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First shot at 5/3/1 - any advice?

LizKing531

LizKing531

Well-known member
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Got a little surprise in the mail today - Wendler's 5/3/1

I'll be reading thru this on the plane/vacation coming up. Thinking about getting into the program in a couple weeks.

Any advice from anyone who's gone thru this before?

I'm pretty stoked to get it going - I've heard good things about this program
 
what are your numbers for the main lifts? bench, dead, squat, military, and pendlay (or bent over bb row if youre into that)

reason im asking is because 5/3/1 progression is dumass slow and ment for very advanced lifters that find it hard to move up in weight
 
OnionKnight said:
what are your numbers for the main lifts? bench, dead, squat, military, and pendlay (or bent over bb row if youre into that)

reason im asking is because 5/3/1 progression is dumass slow and ment for very advanced lifters that find it hard to move up in weight
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I disagree. 5/3/1 is great for any lifter.

And since when are pendlay rows part of it? Bench, Squat, Dead, and OHP are the only ones I recall being main lifts in 5/3/1.
 
jimbuick said:
I disagree. 5/3/1 is great for any lifter.

And since when are pendlay rows part of it? Bench, Squat, Dead, and OHP are the only ones I recall being main lifts in 5/3/1.
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i was really just asking for fun, thats why i threw them in at the end. and if his numbers were low, i was gonna suggest a 5x5 round untill he stalls. and pendlays are in 5x5 madcow. i dont see too much fun in once a month progressions as opposed to once a week if he can handle it
 
jimbuick : you've been doing the 5/3/1 haven't ya?

Last PRs:
Flat bench 255x2
Seated OHP 150x2
Squat 275x2
Deadlift 365x1

Since I lift alone, I don't go for 1rm too often with anything other than DL for safety reasons. Planning on getting a cage in the next few months though
 
I actually have the WendlernPowerlifting 5/3/1. I use some form of it all the time. I had great success with it. I'm currently you g after a bigger bench/squat/dead than last year. Good luck with the program. It will build an exceptional base and you can go back to it at anytime to rebuild or get stronger.
 
HokiePride said:
I actually have the WendlernPowerlifting 5/3/1. I use some form of it all the time. I had great success with it. I'm currently you g after a bigger bench/squat/dead than last year. Good luck with the program. It will build an exceptional base and you can go back to it at anytime to rebuild or get stronger.
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Same here- I wanna put each of the big 3 over 300. Deadlift is there, squat is near, and bench has a little work
 
LizKing531 said:
jimbuick : you've been doing the 5/3/1 haven't ya?

Last PRs:
Flat bench 255x2
Seated OHP 150x2
Squat 275x2
Deadlift 365x1

Since I lift alone, I don't go for 1rm too often with anything other than DL for safety reasons. Planning on getting a cage in the next few months though
Click to expand...

I've done it, but am not currently.

I did the Triumvirate as assistance.
 
LizKing531 said:
Invalid Link Removed


Got a little surprise in the mail today - Wendler's 5/3/1

I'll be reading thru this on the plane/vacation coming up. Thinking about getting into the program in a couple weeks.

Any advice from anyone who's gone thru this before?

I'm pretty stoked to get it going - I've heard good things about this program
Click to expand...

It works. After running it for 16 months though I have some questions about it. I wonder for instance if the rep range should be the same for deads as bench and OHP. High rep deads just killed me, but on the bench it's fine. Depends on where you are to start with though. If you're not near your max on deads it'll get you there. Once you're there though anything over 5 reps seems kind of extreme. Works great for bench and OHP though. Just my opinion, YMMV
 
Best advice is: Stick to the program!
Often times people will try to improve and tweak the program by attempting to combine it with their previous program. Pick a template and follow it! I would do at least 3 cycles. Also I would suggest to start with the boring but big template but that is only because I view it sort of like a rite of passage.



Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S™II using Tapatalk 2
 
JudoJosh great advice. Good luck with your goals. 5/3/1. is where it's at.
 
