Strength

Bench Press Calculator

Updated 31 Oct 2026 · Source: Epley, Brzycki and Lombardi formulas ↗, OpenPowerlifting meet data ↗

Type in a bench set you just finished (weight and reps) to get an estimated max bench, a percent chart for your program and median meet results for your bodyweight.

Worked example

Epley: 185 × (1 + 5 ÷ 30) = 215.8 lb
Brzycki: 185 × 36 ÷ (37 − 5) = 208.1 lb
Lombardi: 185 × 5^0.10 = 217.3 lb
Average of the three: (215.8 + 208.1 + 217.3) ÷ 3 = 213.8, shown as 214 lb

Percent chart for a 214 lb max

% of max	Weight (lb)	Reps you might get
100%	214	1
95%	203	about 2
90%	192	about 3
85%	182	about 5
80%	171	about 7
75%	160	about 10
70%	150	about 12
65%	139	about 14
60%	128	about 16
55%	118	about 19
50%	107	about 21

Median raw bench press max in meet results, by bodyweight

Bodyweight class	Men (lb)	Women class	Women (lb)
up to 130 lb	187	up to 104 lb	99
up to 146 lb	220	up to 115 lb	110
up to 163 lb	243	up to 126 lb	121
up to 183 lb	270	up to 139 lb	127
up to 205 lb	292	up to 152 lb	132
up to 231 lb	320	up to 168 lb	138
up to 265 lb	342	up to 185 lb	143
over 265 lb	365	over 185 lb	149

Median of each lifter's best bench press max in 2016-2026 (no equipment), OpenPowerlifting archive. Meet lifters are stronger than the general population.

Bench the same way you plan to test

Small changes in setup move bench numbers more than most lifts. A rep that bounces off the chest is easier than one that stops on it, so a touch and go set will point to a higher max than a paused set with the same weight.

In a powerlifting meet the bar has to sit still on the chest before the press command. If you want to compare yourself with meet lifters, enter paused reps. If you only bench touch and go, keep using touch and go so each estimate compares with the last one.

Grip width and arch

A wider grip shortens the distance the bar travels, and a closer grip lengthens it and puts more work on the triceps. Your estimated max belongs to the grip you used in the set. Note it in your log next to the number.

The same goes for leg drive and how much you arch. Change one of them and the old estimate stops being a fair comparison.

Safety bars or a spotter

The bench is the one big lift where a failed rep ends up on your chest. Bench with a spotter or with safety arms set just below chest height for any hard set, including the set you enter here.

Using the percent chart for a bench program

Bench programs usually write work as percentages. With the default set of 185 lb for 5, the estimate is about 214 lb, so 80% is about 171 lb and 70% is about 150 lb. Round to the nearest load you can build with the plate calculator.

The bench moves up slowly, so small jumps help. A common guideline adds 2 to 10% once you beat your rep target by 1 or 2 reps in two sessions in a row On a 214 lb bench, 2% is about 4 lb, so a 5 lb (2.5 kg) jump fits.

How the meet median table works

The table below the calculator shows the median raw bench (no bench shirt) for each bodyweight class in meet results from 2016 to 2026. Half of the lifters in a class benched more and half benched less. For men up to 183 lb the median is 270 lb; for women up to 139 lb it is 127 lb.

Meet lifters train for these lifts, so these numbers sit well above the general gym population. For percentiles instead of medians, see the bench press standards.

Dumbbell Bench Max Calculator, Bench Press Standards, Leg Press Calculator, Squat Max Calculator

Questions

Is my estimated bench the same as a competition bench?

Only if the set used competition rules: a pause on the chest, feet down and full lockout. Touch and go sets usually give a higher estimate.

How many reps should my test set have?

About 3 to 8 hard reps. Higher rep sets make the formulas spread apart, so the estimate gets less precise.

Does this work for dumbbell bench?

Use the dumbbell bench calculator instead. It works per dumbbell and adds the pair together.

How we calculate: every formula, with its author and year, is on our method page; data sources and their licenses are on sources.

This page uses data from the OpenPowerlifting project, https://www.openpowerlifting.org.

gymnical.com gives estimates from published formulas and public data. It is not medical advice and not a training prescription. Last reviewed November 2026.