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5/3/1: The Simplest and Most Effective Training System for Raw Strength
The success of the 5/3/1 Method has been nothing short of extraordinary. For the past year, the response towards this simple but brutally effective training system has been overwhelming. This is because it works. And works for just about anyone willing to put in the discipline and work that getting stronger requires Elite level lifters to absolute beginners have all used the 5/3/1 Method; the basic tenets of strength training have and will never change. Big exercises, constant progress, and personal records will never go out of style. High school and college coaches are now using the 5/3/1 with their athletes with amazing success; it is easy to track, implement and will inspire any team to push for themselves to the limit. Powerlifters use this program, for both raw meets and geared meets.
97 pages
First published January 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 199 reviews
February 5, 2018
Wendler seems to think that the foremost aspect of lifting involves being a hyper-masculine dude's-dude and shooting your load into the fairer sex as often as possible. I never anticipated that a book on a lifting program would mention sex/"mating" numerous times and would stress the importance of "BEING A MAN" so much. It really has no lack of unprofessionalism. His nutritional information is misguided at best, and contradictory at times, for example: "Don't drink protein powder if you can help it, but also have a 50g protein shake 4x a day before every meal." Yikes. His site touts that this book is for "any lifter", but really seems to neglect anybody who doesn't fall under his own closed-off ideals of being a wide-necked muscle bro, instead of helping to open up the world of lifting to the masses. Great information, great program, questionable writing.
Also, if you're lactose intolerant, please don't take his advice and drink a gallon of milk a day. Not funny/cool/healthy to recommend that people with LI do that.
Also, if you're lactose intolerant, please don't take his advice and drink a gallon of milk a day. Not funny/cool/healthy to recommend that people with LI do that.
May 10, 2016
I'm five months into The Greyskull LP: Second Edition's beginner lifting program, and am starting to research intermediate lifting programs for when my beginner's linear gains likely run out in the couple months. Wendler's 5/3/1's is pretty popular, so I picked up a copy of this book to check it out. Note that even though this program can be adapted for beginners, the book seems to assume working knowledge of the correct form and mechanics for the lifts. If you don't know those, check out Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training for super super detailed descriptions of the exercises themselves.
I obviously can't comment on the efficacy of the system itself, as I'm reading this well before starting it, but I particularly liked a lot of Wendler's philosophical approach to lifting:
- Emphasize the big lifts—squat, deadlift, bench, overhead press. These have huge carry over to everything else you use your body for. The rest of your lifting is to support your growth in these lifts.
- Lifting (and fitness in general) is a long game. Focus on what keeps you improving for years, not where you can get in the next 4 weeks.
- Focus on the most bang-for-your-buck exercises and don't go overboard.
- Your workouts shouldn't last more than 30-45 minutes.
- Deloading is important. Rest is important.
- Don't neglect your conditioning or flexibility. Being a single-dimensional athlete is not a path to happiness.
My only real quibble with the material as presented is that it isn't always clear why one might choose one of the 5-6 assistance lift schemes over another. So the Boring But Big scheme is optimized for mass gain, but The Triumvirate is optimized for...?
The book also suffers a bit from the overly-macho attitude that pervades most fitness writing ("moving north of vag"? really?), but that's easy enough to tune out.
I obviously can't comment on the efficacy of the system itself, as I'm reading this well before starting it, but I particularly liked a lot of Wendler's philosophical approach to lifting:
- Emphasize the big lifts—squat, deadlift, bench, overhead press. These have huge carry over to everything else you use your body for. The rest of your lifting is to support your growth in these lifts.
- Lifting (and fitness in general) is a long game. Focus on what keeps you improving for years, not where you can get in the next 4 weeks.
- Focus on the most bang-for-your-buck exercises and don't go overboard.
- Your workouts shouldn't last more than 30-45 minutes.
- Deloading is important. Rest is important.
- Don't neglect your conditioning or flexibility. Being a single-dimensional athlete is not a path to happiness.
My only real quibble with the material as presented is that it isn't always clear why one might choose one of the 5-6 assistance lift schemes over another. So the Boring But Big scheme is optimized for mass gain, but The Triumvirate is optimized for...?
