What is the training max in 5/3/1?

Updated October 28, 2026

Short answer: in 5/3/1 the training max (TM) is 90% of your 1RM, and every percentage in the program is taken from the training max, not from your max. A 455 lb deadlift max gives a 409.5 lb training max, so the 85% set is 350 lb, not 386.75 lb. Later versions of Jim Wendler's program often set the training max at 85% of the 1RM instead.

Example: the 85% set from a 455 lb deadlift

Your deadlift max is 455 lb and week 1 calls for a top set at 85%. Work it out in three steps:

1. Take 90% of the 1RM: 455 × 90% = 409.5 lb. That is your training max.
2. Take the week's percentage of the training max: 409.5 × 85% = 348.08 lb.
3. Round to a weight you can load: 350 lb, which is three 45s, a 10, a 5 and a 2.5 on each side of a 45 lb bar.

Taking 85% of the 455 lb max directly gives 386.75 lb. The arithmetic is fine, but the base is wrong: 5/3/1 never asks for a percentage of your true max. That is why its weights look lower than many lifters expect.

Every 5/3/1 week from a 409.5 lb training max

The original program runs four weeks. The last set of weeks 1 to 3 is a plus set: as many good reps as you can. Each weight below is the percentage of the 409.5 lb training max, rounded to the nearest load with pound plates on a 45 lb bar:

The heaviest set of the cycle, 95% in week 3, is 389.03 lb exact and 390 lb on the bar, still well under the 455 lb max. That is the point: the training max keeps every set submaximal so you can add weight cycle after cycle. For any other max, the 5/3/1 calculator builds all four weeks from your 1RM, with the plates for every set.

Training max at 90% or 85%?

The original 5/3/1 uses 90% of your 1RM. Wendler's later books often recommend 85%, which lowers every set and leaves more reps in each plus set. The same 455 lb max under both:

Use the percentage your version of the program is written for. If the 90% version leaves you grinding out the minimum reps on the plus sets, 85% is the more conservative choice.

Training max vs 1RM

A 1RM is the heaviest weight you can lift once. A training max is a planning number set below it on purpose. You never test the training max and you are not meant to lift it for a single; it only exists so the program's percentages land on weights you can handle for the prescribed reps. Your 1RM can go up while the training max climbs slowly and steadily, and that gap is by design.

How to calculate your training max without testing

You don't need a fresh max-out. Estimate the 1RM from a hard set of 3 to 5 reps, then take 90% of the estimate. Say you deadlift 385 lb for 5:

• Epley estimate: 385 × (1 + 5 ÷ 30) = 449.17 lb
• Training max: 449.17 × 90% = 404.25 lb

The 1RM calculator gives the estimate from any set, and how 1RM is calculated compares the formulas.

How much to add to the training max each cycle

After each cycle the original program adds 5 lb (2.5 kg) to the training max for the bench press and overhead press, and 10 lb (5 kg) for the squat and deadlift. The weight goes on the training max itself, not on your 1RM. If you add it to the 1RM and recompute 90%, the training max grows by less than the planned amount each cycle.

The same in kilos: a 140 kg squat

A 140 kg squat max gives a training max of 140 × 90% = 126 kg. Rounded to kilo plates on a 20 kg bar:

With the training max at 85% instead, it is 119 kg. Next cycle the squat training max goes up 5 kg, from 126 to 131 kg, and the week 1 top set moves from 107.1 kg exact (load 107.5 kg) to 111.35 kg exact (load 112.5 kg).

Loading 5/3/1 sets in LoadPR

LoadPR does not plan 5/3/1 cycles for you, but its percentage wheel works from any weight you type, not only from a logged PR. Type your training max, turn the wheel to the week's percentage and it shows a weight you can load with the plates for one side of the bar. The wheel runs from 50% to 120% in 5% steps, so for the 40% deload set use the plate calculator. More in percentages of your PR.

Mistakes with the training max

• Taking percentages from the 1RM. 85% of a 455 lb max is 386.75 lb; the program wants 85% of the 409.5 lb training max, 350 lb.
• Adding the cycle increase to the 1RM. Add 5 or 10 lb to the training max itself.
• Setting the training max from an old or hopeful max. A too-high training max makes the plus sets grind. Use a recent max or an estimate from a hard set.
• Loading the exact number. 348.08 lb can't go on a bar; 350 lb can.
• Mixing units. Keep the max, the training max and the sets in the same unit.