from 411 to 434 lb on these inputs, so the honest answer is “somewhere around 426”. In practice that is 4x45 + 1x10 per side plus the bar, or 425 lb loaded. Your 365 lb set is roughly 86% of that estimated max.

Why do the seven formulas disagree by 23 lb?

Each was fitted on a different group of lifters doing a different lift, so they curve differently as reps climb. At 5 reps that comes to 5.4%. 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 426 lb?

Not on the strength of an estimate from a 5-rep set, and not cold. From 5 reps the estimate carries a 23 lb spread, so build towards 411 lb first and let the bar tell you whether 426 lb is there. 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.