Jim Wendler didn’t design 5/3/1 to be a "powerlifting program" in the way we think of them today. Honestly, he was just tired of being a bloated, immobile 280-pound guy who could squat a house but couldn't walk up a flight of stairs without gasping for air. He wanted something simple. He wanted to be strong, but he also wanted to be able to move.
Yet, here we are. Decades later, 5 3 1 for powerlifting remains one of the most debated, modified, and utilized frameworks in the strength world. It's weird because the program is almost painfully slow. Most lifters are impatient. They want to add 50 pounds to their total by next Tuesday. 5/3/1 laughs at that. It tells you to start too light, progress at a snail's pace, and focus on the long game.
But if you look at the guys who stay in the sport for twenty years without tearing a pec or burning out their CNS, many of them are using some variation of this math.
The Problem With "Peaking" Every Week
Most novice powerlifters treat every training session like it’s a sanctioned meet. They walk into the gym, load up the bar to a RPE 10 single, and wonder why their joints feel like they’re filled with crushed glass after six weeks.
Wendler’s core philosophy is basically the opposite of that ego-driven madness. He argues that you should base your training off a "Training Max" (TM), which is usually 90% of your actual one-rep max. If you can't hit your TM for a crisp, fast double on your worst day, it’s too high.
This is where people get 5 3 1 for powerlifting wrong. They think the "5," the "3," and the "1" refer to the only reps you do. Not really. The magic is in the plus sets—the AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible). That’s where you build the work capacity that actually carries over to a platform.
How the Cycles Actually Move
A standard cycle lasts four weeks.
In the first week, you’re doing sets of five. The second week drops to sets of three but increases the weight. The third week is the "5/3/1" week, where you hit your heaviest sets. Then—and this is the part everyone skips because they think they’re invincible—you deload.
Don't skip the deload.
Seriously. The deload is when your body actually repairs the micro-trauma you’ve been inflicting on it. If you try to power through without it, you'll eventually hit a wall so hard it’ll take months to recover. Strength is a marathon, not a sprint. You've heard that a thousand times, but 5/3/1 actually forces you to live it.
Adapting 5 3 1 for Powerlifting Specificity
If you just follow the "boring but big" template from the original 5/3/1 book, you might find your bench press stalling if you're a competitive powerlifter. Why? Because powerlifting requires specific technical mastery of the big three.
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You need more than one heavy day a week for some lifts.
A lot of guys will use the "2-2-2" or "3-5-1" variations to tweak the frequency. In a powerlifting context, the 3-5-1 variation is often better. You do the heavy 3s week, then the slightly lighter "recovery" 5s week, and then you blast the 1s week. This wave loading keeps you from feeling completely beat down before your heaviest session of the month.
The Accessory Work Trap
People overthink accessories. They spend three hours arguing on forums about whether incline dumbbell presses or weighted dips are better for their "weak point."
Look. If your bench is 185 pounds, your weak point is your entire body.
Wendler usually suggests a "push, pull, single leg/core" approach for accessories. Keep it simple. Do your main lift—the heavy stuff—then get your volume in and go home. Eat a steak. Sleep. The accessories are just there to build muscle mass; the 5/3/1 sets are there to teach you how to move weight.
Why Your Training Max Is Probably Too High
Let’s be real for a second. You probably think your max is higher than it actually is.
We’ve all had that one day where the stars aligned, the caffeine kicked in, and we hit a PR that we could never repeat in a million years. If you use that number as the basis for your 5 3 1 for powerlifting calculations, you are going to fail by month three.
The program works because it builds momentum.
When you start light, every session is a win. You’re smashing rep PRs. Your confidence grows. By the time the weights actually get heavy—six months down the line—you’ve built such a massive base of submaximal volume that the weight feels light.
It’s a psychological trick as much as a physiological one.
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The "Boring But Big" (BBB) Variation
For powerlifters in the off-season, BBB is the gold standard. You do your main 5/3/1 sets, then you do 5 sets of 10 reps with 50-60% of your TM. It’s brutal. It’s boring (obviously). But it puts on slab after slab of muscle.
You can’t stay on BBB forever, though. Your nervous system will eventually stage a protest. Use it for two cycles, then switch to something with lower volume and higher intensity, like "Joker Sets."
Dealing With Stalls and Plateaus
Eventually, you will miss a rep. It happens to everyone from elite guys like Dan Green to the kid in his garage.
When you stall on 5 3 1 for powerlifting, don’t try to "grind" through it for months. The protocol is simple: take your weight back two or three cycles and start over.
It feels like a step backward. It’s frustrating.
But guess what? When you work your way back up to that "wall," you’ll usually fly right past it. You're giving your body a chance to build a fresh head of steam. This isn't "resetting," it's "reloading."
Real World Numbers
Let’s look at the math. If you add 5 pounds to your bench press TM every month, that’s 60 pounds in a year.
Most people haven’t added 60 pounds to their bench in three years because they’re constantly hopping from program to program or getting injured.
If you add 10 pounds to your squat and deadlift every month, that’s 120 pounds a year.
That is the difference between being a "strong guy at the local gym" and being a "competitive provincial or state-level lifter."
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Conditioning: The Missing Link
Wendler is big on hill sprints and Prowler pushes.
A lot of powerlifters think cardio will "kill their gains." That’s nonsense. If you’re so out of shape that you’re gasping for air after a set of five squats, you aren't a powerlifter; you're just a person who picks things up occasionally.
Improved conditioning means you recover faster between sets. It means you can handle more total volume in a session. It means your heart isn't going to explode when you're trying to pull a third-attempt deadlift.
You don't need to run a marathon. Just go for a weighted vest walk or push a sled for 20 minutes a couple of times a week. It won't hurt your total; it’ll probably help it.
Common Misconceptions
One of the biggest myths is that 5/3/1 is only for intermediate lifters.
Actually, it can work for beginners if they have the discipline to stick to the slow progression. It can also work for advanced lifters who need to manage their fatigue very carefully.
Another myth is that there isn't enough "heavy" work. If you feel that way, you’re probably not pushing your AMRAP sets hard enough, or you aren't using Joker Sets. Joker Sets are essentially extra sets of 1-3 reps you do after your main work if you’re feeling great that day. They allow you to touch heavy weights without the program forcing you to do it when you're feeling like garbage.
Practical Steps to Start Your First Cycle
If you're ready to actually commit to 5 3 1 for powerlifting, stop looking for a spreadsheet for five minutes and do this:
- Test your true maxes. Not your "I think I could do this" max. Go to the gym and find a weight you can move for 3-5 reps with perfect form. Use a calculator to estimate your 1RM from that.
- Calculate your Training Max (TM). Take 90% of that estimated 1RM. This is the number all your percentages will be based on.
- Pick a template. If you need size, go Boring But Big. If you need strength specificity, look at the "3-5-1 for Powerlifting" variation which includes more heavy singles.
- Log everything. Buy a physical notebook. There is something about writing down your numbers that makes you more accountable than an app.
- Commit to 3 cycles. That’s 12 weeks. Don't change anything. Don't add extra "fluff" sets. Just do the work.
Strength is built in years, not weeks. The people who find success with this method are the ones who realize that a 5-pound PR today is better than a failed attempt at a 20-pound PR that leaves you with a torn labrum. Stay the course. Stop overcomplicating the science and start putting in the effort.