68 reviews for 5/3/1 Building the Monolith

3 weeks complete

8 years of prior experience

More than expected strength gains

More than expected muscle gains

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.🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💪

6 weeks complete

8 years of prior experience

More than expected strength gains

More than expected muscle gains

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.

1 week complete

8 years of prior experience

As expected strength gains

As expected muscle gains

I probably run this program once a year for the last 3 years. I love how simple it is at its core but it's genuinely a test physically and mentally, especially toward the end of the program. At this point, I have to make pretty severe changes to the program to accommodate my limited time as a parent and some nagging injuries that flare up here and there. The first time I ran it, I gained 15lbs and hit new Bench, Squat, and DL PRs. Gotta eat and focus on recovery though or the later half of the program will break you.

3 weeks complete

1 year of prior experience

As expected strength gains

Less than expected muscle gains

Can’t knock the program too much as I don’t have much experience. This program is for those with much more experience than I have (been lifting for 9 months). I will say this though: it is TOUGH. You need to rest and eat a lot.

3 weeks complete

8 years of prior experience

As expected strength gains

As expected muscle gains

If you are familiar with Wendler and 531 this program has been written about in his books. It sucks you in to a false sense of belief that it is a relatively easy program on paper but it grinds on as the weeks progress. This is not a program to attack with half measures and minimal effort. It will kick your arse by week 6.

6 years of prior experience

More than expected strength gains

More than expected muscle gains

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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