r/531Discussion • u/AutoModerator • 5d ago
September 03, 2025 | Daily Training Log & Simple Questions
Please use this post to discuss your training for the day or any simple questions you have! Talk about how lifts went, your workouts PRs achieved, goals set, whatever!
USEFUL LINKS
- 5/3/1 FAQs <<<<< start here!
- 5/3/1: Common Errors and Ideas on how to Customize it to your Needs
- Routine Picker - template decision tree
- 5/3/1 Primer - 531 principles & concepts
- 5 Common Misconceptions... About 5/3/1
- Training After an Illness
- Jim Wendler's Blog
- 5/3/1 Forever book
- 5/3/1 Forever Table of Contents
COMMON TEMPLATES
- 5/3/1 for Beginners
- Boring But Big: Beefcake Training
- Building the Monolith
- 5/3/1 Beach Body Challenge
- Boring But Big 3-Month Challenge
- 5/3/1: How to Build Pure Strength
- Building the Monolith - 5/3/1 for Size
- Comprehensive list of public templates
TOOLS
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u/GlitteringCatch6381 5d ago
Back to running after about two months off. The "easy" 3 miles aren't as easy anymore. I'm supposed to guide a trail run this Sunday so wish me luck lol.
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u/RidingRedHare 5d ago edited 5d ago
How long is that trail run with how much vert?
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u/GlitteringCatch6381 5d ago
9 miles with 1800ft of vert. Which is like a short and flat-ish run when I'm in my usual running routine. I really didn't plan on taking a break for so long over summer.
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u/RidingRedHare 5d ago
One or two more easy runs before Sunday will help a bit. You've done so much trail running that most of the fitness will still be there despite the two months break.
In any case, your experience will get you through.
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u/GlitteringCatch6381 5d ago
Oh yeah for sure! I'm not really worried about making it. I don't have to be fast, it's gonna be a slower group. But there will be DOMS.
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u/HumbleHubris86 Template Hopper 5d ago
Dang that's a lot of elevation. I ran the hilliest 12 miles (on road) I could map out starting at my house and just hit 1000ft. There's a bit more undulations on trails that add up but still, must be a steep climb.
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u/GlitteringCatch6381 5d ago
Not really, around here it's just a very normal route on the trails. We're not out in the mountains on Sunday, those are just the hills next to the city lol. And it's not one big climb, it's more just rolling up and down for the whole thing. Bit then it does add up, yeah. Still, I'd say a run is steep when it has more than ~3000ft in about 10-13 miles.
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u/PressnDeads 5d ago
531 Limited Time (85% TM)
Agile 8
Box Jumps 5x2
Squat 85kg x 5 - 97.5kg x 5 - 110kg x 9 Squat FSL Widowmaker 85kg x 19
Incline Bench 52.5kg x 5 - 60kg x 5 - 67.5kg x 10 Paused Reverse Cable Flies 5x20
SLDL 3x10 Top Set @ 85kg
Cable Rows ss DB OHP 3x10-15
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u/IronSwingJourney 5d ago
Really liking keeping the Olympic lifts in as a warm up. Capping it at ten reps. Hit Hang Power snatches worked up to 50kg for two doubles. Then hit my bench workout. Last session I did the same with hang power cleans, working up to a 80kg double before my squat session.
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u/Stigjohan 5314B 5d ago
531 for beginners, 7th cycle, 1+ week
Main and supplemental work (kg)
- Bench: 5 @50, 3 @55, 10 @62.5, 5x5 @50 FSL
- Squats: 5 @65, 3 @72.5, 9 @80, 5x5 @65 FSL
Assistance work:
- Hanging leg raise (superset with bench) 3x7, 5x8 reps
- Barbell row: 3x10, 1x8, 1x9 @40 kg
- 75° incline DB press: 3x13, 2x12 @12 kg
I'm doing a deload / TM test in the coming week, and looking forward to log some PRs then!
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u/sarkdaddy 5d ago
Forever BBB - 3rd cycle - Week 3 - BENCH DAY
Real struggle today as I only hit 4 reps out of 5 on my heavy set. The worst part is I dropped the barbell on my face as I attempted a 5th rep. I feel as though my FSL anchor held me back...
