Can someone dumb down 5/3/1 for me?

the OG was really simple


4 days a week.

each day is 3 parts

Main lifts- Squat, Bench, Deadlift, Press

Supplemental lift(s)- the barbell lift after the main lift that is to supplement the main lift

Accessory lifts- can be barbell, machine, bodyweight, dumbbell, KB etc


531 is setup where you do one main lift a day, then supplemental work to drive the main lift, then accessory lift. so a M/T/T/F schedule

the main lift is setup on 4 week cycles and all % aredone based off of a maximum of 90% of your max, called a training max. sometimes even lower is used.

main lifts are setup on the following schedule:
week 1- 3 sets of 5
week 2- 3 sets of 3
week 3- 1x5, 1x3, 1x1
week 4- deload


after the deload, you add 5 lbs to the upper body lifts and 10 lbs to the lower body lifts. This is added to your max used to caclulate your 90% training max which is used to calculate the weights listed above.

this is the basics. now there are many variants. Jim has since updated a lot of things including going to 7 week cycles where the 7th week is the deload. also the leaders and anchor templates which is simply block perdioization and fatigue management.

you will here 531 boring but big or boring but strong or FSL(first set last) etc. Those are just describing which supplemental lifts they are doing.

531 is a great program, especially as we get older. I highly suggest you read the books. Buy the hard copies if you can. Great reference.


LINK

Can this be applied to a 3 day split and still hit all muscle groups well?

Currently doing a 3 day split for full body where I go more hypertrophy for one muscle group and strength for the other each workout and flip that relationship on the next.

Could you do squats with bench and a couple of accessories for each group on one day.
Deadlifts and back/leg accessories.
Overhead press and more pressing accessories.

Would you add bicep movements with deadlifts accessories?

ETA: I run 2-3 days a week in addition to lifting of that matters.

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Can this be applied to a 3 day split and still hit all muscle groups well?

Currently doing a 3 day split for full body where I go more hypertrophy for one muscle group and strength for the other each workout and flip that relationship on the next.

Could you do squats with bench and a couple of accessories for each group on one day. Deadlifts and back/leg accessories.
Overhead press and more pressing accessories.

Would you add bicep movements with deadlifts accessories?

ETA: I run 2-3 days a week in addition to lifting of that matters.

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go look in the books i linked. he list many 3 day templates.

running and other forms of both hard and easy conditioning are highly encouraged in 531.

honestly read the books, especially forever. but to answer your question its laid out as an A/B schedule in the book. when you do a lift twice in a week, the second time is not full on 531.


in forever he has a bunch of examples, here are some of them.

full body templates are on page 145

page 164 he goes over the OG 531 and gives the 3 day tempalte

pg 173 gives the og 531 challenge

pg 187 he gives teh S&C template that is 3 days

pg 211 he gives the strength circuits program which is 3 days


pg 237 with part 2 of kypteia you drop press and focus on bench

pg 100- 5 and dime is 3 days

pg 47 he lays out bbb for 3 days. pg 50 full body BBB

pg 38 he gives beginner prep school which is 3 days

pg 60 he lays out FSL 3 days

pg 67 531 and widowmakers

pg 74- 1000% awesome - 3days

pg 81- morning star

pg 84- volume and strength

pg 93- 5x5/3/1

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Lsu777

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Thanks I’ll do some reading in those books. Also thanks for the cliffs/page identifiers.

He might actually pair up bench/press and squat/deadlift but I find the squat/deadlift days to be pretty brutal

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es. Works better imho if your supplemental lift is not the same as your main lift so that you’re hitting each muscle group not only once a week but also twice a within seven days. Example

Week 1
Mon - Squat Bench
Wed - Deadlift Press
Friday -Bench Squat

Week 2
Mon - Press Deadlift
Wed - Squat Bench
Friday - Deadlift Press

Week 3
Mon - Bench Squat
Etc..

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this is a really good lay out and he has laid out similar on the forum.

Better to let Jim do that

From the book

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SUPPLEMENTAL LIFTS
These are always barbell lifts and closely resemble the main lifts. In the 5/3/1 program some popular
supplemental programs are Boring But Big, First Set Last, Second Set Last and Boring But Strong. All
of these supplemental programs can be done with one of the main lifts, and they can also be done
with an alternate lift. If you use a supplemental lift you must find the correct training max. The only
downside to using an alternate lift is some people are horribly impatient and don't want to spend 20
minutes and test that lift and find a training max.

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Below are some supplemental options for each of the main lifts:
DEADLIFT SUPPLEMENTAL
• Deficit Deadlift.
• Rack Pull.
• Pull from Blocks.
• Snatch Grip Deadlift.
• Fat Bar Deadlift.
• Double Overhand Deadl ift.
• Trap Bar Deadl ift.
SQUAT SUPPLEMENTAL
• Front Squat.
• Box Squat - variety of different bars can be used as well as the front squat.
• Safety Squat Bar.
• Manta Ray Squat.
BENCH PRESS/PRESS SUPPLEMENTAL
• Bench Press done with different grip width.
• Incline Press.
• Floor Press.
• Football Bar Bench Press.
• Football Bar Incline Press.
• Football Bar Press.
• Football Bar Floor Press.
• Log Bar Bench Press.
• Log Bar Incline Press.
• Log Bar Floor Press.
• Log Bar Press.

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Remember that not every 5/3/1 program has a supplemental lift. Also remember that there is a fac-
tion of never-have-beens that love to talk about "finding your weakness" or other some nonsense
that helps cover up for the fact that they know shite about training and programming. You can always
follow the trail of turds these charlatans leave behind by looking for things like, "front squats will help
your deadlift" and "pause squats are probably the answer!" and people who preach the hip thrust
gimmick. I'm actually laughing out loud right now. Using a different supplemental exercise has it's
place but if you are weak as piss and can't do basic stuff like 10 chin-ups, 20 perfect hanging leg
raises, actually perform some kind of mile run without choking on your tongue or clipping your own
feet, let's save the bullshite for later. Unti l you have some basic level of strength and some kind of
fitness level, you don't need anything different. Your weakness is you aren't strong and you aren't in
shape. Your weakness is listening to idiots - fix that before you add deficit pulls with chains to help
your speed off the floor.
People's weak points are rarely muscles. It is almost always their head, their heart or their lack of
discipline and/or consistency.

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I've seen hanging leg raises mentioned in this thread a couple times. Any tips for doing these? Mine are dog shite. I can do strict decline sit ups, ball crunches, and wheel rollouts with perfect form but for some reason I can't get leg raises down. My hamstrings are a bit tight and I tend to swing and use my hips

Easy way to start hanging leg raises is doing them with tucked knees. Bend your legs back 90 degrees and focus on pulling your knees to your chest with your core.