The book also suffers a bit from the overly-macho attitude that pervades most fitness writing ("moving north of vag"? really?), but that's easy enough to tune out.
June 19, 2017
He just rams everything on your head. There's no explanation for why one is better than the other. In-between he puts up his own pics and that's not convincing either because he just looks like a giant chunk of mass.
There's no explanation for why 5 reps is better than Arnold's recommended 8-12 reps. No background about how he figured it out, or what he observed that convinced him about this. Just "This is the best. If someone asks me questions I answer once. If they ask again, then that guy's got a problem in his head".
The language is also written mostly as an "alpha type". "North of vag" - that makes no sense. It just wheys in on why I think it's a stupid book. I'm not criticizing his workout routine or saying that it doesn't work. Sure it works since so many people have benefitted from it. But his book has many contradictions like:
- He says you shouldnt work out more than 30-45 mins
- Later he says you should only focus on the main big exercises. Once you're done with those you can add smaller exercises.
- Then he goes on to give yuo a workout routine which has like 10-12 smaller exercises in a day.
- And then he says you should add as many smaller exercises as you can
- In between there's talk about how you shouldn't workout till the failure point
- Later he explains the same thing that Arnie explains - that for gaining muscle you need to reach your failure point.
The most off-putting thing about this book is his talking style which sounds conceited "I know better than you, I know better than Arnold, I know better than everyone around me".
There's also stuff like "I tell them don't do that! Don't pick up a weight that you can lift only once. You won't gain anything. Instead aim for higher reps. Like 5 reps" - There's a few other passages like this which makes you wonder who around him is that dumb so as to aim for a single rep. It's the most obvious wisdom. And I wouldn't call 5 reps as "higher reps". Still don't know why he called it so.
The second half of the book is filled with various workout plans with short one-line explanations. None of the explanations actually say why X is better than Y. It's like "This is X. Do X. X is good", "This is Y. Do Y. Y is awesome".
On the plus side this book makes you think about progressive weight training - both in the long term and across your sets. I'm giving them a try these days.
There's no explanation for why 5 reps is better than Arnold's recommended 8-12 reps. No background about how he figured it out, or what he observed that convinced him about this. Just "This is the best. If someone asks me questions I answer once. If they ask again, then that guy's got a problem in his head".
The language is also written mostly as an "alpha type". "North of vag" - that makes no sense. It just wheys in on why I think it's a stupid book. I'm not criticizing his workout routine or saying that it doesn't work. Sure it works since so many people have benefitted from it. But his book has many contradictions like:
- He says you shouldnt work out more than 30-45 mins
- Later he says you should only focus on the main big exercises. Once you're done with those you can add smaller exercises.
- Then he goes on to give yuo a workout routine which has like 10-12 smaller exercises in a day.
- And then he says you should add as many smaller exercises as you can
- In between there's talk about how you shouldn't workout till the failure point
- Later he explains the same thing that Arnie explains - that for gaining muscle you need to reach your failure point.
The most off-putting thing about this book is his talking style which sounds conceited "I know better than you, I know better than Arnold, I know better than everyone around me".
There's also stuff like "I tell them don't do that! Don't pick up a weight that you can lift only once. You won't gain anything. Instead aim for higher reps. Like 5 reps" - There's a few other passages like this which makes you wonder who around him is that dumb so as to aim for a single rep. It's the most obvious wisdom. And I wouldn't call 5 reps as "higher reps". Still don't know why he called it so.
The second half of the book is filled with various workout plans with short one-line explanations. None of the explanations actually say why X is better than Y. It's like "This is X. Do X. X is good", "This is Y. Do Y. Y is awesome".
On the plus side this book makes you think about progressive weight training - both in the long term and across your sets. I'm giving them a try these days.
June 21, 2013
Lifting heavy weights is strong medicine. This book provides a prescription for the recommended dosage.
