5/3/1 2 Days per Week

Training 5/3/1
1

In the 2nd edition, he says…

Mon
Squat 5/3/1 sets and reps
Bench 5/3/1 sets and reps

Wed or Thur
DL 5/3/1 sets and reps
Press 5/3/1 sets and reps

What does “5/3/1 sets and reps” mean… does that mean you do the 3x5, 3x3 and the 5/3/1 all in one day? Or just the 5/3/1 at the 75%, 85%, 95%? Doing just 3 sets of 5 reps is only 15 total reps (plus whatever extra in the 3rd set) and doing all of it seems like a lot of reps.

How long is the cycle, 4 or 6 weeks?

Probably all stupid questions, but thank you in advance.

2

531 sets and reps means that you just do the sets and reps for the corresponding week just like normal 531.
for the 2 lifts that you are doing that week you would do:
week 1 and 2: 65% x 5 75% x 5 85% x 5+
week 3 and 4: 70% x 3 80% x 3 90% x 3+
week 5 and 6: 75% x 5 85% x 3 95% x 1+

due to the fact that you are doing 2 of the four lifts per week, the cycles are now 6 weeks not including a deload:
week 1: bench and squat 65% x 5 75% x 5 85% x 5+
week 2: press and dead 65% x 5 75% x 5 85% x 5+
week 3: bench and squat 70% x 3 80% x 3 90% x 3+
week 4: press and dead 70% x 3 80% x 3 90% x 3+
week 5: bench and squat 75% x 5 85% x 3 95% x 1+
week 6: press and dead 75% x 5 85% x 3 95% x 1+

3

Thank you for the reply.

Wouldn’t it be the below because it is two days per week?

week 1:
day 1: bench and squat 65% x 5 75% x 5 85% x 5+ 
day 2: press and dead 65% x 5 75% x 5 85% x 5+Â

week 2:
day 1: bench and squat 65% x 5 75% x 5 85% x 5+ 
day 2: press and dead 65% x 5 75% x 5 85% x 5+Â

week 3:
day 1: bench and squat 70% x 3 80% x 3 90% x 3+
day 2: press and dead 70% x 3 80% x 3 90% x 3+Â

week 4:
day 1: bench and squat 70% x 3 80% x 3 90% x 3+
day 2: press and dead 70% x 3 80% x 3 90% x 3+Â

and then the 75/85/95% for the final two weeks.

4

A cycle still lasts 6 weeks and you still increase your training max after 3.

You follow the normal percentages, you are just doing two main lifts each day.

Here is a sample week 1:

Monday
Squat - 65% X 5, 75% X 5, 85% X 5+
Bench - 65% X 5, 75% X 5, 85% X 5+
Assistance Work (e.g. rows, curls, back raises, abs)

Thursday
Deadlift - 65% X 5, 75% X 5, 85% X 5+
Press - 65% X 5, 75% X 5, 85% X 5+
Assistance Work (e.g. chins/pull-ups, dips, abs)

When training two days a week, you can still choose to do FSL, BBB, SST, etc.

5

Weeks 2 and 3, just to be clear.

Week 2

Monday
Squat - 70% X 3, 80% X 3, 90% X 3+
Bench - 70% X 3, 80% X 3, 90% X 3+
Assistance Work

Thursday
Deadlift - 70% X 3, 80% X 3, 90% X 3+
Press - 70% X 3, 80% X 3, 90% X 3+
Assistance Work

Week 3

Monday
Squat - 75% X 5, 85% X 3, 95% X 1+
Bench - 75% X 5, 85% X 3, 95% X 1+
Assistance Work

Thursday
Deadlift - 75% X 5, 85% X 3, 95% X 1+
Press - 75% X 5, 85% X 3, 95% X 1+
Assistance Work

Increase your TM and start over.

6

yeah. my bad, I was assuming you were just doing the 2 lifts per week. you got it right…

7

yeah, what bruce said

8

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it.