Jim Wendler - 5/3/1: The Simplest and Most Effective Training System for Raw Strength

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In the summer of 2005, I was burned out from competitive powerlifting. I was tired of bench shirts, box squats, bands and being fat. Two years earlier, Id written down three goals I wanted to accomplish. In my last meet, Id done all three. Satisfied with reaching my goals, and dissatisfied with how I felt, I needed a change but I didnt know exactly what I wanted or how I was going to get there.

My first order of business was losing weight. I was about 280 pounds, and I wanted to be able to tie my shoes without turning red. I wanted to be able to walk down the street without losing my breath. Like many people, I played football in high school and college. I was in shape then, and could do just about anything. Fast forward five years, and I was at the bottom of the food chain. That feeling of being a fat-ass was awful. I was exactly what I despised.

I remember once watching a young woman walk for exercise when I was in college. She wasnt overweight, and she didnt look like she was suffering from any kind of physical ailment. I was mystified as to why this seemingly fit woman was simply walking. Why wasnt she running? Why wasnt she running with a sled ? Why wasnt she pushing a car, or pushing an SUV up and down the street?

Walking ?

I remember thinking to myself that if I ever reached a point in my life where I had to walk to get exercise, it might be time to clean out my ears with a gun.

Fortunately, I didnt follow through with my plans. The point, however, is this: I was fat and out of shape . And even though Id recently squatted 1000 pounds, I really wasnt strong. I couldnt move, and I couldnt use this strength for anything other than waddling up to a monolift and squatting.

A few months later, Id managed to lose about 25 pounds. Simply walking and not eating as much helped me out immensely. I was able to move again. I could run, sprint, jog, jump rope or do just about anything.

But damn was I weak.

I knew where I wanted to go. I simply wanted to deadlift and squat over 600 pounds again, and I wanted to bench press 405. That was it. And I wanted to do it without the aid of powerlifting gear like bench shirts and squat suits. I also wanted an easy plan to get there. I didnt want to have to do a million different exercises. The bench press, parallel squat, deadlift and standing press have always been staples of any strong persons repertoire, so I knew what exercises I wanted to do.

I needed a plan for all of this. I needed something very simple, and I didnt want to have to think about it. I had recently become a father, and my priorities had changed. I still wanted to be strong, but I didnt want to have to spend all my time thinking about it. I wanted to go in the weight room, have my work planned for me, and get out. No bullshit, no problem.

Id started playing around with the concept of 5/3/1 months earlier, so I knew I was on to something, but I wasnt sure how it would work. Because my bench, squat and deadlift goals were so straightforward, I gave myself 12 months to accomplish them. I worked backward from these numbers and ended up with beginning weights that were really light. I mean ridiculously light .

I had a plan, though, and I followed through. I figured once I finished each month of training, Id be ready to move on to the next and the next, and the next, until I finally reached my goal. Of course, this was wishful thinking it doesnt always work like this but I needed a simple plan, and this was the best one I could come up with. Or the simplest, at least.

Sometimes, however, the simplest is the best. In my case, this proved to be true. I was breezing through my workouts, putting on some muscle, and having fun again. I began pushing my last set for as many reps as I could, setting personal records in the process.

Training was fun again. Gone were the three hour marathons of bench shirt training and sweating my ass off wearing tight polyester gear. I was in and out of the weight room in 30-45 minutes, and I was still getting stronger. After about three months of training, I got a wild hair up my ass and tried to pull a max deadlift. After my sets were over, I loaded up the bar and pulled for 3 reps what I thought I might be able to pull once. 610 3.

Now, this isnt any kind of world or even personal record, but it was really, really good for me at the time, especially when you consider the fact that I was used to wearing a deadlift suit and briefs and had lost so much weight. Plus, the deadlift was always my worst lift. I can blame this on any number of things, but the bottom line is that I just wasnt strong. Now, with this program, I could feel myself inching toward strong without having to be a blob of disgusting lard.

I began playing more and more with this program. I switched things up, experimented on friends and training partners and read some old books on training, and this is what I came up with. Hell, it may change even more with time, but the basics will always remain the same.

The 5/3/1 philosophy is more important than the sets and reps. Whenever I feel like Im getting sidetracked or want to try something different, I revisit these rules to make sure Im doing things the right way. Even if you decide this program isnt for you, these basic tenets have stood the test of time. Take these things to heart, and youll be greatly rewarded.

This really isnt any secret. Beginners have been told to do this for years, and advanced lifters swear by these movements. Multi-joint lifts are lifts that involve more than one muscle i.e., not an isolation exercise like leg extensions and allow you to build the most muscle. These lifts are the most efficient for building muscle and strength. Examples are the squat, deadlift, bench press and power clean.

My coaches emphasized this to me when I was in high school, but unfortunately, I didnt listen. Hopefully you will. Starting too light allows for more time for you to progress forward. Its easy for anyone beginner or advanced to want to get ahead of themselves. Your lifts will go up for a few months, but then theyll stall and stall, and stall some more. Lifters get frustrated and dont understand that the way around this is to prolong the time it takes to get to the goal. You have to keep inching forward. This is a very hard pill to swallow for most lifters. They want to start heavy, and they want to start now. This is nothing more than ego, and nothing will destroy a lifter faster, or for longer, than ego.