After my first two cycles of Forever BBB, I did a deload week then a cycle of FSL Anchor. Then I returned to Forever BBB..I was making progress before but I feel the lack of volume on main sets in the anchor did damage. I am kinda sad I couldn't hit my 5 reps today on my heaviest set but I'll persevere. Thinking I will keep my TM the same for next cycle since I was so close. Thoughts?
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u/SeparateDeparture614 531 Forever 5d ago
You didn't get 5 reps @95% TM? Then I would lower my TM.
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u/RidingRedHare 5d ago
I noticed your comment from almost three months ago.
You seem to have a tendency of setting your bench TM way too high. Don't do that. If you can't get 8 reps on your 3+ set and 5 reps on your 1+ set, lower your TM.
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u/sarkdaddy 5d ago
Back then I dialed my TM back 10 lb after that failure and had been working my way back up.
Are you referring to a TM Test when you mention the 3+ and 1+? I have been following Forever BBB from his book which doesn't include AMRAP so I am not sure what my total reps would be if I pushed all the way. But if this is something I can do in a TM Test then I will do a TM Test next week
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u/RidingRedHare 5d ago
If your using 5's Pro, you also need to get 5 reps on your top set.
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u/sarkdaddy 5d ago
I'll be honest, not sure what 5's PRO means. That term has always confused me. I am doing the variation where it's 5 reps for the three main lift sets every week, then followed by 5x10 supplemental, then accessory work
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u/HumbleHubris86 Template Hopper 5d ago
Did you do any amrap sets on the anchor? What did you get on those?
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u/sarkdaddy 5d ago
I did do them for the anchor. I got 6 reps on the 3+ and 5 reps on the 1+. Then I increased my TM by 5 lb going into this leader template this cycle
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u/Voimanhankkija 5d ago
Leviathan C1W1D2 - Squat
Leviathan sets up to a single @ TM - 242 lbs
SSL 5x5
Incline DB bench 3x11
Leg curls 3x11
Assisted neutral grip chinups - 2x9 1x7
Back at it after deloading!
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u/Hartel0610 5d ago
Hey fellow gym goers!
I’ve been on and off with training for a few years, and recently stumbled across 5/3/1 completely by accident.
After reading up on the philosophy behind it, I was hooked—and ended up buying Forever soon after. Here’s my dilemma: since it’s been a while since I last trained, I wanted to ease back into things, so I decided to start with Beginner Prep School. I didn’t do a “normal” TM test week. Instead, I followed Jim’s method from the BPS section for finding my Training Max.
The issue is, once I tested my maxes and settled on weights, my very first workout felt way too heavy. At first, I even forgot to include the bar in my calculations (so my numbers were off by 20 kg). After fixing that, I still struggled on the 95% sets—barely managing 1 rep on both squat and bench. I’m also not sure if I should be including the bar’s weight when working with TMs and percentages, which might be throwing things off.
Overall, I couldn’t hit the suggested rep ranges for the last few sets, usually topping out at just 1–2 reps.
So my question is: did I mess up the calculations somewhere, or is this kind of struggle normal when starting out?
Either way, I’m still stoked to be training again—even if I’m not quite hitting the ranges yet!
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u/CarnivoreEating 5d ago
Starting back up too heavy is awful, while starting backbup too lightbis a blessing in disguise.
I trained 5/3/1 for years ending about a decade ago. At the time I stopped, i had a 330lb bench and over a 400 deadlift.
When i came back to it, i started really light for three reasons. First, it does tend to avoid injury. Second, the AMRAP sets feel like little wins. Third, it allows for rediscovery of the pattern of movement to get you back in the awing of things.
I started so low that I could hit 10 AMRAP sers on the 1’s week with great bar speed (Jim currently on his weekly live streams talks about bar speed being the no 1 thing to look at. And, even when training lower weight, gains are being made.
In my example, i started with a 180 lb max and used 90%. I’m now in cycle 11 which has a max of 235. On the 1’s week, i still hit 10. It is getting really hard to do 10, but I’m still hitting it. Thus, its been constant gains for over 8 months, no resers, and huge growth in muscle size and strength.