The author is a well known power lifter with best lifts of a 1000lbs squat, a 675lb bench press and a 700lb deadlift. Even if your health and fitness goals are not aligned with lifting heavy weights (they should be) - this book describes a program for the application of the key concept of strength training - Progressive Overload. The idea is that you lift weights to get stronger - to do that you need to lift heavier weights on a regular basis to accomplish that goal.
Buy the book, understand the program, get a excel spreadsheet (use your favorite search engine to find pre-formatted spreadsheets for the program) and start your anti-aging strength program.
The author is a well known power lifter with best lifts of a 1000lbs squat, a 675lb bench press and a 700lb deadlift. Even if your health and fitness goals are not aligned with lifting heavy weights (they should be) - this book describes a program for the application of the key concept of strength training - Progressive Overload. The idea is that you lift weights to get stronger - to do that you need to lift heavier weights on a regular basis to accomplish that goal.
Buy the book, understand the program, get a excel spreadsheet (use your favorite search engine to find pre-formatted spreadsheets for the program) and start your anti-aging strength program.
September 5, 2017
So I've been going through this system for a few months now, and frankly it works. I'm in and out of the gym in 45 minutes and I'm progressing quicker than when I spent over an hour a day. Even if you don't want to do the rep calculations, and you feel a 1 rep max is all-important over rep maxes (I'm not disparaging this line of thinking, whatever motivates you is what's important)... still thumb through this. I found the mindset of keeping it simple, taking the deload week, and making gradual improvements rather than throwing yourself repeatedly at a wall to be more beneficial than any regime I could go on. Too many people think you have to make training your life if you want to get strong. That's just not true.
September 13, 2020
First, let me say that I acquired this book for free. After reading it, I would not recommend paying any amount of money for it, but I would say it is worth the time to at least skim. Wendler's keystone work, his 5/3/1 strength program, is no doubt a tried and true successful strength program. His program, progressions, diet, and recovery, while rough around the edges, are solid enough to produce goal achieving results. The content of this book is not bad, but holy cow is it an adventure to wade through it. This book is really only written for men, and men that are, or strive to be a meathead. It is everything toxic about hyper-masculinity in the strength industry. Here are just two of my favorite quotes that illustrate this:
"Men should not be in skinny jeans; men should be on a quest for jeans that can barely hold their thighs" (96).
"Eat a ton of protein. Squat heavy. Push heavy objects. Have sex. Love life" (98).
Trust me, there is way more where that came from. You can hardly go three sentences without laughing at the macho-man ego oozing from Wedler, which is ironic as he asserts that his program progressions requires checking one's own ego (a solid point). Granted, this book was produced in 2009, but you really cannot read this unless you have thick skin, or can laugh at the meathead mentality. In the end, Wedler provides solid programming advice for beginners and advanced lifters alike. He provides multiple training programs based on ability, exercise preference, lifting/body goals, time availability. It is by no means written well, but it doesn't have to be. This book is not supposed to stimulate your brain into deeper worldview thinking, it's supposed to help you lift some heavy a** weight. And it does just that.
"Men should not be in skinny jeans; men should be on a quest for jeans that can barely hold their thighs" (96).
"Eat a ton of protein. Squat heavy. Push heavy objects. Have sex. Love life" (98).
Trust me, there is way more where that came from. You can hardly go three sentences without laughing at the macho-man ego oozing from Wedler, which is ironic as he asserts that his program progressions requires checking one's own ego (a solid point). Granted, this book was produced in 2009, but you really cannot read this unless you have thick skin, or can laugh at the meathead mentality. In the end, Wedler provides solid programming advice for beginners and advanced lifters alike. He provides multiple training programs based on ability, exercise preference, lifting/body goals, time availability. It is by no means written well, but it doesn't have to be. This book is not supposed to stimulate your brain into deeper worldview thinking, it's supposed to help you lift some heavy a** weight. And it does just that.
Read
June 14, 2022This is a book introducing a popular strength training program. I like the program, I've been doing it for a few weeks at this point, and I expect to continue for quite a while (G-d willing). It is easily explained with a few charts, but that's not what happens in the book. The book is somewhat of a mess, with a lot of ranty, sometimes contradictory instructions about how to follow the program. It's like a long forum post, maybe not even a blog post.
