5/3/1 Triumvirate Results: What to Realistically Expect

This page covers the 5/3/1 Triumvirate only. For 5/3/1 results in general, read 5/3/1 Boring But Big results.

Want to run it as written? The free 5/3/1 Triumvirate routine in Hardy works out every set and proposes each raise for you.

Strength: what one cycle adds

The deal is simple. Finish a 4-week cycle, then add 5 lbs (2.5 kg) to your press and bench Training Max. Add 10 lbs (5 kg) to squat and deadlift.

Your Training Max is the number every set is worked out from. It is 90% of the most you can lift for one rep.

That raise is the floor of your progress, not the ceiling. The real scoreboard is the weekly AMRAP set, where you do as many reps as you can with good form.

Say 85% moved for 6 reps last cycle and moves for 8 now. That is strength you gained today, months before the Training Max catches up.

Track your estimated 1RM from those sets. That is the most you could likely lift once, worked out from the weight and reps of a hard set. Hardy works it out from every AMRAP set you log.

A year on paper vs a year in practice

The chart shows the plan for one example lifter. The lines are the same for every 5/3/1 variant, because the main work never changes.

Nobody rides the plan for a full year untouched. A stall, an illness or a reset gets everyone in the end, and that is normal.

An honest year lands between half and all of the paper numbers. That is still great progress for anyone past the novice stage.

The lifters who fall far short mostly started too heavy or skipped the easy weeks. Both are covered in common 5/3/1 mistakes.

Size and conditioning

The Triumvirate builds muscle at a slow, steady rate. The 5x15 and 5x10 assistance sets are real muscle-building work. The total amount per muscle is kept modest on purpose.

Expect visible change over months, not weeks. It shows up where the assistance work aims:

• The upper back and lats, from chin-ups and rows.
• The shoulders and triceps, from dips and dumbbell pressing.
• The hamstrings and glutes, from good mornings and leg curls.

If size is the main goal, Boring But Big builds more of it for a higher recovery price. 5/3/1 Triumvirate vs BBB compares the two.

The surprise is work capacity, which is how much training you can recover from. Dips after pressing and good mornings after deadlifts, week after week, make the big lifts feel practiced.

The deload week is part of the results

Week 4 is a deload, an easy week. You do the main lift only at 40, 50 and 60% of your Training Max. There is no AMRAP set and no assistance work.

It looks like a wasted week and it is not. The tiredness from three hard weeks drains off, so the next cycle can start heavier and still get finished.

Skipping it works once or twice. Then your week 3 reps start dying. Take it as written, and see how to plan a deload week.

How long to run it, and when to move on

• Minimum: two full cycles, or 8 weeks. One cycle tells you almost nothing.
• Typical run: 3-6 cycles, then a switch to Boring But Big or First Set Last for a change of focus.
• Keep going as long as AMRAP reps and estimated 1RMs climb. Some lifters run it for years.
• When one lift stalls, reset its Training Max to 90% of the current number and rebuild.
• When everything stalls despite good sleep and food, change the program, not the effort.

Want to see how your lifts compare? The Hardy strength report has logged numbers from real lifters.