5/3/1 Building the Monolith

by Jim Wendler

2,804 athletes joined

Jim Wendler's size building template. BtM is for advanced athletes and is harder than 5/3/1 BBB

4.36

(68 ratings)

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

5/3/1 Building the Monolith (BtM) was created by Jim Wendler, world renowned powerlifter and coach. BtM is designed for advanced athletes with many years of consistent training under their belt.

To learn more about Jim's famous 5/3/1 training philosophy, be sure to check out his 5/3/1 Forever book, which collects all of Jim's thinking on 5/3/1 training methods. Go to www.jimwendler.com to learn more.

5/3/1 BBB is free on Boostcamp App. Also check out 5/3/1 for Beginners or 5/3/1 Boring But Big, which are also free on Boostcamp.

Read the full 5/3/1 program guide below.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Level
Advanced
Goal
Powerbuilding, Powerlifting
Equipment
Full Gym
Program Length
6 weeks
Days Per Week
3 days
Time Per Workout
90 minutes

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4.8 Stars with 10, 000+ Ratings

WEEK 1

WEEK 2

WEEK 3

WEEK 4

WEEK 5

WEEK 6

Day 1

Squat (Barbell)

5 reps

70%

80%

90%

Overhead Press (Barbell)

5 reps

5+ reps

70%

80%

90%

70%

Chin-Up (Bodyweight)

100 reps

Face Pull

100 reps

Dip (Bodyweight)

100-200 reps

Day 1

Squat (Barbell)

5 reps

65%

75%

85%

Overhead Press (Barbell)

5 reps

5+ reps

65%

75%

85%

65%

Chin-Up (Bodyweight)

100 reps

Face Pull

100 reps

Dip (Bodyweight)

100-200 reps

Day 1

Squat (Barbell)

5 reps

75%

85%

95%

Overhead Press (Barbell)

5 reps

5+ reps

75%

85%

95%

75%

Chin-Up (Bodyweight)

100 reps

Face Pull

100 reps

Dip (Bodyweight)

100-200 reps

Day 1

Squat (Barbell)

5 reps

70%

85%

90%

Overhead Press (Barbell)

5 reps

5+ reps

70%

80%

90%

70%

Chin-Up (Bodyweight)

100 reps

Face Pull

100 reps

Dip (Bodyweight)

100-200 reps

Day 1

Squat (Barbell)

5 reps

65%

75%

85%

Overhead Press (Barbell)

5 reps

5+ reps

65%

75%

85%

65%

Chin-Up (Bodyweight)

100 reps

Face Pull

100 reps

Dip (Bodyweight)

100-200 reps

Day 1

Squat (Barbell)

5 reps

75%

85%

95%

Overhead Press (Barbell)

5 reps

5+ reps

75%

85%

95%

75%

Chin-Up (Bodyweight)

100 reps

Face Pull

100 reps

Dip (Bodyweight)

100-200 reps

Day 2

Deadlift (Barbell)

5 reps

70%

80%

90%

Bench Press (Barbell)

5 reps

70%

80%

90%

Dumbbell Row

10-20 reps

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)

100 reps

Day 2

Deadlift (Barbell)

5 reps

65%

75%

85%

Bench Press (Barbell)

5 reps

65%

75%

85%

Dumbbell Row

10-20 reps

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)

100 reps

Day 2

Deadlift (Barbell)

5 reps

75%

85%

95%

Bench Press (Barbell)

5 reps

75%

85%

95%

Dumbbell Row

10-20 reps

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)

100 reps

Day 2

Deadlift (Barbell)

5 reps

70%

80%

90%

Bench Press (Barbell)

5 reps

70%

80%

90%

Dumbbell Row

10-20 reps

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)

100 reps

Day 2

Deadlift (Barbell)

5 reps

65%

75%

85%

Bench Press (Barbell)

5 reps

65%

75%

85%

Dumbbell Row

10-20 reps

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)

100 reps

Day 2

Deadlift (Barbell)

5 reps

75%

85%

95%

Bench Press (Barbell)

5 reps

75%

85%

95%

Dumbbell Row

10-20 reps

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)

100 reps

Day 3

Squat (Barbell)

5 reps

20 reps

70%

80%

90%

45%

Overhead Press (Barbell)

5 reps

70%

Chin-Up (Weighted)

5 reps

Face Pull

100 reps

Shrug

100 reps

Day 3

Squat (Barbell)

5 reps

20 reps

65%

75%

85%

55%

Overhead Press (Barbell)

5 reps

50%

Chin-Up (Weighted)

5 reps

Face Pull

100 reps

Shrug

100 reps

Day 3

Squat (Barbell)

5 reps

20 reps

75%

85%

95%

55%

Overhead Press (Barbell)

5 reps

75%

Chin-Up (Weighted)

5 reps

Face Pull

100 reps

Shrug

100 reps

Day 3

Squat (Barbell)

5 reps

20 reps

70%

80%

90%

50%

Overhead Press (Barbell)

5 reps

60%

Chin-Up (Weighted)

5 reps

Face Pull

100 reps

Shrug

100 reps

Day 3

Squat (Barbell)

5 reps

20 reps

65%

75%

85%

65%

Overhead Press (Barbell)

5 reps

65%

Chin-Up (Weighted)

5 reps

Face Pull

100 reps

Shrug

100 reps

Day 3

Squat (Barbell)

5 reps

20 reps

75%

85%

95%

70%

Overhead Press (Barbell)

5 reps

75%

Chin-Up (Weighted)

5 reps

Face Pull

100 reps

Shrug

100 reps

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING(68 ratings)

Only ratings with written feedback are displayed here.

