Have you been lifting weights for a while now and at a plateau? Can’t seem to lift any heavier?

Then maybe it’s time to give your current workout a cold, hard look. Jim Wendler, a previous competitive powerlifter with incredible achievements of a 1,000 pound squat, 675 pound bench press, 700 pound deadlift and a 2,375 pound total in the 275 pound weight class has this to say about the 5/3/1 program he created: “I want be able to do a bunch of different activities and still kick ass in the weight room. I want to be as mobile, flexible, strong, and in as good a condition as I possibly can. That’s how I came up with 5/3/1.”

General philosophy
5/3/1 is built upon four pillars:

  1. Compound lifts – these build and work the largest amount of muscles at once, resulting in high strength gains and an intrinsically strong core;
  2. Starting light – this allows you more room to make progress moving forward (this may seem counter-intuitive, but most lifters lift heavy with poor form, leading to more injuries and slower progress);
  3. Slow and steady progress – the program focuses on long term strength gains; and
  4. Breaking personal records – the program allows you to break repetition personal records (described below).

5/3/1 program specifics
The strict iteration of 5/3/1 expects a 3 to 4 day training week. Each day’s workout is centered upon one of four core lifts – the squat, bench press, deadlift, and standing shoulder press (link shows a seated shoulder press).

Each training cycle last 4 weeks, with the number of sets and repetitions per week as follows:

  • Week 1: 3 x 5+
  • Week 2: 3 x 3+
  • Week 3: 1 x 5, 1 x 3, 1 x 1+
  • Week 4: 3 x 5 (Deload)

The plus sign means going “all out” on your last set. For example, in your first week of 5/3/1, you’d do 2 sets of 5 reps of your core lifts. On the third set, you aim to do as many reps as you can above the fixed reps (i.e. 5 or more for the first week). You then progressively use heavier weights on your next cycles.

Each set per week uses specific percentages of your 1RM (one rep max) to determine the weight you should be lifting.

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
Set 1 65% x 5 70% x 3 75% x 5 40% x 5
Set 2 75% x 5 80% x 3 85% x 3 50% x 5
Set 3 85% x 5+ 90% x 3+ 95% x 1+ 60% x 5

We understand that the calculations get pretty complex, so we’ve developed a free Excel tool (2003 and up) to help you design your own 5/3/1 program.

Download here: (Latest version 1.26)