The only lift that I can no longer get 10 on the AMRAP 1’s week is OHP. I’m now down to 8 or 9 on the 1’s week.
Just ser the max really low when starting and lift lift lift. 5/3/1 is soooo self refulating. Have good bar speed and enjoy!
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u/Hartel0610 5d ago
That makes total sense. I think I might have followed the blueprint a bit too rigidly.
Do you think I should just change my TM based on the weight I just did? Or just pick a number I know I can comfortably lift and go from there?
Thanks for taking the time to reply, the book is very thorough, but sometimes I think it merely glances over bits that I find inportant😅
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u/Doyle_Hargraves40 5d ago
It sounds more like you didnt follow the blueprint at all honestly. The BPS section, which I just looked at for the first time, says to work up in increments doing sets of 5 reps to establish your training max. The TM is that top set of 5 weight, not a one rep max which it sounds like you must have used. Otherwise, it doesn't make any sense you'd only get 1 rep at 95% of that weight. Start over and find weights you can do for 5 reps. Plug that in. Looks like the first workout after that in BPS tops out at 90%x5. This should be pretty easy considering you should be able to do 100% x5. If it's too heavy you messed up.
And ALWAYS include the weight of the barbell!
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u/Hartel0610 5d ago
I messed, you're completely right there. In the Lifting section he writes that you test by doing sets of 5 until the bar speed is compromised, and then figure out your EM using the formula from there.
I don't remember the weight I did, although I remember being able to do it comfortably. I then inputed it into the formula which gave me the EM which I then took 85-90% of to get my TM.
But seeing as the weight was way to heavy, I think you understood what he wrote a bit better than me, so I'll try that out!
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u/Doyle_Hargraves40 5d ago edited 5d ago
My guess is you may have entered the estimated max formula incorrectly. To be honest I'm not sure why he even brings up using the formula. In general, a weight you can do 5 reps with is around 85% of your 1 rep max. So the resulting calculation after taking 85% of the estimated max should have been right around the 5 rep weight you entered in the first place. So let's say you worked up to 150 lbs for 5 reps during your test workout. You then use the formula which would be:
150 x 5 x 0.033 = 24.975
150 + 24.975= estimated 1rm of 175 lbs
175 x 85% = 148.7 lbs TM (150lbs)
See what I mean? The 85% TM is basically just what you did for 5. Didn't really need to calculate. You would use the calculator if you wanted to do 90%, or if you were using a set you did more than 5 reps of. Otherwise it's not needed.
So then using this 150lbs example, if still doing BPS, your first workout would be: (excluding warmup sets)
105lbs x 5, 120lbs x5, 135lbs x 5, then 5 sets of 5 at 105 lbs.
All of this would be doable and pretty easy considering you already know you do 150 x 5, and those sets are all less than that
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u/Hartel0610 5d ago
That makes total sense. I also redid the calculation, and I 100% did something wrong😅
I did what you said, and the weights seem much more manageable, so I'll work from here.
Thank you so much for taking the time to help! I was really confused, so it's greatly appreciated!
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u/BWdad 5d ago
Always include the weight of the barbell in all your calculations. You should: 1) Find your 1 rep max or estimated 1 rep max for each lift.
2) Take 85-90% of that number to find your TM for each lift.Alternatively, another way you could do this is you could just work up to a heavy set of 5 reps and use that weight for your TM. That is, your TM equals the weight you can lift for 5 reps.
No matter how you find your TM, you should be able to get AT LEAST 5 reps on all your sets for the first 3 weeks.
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u/Voimanhankkija 5d ago
For the sake of TM purposes, yes, you do include the bar. It is weight you lift, after all.
You're supposed to get 5 solid reps at 100% TM if using a 85% TM. Only getting one rep means you've gone way too heavy
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u/Hartel0610 5d ago
Perfect, I thought as much. I could feel the weight being too heavy quite early, but thought that it was supposed to be like that.
