A dips one rep max (1RM) is the heaviest load you can press for one full-depth dip. That load is your bodyweight plus whatever hangs from your belt. This calculator estimates it from a hard set. It does not replace a real max test.

How do I calculate my dips 1RM?

Enter your bodyweight, the weight on your belt and the reps you did to failure, from 1 to 10. The calculator adds bodyweight to the belt weight, runs seven published equations, and subtracts your bodyweight at the end. For 80 kg bodyweight with +20 kg for 5 reps, the average total 1RM is 115.5 kg before rounding. That is +35.5 kg added, with equations from +32.5 to +39 kg. The tool rounds to 1.25 kg unless you change it.

Does the calculator count my bodyweight?

Yes. On parallel bars or rings you press your whole body, so the equations run on bodyweight plus added weight. Coyne's group defined a dip 1RM the same way in their parallel-bar test. The answer is shown two ways: the total with bodyweight included, and the added weight on top of it. Don't enter bench dips, where your feet on the floor take part of the load.

What formula does the dips 1RM calculator use?

It uses the seven equations in LeSuer's 1997 Table 1: Epley, Brzycki, Lander, Lombardi, Mayhew, O'Conner and Wathan. Each turns a set to fatigue into a 1RM. The page shows the average and the lowest and highest result. In LeSuer's bench press data only Mayhew and Wathan matched the measured max, but nobody has tested any of the seven on dips, so none is favoured here.

How many reps should I use?

Use a hard set of 10 reps or fewer, taken to failure with full depth. Brzycki and Mayhew report better accuracy below 10 reps, Reynolds advises no more than 10, and the calculator warns from 8. A heavier, shorter set gives a firmer estimate than a long bodyweight set.

Why can't I enter more than 10 reps?

The equations were built on sets of 10 reps or fewer, and Reynolds advises no more than 10 in linear equations. Beyond that I have no source that supports the numbers. If you can do more than 10 dips, add weight until a set ends within 10 reps and enter that.

What is the difference between total 1RM and added-weight 1RM?

The total 1RM includes your bodyweight, and the added-weight 1RM is the total minus bodyweight. At 80 kg bodyweight, a total of 120 kg is +40 kg added. Percentages of 1RM apply to the total, not to the belt weight. Eighty percent of +40 kg is not the same load as 80% of a 120 kg max.

How much of my bodyweight does a dip lift?

I found no measured figure for it. This calculator uses your full bodyweight in the load, which is how Coyne and colleagues counted it in their 1RM test. Some tools take a fixed fraction of bodyweight for dips. I found no measurement that supports one, so I did not use one.

What is a good weighted dip?

I could not source standards by bodyweight, so the calculator gives no beginner or elite label. In one study of 15 male surfers, the dip 1RM averaged 1.59 ± 0.23 times bodyweight, counting bodyweight as part of the load. The calculator shows your own multiple for comparison. It is one small group of men and not a standard, and I found no matching figure for women.

Can I convert my dips to a bench press?

I looked for a dips-to-bench ratio and found no study that gives one, so the calculator does not convert. A number without a source would look precise and mean nothing. A dip total also counts your whole body and a bench press does not. If you want a bench estimate, enter a real bench set into the 1RM calculator.

Do bench, bar and ring dips give the same 1RM?

Not necessarily. In a study of 13 men, peak triceps activation was 0.83 mV on the bench, 1.04 on the bar and 1.05 on the rings. The bench dip needed the most shoulder extension, and the feet stay on the floor, which cuts the load. I found nothing to convert between the styles, so estimate each from its own sets at the same depth.

Are dips hard on the shoulders?

They can be. The study that compared the three dip styles says its findings matter most for people with a history of shoulder pain or injury. Its authors also warn that extra load, fatigue or a wide grip may raise the risk to the pectoralis major. If you have shoulder pain or an injury, ask a clinician before testing a max.

Dips 1RM Calculator: Weighted Dip One Rep Max, Bodyweight Counted

Name: Dips 1RM Calculator
Author: Manish Kumar

Key Takeaways

Your dips 1RM is the heaviest load you can press for one full-depth dip. This calculator estimates it from a hard set of 1 to 10 reps, counts your bodyweight as part of the load, and then shows how much of that is added weight^[2]^[5].
The equations run on bodyweight plus belt weight, and the page subtracts bodyweight at the end. Coyne and colleagues defined a dip 1RM the same way in their strength test^[5]^[6].
You get an average and a range across seven published equations. None of them was tested on dips, so treat the result as an estimate and not a measured max^[2]^[3].
In 15 male surfers, the dip 1RM averaged 1.59× bodyweight^[5]. That is a small group of men, and I found no matching figure for women.
I couldn't source the share of bodyweight a dip moves, any conversion between dip styles, an assisted-dip load, strength standards by bodyweight or a dips-to-bench ratio. They aren't here, and the last section says why.

