5/3/1: How to build up pure strength

Here's what you need to know...

1. If you can perform well on the basic exercises, this will carry over to everything else. Start easy, build up slowly and leave the ego in the checkroom to set personal bests.
2. Train 3 to 4 days a week. Each training session should revolve around one of the following exercises: Squats, bench press, deadlift or shoulder press. Squats are only performed to the point where the thighs are parallel to the floor.
3. Use a specific percentage of your maximum weight for one repetition (1RM) to perform first 5 repetitions, then 3 repetitions and then 1 repetition. These percentages are based on 90% of your 1RM.
4. Supplement 5/3/1 training with supportive training to build muscle, prevent injury and achieve balanced body development. Options include pull-ups, dips, lunges and back extensions/hyperextensions.

The reason for 5/3/1

Let me make something clear: either people want to do 5/3/1, or they don't. I really want to help people, but if they don't take my advice, then there's nothing I can do for them. That's okay with me. I don't crusade. I simply don't give a damn.

Arguing about the theory of strength training is stupid. And the reason I developed 5/3/1 was because I wanted a program that would eliminate stupid thoughts from my brain and just let me go to the weight room and get through the workout.

I've been training for 20 years and this is what I've learned.

The progress of a powerlifter

My best powerlifting results in the 275 pound weight class were a 1,000 pound squat, 675 pounds on the bench press and 700 pounds on the deadlift, adding up to a total of 2,375 pounds. No, I wasn't really strong! Sure, I could move huge weights on those three exercises, but I couldn't do anything else. All I was good at were squats, bench presses and deadlifts.

Today I have different expectations. I want to be able to do a whole range of activities and still move huge weights in the gym. I want to be agile, flexible, strong and in as good shape as possible. This is how the idea of the 5/3/1 program developed.

The philosophy of 5/3/1

The core philosophy behind 5/3/1 revolves around the fundamentals of strength training that have stood the test of time.

Use basic multi-joint exercises

Bench presses, squats, deadlifts and standing shoulder presses have always been the basis of every strongman's repertoire. Those who ignore these exercises are generally the people who are bad at them. If you get good at these exercises, you'll get good at other stuff too, as a lot of these exercises carry over to other exercises.

Start light

Although it may seem counter intuitive to take weight off the bar, if the goal is to move more weight, you'll have more room for progression if you start lighter. This is a very bitter pill for most strength athletes to swallow. They want to start with heavy weights and they want to start NOW.

This is nothing more than ego and nothing will destroy a strength athlete faster or for longer than ego.

Increase slowly

This is related to starting with lighter weights and keeps exercisers who want to get muscular and strong yesterday if possible from sabotaging their own progress.

People want a program that will help them increase their bench press weight by 40 pounds in 8 weeks. When I ask these people how much they've increased their bench press weight over the last year, they bow their heads in shame.

Break personal records

5/3/1 allows you to set a whole series of repetition records over the course of the year. Please note that I am talking about "repeat bests" and not maximum weights. Most people are all about max weight for one repetition. To me, this is foolish and short-sighted.

If you've gone from 225 x 6 to 225 x 9 on squats, then you've gotten stronger.

5/3/1 and numbers

With 5/3/1, you train three or four days a week. Each training session revolves around one of the core exercises - squats, bench press, deadlift and standing shoulder press.

Each training cycle has a duration of four weeks with the following targets for the number of repetitions for each of the core exercises:

Week 1: 3 x 5
Week 2: 3 x 3
Week 3: 3 x 5, 3, 1
Week 4: Unload phase

Then you start the next cycle, using heavier weights on the core exercises. And this is where the seemingly simple system starts to get a little more complicated.

You don't just pick any weight to move five times or three times or once per set. You use a specific percentage of your max weight for a repetition. And not your full maximum weight. The calculations are based on 90% of the 1RM weight.

So if your 1RM weight for bench press is 315 pounds, you use 285 pounds (90%) as the basis for calculating your workout weights. Here's how it works:

	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

If you see 5+, 3+ or 1+ as an indication, this means that you should perform the maximum number of repetitions you can manage with this weight, with the aim of setting a personal repetition record for each training session.

Let's take a look at the bench press training session in week 1. If we use the example from above, your 1RM weight is 315 pounds and you calculate all your percentages based on 90% of the 1RM, which is 285 pounds.

