5/3/1 Summary
a_vettestingray
Posts: 654 Member
Wendler’s 5/3/1 Powerlifting Program
I thought I would make this guide, as we have a lot of women who are getting towards the end of their Stronglifts run and are thinking about switching into a new program. I know it took forever to scour through the internet and find a couple write ups that I could understand in order to start the new program (and my eyes tend to glaze over as soon as numbers are involved).
The 5/3/1 Powerlifting Program is a popular routine for those who have already progressed through Stronglifts 5x5 or 3x5 and are starting to see their progress stall. It is considered an intermediate program and the progression is much less aggressive than in SL 5x5. Instead of adding 5lbs to each lift per workout, 5/3/1 will add 5lbs per month to the upper body lifts and 10lbs per month to the lower body lifts.
It is essential to know your one rep max (1RM) for each of the main lifts (overhead press, squat, deadlift, and bench) in order to calculate your starting weights. You can either use your tested 1RM or use a calculated 1RM (with preference over actual 1RM, of course). A good calculator can be found at: http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/OneRepMax.html. If you decide to use the calculator, it is better to err on the side of caution and use a lower 1RM.
So, without further ado, let’s get started! Once you figure out your 1RM, follow the formula’s below to figure out your first cycle’s weights. The first number indicates what percentage of your 1RM and the second number is reps. The plus sign indicates that you should do as many reps as possible after your prescribed reps. Wendler states something to the effect of the prescribed reps are what builds strength and anything after that is what puts hair on your balls, we’ll just say our hypothetical balls, lol.
In each week, you will repeat the same four different lifts, designating a day for each lift. You can do the workouts back to back, as long as you work a different group. For example, you can OHP on Monday, then Deadlift on Tuesday, take a rest day, then Bench Press on Thursday and Squat on Friday. You can also combine the workouts if you want to do a two day/week split. One day would be OHP and Deadlifts and the second workout would be Bench Press and Squats, just remember to get plenty of rest between the two workouts.
Workout A: OHP
Workout B: Deadlift
Workout C: Bench Press
Workout
Squat
Follow the template for each week, doing each of the four lifts at the prescribed percentages and reps. So each week will hit the OHP, Deadlift, Bench Press, and Squat once. (If you would rather stay with a 3/week workout…make sure you cycle through all four lifts before entering the next week)
4 Day/Week Split: ABCD
3 Day/Week Split: ABC, DAB, CDA, BCD, etc.
2 Day/Week Split: AB, DC
Warmups (I use the same lift, at much lower percentages. For example, I will OHP at 25%x5, 35%x5, 45%x3)
Week 1 (3x5):
Set 1: 65%x5
Set 2: 75%x5
Set 3: 85%x5+ (the plus sign designates as many reps as possible)
Week 2 (3x3):
Set 1: 70%x3
Set 2: 80%x3
Set 3: 90%x3+
Week 3 (3x5/3/1):
Set 1: 75%x5
Set 2: 80%x3
Set 3: 90%x1+
Week 4 (Deload):
Set 1: 40%x5
Set 2: 50%x5
Set 3: 60%x5
After you complete the first cycle, you will go back to the beginning (i.e. Week 5 will use the same percentages as Week 1). However, you will take your 1RM weight from day one and add 5lbs to the upper body lifts and add 10lbs to the lower body lifts. With your new numbers, you can recalculate the needed percentages for each workout.
There are a few different assistance programs that you can do with this workout. You can Google them and find one that meets your needs. There are also many calculators/spreadsheets available online. If anyone is an excel goddess – it would be awesome to create one specifically for our group’s use! Also, feel free to add anything that I may have missed!
I thought I would make this guide, as we have a lot of women who are getting towards the end of their Stronglifts run and are thinking about switching into a new program. I know it took forever to scour through the internet and find a couple write ups that I could understand in order to start the new program (and my eyes tend to glaze over as soon as numbers are involved).
The 5/3/1 Powerlifting Program is a popular routine for those who have already progressed through Stronglifts 5x5 or 3x5 and are starting to see their progress stall. It is considered an intermediate program and the progression is much less aggressive than in SL 5x5. Instead of adding 5lbs to each lift per workout, 5/3/1 will add 5lbs per month to the upper body lifts and 10lbs per month to the lower body lifts.
