How 5/3/1 works
Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 is one of the most popular strength programs ever written. It's built around four main lifts — press, deadlift, bench and squat — each trained once a week on a rolling 4-week cycle. The genius is its restraint: you base everything on a deliberately conservative number and grind out small, sustainable gains over months instead of chasing maxes every session.
The training max
Every percentage in 5/3/1 is calculated from your training max (TM), not your true one-rep max. Wendler sets the TM at 90% of your 1RM, which keeps the work submaximal and repeatable. Enter your 1RM above and the calculator takes 90% automatically, or switch to enter a TM directly.
The four weeks
- Week 1 — 5s: 65% × 5, 75% × 5, 85% × 5+
- Week 2 — 3s: 70% × 3, 80% × 3, 90% × 3+
- Week 3 — 5/3/1: 75% × 5, 85% × 3, 95% × 1+
- Week 4 — deload: 40% × 5, 50% × 5, 60% × 5
The last work set of weeks 1 to 3 is an AMRAP — as many reps as possible with good form. That single set drives the progress; the rest is practice. The deload week is light on purpose, so don't add reps to it.
Progression
After each cycle, add to your training max: 2.5 kg / 5 lb for the upper-body lifts (press, bench) and 5 kg / 10 lb for the lower-body lifts (squat, deadlift). Re-run the calculator with the new TM and repeat. When your AMRAP sets stall, reset that lift's TM down by around 10% and build back up.
A note on the numbers
These are the canonical Wendler percentages. Countless variants exist (BBB, FSL, 5's PRO, Joker sets) that change the supplemental work, but the core main-lift scheme above is the foundation they all build on. Round to your real plates — the calculator does this for you — and don't ego-lift the AMRAP on a bad day.