So you use 185 pounds (65% of 285 pounds) x 5, 215 pounds x 5, and 240 or 245 pounds x 5 or more.

After you finish the first cycle, add 5 pounds to your 1RM calculations for the two upper body exercises and 10 pounds to your 1RM calculations for squats and deadlifts.

These specific instructions for the 1RM percentages and monthly progression are what set 5/3/1 apart from less useful systems. When I see a program that uses 3 sets of 8 reps? That's the dumbest damn program ever.

If it doesn't use specific percentages based on a specific max weight, then it's useless. This kind of thing is the hallmark of someone who has no idea about the basics of building a training program.

One goal per training session

With 5/3/1, you achieve one goal for each training session. Some programs have no progression from one day to the next.

Another unique feature is the final set of each training session where you give it your all. You don't have to go over the set number of reps if you don't feel like it, but there are real benefits to doing so.

I see doing the set number of repetitions as a simple test of strength. Anything beyond that builds strength, muscle and character.

Yes, you will get hair on your chest from that last set, but the program doesn't work without the sets that precede it. I've tried leaving those sets out, but I've gotten leaner and weaker in the process. There may only be one really hard and heavy set, but the other sets still represent quality training.

Supporting work

In addition to bench presses, squats, shoulder presses and deadlifts, 5/3/1 includes support exercises to build muscle, prevent injury and develop a balanced body. My favorite exercises are basic strength training exercises like pull-ups, dips, lunges and hyperextensions.

But don't overdo it with the supporting exercises. These exercises should complement your training and not detract from it. You must have a very important reason for doing an exercise. If this is not the case, then forget the exercise and move on to something else.

There are a number of ways to perform supporting exercises: Boring But Big (my version of a hypertrophy program), the Triumvirate (see below), and my favorite, I'm Not Doing Jack Shit, which is for those times when you only have time for personal bests on your key exercises and then leave the weight room.

People laugh and call me lazy while they play around with their three hour workouts and make no progress whatsoever. Sometimes it's not what you do in the weight room, it's what you don't do that will lead to success.

5/3/1 and discomfort

I've gotten a lot of positive feedback from exercisers who have used 5/3/1 to overcome plateaus in their strength and muscle development. And this feedback isn't just from the advanced guys. I got a thank you from a guy who went from one repetition at 135 pounds on the bench to 17 repetitions at 135 pounds.

However, the program has also been criticized by exercisers on two fronts: that exercisers are told to start with weights that are too light and to increase too slowly.

Starting with weights that are too light refers to the fact that I insist that the weights used are calculated based on 90% of the exerciser's 1RM weight. If your 1RM weight on the bench press is 315 pounds, why would you calculate the weights based on a 1RM of 285 pounds?

My answer? People who freak out about the 90% thing usually aren't very strong to begin with. You don't have to work at your max weight to increase your max weight. Why people get so upset about taking two steps backwards when that means taking 10 steps forward is beyond me.

And then there's the problem of detachment from reality. Few exercisers are willing to acknowledge their real 1RM.

At one time, I held one seminar a week. Every time, without fail, when I asked someone what their max weight was for a repetition, I got this response: "Well, three years ago I did three reps at 365 pounds, but that was when I was training harder..." Most guys don't have a clue.

By using 90% I account for this nonsense. By using weights they can actually handle, these guys are building muscle, avoiding burnout, and most importantly, making progress with each training session.

None of this is really revolutionary. I learned this as a freshman during my beginner days. I always made the best gains when I still had some reserve in the tank.

As for the criticism about increasing too slowly, people tell me that they don't want to spend three months increasing their strength. Where will you be in a year? Heck, where are you going to be in 5 years if you're still bench pressing 205 pounds while also benching?

The pursuit of strength is not a 6 month or one year thing. For me, this pursuit has been going on for 30 years. You have to be smart about the whole thing. But everyone wants it all now.

4 beginner mistakes you should avoid

If you want to try 5/3/1, then you should avoid these four common beginner mistakes.

1. do not adapt the program

This is true for any exercise program, but it's especially important with 5/3/1. You need to run the program as it was created.

People ask the craziest crap. "Can I combine 5/3/1 with Westside for Skinny Bastards?" How about running one program or the other and making progress with it?