4.36 / 5

Gregg C.Age 47, Man

7 days ago

3 weeks complete

8 years of prior experience

More than expected strength gains

More than expected muscle gains

Marginal modifications

100% recommend this program I've trained for over a decade bodybuilding style programs but after a few years of getting into the worst shape of my life and not committing to any kind of fitness I thought it would try this program but not expecting bodybuilding results,but I've been totally blown away ,trust the process and don't add anything if your thinking there's not enough exercises it absolutely ticks all the boxes.🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💪

Boostcamp UserAge 44, Man

13 days ago

6 weeks complete

8 years of prior experience

More than expected strength gains

More than expected muscle gains

Marginal modifications

Started this program after my first powerlifting comp where I hit 434lb squat 270lb bench and got one white light on a 583 deadlift attempt at 209 body weight. With those numbers I started with about 77% training max on squats and 85% on everything else and ran the program back to back for 12 weeks. Just hit 5x5x350 squats without any struggle in this last week of my second time through. Body weight increased to 219lbs in these 12 weeks eating “like a champ.“ Although I could not keep up on the 1.5 lbs ground beef everyday I did get about 8-10 eggs every day and ate probably 3500+ calories on average always hitting over 200g protein. Some fat gain but really not much considering almost 10lbs of weight gain, mostly upper body muscle. For accessories I just did 100 reps or as many reps as possible over 10 sets max. Also added calf raises and subbed lateral raises for face pulls in the second time through. Of course 20 rep squats were challenging, but really not as bad as I expected, probably because I started with 77% TM on squats. Final day of second cycle was still 275lbs. Also did the cardio air bike riding, weight vest walking, and in the second time through added a couple boxing classes a week instead of other cardio. Plan to test some PRs after this week or maybe after running 1000% awesome template, but already hit rep/weight PRs for squats 5x5x350 and deadlifts 3x5x475. Bench is feeling stronger so we’ll see if I can get something close to 300 finally. Overall great program as long as you eat to gain weight and don’t be scared.

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5/3/1 Building the Monolith Program Guide

5/3/1 Building the Monolith is a popular advanced training program known for building solid muscle size.

BtM runs in 6 week cycles, with a basic weekly periodization on the main compound movements–Squat, Bench, Deadlift, Overhead Press–of Medium/Light/Heavy intensity for 3 weeks, then repeats with an extra ~5 lbs for upper body lifts and an extra ~10 lbs for lower body lifts in the last 3 weeks of the program.

There is A LOT of volume in the program for accessory lifts with 100 chins/facepulls/dips every Monday, 100 rows/curls every Wednesday, and 5x5 weighted chin ups, 100 facepulls/shrugs and widowmaker sets every Friday.

531 BTM PROGRAM INSTRUCTIONS

Setting your Training Max for 5/3/1 BtM
According to Jim Wendler, if you are smart, you should first run the program for 6 weeks with a lower than you think TM (85% of your 1RM). Assess how you feel, and increase or decrease your 1RM for the next training cycle.

This means that when you are starting the program, enter ~85% of your actual 1RM in the Boostcamp program onboarding.

Adjusting your Training Max after Week 3

Once you're done Week 3, you need to manually adjust your 1RM in Program Settings, which will calculate your increased weights for the last 3 weeks of the program.

Add 2.5-5 lbs (or 1-2.5 kg) for Bench Press and Overhead Press, and add 5-10 lbs (or 2.5-5 kg) for Squat and Deadlift. The increases are general guidelines and assume that you were able to complete all the sets and weights required in the first 3 weeks.

Starting another cycle after week 6

Once you complete 6 weeks of 531 BtM, you've completed one cycle of the program. To begin a new cycle, you can automatically do so in the app. Note that 5/3/1 BtM is an incredibly intensive program, and is generally not recommended to be done for back-to-back cycles without breaks.

531 BTM FAQ

Difference between 5/3/1 BBB & Building the Monolith?

Overall, 531 BtM is harder and even more physically demanding than 531 BBB. Trainees who've had experiences with both would recommend starting with 531 BBB, which can be run for many cycles back-to-back with great results. 531 BBB is aimed for advanced, highly dedicated lifters.

How to eat on 531 Building the Monolith?

531 BtM requires a lot of dedication in the gym and outside of the gym. This means that in terms of diet, you need to be eating right. Per Jim Wendler, he had athletes eating 1.5 pound of ground beef a day and a dozen eggs a day, along with other meals, for 6 weeks. Read his original article for details.

5/3/1 Building the Monolith reviews and results

You can find 5/3/1 building the monolith reviews below or on Reddit r/weightroom. It is a popular advanced programs that people have seen incredible size and strength gains from.

5/3/1 Building the Monolith app

5/3/1 Building the Monolith app is free on Boostcamp, the last lifting app you'll ever need. Boostcamp is not affiliated with Jim Wendler. For more info on Jim Wendler's training philosophy, be sure to visit www.jimwendler.com for his writing, books, and store.