What a Dips 1RM Is, and Which Number to Use

A dips 1RM is the heaviest load you can press for one full-depth dip. In a dip, that load is your body plus whatever hangs from your belt.

So the same max can be written two ways. The total 1RM includes your bodyweight, and the added-weight 1RM is the total minus bodyweight. Lifters often quote the second one, as in +40 kg.

The calculator shows both. Mixing them up gives numbers that look wrong, which is why the load tables below say which one they use.

How Much Weight a Dip Moves

On parallel bars or rings, you press your whole body, so this tool puts your full bodyweight in the load. Coyne's group counted it that way when they tested a dip 1RM on parallel bars: bodyweight plus external load^[5]^[6].

A bench dip is different. With your feet on the floor, the load is lower than your bodyweight^[8], so don't enter bench dip sets here.

A dip may not move exactly 100% of your body mass. I found no measured figure for it, so I did not scale bodyweight by a fraction. Treat the full-bodyweight load as a convention.

Some calculators scale bodyweight by a fixed fraction for dips. I found no measurement behind that figure, so I left it out.

The Formula and a Worked Example

What happens when you press Calculate

Your bodyweight plus the weight on your belt gives the load.
Each of seven equations turns that load and your reps into a total 1RM^[2].
Subtracting your bodyweight gives the added-weight 1RM for each equation.
The page shows the average, the lowest and the highest.

LeSuer and colleagues print the seven equations in their Table 1^[2]. Here they are, with the multiplier each gives at 5 reps:

Equation	Form	1RM ÷ load at 5 reps	Original publication
Epley	1RM = w × (1 + 0.0333 × r)	1.167	Epley, Poundage Chart, 1985 (not opened)
Brzycki	1RM = 100 × w ÷ (102.78 − 2.78 × r)	1.125	Brzycki, 1993 (opened and checked)
Lander	1RM = 100 × w ÷ (101.3 − 2.67123 × r)	1.137	Lander, NSCA Journal, 1985 (not opened)
Lombardi	1RM = w × r^0.1	1.175	Lombardi, Beginning Weight Training, 1989 (not opened)
Mayhew	1RM = 100 × w ÷ (52.2 + 41.9 × e^(−0.055 × r))	1.19	Mayhew et al., J Appl Sport Sci Res, 1992 (not opened)
O'Conner	1RM = w × (1 + 0.025 × r)	1.125	O'Conner et al., Weight Training Today, 1989 (not opened)
Wathan	1RM = 100 × w ÷ (48.8 + 53.8 × e^(−0.075 × r))	1.166	Wathan, in Baechle (ed.), 1994 (not opened)

w is the load lifted (bodyweight plus added weight) and r is the reps to fatigue. The last column is arithmetic on each equation at 5 reps.

Brzycki's paper has its own table for this equation. A 100 lb set of 3 predicts a 1RM of 106 lb, and 225 lb for 10 reps predicts about 300 lb^[1]. The calculator reproduces those values in its tests.

I opened only Brzycki's paper. The other six equations come from LeSuer's table, and I didn't open their original publications, so I can't say how they were derived.

Worked example: 80 kg bodyweight, +20 kg, 5 reps to failure

Load = 80 + 20 = 100 kg

Epley total 1RM = 100 × (1 + 0.0333 × 5) = 116.7 kg, which is +36.7 kg added

Brzycki total 1RM = 100 × 100 ÷ (102.78 − 2.78 × 5) = 112.5 kg, which is +32.5 kg added

Average of all seven: 115.5 kg total, +35.5 kg added, range +32.5 to +39 kg (before rounding to plates)

A set of exactly 1 skips the equations. One rep to failure is already your max, and the equations would add a few percent to it.

How Accurate Is It?