It has a lot of "I am a manly man" dudebro language, sometimes very offputting (though I have to say I've read even worse strength training books along these lines - including one ostensibly for women telling you to give Russian male names to your kettlebells -, but it was close). I'm reading Tactical Barbell now after this one and it is such a relief that it doesn't have random misogynist insults sprinkled in. Also at least one case of making fun of chronic illness. Uh.
I think the program is suitable for beginners, but *the book* isn't, because it assumes you already know how to do the main lifts, and things like estimating your 1 rep max. Multiple other reviewers recommend Starting Strength for beginners and I also endorse the recommendation + get someone to look at you for at least a handful of sessions, explain how to swap plates on the bar and stuff like that. It will be a great investment. I am not entirely a beginner, but getting back to strength training after really bad COVID that took me about 9 months to recover from. Please do not rush your recovery if you are in a similar situation, and maybe don't begin with powerlifting (I didn't either, I worked myself very gradually up to it and I used to do it before COVID too).
Wendler's system uses the 3 lifts of powerlifting, and the overhead press, as the main lifts. Not sure why the overhead press but ok! I was hesitant because after COVID for a long time I wasn't able to press anything overhead, but gave it a try (I've been pressing small weights overhead for months) and so far I have had a surprisingly good experience with it. I still don't know why this lift as a +1 to the usual ones, it also requires some caution, but it's fun.
There are also a bunch of ideas for secondary lifts to supplement your main lifts, which rotate where you have a different main lift each day and then you start over with different percentages. 3 weeks of this and then a week of deloading. Then you restart with a higher weight. His website, Reddit, etc. have the tables, it's actually quite easy to follow.
I really like his idea of taking 90% of your 1 rep max and calculating everything based on that. It entirely resolved my issue of overdoing lifting and then keeling over. Overall this is a quite sedate system for powerlifting, it doesn't demand anything impossible. Lift 3-4 times a week for 30-40 minutes - I do 3x / week and it works fine, though I'll see how long my numbers will keep on increasing. Probably a while because the tables do not have a very fast progression.
There are also ways built in where you can push yourself - you can do additional reps on your last set, you can push yourself on the auxiliary exercises too, he has a lot of ideas on how to supplement your main lifts. (I would've liked this section to be a bit more organized.) So it's not like you're not doing anything. It's easy to adjust to what you can do.
It made me wonder if the aggressive posturing in the text is to counterbalance that the program itself is not as strenuous as some of the alternatives. I have a systemic chronic illness that really affects any kind of sport (ironically some people develop it after COVID, but I had it before COVID), and also a movement coordination disorder I was born with :), but I find this program entirely doable and seeing gains without keeling over in the process.
One thing I wish it had a bit more of is tips about what to do with lifts that would be best to perform with someone spotting you, if you don't have anyone spotting you. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Surely I can come up with alternatives, safety workarounds etc (and I have), but this would've been handy in the book itself.
Overall, if you like to lift heavier weights, you'll probably read this at some point. If you don't, I suggest it as a sport activity to at least try :) but this book probably won't convince you; do still check out the program itself though.
(Reading date is off by a few weeks, sorry about that)
It has a lot of "I am a manly man" dudebro language, sometimes very offputting (though I have to say I've read even worse strength training books along these lines - including one ostensibly for women telling you to give Russian male names to your kettlebells -, but it was close). I'm reading Tactical Barbell now after this one and it is such a relief that it doesn't have random misogynist insults sprinkled in. Also at least one case of making fun of chronic illness. Uh.
I think the program is suitable for beginners, but *the book* isn't, because it assumes you already know how to do the main lifts, and things like estimating your 1 rep max. Multiple other reviewers recommend Starting Strength for beginners and I also endorse the recommendation + get someone to look at you for at least a handful of sessions, explain how to swap plates on the bar and stuff like that. It will be a great investment. I am not entirely a beginner, but getting back to strength training after really bad COVID that took me about 9 months to recover from. Please do not rush your recovery if you are in a similar situation, and maybe don't begin with powerlifting (I didn't either, I worked myself very gradually up to it and I used to do it before COVID too).
