445 reviews for 5/3/1 Boring But Big
5/3/1 Boring But Big (BBB) is a popular variation of Jim Wendler's famous 531 method for intermediate lifters to gain size and strength. It focuses on high volume accessories to induce hypertrophy after the main strength sets.
5/3/1 BBB is based on Jim Wendler's original article and is also free on the Reddit r/fitness wiki. Be sure to check out Jim's 5/3/1 Forever book, which collects all of Jim's methods.
5/3/1 BBB is free on Boostcamp App. You can also find other 5/3/1 templates like 5/3/1 for Beginners and 5/3/1 Building the Monolith in app format.
Read the full 5/3/1 program guide below.
David G.
Man, 523 weeks complete
8 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
More than expected muscle gains
Great program.
Dev K.
Man, 223 weeks complete
5 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Classic really amazing for really dialing down on the main lifts, I’m more into bodybuilding though so I decided to modify it to a bit more of a bodybuilding style and found big success with it!!
Neeraj K.
Man, 383 weeks complete
8 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Liked it. But for some reason my wife was not able to do with the default weight mentioned for her. She had updated her rep max properly .
Tommy L.
Man, 403 weeks complete
2 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
More than expected muscle gains
I have been regularly training for a year, but without a dedicated program, mainly doing the lifts I felt like. I have very much enjoyed the 5/3/1 program, hitting PRs and not dreading the workouts being too heavy has been great for me. I like knowing I have 1 set each day that I need to push, and all the other sets are just a bonus. I don't find it boring, enjoy focusing on these main lifts, I enjoy also doing a lot of abs work and lats as assistance and doing 5x10 on those is nice and I will be sweating by end of workout. At end of first 3 weeks I felt very tired so the deload week also feels like a must so I can keep this program up for a long time.
Tanveer Zaman
Man, 273 weeks complete
1 year of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Its a good program to slowly gain strength and increase weight on the bar. Especially for beginners or intermediate
Woman, 20
3 weeks complete
2 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
- saw/felt a great amount of progress - track your 1 rep max before and after the program - pair with cardio!!!!! - use alternate exercises when the repetitiveness gets boring
Jim J.
Man, 353 weeks complete
8 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
I added a large number of accessory lifts to compliment the primary lifts. Average of 9 exercises each with 5 sets of 10 reps.
Victor P.
Man, 343 weeks complete
5 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
Less than expected muscle gains
It was a nice program to get me back to my working weights, without burning me out, after a month off around the holidays. If you are used to moderate or high volume/intensity it will seem light, but as i understand it is meant to be run for more than 1 cycle in order to shine. I was very happy with how it was structured however. Unfortunately the instructions to add accessories as per your wish is very general, but hey, it is free. So all in all it seems like a good program with slow reliable progression.
Eric K.
Man, 343 weeks complete
7 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Great program for getting back into it!
무지성랄뚜기
Man3 weeks complete
3 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
It's good