This is what each source looked at, so you can judge how far to trust a number:

Source	What it found	Limit
LeSuer et al., 1997^[2]	67 untrained college students (40 men, 27 women; some skipped the squat and deadlift) did a 1RM and a set of 10 or fewer reps to fatigue. All seven equations correlated highly with the measured 1RM (r above 0.95), but most still came out low. Bench press: only Mayhew and Wathan matched the measured 1RM, and the other five were 0.8 to 6% low on average. Squat: 2 to 8% low for all but Wathan. Deadlift: 9 to 14% low for all seven.	Bench press, squat and deadlift, not dips. Untrained students. The size of the error changed with the lift.
Reynolds et al., 2006^[3]	70 people aged 18 to 69 did 1, 5, 10 and 20RM tests on the barbell bench press and a plate-loaded leg press. The authors advise no more than 10 reps in linear equations.	Bench press and leg press, not dips. The reps were paced to a metronome in the lab.
Mayhew et al., 2008^[4]	103 young women did bench press tests before and after 12 weeks of training. Prediction equations were more accurate when fewer than 10 reps to fatigue were used.	Young women, bench press only.
Berger, 1967^[7]	The only dip-specific prediction study I found. 59 college students did a dip 1RM and a set of dips at their own bodyweight. An equation built for chin-ups, applied to dips, predicted the 1RM with a standard error of estimate of 7.26 lb.	I read the abstract only and could not get the equation, so it isn't used here. It dates from 1967, and the abstract does not give the sex of the dip group.
Coyne et al., 2015^[5]	15 adult men did a true dip 1RM twice, a week apart. The test was highly reliable (ICC 0.96 to 0.99 across the pull-up and dip tests), with a smallest worthwhile change of 4% in relative dip strength.	It measured a real 1RM and did not test any prediction equation. Men only: surfers from recreational to international level, tested on parallel bars.
Australian Institute of Sport, 2022^[9]	Its testing manual says predictive equations should not be used to calculate a 1RM. It notes that they are affected by the muscle group, the exercise and the training level, with large variability (±10%) when submaximal reps predict a max. It says to record the weight lifted and the reps completed.	A testing manual that cites earlier studies, not a new experiment. Written for formal athlete testing.

Nobody tested these seven equations on dips. The sources used the bench press, squat, deadlift and leg press. The errors also changed from lift to lift (see the table), so I can't say they carry over to a lift that moves your own body.
Use a heavy set with few reps, but not more than 10. Brzycki says his equation is only valid below 10 reps to fatigue^[1], and Mayhew found better accuracy below 10^[4]. Reynolds advises no more than 10^[3]. So the calculator accepts 1 to 10 reps and warns from 8.
The set must go to failure. The equations assume reps to fatigue. If you stopped with reps left, the estimate reads low.
Bodyweight-only sets are the roughest input. With nothing added, the estimate rests entirely on your rep count. A set with some weight added and fewer reps is a better input, because the sources found fewer reps more accurate.
A real max test beats an estimate. The AIS manual says to record the weight and reps lifted rather than calculate a 1RM^[9]. Use this page to pick a starting load, not to replace a test.

Reading Your Result

The big number is the added weight for one rep. The total below it includes your bodyweight, and the multiple is that total divided by bodyweight, which is how Coyne reported relative strength^[6].

The rep table gives the belt weight for sets of 1 to 10. It runs each equation backward from its own 1RM. I found no study that tests that reverse use, so treat the lighter rows as estimates too.

Percentages apply to the total, not the belt

Say your total 1RM is 120 kg at 80 kg bodyweight, which is +40 kg. Eighty percent of that max is 96 kg, so you load +16 kg.

Taking 80% of the belt weight gives +32 kg. That is 93.3% of your max, which is much heavier than you meant. The calculator's percent table does it the first way, and marks any row below bodyweight as assisted.

If you retest, repeat your own depth and tempo. Coyne's lifters used a set depth and lowered over 4 seconds^[6]. A shallower rep makes the estimate look better than the dip was.

What Counts as Strong

The best dip-specific numbers I found come from Coyne and colleagues. Their 15 male surfers, from recreational to international level, averaged a dip 1RM of 116.89 ± 23.48 kg including bodyweight, which was 1.59 ± 0.23× bodyweight^[5].

Their relative dip strength was 1.11 times their relative pull-up strength^[5]. The calculator shows your multiple so you can set it beside the 1.59 figure. It is one small group of men, so it describes them and not a standard.

The largest public dataset I found is Strength Level's. Its average lifter does 20 dips if male and 9 if female^[10]. That comes from about 517,000 qualifying results logged up to March 2026, and only about 5% are women's.

Those are app users who chose to log dips, and the reps are self-reported. It describes them, not the general population.

I did not copy their tables or write my own. I couldn't source standards by bodyweight, so the calculator gives no beginner, intermediate or elite label.

