157 reviews for 5/3/1 for Beginners
5/3/1 for Beginners is a popular variation of the 5/3/1 training methodology for beginners and novice lifters to dramatically increase their strength on the squat, bench, deadlift, and overhead press.
Be sure to check out 5/3/1 Forever book, which collects Jim's thinking on 5/3/1 with his latest training methods and over 50 training templates. Go to www.jimwendler.com to learn more.
5/3/1 for Beginners is free on Boostcamp App. You can also find other 5/3/1 templates like 5/3/1 Boring But Big and 5/3/1 Building the Monolith in app format for free on Boostcamp.
Read the 5/3/1 program guide below.
Chris A.
Man, 342 weeks complete
3 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
The only changes that I made was instead of doing the 5 x 5 I did five sets of 10 at the end of my 321 
Michael A.
Man, 202 weeks complete
3 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
after running the first time through i feel a little beat up. make sure your recovery is on point and you take the plus sets seriously.
Moore M.
Woman, 152 weeks complete
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Didn’t like how there isn’t much variety of options/workouts
Petar B.
Man, 222 weeks complete
5 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
Less than expected muscle gains
Solid for beginners, also for someone who's back into powerlifting after a longer pause
Wadih Al Chabab
Man, 262 weeks complete
1 year of prior experience
As expected strength gains
Less than expected muscle gains
Good for powerlifting but for hypertrophy just help maintain it.
Jeanculasec
Man, 352 weeks complete
2 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
531 plays exactly as it says: slow, but consistent results. It is made so that you dont worry too much about your day to day reps besides the AMRAP, so that only a year later you'll look back into the progress you've made. Perfect for "busy" people One thing to not overlook is CONDITIONING. I learnt why Wendler put so much emphasis on that in the book. Most of my sets ended because I was out of breath instead of muscular failure
David B.
Man, 702 weeks complete
8 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Only week 2, but like what I have see
Nathan W.
Man, 492 weeks complete
1 year of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Solid introduction to training loads and easy to follow instructions/program.
James J.
Man, 592 weeks complete
1 year of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Great starter, able to modify to suit.
Dan S.
Man, 482 weeks complete
8 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
I like the bare-bones nature of this programme. I swapped the accessory movements for ones that worked for me and retained the core lifts but replaced the second bench session with bent over row