The 5/3/1 Program: How It Works and How to Start

Wendler's 5/3/1 program in one table

Jim Wendler published 5/3/1 in 2009. It is a program for lifters who want to get strong over years, not weeks. You train four lifts, one per session, through the same four-week wave:

• Squat
• Bench press
• Deadlift
• Overhead press

Every set is a percentage of the lift's Training Max. That is 90% of your one-rep max, never the max itself. The last work set of weeks 1-3 is an AMRAP set: as many reps as you can, stopping one or two short of failure.

That table is the whole program. Warm-up sets at 40, 50 and 60% come before the work sets. The template adds more sets after them, and the deload week has no AMRAP set.

The 5/3/1 percentages by week article walks through every set, warm-ups included.

The 5/3/1 templates: BBB, FSL and Triumvirate

The main sets never change. What you do after them is the template. The three classic templates cover almost every goal:

If you are unsure, run BBB for your first two cycles. It teaches the wave and builds how much training you can handle. Every other template is a small change from it.

All three are free routines in Hardy. The percentages, AMRAP logging and the TM increase from cycle to cycle are built in.

The other two are here: 5/3/1 First Set Last and 5/3/1 Triumvirate.

How to start 5/3/1: six steps

1. Step 1: Set a Training Max for each lift

   You need a Training Max for each of the four lifts. Take 90% of a tested or estimated 1RM, and go lighter when in doubt. The 5/3/1 calculator turns each max into a Training Max and every working weight of the cycle.

2. Step 2: Learn the 4-week wave

   Week 1 is 5/5/5+ at 65, 75 and 85% of the TM. Week 2 is 3/3/3+ at 70, 80 and 90%, and week 3 is 5/3/1+ at 75, 85 and 95%. Week 4 is a deload at 40, 50 and 60% for 5 reps each, with no AMRAP.

3. Step 3: Choose a template

   Boring But Big adds 5 x 10 of the main lift for size. First Set Last repeats the first working weight for 5 x 5, and the Triumvirate adds two assistance exercises. Pick one and run it unchanged for at least two cycles.

4. Step 4: Plan your training week

   The classic layout is four days: press on Monday, deadlift on Tuesday, bench on Thursday and squat on Friday. Three days a week also works. Keep the same four-lift order and roll it across the weeks, so a cycle takes longer but nothing is skipped.

5. Step 5: Add assistance work

   After the main sets and the template's sets, add 50-100 reps each of a push, a pull and single-leg or core work. Dips and push-ups count as pushes, rows and chin-ups as pulls. Keep it light and simple, because assistance supports the main lifts rather than competing with them.

6. Step 6: Progress the Training Max

   After the deload week, add 2.5 kg (5 lbs) to the bench and press TMs. Add 5 kg (10 lbs) to the squat and deadlift TMs, then start the next cycle. That small, patient increase is the whole progression model, and it adds up to big totals over a year.

Progression and the deload week

Two things keep 5/3/1 running for years. The first is the AMRAP set, and the rep records it produces are the progress. Because the top sets come from a Training Max below your max, you beat those records week after week without grinding.

The second is the deload week, which is light on purpose. Week 4 at 40-60% lets fatigue clear, so the next cycle's heavier TM feels as fast as this one did. Lifters who skip it are the ones who stall in cycle three.

When a lift stalls, reset only that lift's Training Max to 90% of its current value and rebuild. A stall means missed reps in week 3, or an AMRAP set that only gives the prescribed single. The other lifts keep climbing.

The 5/3/1 common mistakes article covers resets, held-back AMRAP sets and the other ways a cycle goes wrong.

Is the 5/3/1 lifting program a strength program or a size program?

Both, and the template decides the mix. The main sets are a strength program: low reps at rising percentages with a heavy top set every week. The sets after them are where size comes from.

Run BBB and the 5/3/1 training program looks like a size-focused block with a strength core. Run FSL or the Triumvirate and it is a strength program with enough volume to hold muscle.

Wendler calls it a strength program for people who want to be strong and look like it. Powerlifters, athletes and general lifters have run the 5/3/1 strength program for that reason.