I agree with JudoJosh. So many people try to alter it. They aren't patient enough to see the results after a month so they start adding crap into the routine. I can't stress that enough- It will not fail you if you follow how it's written. I ran the Periodization Bible as assistance. I made incredible strength and size gains from 5/3/1 by following how Wendler wrote it.

Good luck. Check out his Website and his articles on Elite FTS and TNation for even more info.
 
When I ran it about 2 years ago, I gained some on the squat and mostly dead but I did put the most focus on that lift and the assistances. I am also pretty advanced, so any gains are a big plus.
I thought I could use a bit more pressing frequency but I ran the 3 days per however.
If it is your first time on a more PL type regimented routine, it should produce pretty dang good for you.
 
With JJ and Sean. Don't have anything to add past that. Read it, follow it, and definitely do Boring But Big first...then choose the assistance based on goals. Wendler gives good reasoning for why, how, etc and makes things easy. :thumbsup:
 
Get micro plates. I extended the cycles for a long time using smaller loads. It takes patience but is well worth it.
 
jimbuick said:
I did the Triumvirate as assistance.
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I am currently on 5/3/1 as well and using Triumvitrate as assistance. And I must say at first it killed me. But now I'm setting PR's every session. I feel that it builds a good base as well as emphasizing what lifts should be done and when. I think that's where some people have trouble is the programming.
 
My experience has been to find the assistance stuff that works for YOU. It took me a while to find out what worked for me. Once I did my main lifts starting moving pretty regularly in small increments.
 
I think the key is to find assistance lifts that address your primary lift breakdowns. Training efficiency is really important, IMO.
 
Mr.Sinister said:
My experience has been to find the assistance stuff that works for YOU. It took me a while to find out what worked for me. Once I did my main lifts starting moving pretty regularly in small increments.
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I hear you about the assistance work and I'm going to ride this out as many cycles as I can to see where I stall out.
 
Keep in mind too, that you may have 2 different apparent weak areas, ie: a less developed area or muscle weakness, example say: weak off the floor in a DL, but also the area around the knees is slow or a tough area to get past (because of leverages). The first is more a direct workable weakness and the knees is just bad leverages, no matter what you do right there. Although, I do think there can be some benefit to starting right there in those areas too. ex: a 15" rack pull, or starting a press out at the forehead.
I did 2" deficits religiously and am faster off the floor, but the area around the knees is still tough because of leverages. The speed work from the floor helped the slower knee area, since building that speed strength, gave me enough to get past the bad leverages.

That all said, you will most likely always have a weak area, if you are hitting a true 1RM lift, so it may be possible that those areas could change over time too, except for the bad leverage areas. They will most likely always be there, since you cannot change your structure.
 
Ran it for a month and got nothing. I seem to be the rarity though, as there are numerous success stories. It just did not agree with me. I do much better with traditional powerlifting routines that have you handling heavier loads and more volume with a variety of rep ranges
 
rockme said:
Ran it for a month and got nothing. I seem to be the rarity though, as there are numerous success stories. It just did not agree with me. I do much better with traditional powerlifting routines that have you handling heavier loads and more volume with a variety of rep ranges
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Its supposed to be done as a long term program. It is no surprise you got nothing out of 1 month.
 
Yeah a month is too short for just about any program. Try it for three months and run the full program testing weights after each period. Then see what you think :p
 
jimbuick said:
Its supposed to be done as a long term program. It is no surprise you got nothing out of 1 month.
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Yeah same here I know its supposed to be a long term program. The book even says that many times. Supposed to run as many cycles as you can before you plataue and recalculate maxes and start again
 
jimbuick said:
Its supposed to be done as a long term program. It is no surprise you got nothing out of 1 month.
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On the third week, which is when you are suppose to hit 95%, I merely hit a rep on all the lifts that equated or fell below my theoretical 1RM. From everything I read, the first couple microcycles you are suppose to be hitting PR's all the time. I stalled on the first month despite being in a huge caloric surplus. It was truly bizarre. I am following some old Russian templates from a Ukrainian buddy now and am seeing gains once again
 
rockme said:
On the third week, which is when you are suppose to hit 95%, I merely hit a rep on all the lifts that equated or fell below my theoretical 1RM. From everything I read, the first couple microcycles you are suppose to be hitting PR's all the time. I stalled on the first month despite being in a huge caloric surplus. It was truly bizarre. I am following some old Russian templates from a Ukrainian buddy now and am seeing gains once again
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Then you failed to follow his advice. He suggests taking 90% of your projected 1RM (or even true 1RM).

