5/3/1 Boring But Big (BBB) Explained: What It Is and Who It's For

What 5/3/1 BBB is

Boring But Big (BBB) is supplemental work for the 5/3/1 program. The base method gives you three heavy work sets per session, waved across a 4-week cycle. BBB adds 5 sets of 10 reps of the same lift right after.

The name is honest. Fifty more reps of the lift you just did is boring, and the size it builds is big. It is the default pick for anyone on 5/3/1 who wants hypertrophy alongside strength.

The classic layout is four sessions a week, one main lift each: overhead press, deadlift, bench press and squat. Every weight is a percentage of your Training Max (TM), 90% of your true or estimated 1RM, never of your actual max. The day-by-day template with warm-ups and assistance filled in is the 5/3/1 Boring But Big routine.

Wendler 5/3/1 Boring But Big: where it comes from

Jim Wendler published Boring But Big in the first 5/3/1 book as one of several ways to fill the work after the main sets. It became the most popular one. This page covers the widely published base template. Buy 5/3/1 Forever or Beyond 5/3/1 for the full method and its many variations.

Who Boring But Big is for

BBB suits a lifter who already handles the four barbell lifts with steady form, wants size as much as strength, and can recover from 50 extra reps per session, which means eating and sleeping for it. It is the wrong pick while cutting hard, in the first year of barbell training, or for anyone who cannot spare four sessions a week.

If the 5x10 buries your main lifts, First Set Last keeps the same structure with lighter back-off volume. If you would rather spend the second half of the session on rows and chin-ups than on more squats, the Triumvirate is the original alternative. For what a few cycles typically deliver, see Boring But Big results.

Boring But Big percentages by week

The last set of weeks 1-3 is an AMRAP "plus" set: as many reps as possible, stopping 1-2 reps short of technical failure. On the deload week you do the main lift only - no AMRAP, no BBB sets. See 5/3/1 percentages by week for the full set-by-set breakdown including warm-ups.

The 5x10 supplemental: 50% vs 60-70%

The supplemental work is where BBB earns its name: 5 sets of 10 reps of the same lift you just trained heavy. The classic prescription is 50% of TM, and that is where everyone should start. It looks light on paper; by set four of ten-rep squats it will not feel light. Variants at 60-70% TM exist for advanced lifters who have adapted to the volume, and some run a "BBB challenge" ramping the percentage over three months - but jumping to 60-70% in your first cycle is the most common way to wreck recovery and stall the main lifts. Prove you can complete all 50 reps at 50% across several cycles before raising it.

Assistance work

After the main lift and the 5x10, add one or two simple assistance movements to cover what the barbell lifts miss - think chin-ups, dumbbell rows, hanging leg raises or leg curls. Wendler's guidance is 25-50 quality reps, not a second workout. A common pairing is press day + chin-ups, deadlift day + hanging leg raises, bench day + dumbbell rows, squat day + leg curls. He also recommends conditioning 2-3 times per week: hill sprints, prowler pushes or easy cardio on non-lifting days.

Progression and how long to run it

After each 4-week cycle, add 5 lbs (2.5 kg) to your upper-body Training Maxes and 10 lbs (5 kg) to your lower-body Training Maxes, then run the next cycle. Most lifters run BBB for 2-3 cycles (2-3 months) before switching supplemental templates, though it can be run far longer if the AMRAP sets keep moving and recovery holds up. If reps grind or you miss prescribed numbers repeatedly, reset that lift's TM to 90% of its current value and rebuild - the start 5/3/1 guide covers first-cycle setup in detail.