My name is Jim Wendler. And this is my best work ever.
Let me explain. Since the original 5/3/1 book came out, I’ve been working to improve the program. The program was originally written for selfish reasons. I wanted a simple and easy program to follow, a program that held true to the principles in which I believed. Most importantly, I wanted a program that I was excited to actually use.
I question whether many programs written by “authorities” have even been used, either by themselves or anyone else. These programs exist simply to waste paper, space, and time. But when you have your own body on the line, you tend to put a lot more effort, time, and care into designing a program. I’m sure that at some point I'll be forced to use test subjects for my research, but until then I will burn this body of mine until I cannot stand.
The changes and tweaks in this book represent years of training, research, injuries, and mistakes. Hell, there's even a new program – Beyond 5/3/1. When I first wrote the original program in 2008, I had no idea that I'd be able to expand the program into what it is today. After 25+ years of training and writing programs, I still have that burning desire to create something new, unique, and awesome. When you lose that, you lose life.
The principles of the 5/3/1 program kept me grounded. I made sure that every variation stayed true to these principles: emphasize big, multi-joint movements, start light, progress slow, and set personal records. The tweaks in Beyond 5/3/1 all stay true to these principles – the changes just involve the programming.
All the programs and improvements in the book have one goal: to help you lift more weight. There are changes to the program with intensity (Joker Sets and the Beyond 5/3/1 program for example), volume (see some of the variations of the Boring But Big and First Set Last) and changes to the overall program (Spinal Tap, 75/85, and Advanced 5/3/1).
If you're interested in fitness and want to get toned, this is not the book for you. This is a book designed for real lifters that want to push their own training and their PR’s up to the next level.
Table of Contents
- 5/3/1 Principles – 4
- Importance of the Training Max – 6
- 6 Week Training Cycles – 7
- The Warm Up – 10
- 5/3/1 Variations – 11
- 5/3/1 Pyramid – 12
- First Set Last – 12
- First Set Last, Multiple Sets – 13
- First Set Last, Rest Pause – 13
- First Set Last, Pause Squats and Benches – 14
- 5/3/1 Strength Phase – 15
- 5/3/1 and Dynamic Work – 16
- Boring But Big – 17
- Boring But Big, Variation 1 - 19
- Boring But Big, Variation 2 – 20
- Boring But Big, 6 Week Challenge – 21
- Boring But Big, 5x5 – 21
- Boring But Big, 5x3 – 22
- Boring But Big, 5x1 – 22
- Boring But Big, 13 Week Challenge – 24
- Boring But Big, 2 Days/Week – 24
- Boring But Big, Rule of 50 – 25
- 5/3/1 and the Fatherland – 26
- 5/3/1 SVR – 30
- The Rule of 10 – 30
- Joker Sets – 31
- Joker Supersets – 34
- Beyond 5/3/1, Training Maximally – 35
- Full Body Training - 43
- Full Body, Power Clean – 44
- Full Body, Power Clean 2 – 45
- Full Body, Full Boring – 46
- Spinal Tap Training – 46
- Spinal Tap Training, 2 – 48
- 5’s Progression (Beginner/Advanced) – 50
- More on the Deload – 51
- Full Body Deload – 52
- High Intensity Deload – 53
- 28 Weeks of Training – 53
- Advanced 5/3/1 – 55
- 2 Day/Week Training – 59
- Hypertrophy Phase – 62
- Strength Phase - 65
- Assistance Work – 67
- 2 Day/Week, New Template – 70
- S.S.S., Singles, Speed, Size – 71
- 12 Week S.S.S. Program – 74
- Volume Work, 75/85 – 75
- 5/3/1 Challenges – 80
- Boing But Big Challenge – 82
- Strength Challenge – 88
- Prowler Challenge – 106
- 100 Rep Challenge – 113
- 5/3/1 Rest Pause Challenge – 118
- 5/3/1 Frequency Project – 123
- 5/3/1 Frequency Project – 128
- The Big Question – 129
- Final - 131