It is essential to know your one rep max (1RM) for each of the main lifts (overhead press, squat, deadlift, and bench) in order to calculate your starting weights. You can either use your tested 1RM or use a calculated 1RM (with preference over actual 1RM, of course). A good calculator can be found at: http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/OneRepMax.html. If you decide to use the calculator, it is better to err on the side of caution and use a lower 1RM.
So, without further ado, let’s get started! Once you figure out your 1RM, follow the formula’s below to figure out your first cycle’s weights. The first number indicates what percentage of your 1RM and the second number is reps. The plus sign indicates that you should do as many reps as possible after your prescribed reps. Wendler states something to the effect of the prescribed reps are what builds strength and anything after that is what puts hair on your balls, we’ll just say our hypothetical balls, lol.
In each week, you will repeat the same four different lifts, designating a day for each lift. You can do the workouts back to back, as long as you work a different group. For example, you can OHP on Monday, then Deadlift on Tuesday, take a rest day, then Bench Press on Thursday and Squat on Friday. You can also combine the workouts if you want to do a two day/week split. One day would be OHP and Deadlifts and the second workout would be Bench Press and Squats, just remember to get plenty of rest between the two workouts.
Workout A: OHP
Workout B: Deadlift
Workout C: Bench Press
Workout
SquatFollow the template for each week, doing each of the four lifts at the prescribed percentages and reps. So each week will hit the OHP, Deadlift, Bench Press, and Squat once. (If you would rather stay with a 3/week workout…make sure you cycle through all four lifts before entering the next week)
4 Day/Week Split: ABCD
3 Day/Week Split: ABC, DAB, CDA, BCD, etc.
2 Day/Week Split: AB, DC
Warmups (I use the same lift, at much lower percentages. For example, I will OHP at 25%x5, 35%x5, 45%x3)
Week 1 (3x5):
Set 1: 65%x5
Set 2: 75%x5
Set 3: 85%x5+ (the plus sign designates as many reps as possible)
Week 2 (3x3):
Set 1: 70%x3
Set 2: 80%x3
Set 3: 90%x3+
Week 3 (3x5/3/1):
Set 1: 75%x5
Set 2: 80%x3
Set 3: 90%x1+
Week 4 (Deload):
Set 1: 40%x5
Set 2: 50%x5
Set 3: 60%x5
After you complete the first cycle, you will go back to the beginning (i.e. Week 5 will use the same percentages as Week 1). However, you will take your 1RM weight from day one and add 5lbs to the upper body lifts and add 10lbs to the lower body lifts. With your new numbers, you can recalculate the needed percentages for each workout.
There are a few different assistance programs that you can do with this workout. You can Google them and find one that meets your needs. There are also many calculators/spreadsheets available online. If anyone is an excel goddess – it would be awesome to create one specifically for our group’s use! Also, feel free to add anything that I may have missed!
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Replies
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This is really a hard program to summarize completely and sufficiently because there's a lot of possibility for variation. I strongly recommend people buy the book or borrow a copy from a friend to read. Also - keep in mind that the book is the only way he makes money (unlike Medhi who monetizes his material in other ways).
There are also quite a few sites that will generate spreadsheets for you - there isn't a decent app though, your best bet is to use Jefit and set your routines up there (that also lets you plug in whatever assistance you've chosen)
Warmup should be 40% x 5, 50% x 5, 60% x 3. That's % of your 1rm - or rather, since most people will and SHOULD choose to use the recommend 90% as their 1rm, its going to be 40% of 90% of your 1rm. Etc.
Anyway yeah. If you're really interested, buy /borrow the book. It has some kind of obnoxious crap in it, just like Medhi's pdf, but its also got a LOT of important details. My other 5/3/1 friends and I found we spent the first few weeks diving back into the book trying to answer questions as to what to do. Wendler also has some FAQ type blog posts that can be helpful.
There's ALSO a powerlifting version of the book, that anyone interested in competing might find useful. I'm thinking about buying it - Unfortunately I don't have a copy of the original book to lend as I borrowed from someone else.0 -
Also:
http://www.strstd.com/ will spit out 4 week program printouts for you.
Here's a link to the ebook: http://store.jimwendler.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=5312edebook0