The same people then grumble on the forum three months later about how the program didn't work. It's like complaining that your girlfriend got pregnant even though you used a condom, except you forget to mention that you put the condom on your fingers.

2. take it easy with the supportive training

Some people look for the magic combination of supportive exercise and neglect the key exercises in the program. Supportive training is exactly what the name suggests - support. Perform one or two exercises with five sets of 10 reps each, or a few more exercises with fewer sets. It's just support. It doesn't fucking matter.

I sometimes give people a number of reps and let them do the planning. Let's say "Push exercises: 60 reps" or "Pull exercises: 100 reps."

3. start with the right weights

This needs repetition. I don't know how many times people have surpassed their personal bests because they learned to train with some restraint and use weights that allow them to perform the exercises with good form.

4. increase slowly

I always tell people that the bigger the steps you take, the faster you'll pull your leg biceps. The problem is that people only live for today's workout. No one seems to have the ability to look beyond what they are doing today into the future.

I plan my training for a year. I know 12 months in advance exactly what I want to do and what I want to achieve. And I know what 5 or 10 pounds a month adds up to over the course of a year.

Training is not an 8 week sprint. It doesn't just last as long as your latest program lasts. It's a lifelong marathon.

Key aspects of making 5/3/1 work

When you look at 5/3/1 on your computer screen, it seems simple. That's exactly what I'm getting at. Getting massive and strong doesn't have to be complicated. Here are some key aspects to making the program work:

• Start with a realistic idea of your max weight for one repetition and follow my instructions that all workout weights should be based on 90% of that max weight. You can make it easier on yourself by spending a few workouts working your way up to a set at your max weight for 4 reps on all 4 core exercises.
  
  Your 3RM should be about 90% of your 1RM weight. Once you have determined the 3RM weight (max weight for 3 reps), you can skip a step in your calculations and simply use that weight for all your other percentages.
• The last set of your core exercise in any training session is the set that builds mass and strength - so go all out and perform as many reps as you can with this weight.

The exceptions are the unloading workouts in week 4, during which you give your muscles a break and don't try to set personal bests.

• When you begin the next 4 week cycle, add 5 pounds to your 1RM weight on bench press and shoulder press and 10 pounds to your max weight on squats and deadlifts and recalculate the training weights using those numbers.
• This program works best if you train four times a week, although three workouts a week can also work as long as you train all 4 core exercises before starting again with the first core exercise.
• If you want to see results, then you need to do the program as it was set up. Once you start adapting the program, it is no longer 5/3/1

You may like your version better than the original, but you can't attribute your successes or failures to the guy who designed the program if you don't perform the program exactly as it was originally set up.

Example training program: The Triumvirate

The Triumvirate uses three exercises per training session, one of which is a core exercise. Before each session, you do a warm-up that includes mobility, flexibility, something to raise your core temperature and heart rate (like jumping rope) and foam roller work.

I also recommend doing two to three conditioning workouts per week where you use uphill sprints, prowler pushes or whatever works for you.

For all workouts, rest 3 to 5 minutes between sets of core exercises and 1 to 2 minutes between sets of support exercises.

Remember to calculate the percentages based on 90% of your current 1RM weight for each exercise and not based on your actual 1RM weight.

Workout 1

	Exercise	Sets	Repetitions	% 1RM
A	Standing shoulder press Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4	3	5 3 5/3/1 5	65,75,85 70,80,90 75,85,95 40,50,60
B	Dips	5	15
C	Pull-ups	5	10

Training session 2

	Exercise	Sets	Repetitions	% 1RM
A	Deadlift Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4	3	5 3 5/3/1 5	65,75,85 70,80,90 75,85,95 40,50,60
B	Good Mornings	5	12
C	Hanging leg raises	5	15

Training session 3

	Exercise	Sets	Repetitions	% 1RM
A	Bench press Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4	3	5 3 5/3/1 5	65,75,85 70,80,90 75,85,95 40,50,60
B	Dumbbell chest press	5	15
C	Dumbbell rows	5	10

Training session 4

	Exercise	Sets	Repetitions	% 1RM
A	Squats Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4	3	5 3 5/3/1 5	65,75,85 70,80,90 75,85,95 40,50,60
B	Leg presses	5	15
C	Leg curls	5	10

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/workouts/531-how-to-build-pure-strength

by Jim Wendler