What Is My One-Rep Max if I Lift 95 lb for 4 Reps?

95 lb for 4 reps, run through all seven published formulas — median 107 lb, and the 7 lb they disagree by shown rather than hidden.

Estimated one-rep max107lb

median of seven formulas — the full range is 104 to 111 lb

Lowest of the seven 104 lb
Highest of the seven 111 lb
Your set was 89% 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 104 lb
O'Conner 105 lb
Lander 105 lb
Wathan 107 lb
Epley 108 lb
Lombardi 109 lb
Mayhew 111 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

107 lb works out to 1x25 + 1x5 per side plus the bar — call it 105 lb in practice, since gyms rarely stock the odd change. 4 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 95 lb set represents about 89% of the estimated max.

How far 107 lb can be trusted

Four reps still sits in the well-behaved part of the range. The seven equations return 104 to 111 lb, and most of that 6.5% gap is them disagreeing about how fast strength falls off with reps rather than any of them being wrong. A set of four is also long enough that fatigue in the last rep is visible: if rep four was a grind, this estimate is honest; if it moved easily, 107 lb is on the low side.

Training loads from a 107 lb max

Programmes are written as percentages of the max, not as absolute weights. From 107 lb, to the nearest pound, because 5 lb steps collapse into each other at this load:

PercentageLoadTypical set
95%102 lbHeavy single
90%96 lbDoubles and triples
85%91 lbSets of four to five
80%86 lbSets of six
75%80 lbSets of eight
70%75 lbVolume work, ten or more

At this end of the rack almost none of those percentages lands on a plate you own. 107 lb itself builds as 1x25 + 1x5 per side plus the bar, which is 105 lb — near enough, and the miss is smaller than the 7 lb the seven formulas disagree by. This is the weight range where a pair of 2.5 lb or 1.25 lb plates genuinely earns its place, because a 10 lb jump here is a much larger proportional step than it is at 300.

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 95 lb for 4 reps; the headline figure is their median. All seven assume a set taken close to failure with clean technique. At 4 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 107 lb. This is a training estimate, not medical advice.

Common questions

95 lb for 4 reps is what one-rep max?

About 107 lb. The seven standard formulas range from 104 to 111 lb on these inputs, so the honest answer is “somewhere around 107”. In practice that is 1x25 + 1x5 per side plus the bar, or 105 lb loaded. Your 95 lb set is roughly 89% of that estimated max.

Why do the seven formulas disagree by 7 lb?

Each was fitted on a different group of lifters doing a different lift, so they curve differently as reps climb. At 4 reps that comes to 6.5%. 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 107 lb?

Not on the strength of an estimate from a 4-rep set, and not cold. A short set gives the tightest estimate this method produces, but 107 lb is still an extrapolation from 95 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.