Max Deadlift
Deadlift Max Calculator
Enter a deadlift you have done and the reps you managed. Six formulas run at once and you get an estimated max plus the training percentages underneath it.
Deadlift 1RM
Estimated 1RM
260lb
Average of valid formulas
Training max (90%)
235lb
Program off this, not the estimate.
All six formulas
| Formula | 1RM (lb) | In range |
|---|---|---|
| Epley | 265 | Yes |
| Brzycki | 255 | Yes |
| Lombardi | 265 | Yes |
| Mayhew et al. | 270 | Yes |
| O'Conner et al. | 255 | Yes |
| Wathan | 260 | Yes |
Warm-up to your top set
105
× 5 · 40%
145
× 5 · 55%
180
× 3 · 70%
220
× 2 · 85%
Load for every rep target
| Reps | % of 1RM | Load (lb) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100% | 260 |
| 2 | 95% | 245 |
| 3 | 93% | 240 |
| 4 | 90% | 235 |
| 5 | 87% | 225 |
| 6 | 85% | 220 |
| 7 | 83% | 215 |
| 8 | 80% | 210 |
| 9 | 77% | 200 |
| 10 | 75% | 195 |
| 11 | 72% | 190 |
| 12 | 70% | 180 |
Why deadlift estimates read high
The deadlift is the lift where rep-max formulas are least reliable, and it is worth knowing why before you plan a block around the output.
There is no eccentric to store energy in. Every rep starts dead on the floor, so a set of eight deadlifts is eight separate first reps — there is no stretch reflex carrying you the way there is out of the bottom of a bench or a squat. The formulas were fitted on lifts that have one.
Grip fails before the posterior chain does. Plenty of people miss rep nine because the bar rolled out of their fingers, not because they ran out of hips. If your set ended at your grip, you did not take that set to failure, and the estimate underneath it is measuring your forearms.
And form degrades fastest here. Rep one and rep ten of a heavy deadlift set are often not the same movement. If your back rounded on the back half, the estimate is built on reps that a judge would not have counted.
Net effect: deadlift estimates tend to overshoot a genuine tested max. Lean on the conservative end of the range — Lombardi and O’Conner — rather than the average, and use sets of five or fewer wherever you can.
If you do test it
If you test it, test it fresh — not at the end of a session, not after squats. Singles with real rest, straps off if you compete raw, and stop when the bar speed off the floor drops off a cliff.
Want the general version of all this — every formula, how they differ, and when each one stops working? That lives on the main one rep max calculator.
Deadlift questions
Why is my estimated deadlift max higher than what I can lift?
This is the normal case, not a bug. Deadlifts have no eccentric to rebound out of, grip often fails before the muscles do, and form degrades across a long set — all three push the estimate up relative to a real tested single. Use sets of five or fewer and weight the conservative formulas.
Should I use straps when testing my max?
If you compete in a federation that bans them, test without. If you lift for yourself, straps let you measure your posterior chain rather than your grip, which is usually what you actually want to know. Just be consistent — a strapped estimate does not apply to beltless, strapless training.
Does sumo vs conventional change the calculation?
The math is identical, but the maxes are not, and the ratio is personal. Long-armed lifters often pull more conventional; shorter, hip-dominant lifters often pull more sumo. Keep separate estimates for each stance rather than converting between them.
Is that number any good?
A max means nothing without bodyweight context. The strength standards tool puts your number against beginner-to-elite bands for your weight class, which is a far more useful question than the raw figure.
Check your standards