Wendler's system uses the 3 lifts of powerlifting, and the overhead press, as the main lifts. Not sure why the overhead press but ok! I was hesitant because after COVID for a long time I wasn't able to press anything overhead, but gave it a try (I've been pressing small weights overhead for months) and so far I have had a surprisingly good experience with it. I still don't know why this lift as a +1 to the usual ones, it also requires some caution, but it's fun.
There are also a bunch of ideas for secondary lifts to supplement your main lifts, which rotate where you have a different main lift each day and then you start over with different percentages. 3 weeks of this and then a week of deloading. Then you restart with a higher weight. His website, Reddit, etc. have the tables, it's actually quite easy to follow.
I really like his idea of taking 90% of your 1 rep max and calculating everything based on that. It entirely resolved my issue of overdoing lifting and then keeling over. Overall this is a quite sedate system for powerlifting, it doesn't demand anything impossible. Lift 3-4 times a week for 30-40 minutes - I do 3x / week and it works fine, though I'll see how long my numbers will keep on increasing. Probably a while because the tables do not have a very fast progression.
There are also ways built in where you can push yourself - you can do additional reps on your last set, you can push yourself on the auxiliary exercises too, he has a lot of ideas on how to supplement your main lifts. (I would've liked this section to be a bit more organized.) So it's not like you're not doing anything. It's easy to adjust to what you can do.
It made me wonder if the aggressive posturing in the text is to counterbalance that the program itself is not as strenuous as some of the alternatives. I have a systemic chronic illness that really affects any kind of sport (ironically some people develop it after COVID, but I had it before COVID), and also a movement coordination disorder I was born with :), but I find this program entirely doable and seeing gains without keeling over in the process.
One thing I wish it had a bit more of is tips about what to do with lifts that would be best to perform with someone spotting you, if you don't have anyone spotting you. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Surely I can come up with alternatives, safety workarounds etc (and I have), but this would've been handy in the book itself.
Overall, if you like to lift heavier weights, you'll probably read this at some point. If you don't, I suggest it as a sport activity to at least try :) but this book probably won't convince you; do still check out the program itself though.
(Reading date is off by a few weeks, sorry about that)
December 30, 2015
I used to scoff at folks who said you really need to read the book to understand the program.
I'm not scoffing anymore.
If you can get past the organizational issues & occasional (and useless) misogyny, there's a revelatory program here.
I'm not scoffing anymore.
If you can get past the organizational issues & occasional (and useless) misogyny, there's a revelatory program here.
November 29, 2014
As an S&C coach/trainer (NSCA-CPT, CSPS) I end up reading a lot of programming books.
There's not much I can add about 5/3/1 that hasn't already been covered. I will say this, it is one of the few strength books I use for my clients (the other two are Practical Programming for Strength Training & Tactical Barbell).
The thing that makes 5/3/1 valuable for me is that rare combination of flexibility and effectiveness. My clients have a wide variety of goals, problems, priorities and schedules. For the most part they tend to be athletes as opposed to physique athletes/bodybuilders. They spend a lot of time working on other athletic skills and need varying amounts of strength training depending on the sport. Programs that are too rigid and heavy are not a good fit for guys like this that need to cross train. 5/3/1 is perfect. You can use a 2,3 or 4 day template along with a variety of strategies to further customize your strength training. As a trainer, that's invaluable. Highly recommended.
There's not much I can add about 5/3/1 that hasn't already been covered. I will say this, it is one of the few strength books I use for my clients (the other two are Practical Programming for Strength Training & Tactical Barbell).
The thing that makes 5/3/1 valuable for me is that rare combination of flexibility and effectiveness. My clients have a wide variety of goals, problems, priorities and schedules. For the most part they tend to be athletes as opposed to physique athletes/bodybuilders. They spend a lot of time working on other athletic skills and need varying amounts of strength training depending on the sport. Programs that are too rigid and heavy are not a good fit for guys like this that need to cross train. 5/3/1 is perfect. You can use a 2,3 or 4 day template along with a variety of strategies to further customize your strength training. As a trainer, that's invaluable. Highly recommended.
