Experiences with the 5/3/1 program

[Marius]

Rip,

In a 2009 thread you admitted you were unfamiliar with the Wendler 5/3/1 program. Since then some time has passed, and it is apparent you have engaged with some of the contents of the book (references to hill sprints, prowlers, sharing Jim's toothbrush etc).

I was wondering if you've since had any experiences running the 5/3/1 program - either for yourself or members of Wichita Falls, and your own take on (strengths, weaknesses, adaptions you'd make etc).

Thanks, Oliver.

[Mark Rippetoe]

And I'll go ahead and admit that I still haven't used it. Many people have an erroneous impression of what goes on here at WFAC. Not much goes on here at WFAC these days. But you might compare the first program for advanced lifters in PPST2 to 5/3/1 and see what you think.

[Tiburon]

I read 5/3/1 and just couldn't fit it onto Selye's Model. So I couldn't convince myself to commit to it. In fact, fuck you Rip because now I am skeptical of every program I see if it doesn't fit the paradigm. You goddamn LEARNIN me something

[Mark Rippetoe]

I think 5/3/1 is a good program for the right level of training advancement. I just don't think it's the best for a novice.

[reformedricky]

I was stupid and used it as a novice... I didn't get good gains at all. Progression was too slow. Then i got smart and switched to Starting Strength.

I may keep 5/3/1 in my back pocket if/when I reach that level.

[stronger]

I tried 5/3/1 for a while, but frankly I did not like squatting 1 day/week after squatting 3 days/week for years. For such a technical movement, it's hard to get enough practice in only doing the lift once per week. I've found that after a hard Texas Method (which everyone should experience at least once) the volume day can be brought down in volume and intensity and still have pretty good results. YMMV

[Justin Jordan]

I think 5/3/1 is a good program for the right level of training advancement. I just don't think it's the best for a novice.

Five or ten pounds a month advancement for a novice seems nuts. It's weird to see it recommended to newbies so often, but it's trendy, I suppose.

[Bryan Dobson]

I squat twice a week using a 531 type template. I just do squats as assistance after dead lift day. 3x10 on5 weeks, 8,8,6 on 3week and 5,5,5 on 531 week. If you want more squat or anything else volume nothing is prohibiting you for adding it.
It is designed for the long term view though..and if you haven't maximized your novice or intermediate gains it may not be the best if you want to get as strong as you possibly can.
The truth is the younger you reach your potential the more of it you will reap from your efforts so I'd you are less than 35 kick ass and reap it. At 42 I am on the other side of the curve I got alot of progress to my mid 20's and quit like a dumbass. 531 with some intermittent lift specific volume programs is all I can bear anymore.

[Karl Schudt]

I've been having lots of success with 5/1 5/1. In other words, skip weeks 2 and 4 of Wendler's program. It makes it into a two week Texas Method, with ascending 5's to drive adaptation in week 1, and a deload of sorts in week 2 where you work up through a set of 5, a set of 3, and a heavy single. More intensity, less volume.

I did this after re-reading PPST, because it seemed that in 5/3/1, all the adaptation happens as a result of week 1. So, I made week 1 happen twice as often. So far, so good. My squats have been darn near linear, albeit going up every two weeks.

Here's where I asked Andy Baker about it: http://startingstrength.com/resource...t=32826&page=1

[Kregna]

Five or ten pounds a month advancement for a novice seems nuts. It's weird to see it recommended to newbies so often, but it's trendy, I suppose.

I know of someone on another board who's seen much faster gains than this. He thinks you don't have to train necessarily train near your max to improve it, and his numbers don't lie. I think he got up to a 300lb bench pretty quickly (quicker than a steady 5lb a week gain on bench)