62 reviews for 5/3/1 Building the Monolith

1 week complete

6 years of prior experience

As expected strength gains

More than expected muscle gains

This is a great program I added some accessories such as Lateral Raises and Abs

6 weeks complete

8 years of prior experience

As expected strength gains

As expected muscle gains

I was coming back to the gym after a year of very sporadic presence. This simple yet challenging program helped me get back on track and helped gain back some of the gains I lost. I will most likely revisit once I’ve gone through one or two more programs. Only modification I made were to do my chin ups on the cable machine cause I am not a 100 chin up man! I may have skipped the dips too by lack of time. Still glad with the changes I’ve seen in the mirror. Can’t give all the credit to muscle memory, the program really helped my regularity.

3 weeks complete

8 years of prior experience

As expected strength gains

As expected muscle gains

I like the flow of the program. I modified it quite a bit to meet my general workout goals (mainly adding in additional accessory exercises to also target lower body muscle groups). I wish there was a longer duration of this program with 1RM testing and auto adjustments to lift weights.

3 weeks complete

6 years of prior experience

As expected strength gains

As expected muscle gains

Good stuff

6 weeks complete

3 years of prior experience

As expected strength gains

As expected muscle gains

I ran this a few months ago. Then I ran the TSA intermediate. Then NSuns. This one takes the cake (as long as that cake is actually just made of a dozen eggs and a kilo of ground beef). You will get big. You will get stronger. You must do the off day cardio. Must. Otherwise it will not work correctly. I learned to love the weighted vest. Some users say this is only good for people on juice. Those users are pussies. You don’t need anything other than sufficient caloric intake and a dedicated mind to make this work. I spread the dips and chins out over the full workout. Supersets are your friend. Your endurance will improve. The widow maker sets over 200lbs get sticky. If you’ve ever wondered if you could chase down a full grown yak and throttle it to death with your bare hands this program won’t get you to that point but it is a step in the right direction.

1 week complete

8 years of prior experience

As expected strength gains

As expected muscle gains

This program is a tough nut. This is a program you run once and then ease of on a easier and less heavy couple of weeks. Remember not to run this indefinetly as it's better to do a couple of times a year.

5 weeks complete

2 years of prior experience

More than expected strength gains

As expected muscle gains

Halve the number of reps for the first run and then keep repeating the program while gradually increasing the reps toward 100-200

3 weeks complete

8 years of prior experience

As expected strength gains

As expected muscle gains

This program is tough. Necessary to Eat right sleep well for recovery.

3 weeks complete

8 years of prior experience

More than expected strength gains

More than expected muscle gains

Great program

3 weeks complete

8 years of prior experience

As expected strength gains

As expected muscle gains

Overall good program. It has its strengths and weaknesses like any other program. You will never find the perfect program as everyone is different. Some modifications were done due to time constraints, but it is a decent program that will help you develop and progress well.