October 17, 2021
Unscientific dietary advice. Don't "dirty bulk" unless you want to become obese. There is a difference between being on a caloric surplus and eating calorie dense foods with little nutritional value. Also, by no means should you wake up at night to drink a protein shake. Studies emphasize the importance of 8 hour quality sleep and its impact on your progress. Great book to read about the basics of strength training programs, but if you want something more scientific read Greg Nuckols' books, such as The Art of Lifting and The Science of Lifting. Quote from Wendler's book:
"You want science and studies? Fuck you. I’ve got scars and blood and vomit.". Yeah...
"You want science and studies? Fuck you. I’ve got scars and blood and vomit.". Yeah...
December 14, 2019
Ugh. This was among the worst-written things I have ever enjoyed reading. The programming is sound, and I will be executing the program personally starting in 3 weeks, but the presentation is horrendous.
January 31, 2019
The program is apparently good, but the book is basically a rambling blog post. There's not a lot here that you can't get from the internet for free.
January 13, 2023
A great source of programs, templates, and information around weight lifting that can keep you occupied for years. You’ll have to suffer through Jim’s “football guy” approach to motivation though. A couple quotes that I have to share:
“I’m not in the weight room to jerk off a bunch of different exercises and go nowhere.”
“Men should not be in skinny jeans; men should be on a quest for jeans that can barely hold their thighs”
“Eat a ton of protein. Squat heavy. Push heavy objects. Have sex. Love life.”
In his FAQ section, regarding his advice to drink tons of milk to gain weight:
“Q: What if a person is lactose intolerant?
A: Buy baby wipes. It’s gonna get dirty.”
“I’m not in the weight room to jerk off a bunch of different exercises and go nowhere.”
“Men should not be in skinny jeans; men should be on a quest for jeans that can barely hold their thighs”
“Eat a ton of protein. Squat heavy. Push heavy objects. Have sex. Love life.”
In his FAQ section, regarding his advice to drink tons of milk to gain weight:
“Q: What if a person is lactose intolerant?
A: Buy baby wipes. It’s gonna get dirty.”
January 25, 2021
Guide to strength training and more
This is one the must read books on strength training. Jim Wendler does an incredible job at laying out the foundation of an approach to training and lifestyle of strength that you can follow for the rest of your life.
Recommended.
This is one the must read books on strength training. Jim Wendler does an incredible job at laying out the foundation of an approach to training and lifestyle of strength that you can follow for the rest of your life.
Recommended.
June 25, 2019
Definitely a great book for those who wish to figure out a good method of working out properly. I've been using this set of guidelines for a month now and am full of praises. A definite recommend.
May 18, 2021
Good program, worthless pdf
January 8, 2023
The title says it all, it gives you the most important aspects of building strength, in order of importance
May 30, 2024
2/5 for the program, 1/5 for the writing style. Could really use an editor.
June 18, 2017
I really don't like the overly-masculine writing affectation. The design of the programming is really undermotivated, lacking any explanation beyond "it's worked for me and others." That being said, I'm still planning on giving it a try because I do like some of the ideas behind it.
Read
February 9, 2021some parts of this were like fight club, typical masculinity culture i.e. total trash. one part was called "North of Vag." extremely contemptible when the dude gets into expressing his opinions about "androgynous, skinny-jean wearing contemporary man." also the information on dieting was insanely bad.
i'm probably going to switch to the program tho because it includes all the main lifts, obviously; he puts a lot of emphasis on the OHP, which i appreciate; plus, there's still room for incorporating front squats, chinups and power cleans, none of which i want to give up.
he really wants to emphasize DB rows over barbell rows. i've never done them tbh, and i might try them for a cycle, but i've been doing pendlay rows for as long as i've been lifting, they are my strongest lift, and i don't want to give them up.