Dips and the Bench Press

"Dips to bench press" is a common search, and I looked for a ratio. I found no study that gives one, so there is no converter on this page.

A number without a source would look precise and mean nothing. The two lifts also count load differently: a dip total includes your whole body, and a bench press barbell does not.

If you want a bench estimate, use the 1RM calculator with a real bench set. For other bodyweight lifts, the weighted calisthenics 1RM calculator covers pull-ups and muscle-ups.

Dip Style, Form and Your Shoulders

McKenzie and colleagues compared bench, bar and ring dips in 13 experienced men doing four bodyweight reps each^[8]. Peak triceps activation was 0.83 ± 0.34 mV on the bench, 1.04 ± 0.27 on the bar and 1.05 ± 0.40 on the rings.

The bench dip scored lower partly because the feet stay on the floor, which cuts the load^[8].

Six muscles worked harder on the bar than on the bench. Rings matched the bar for most muscles, and three (pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi and biceps) were higher on rings^[8].

The bench dip needed the most shoulder extension, at 101% of each lifter's own maximum range, against 88% for the bar and 69% for the rings^[8]. The authors say this matters for anyone with a history of shoulder pain or injury.

They also warn that extra load, fatigue or a wide grip may raise the risk to the pectoralis major^[8]. The study used only four bodyweight reps, so it does not show what a heavy single does to your shoulder.

For this calculator, the point is simple. Styles load the body differently, and I found nothing to convert between them. Estimate each style from its own sets.

What This Calculator Leaves Out

Some dip calculators multiply the result by a factor for the dip style, such as ring, Korean or chest dips. I found no measurement behind any of those factors, so there are none here.

The same goes for beginner-to-elite labels, an assisted-dip load and a bench-press conversion. If a number can't be traced to a source, it isn't on this page.

What remains is what I could check: bodyweight in the load, seven published equations, and the limits above. For a general rep-max check, see the 5RM calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources & References

Strength testing: predicting a one-rep max from reps-to-fatigue. Brzycki M. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 64(1):88-90 (1993)
The accuracy of prediction equations for estimating 1-RM performance in the bench press, squat, and deadlift. LeSuer DA, McCormick JH, Mayhew JL, Wasserstein RL, Arnold MD. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 11(4):211-213 (1997)
Prediction of one repetition maximum strength from multiple repetition maximum testing and anthropometry. Reynolds JM, Gordon TJ, Robergs RA. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 20(3):584-592 (2006)
Accuracy of prediction equations for determining one repetition maximum bench press in women before and after resistance training. Mayhew JL, Johnson BD, LaMonte MJ, Lauber D, Kemmler W. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 22(5):1570-1577 (2008)
Reliability of pull up and dip maximal strength tests. Coyne JOC, Tran TT, Secomb JL, Lundgren L, Farley ORL, Newton RU, Sheppard JM. Journal of Australian Strength and Conditioning 23(4) (2015)
Influence of anthropometric and upper body strength qualities on surfboard paddling kinematics (Master of Science thesis; the dip test method, load definition and depth and tempo standards). Coyne J. Edith Cowan University (2015)
Determination of a method to predict 1-RM chin and dip from repetitive chins and dips (abstract read only). Berger RA. Research Quarterly 38(3):330-335 (1967)
Bench, bar, and ring dips: do kinematics and muscle activity differ?. McKenzie A, Crowley-McHattan Z, Meir R, Whitting J, Volschenk W. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19(20):13211 (2022)
National Protocols for the Assessment of Strength and Power (the document is headed Version 2.0, effective July 2022; the AIS page names the file v3). Australian Institute of Sport and the National Institute Network. Australian Sports Commission (2022)
Dips standards for men and women (community-logged data to March 2026, not peer reviewed; page read in November 2026). Strength Level

Manish Kumar

Certified Personal Trainer & Sports Nutritionist

NASM-CPTCertified Sports Nutritionist10+ Years Experience500+ Clients Coached

NASM-certified fitness and nutrition coach with over 10 years of hands-on experience helping people build strength, lose fat, and live healthier lives. Specializing in gym-based workouts with a strong focus on lifting technique, biomechanics, and practical exercise science. Through FitLifeRegime, sharing the tools, tips, and insights that have worked for hundreds of clients — helping you start your own fitness journey with confidence and clarity.

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Disclaimer: This tool is for informational and personal journaling purposes only. Results are estimates based on published formulas and may vary based on individual factors such as genetics, training history, and measurement technique.

Dips 1RM Calculator

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