How to get a number worth using
The formula can only be as good as the set you give it. An easy set of five says nothing about your limit.
- Use a set taken close to failure, where one more rep would have been doubtful.
- Pick a compound lift such as the squat, bench press, deadlift or overhead press.
- Keep it to 10 reps or fewer, ideally 1 to 5.
- Count only reps with full range of motion and your usual technique.
Using the percentage table
Many programmes prescribe work as a percentage of your 1RM: three sets of five at 80 percent, for instance. The table does that conversion from your estimate, so you never need to spend a session testing a true maximum.
The rep column is roughly how many reps that load allows, worked backwards from the same formula. Treat it as a ceiling rather than a target: most working sets should stop a rep or two short of it.
Why two formulas
Epley and Brzycki were fitted to different groups of lifters. Below 10 reps Epley reads a few percent higher, at exactly 10 they agree, and above 10 Brzycki climbs faster and the two drift apart quickly. The PushBeyond app uses Epley for the estimates in your exercise history, so that is the headline figure here too.
Whichever you use, stay with it. The trend over weeks and months tells you far more than which formula sits closer to the truth on one day.