i would have appreciated a bit more guidance on choosing accessory work since this is the main thing that's really overwhelming me when it comes to moving to a 4 day hypertrophy program. he does have the list of "best exercises to complement X big lift" though so i'll just go with that. a bit suspicious that there are no cable moves at all--i've never worked with a cable machine and was kinda looking forward to trying one out.
i'm probably going to switch to the program tho because it includes all the main lifts, obviously; he puts a lot of emphasis on the OHP, which i appreciate; plus, there's still room for incorporating front squats, chinups and power cleans, none of which i want to give up.
he really wants to emphasize DB rows over barbell rows. i've never done them tbh, and i might try them for a cycle, but i've been doing pendlay rows for as long as i've been lifting, they are my strongest lift, and i don't want to give them up.
i would have appreciated a bit more guidance on choosing accessory work since this is the main thing that's really overwhelming me when it comes to moving to a 4 day hypertrophy program. he does have the list of "best exercises to complement X big lift" though so i'll just go with that. a bit suspicious that there are no cable moves at all--i've never worked with a cable machine and was kinda looking forward to trying one out.
May 4, 2016
I like that this book was short and to-the-point. I am already starting to implement 5/3/1 on my deadlift, we'll see if it works!
It's a bit meatheadish (out of the 10 or so success stories Wendler includes, only one was for a female) and some of the "assistance" moves are exercises I would never do (i.e. sit ups). I'm also not hoping for a 600 pound deadlift and don't need to pay attention to the straps/belt info, but the overall advice is sound: focus on the big lifts, don't start out too heavy too quickly, and be prepared to stall/plateau a bit after a few cycles.
I also like that his plan can apply to various people. On my part, I'm not a body builder and my clients aren't either. Wendler acknowledges that some of us might have just 1 or 2 days to go to the gym, and/or we might have a short time frame to complete our workout.
I like this plan because a) I need both a goal to work toward as well as a plan that will help me get there. This plan seems effective and doable; and b) I like that it doesn't ask me to spend an hour completing the workout. Monday I implemented Day 1 and I was done within about 30-40 minutes
It's a bit meatheadish (out of the 10 or so success stories Wendler includes, only one was for a female) and some of the "assistance" moves are exercises I would never do (i.e. sit ups). I'm also not hoping for a 600 pound deadlift and don't need to pay attention to the straps/belt info, but the overall advice is sound: focus on the big lifts, don't start out too heavy too quickly, and be prepared to stall/plateau a bit after a few cycles.
I also like that his plan can apply to various people. On my part, I'm not a body builder and my clients aren't either. Wendler acknowledges that some of us might have just 1 or 2 days to go to the gym, and/or we might have a short time frame to complete our workout.
I like this plan because a) I need both a goal to work toward as well as a plan that will help me get there. This plan seems effective and doable; and b) I like that it doesn't ask me to spend an hour completing the workout. Monday I implemented Day 1 and I was done within about 30-40 minutes
October 28, 2020
Is it a curated, slick IG-ready presentation? No. Are there unclear instructions and typos on nearly every page? Yes. Is there salty language and uncouth ranting? Yes. Is this book for everyone? No. Does the author care what your or my opinion is? No.
Did I find his knowledge useful, the author amusing, and charming like a polar bear? Yep.
Bottom line: Does the program make you stronger? Without a doubt.
If you want cute approachable sciencey strength training advice head to YouTube. Me, I wouldn’t trust advice in this field from an egghead marketing minded sensitive type.
That said if you’re interested in 531 I might suggest the more recent updated book, 531 Forever. This one has the fundamentals but not all the newest programs. Or get this one and check out the Black Iron Beast website.
Did I find his knowledge useful, the author amusing, and charming like a polar bear? Yep.
Bottom line: Does the program make you stronger? Without a doubt.
If you want cute approachable sciencey strength training advice head to YouTube. Me, I wouldn’t trust advice in this field from an egghead marketing minded sensitive type.
That said if you’re interested in 531 I might suggest the more recent updated book, 531 Forever. This one has the fundamentals but not all the newest programs. Or get this one and check out the Black Iron Beast website.
March 13, 2022
Being doing Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 for a month now and I like the results.