It isn't bizarre at all.
 
rockme said:
On the third week, which is when you are suppose to hit 95%, I merely hit a rep on all the lifts that equated or fell below my theoretical 1RM. From everything I read, the first couple microcycles you are suppose to be hitting PR's all the time. I stalled on the first month despite being in a huge caloric surplus. It was truly bizarre. I am following some old Russian templates from a Ukrainian buddy now and am seeing gains once again
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Currently on my third week and just killed 10 reps @ 95%
 
gymguy21 said:
Currently on my third week and just killed 10 reps @ 95%
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You started too low, but that's fine. Remember, that's 95% of 90%. I've ran a total of 14 cycles with a reset after 10 months. It'll get hard...
 
napalm said:
You started too low, but that's fine. Remember, that's 95% of 90%. I've ran a total of 14 cycles with a reset after 10 months. It'll get hard...
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Oh I was shooting for the low end since this is my first 5/3/1 cycle and I know it'll get hard but that's the point. If it were easy everyone would do it
 
I always shoot lower. I routinely get 10+ on the 95% week, but I'm interested in a lot of TUT so it works well for me.
 
jimbuick said:
Then you failed to follow his advice. He suggests taking 90% of your projected 1RM (or even true 1RM).

It isn't bizarre at all.
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Yeah duh...a 2 year old could follow 5/3/1 it's so simple. I took 90% of my 1 RM and worked with that. I've been training naturally for 15 years, I know how to follow programs. It just didn't work for my mesomorph genetics :)
 
rockme said:
Yeah duh...a 2 year old could follow 5/3/1 it's so simple. I took 90% of my 1 RM and worked with that. I've been training naturally for 15 years, I know how to follow programs. It just didn't work for my mesomorph genetics :)
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I would guess too, that when people are finished with a cycle or routine and had some good gains , they jump right into another one, expecting to get another bump, but it does not always work that way, depending on how hard the last cycle they ran was and how much time in between.

I have never really had a routine (as many as I have done), totally flop or not really show me something. It's just that a few of them were started at wrong times or with more than I should have programmed in to get some momentum going to begin with. I seem to be greedy that way and it does not always pay off. Even Wendler says to be modest on setting up the maxes and kick it back a few more than you really think it should be.
 
Advice for 5/3/1. Run it just like wendler says, be patient and you will have some of your best workouts. I started it 8 weeks ago with 365 training max for deads. Yesterday I pulled 365, 6 times and I just didn't count number 7 because my form broke down.
 
napalm said:
This makes no sense whatsoever...
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I'm not going to define mesomorph for you. But I'm trying to point out that I can handle much more volume and intensity than 5/3/1. IMO, 5/3/1 may be better suited for an ecto or someone who overtrains easily. I mean come on, a deload every 4th week? Some of you dudes crack me up, I say 5/3/1 didn't work for ME, and you rush to defend it like you are the creator of it
 
rockme said:
I'm not going to define mesomorph for you. But I'm trying to point out that I can handle much more volume and intensity than 5/3/1. IMO, 5/3/1 may be better suited for an ecto or someone who overtrains easily. I mean come on, a deload every 4th week? Some of you dudes crack me up, I say 5/3/1 didn't work for ME, and you rush to defend it like you are the creator of it
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Mesomorph: large bone structure, large muscles and a naturally athletic physique.

Your profile says you are 5' 8" 175.

Gain about 50 lbs before calling yourself a mesomorph.

Nobody here created it, we just have a f.ck load more experience with it than you, and are telling you that you didn't do the program correctly.

