How to Calculate Maximum Weight for the Bench Press

The bench press helps strengthen your pectoral muscles.

The bench press is an upper-body exercise that involves lying on a bench, lifting a barbell mounted with weights, lowering the barbell to your chest, and raising the barbell again until your arms are locked. People often want to know how much they can bench press, that is, they want to know the maximum weight that they can lift one time. It is dangerous to attempt to find this out, especially if you think you can lift more than you can. Thus, you want to calculate your maximum bench press on paper first to get a rough idea.

Instructions

1. Put an amount of weight on the bench press that you can lift several times. Count the number of times that you lift this weight and write it down. Note that each lift is called a "rep."

2. Divide the number of reps by 30. For example, if you completed eight reps, you would do 8 divided by 30, to get 0.26.

3. Add "1" to the number you got in the previous step. For example, 1 + 0.26 = 1.26.

4. Multiply the number you got in the previous step by the amount of weight you put on the bench press. Thus, if you used 125 lbs., you would multiply 1.26 x 125 = 157.5. This is your maximum weight. In other words, the most weight you can bench press one time is 157.5 lbs.

Tips & Warnings

• The aforementioned calculations are designed to give you a rough idea of your maximum bench press. Every person is different. Thus, you should use a spotter, someone to support you, while you bench press to avoid injury.

References

• Middle Management: Bench Press Calculator