Decided to read the book to better understand his training program and after reading it, I'm excited to further implement this into my life.
Things I liked about this quick read:
- I buy into his principles and philosophy for lifting. He advocates starting light, making it sustainable, going slow and steady and not letting ego get in the way. Consistency is king
- consistency builds character. "Do this 3-4 times a week and you won't fall into the trap of being normal. You'll be strong, healthy and in shape."
- It's simple to read, no bullshit, gets right down to the why (principles) and how (work-out guides). It's easy to understand for any beginner
- Seems like a lot of people swear by it and had a lot of success with the program. I'm stoked to give it a try for another few months
Decided to read the book to better understand his training program and after reading it, I'm excited to further implement this into my life.
Things I liked about this quick read:
- I buy into his principles and philosophy for lifting. He advocates starting light, making it sustainable, going slow and steady and not letting ego get in the way. Consistency is king
- consistency builds character. "Do this 3-4 times a week and you won't fall into the trap of being normal. You'll be strong, healthy and in shape."
- It's simple to read, no bullshit, gets right down to the why (principles) and how (work-out guides). It's easy to understand for any beginner
- Seems like a lot of people swear by it and had a lot of success with the program. I'm stoked to give it a try for another few months
August 19, 2013
A top book on building strength.
This is totally focused on strength and not necessarily looking good. I'm not sure I would want to look like the author, no offence. But the advice is invaluable.
There are some great routines, even routines that include all body weight exercises for the assistance exercises after the main workout.
One great time on building strength and size, wake up in the middle of the night to drink milk or a protein shake.
I personally could have done with a few more photos to help out understanding all the exercises. The book is aimed at more advanced lifters.
This is totally focused on strength and not necessarily looking good. I'm not sure I would want to look like the author, no offence. But the advice is invaluable.
There are some great routines, even routines that include all body weight exercises for the assistance exercises after the main workout.
One great time on building strength and size, wake up in the middle of the night to drink milk or a protein shake.
I personally could have done with a few more photos to help out understanding all the exercises. The book is aimed at more advanced lifters.
June 14, 2021
It's a good book about strength training and the thing that I really love about this book is the simplicity of the training program and diet.
Jim's program focuses on the 4 main lifts (overhead press, squad, bench press and deadlift) and this is the best part of the program in my opinion. Go to the gym, break your PRs on that main lifts and do some auxiliary exerecices. A simple but effective training program.
It's all about lifting heavy weights and eat tons of protein. No bullshit, no magic program, and no unrealistic diet.å
Jim's program focuses on the 4 main lifts (overhead press, squad, bench press and deadlift) and this is the best part of the program in my opinion. Go to the gym, break your PRs on that main lifts and do some auxiliary exerecices. A simple but effective training program.
It's all about lifting heavy weights and eat tons of protein. No bullshit, no magic program, and no unrealistic diet.å
March 29, 2012
Simple and brutal workouts for those focused on strength gains. No need to jump into a program like this until you've exhausted the possibilities of beginner linear gains - the kinds that Starting Strength by Rippetoe exploits - but good to read ahead.
I appreciate books that manage to be both conversational and information-dense, and Wendler's 531 fits that description.
I appreciate books that manage to be both conversational and information-dense, and Wendler's 531 fits that description.
July 15, 2018
Extremely conflicted in rating this book as the program itself is lauded all around, but the guy writes like a teenager convinced that any guy who isn’t jacked is therefore a girl - which is additionally very sexist in it’s own right. I’d skip the book and just take the program off the various message boards it’s already on.
October 8, 2019
5/3/1 program is a variation of old-time training scheme called One Lift a Day (OLAD). Most routines in this books will work since they're based on tried and true OLAD method, along some over-complicated calculations for reps and sets and loads. The book itself isn't much of good read.
July 9, 2011
I gained more strength off of this program than any other that I have tried in my 25 years of weight training!
February 4, 2024
program seems legit but I couldn’t stop rolling my eyes because of all the „be a man, not a pussy“ blabla. toxic masculinity 100%
read with caution
read with caution
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