5/3/1 for Beginners
Wendler's 3-day full-body 5/3/1 with First Set Last 5x5 and simple push/pull/leg-or-core assistance
- in 2 phases
- 10 weeks
- in 2 phases
- sessions per week
- 3×
- sessions per week
- exercises
- 11
- exercises
- average session
- 60 min
- average session
About this program
5/3/1 for Beginners is Jim Wendler's full-body version of 5/3/1 for lifters who are past their first few months of linear progression but not ready for his intermediate templates. Wendler first posted it on Reddit's r/Fitness, and the r/Fitness wiki (thefitness.wiki) keeps a detailed write-up of it. You should already know how to squat, bench, deadlift and press with decent form.
Training max Every percentage here is of your training max (TM), not your 1RM. To set it, work up to a weight you can lift for 3-5 fast reps, estimate your 1RM from it, and take 90% of that.
The week Three full-body days (for example Mon/Wed/Fri), two main lifts per day:
- Day 1: Squat, Bench Press
- Day 2: Deadlift, Overhead Press
- Day 3: Bench Press, Squat
Each main lift gets three 5/3/1 sets followed by First Set Last (FSL): 5 sets of 5 at the same weight as the day's first set. The "+" set is as many reps as you can do with good form; leave a rep or two in the tank and never grind.
The cycle
- Week 1: 65/75/85% for 5, 5, 5+, then FSL 5x5 at 65%
- Week 2: 70/80/90% for 3, 3, 3+, then FSL 5x5 at 70%
- Week 3: 75/85/95% for 5, 3, 1+, then FSL 5x5 at 75%
There is no deload week: cycles run back to back.
Assistance After the main lifts, do 50-100 total reps of one push, one pull and one single-leg or core exercise. Set count doesn't matter, and a circuit saves time. The exercises here are defaults; swap freely, e.g. push: dips, push-ups, dumbbell bench or press, triceps work; pull: chin-ups, pull-ups, rows, face pulls, pulldowns; single-leg/core: ab work, back raises, lunges, step-ups, split squats, kettlebell swings. If you can't reach 50 reps of a bodyweight exercise, use an assisted version or add a second exercise. If you can't reach 50 reps of a weighted one, it's too heavy.
Progression At the end of every 3-week cycle, add 5 lb (2.5 kg) to the bench and press TMs and 10 lb (5 kg) to the squat and deadlift TMs, whatever your "+" sets looked like. If you keep missing reps on a lift for a whole cycle, cut its TM by three increments (15 lb upper, 30 lb lower).
TM test After three cycles, the wiki recommends a TM test week, included here as week 10: raise the TMs as usual, then work up to 3-5 reps at 100% of TM. If you get at least 3, keep the TM. If not, estimate a new 1RM from the set and reset the TM from it.
This plan is 10 weeks (three cycles and a test week). Run it again for as long as you keep progressing.
Program structure
Every week, session, exercise and set, exactly as Titan runs it.
Phase 1 · Cycles
Repeats 3×1Week 1 - 5s3 sessions
Day 1 - Squat & Bench
7 exercises
Bench Press (barbell)5@ 65% TM5@ 75% TM5+@ 85% TMLast set: as many good reps as possible, no grinding
Chin Up5 × 10–20Pull. 50-100 total reps, in as many sets as you need. Use the assisted version if needed
Day 2 - Deadlift & Press
7 exercises
Overhead Press (barbell)5@ 65% TM5@ 75% TM5+@ 85% TMLast set: as many good reps as possible, no grinding
Day 3 - Bench & Squat
7 exercises- Bench Press (barbell)5@ 65% TM5@ 75% TM5+@ 85% TM
Last set: as many good reps as possible, no grinding
- Chin Up5 × 10–20
Pull. 50-100 total reps, in as many sets as you need. Use the assisted version if needed
2Week 2 - 3s3 sessions
Day 1 - Squat & Bench
7 exercises- Bench Press (barbell)3@ 70% TM3@ 80% TM3+@ 90% TM
Last set: as many good reps as possible, no grinding
- Chin Up5 × 10–20
Pull. 50-100 total reps, in as many sets as you need. Use the assisted version if needed
Day 2 - Deadlift & Press
7 exercises- Overhead Press (barbell)3@ 70% TM3@ 80% TM3+@ 90% TM
Last set: as many good reps as possible, no grinding
Day 3 - Bench & Squat
7 exercises- Bench Press (barbell)3@ 70% TM3@ 80% TM3+@ 90% TM
Last set: as many good reps as possible, no grinding
- Chin Up5 × 10–20
Pull. 50-100 total reps, in as many sets as you need. Use the assisted version if needed
3Week 3 - 5/3/13 sessions
Day 1 - Squat & Bench
7 exercises- Bench Press (barbell)5@ 75% TM3@ 85% TM1+@ 95% TM
Last set: as many good reps as possible, no grinding
- Chin Up5 × 10–20
Pull. 50-100 total reps, in as many sets as you need. Use the assisted version if needed
Day 2 - Deadlift & Press
7 exercises- Overhead Press (barbell)5@ 75% TM3@ 85% TM1+@ 95% TM
Last set: as many good reps as possible, no grinding
Day 3 - Bench & Squat
7 exercises- Bench Press (barbell)5@ 75% TM3@ 85% TM1+@ 95% TM
Last set: as many good reps as possible, no grinding
- Chin Up5 × 10–20
Pull. 50-100 total reps, in as many sets as you need. Use the assisted version if needed
Phase 2 · TM Test
4Week 10 - TM Test3 sessions
Day 1 - Press & Squat Test
5 exercises- Overhead Press (barbell)5@ 70% TM5@ 80% TM3@ 90% TM3–5@ 100% TM
Raise the TM first. 3+ reps at 100%: keep the TM. Fewer: reset it from a new 1RM estimate
- Squat (barbell)5@ 70% TM5@ 80% TM3@ 90% TM3–5@ 100% TM
Raise the TM first. 3+ reps at 100%: keep the TM. Fewer: reset it from a new 1RM estimate
- Chin Up5 × 10–20
Pull. 50-100 total reps, in as many sets as you need. Use the assisted version if needed
Day 2 - Bench Test
4 exercises- Bench Press (barbell)5@ 70% TM5@ 80% TM3@ 90% TM3–5@ 100% TM
Raise the TM first. 3+ reps at 100%: keep the TM. Fewer: reset it from a new 1RM estimate
Day 3 - Deadlift Test
4 exercises- Deadlift (barbell)5@ 70% TM5@ 80% TM3@ 90% TM3–5@ 100% TM
Raise the TM first. 3+ reps at 100%: keep the TM. Fewer: reset it from a new 1RM estimate
- Chin Up5 × 10–20
Pull. 50-100 total reps, in as many sets as you need. Use the assisted version if needed
Run 5/3/1 for Beginners with Titan
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