How can you possibly say you did it correctly quitting before you even finished one cycle?
 
rockme said:
I'm not going to define mesomorph for you. But I'm trying to point out that I can handle much more volume and intensity than 5/3/1. IMO, 5/3/1 may be better suited for an ecto or someone who overtrains easily.
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did you know that the accessory is 100% customizable. if you needed more volume than do more volume in your accessory work. BBB has you doing 5x10 on 2 lifts after the main lift and strong people can do 5-8 sets just to warm up on the main lift. i know when i did it on squat day i would be doing over 20 sets of squats. how is that not enough volume?

did you even read the book?
 
napalm said:
Mesomorph: large bone structure, large muscles and a naturally athletic physique.

Your profile says you are 5' 8" 175.

Gain about 50 lbs before calling yourself a mesomorph.

Nobody here created it, we just have a f.ck load more experience with it than you, and are telling you that you didn't do the program correctly.

How can you possibly say you did it correctly quitting before you even finished one cycle?
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One of the best posts on AM in a while.
 
napalm said:
Mesomorph: large bone structure, large muscles and a naturally athletic physique.

Your profile says you are 5' 8" 175.

Gain about 50 lbs before calling yourself a mesomorph.

Nobody here created it, we just have a f.ck load more experience with it than you, and are telling you that you didn't do the program correctly.

How can you possibly say you did it correctly quitting before you even finished one cycle?
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Jesus christ, son. Gain 50 lbs? Take a look at my height again. So you are suggesting I either become a fat fock, or start poking myself with AAS. Neither are an option. I've been as heavy as 205 and was huge but smooth. I was lean over the summer at 165, and am now sitting at 185. Ectomorphs are naturally skinny and notorious for having spindly legs, endomorphs are prone to fat gain and bigger waists. You can obviously see my legs in my avi, and I'm certainly not prone to fat gain. So what would you classify me as?

my profile/pic was taken at 175...I just don't care to update

Look... I own both of the 5/3/1 books. I purchased them a few months back because I really wanted to try it. All of the logs on AM were very convincing. A dude who goes by sean had a log going of 5/3/1 that kicked ass. But it just didn't cut it for someone like me. So to the OP, give it a shot and see what you think, but if hypertrophy and heavy lifting is your thing, it may not be the best. Just whatever you do, don't follow Wendler's advice of eating doughnuts. I swear it's in the book
 
asooneyeonig said:
did you know that the accessory is 100% customizable. if you needed more volume than do more volume in your accessory work. BBB has you doing 5x10 on 2 lifts after the main lift and strong people can do 5-8 sets just to warm up on the main lift. i know when i did it on squat day i would be doing over 20 sets of squats. how is that not enough volume?

did you even read the book?
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uhhhh...you guys are sapping my energy. I own both books. If you are doing it right, you shouldn't be doing more than 11 sets of any of the big 4, not 20. You obviously didn't read the book.
 
How do you evaluate the efficacy of ANY training-related protocol in less than 4 weeks? Pure nonsense.
 
Swanson52 said:
How do you evaluate the efficacy of ANY training-related protocol in less than 4 weeks? Pure nonsense.
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Definitely not enough time to see if the program worked or not. Either didn't know their max or didn't calculate correctly. That's what it seems like to me. But I may be wrong
 
rockme said:
What do you look like at 204 at 5'7"? Just curious since you think my structure is skinny. Any pics to back up your high talking?
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what is this, 3rd grade?
rockme said:
But I'm trying to point out that I can handle much more volume and intensity than 5/3/1. IMO, 5/3/1 may be better suited for an ecto or someone who overtrains easily. I mean come on, a deload every 4th week?
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^^this, is high talking...
 
Swanson52 said:
How do you evaluate the efficacy of ANY training-related protocol in less than 4 weeks? Pure nonsense.
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I wasn't getting stronger and was losing size despite being in a caloric surplus/mass phase. That's how. With my current program, which I got from a Ukrainian powerlifter buddy of mine, I can see gains in hypertrophy and strength, and I'm only in my 3rd week. I've ran the program before, but got caught up in trendy programs like 5/3/1 and PHAT (which I liked and ran for like 6 mos.) I'm returning to what works (for me)

If you read my previous posts, I never said 5/3/1 does not work, I said it does not work for me. I also alluded to the many success stories on it
 
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