Guide
5/3/1 Program
Quick answer
Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 starts from a training max, usually 90 percent of an estimated one-rep max. You do not take the week percentages off the true max. That mistake makes the program heavier than it was written.
Four weeks: 5s, 3s, 5/3/1, then a lighter week. The last set of the first three weeks is a plus set. Do more than the written reps if the bar moves. Do not turn it into a failure set.
Estimates only. Testing a true max carries risk; use a spotter or safety arms. Not medical advice.
Training max calculator90 percent of your estimate, then the week loads.Open →On this page
- What are the 5/3/1 weeks?
- How do you set the training max?
- What else do you do?
- Worked example: a 100 kg training max
- What do you change after the cycle?
- What looks like an improvement and is not?
- What do you write down during the four weeks?
- Example week loads from a 100 kg training max
- Key takeaways
- FAQ
What are the 5/3/1 weeks?
Week 1 is 65, 75, and 85 percent for five, the last set a five or more. Week 2 is 70, 80, 90 for threes. Week 3 is 75, 85, 95, the last a single or more. Week 4 is 40, 50, 60 for easy fives. All of those percents are of the training max.
The calculator prints the loads. Wendler has published tweaks. If your copy of the book differs, follow the book.
How do you set the training max?
Estimate a one-rep max from a hard, honest set, or use a tested single you could repeat. Take about 90 percent. If the estimate came from a sloppy high-rep set, take less. The program is supposed to start a little easy and creep up.
After a cycle, the usual increase is a small plate on the upper body and a slightly larger one on the lower body, not whatever you hit on the plus set.
What else do you do?
Assistance is part of the original idea: push, pull, and single-leg or core work, in amounts you recover from. It is not a second max-out. Conditioning can be easy and frequent.
If every plus set is a war, the training max is too high. Drop it. Pride is how people turn 5/3/1 into a monthly test.
Worked example: a 100 kg training max
Example only. Suppose the estimated one-rep max is about 111 kilograms and you take 90 percent as the training max, which lands near 100 kilograms. Every percent in the table below is a percent of 100, not of 111. That is the entire trick, and it is the mistake that makes the program feel too heavy.
Week 1 is 65, 75, and 85 kilograms for five, and the last set is five or more. Week 2 is 70, 80, and 90 for threes, last set three or more. Week 3 is 75, 85, and 95, the last a single or more. Week 4 is 40, 50, and 60 for easy fives. Round to the plates you have. A gym without 1 kilogram plates should not pretend the 85 is 86.
The training max calculator prints this from your numbers. Training max versus true max is the longer version of why you do not start from the 111. The deload page is what week 4 is for if you have been skipping it.
What do you change after the cycle?
The usual change is a small increase in the training max, not a jump to whatever you hit on the plus set. Upper-body lifts move by a smaller plate than lower-body lifts. If your copy of the book names the plates, use those. This page will not invent a second schedule.
If the plus sets were a war, do not increase anything. Drop the training max until the first week feels like the first week. Pride is how a four-week plan becomes a monthly test. The bar speed on the 5×5 at 65 percent is information. If that set is ugly, the later weeks will be uglier.
Assistance stays assistance. A few hard sets of a push, a pull, and a single-leg or trunk exercise, stopped while the reps still look like the lift. Conditioning can be easy and frequent. Neither one gets its own training max unless you want a second program.
What looks like an improvement and is not?
Taking the week percents off the true max. Adding a fourth heavy day because week 1 felt easy. Turning the plus set into a max rep test that misses. Swapping the squat for a different squat every cycle and calling the training max continuous. All of those feel productive in a notebook.
Another one: rebuilding the training max from a fresh single every month. You then train the test, and the percentages were written for a number that sits under the test. Estimate from a hard set of three to six if you do not want to test, and leave the training max alone for the cycle.
If you want the plain percent chart without the four-week rules, use the one-rep max chart. It will not tell you to take a light week. The program will.
What do you write down during the four weeks?
Training max, the week's loads, the reps you actually got, and one note on the plus set. '85 kg × 8, clean' is enough. 'Felt bad' is not, unless you also say whether the reps still counted. The next cycle is chosen from that note, not from a mood in the car.
Keep the assistance in the same log so it cannot quietly become the main lift. If rows are the thing you are progressing, fine, but do not let them push the squat training max around. The squat moves when the squat sets look like the plan.
If you miss a week, do not stack two heavy weeks to catch up. Repeat the week you missed or take the light week and start the next cycle on time. Stacking is how a conservative program stops being conservative. The point of the 90 percent start was the room. Do not spend it all in one stubborn Wednesday.
Example week loads from a 100 kg training max
| Week | Sets | Percents of training max | Loads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5, 5, 5+ | 65 / 75 / 85 | 65, 75, 85 kg |
| 2 | 3, 3, 3+ | 70 / 80 / 90 | 70, 80, 90 kg |
| 3 | 5, 3, 1+ | 75 / 85 / 95 | 75, 85, 95 kg |
| 4 | 5, 5, 5 | 40 / 50 / 60 | 40, 50, 60 kg |
Example only. 100 kg training max, already rounded. The plus sets are the last set of weeks 1–3. Your book wins if the edition differs.
Key takeaways
- The percents come off the training max, not the true max.
- The plus set is extra reps, not a failed single.
- Week 4 is light on purpose.
- A small plate next cycle beats rewriting the spreadsheet.
FAQ
Do I round the training max or the weekly sets?
Keep the training max as the clean number, then round each week's load to the plates you have. Do not round up into the next plate if that breaks the percent.
What if the plus set feels easy?
Do the extra reps with the same form. Do not add weight in the middle of the week. The next cycle is where the training max moves.
Can I skip week 4?
You can, and then you are not running the four-week pattern. The light week is the point, not a blank square.
Does 5/3/1 work on machines?
The percents still multiply. A machine is a different test from a barbell. Do not treat a machine training max as a squat max.
Is the plus set an RPE 10?
No. It is more reps than the written number, stopped before the rep falls apart. Grinding a failed rep is how people turn the week into a test.