For the sake of calculating your TM, how do you do it? I worked my way up from bar till a certain weight I could do with at least 2 reps in reserve, but using this weight I ended up with a way too heavy TM. This was even by not including the bar in the weight. So I'm a little confused how it ended up being so much heavier than expected.
Thanks for taking the time to reply!
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u/Voimanhankkija 5d ago
I'd pick a weight where you know you'll get 5-10 solid reps, max. I'm just horrible at estimating reps in reserve so I simply... don't. Do as many reps as you'll get. Then use the reps x weight x 0,0333 + weight to figure out your e1RM, and take 85% off of that.
So assuming you got 8 reps at 200 lbs - 8x200x0,0333+200=253lbs. Your new TM would then be 253*0,85=215 lbs, and your 1+ week top set would be 215*0,95=205 lbs
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u/HumbleHubris86 Template Hopper 5d ago
Deload is over. It got a little extended due to starting a new job. My schedule is stabilizing and I'm getting back to it.
Mon: 12 mile long run. Mapped a route to include the 4 largest hills around, a little over 1000 ft or climb. The 11th mile I ran ~30sec/mile faster than "race pace" and 12th mile ~30sec slower. A pretty tough day.
Tues: DL 5x335, 5x385, 5x435. Bench: 5x215, 5x245, 5x5x280. No assistance work, I was smoked from the long run and feeling off after deload.
Wed: 10x400m run with 1 min jog recovery between sets. My lungs were thrashed. A lot of volume at a high intensity. The 1 min jogs were barely enough to get me prepared for the next set. I'll stick this one into the training vault.
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u/No-Bridge-3647 5d ago
Week 1, Day 2
Deadlift
- 5 x 270
- 5 x 315
- 10 x 355
- Total volume = 6,475 rep*lbs (+2.0 %)
Accessories
- Walking lunges - 5 sets x 10 reps
- Sandbag husafell carry - 5 sets x 40 yds x 100 lbs, 90-second rests
- Neutral-grip cable lat pulldowns - 4 sets x 15 reps
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u/taylorthestang 531 Forever 5d ago
Hard Conditioning Day (yall need to do this one)
You’ll need a pair of 2.5 lb plates and 1.25 lb plates for this to work. You’ll do 5 reps of front squat, overhead press, pushups, chin-ups.
Pyramid up to 100 lbs from 80 lbs in 5 lb increments, then do one less set going down by 2.5 lbs increments. Then, back up to 100.
So, it went like this for weights:
80, 85, 90, 95, 100 97.5, 95, 92.5, 90, 95,100 97.5, 95 100, 97.5 100
Rest just enough to change weights and keep moving. I think next time I would program this to have a consistent “floor” instead of a consistent “ceiling”, since hitting the top weight got much more difficult as fatigue set in.
This gets you 80 reps of squatting, pressing, chins, and pushups in about 20 minutes, not a bad days work. I just made this up last night after getting my 1.25 plates in the mail. Of course you can do this with 10s and 5s if that’s all you have. The point is you go up/down by different increments until you meet in the middle or die.
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u/carlitooocool 5d ago
Due to my schedule and location I've been running a once a week 5/3/1 program. For background I lift once a week while i wall climb/boulder twice a week.
The program goes like:
531 Squats
531 Bench
3x6 Deadlifts @ 60% TM
Accessory Work:
55 reps of pull ups (2x15 reps, then aim to reach the last 25 reps in the least amount of sets)
55 reps of machine shoulder press (2x15 reps, then aim to reach the last 25 reps in the least amount of sets)
Hangboarding protocols
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I switch squats and deadlifts per cycle. For example, once I finish 5/3/1 for squats, on the next cycle i will run 5/3/1 for deadlifts and do 3x6 Squats @ 60% TM.
I increase my working weight for the accessory work if I am able to do 2x15,1x25
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I've been running this since May 2025 and I've been seeing some gains:
Squats TM: 50kg -> 60kg
Bench TM: 45kg ->62.5kg
Deadlift TM: 90kg -> 100kg
Unfortunately I have not seen any increase in weight for my accessory work.
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Generally I lift as a supplement to my climbing. I feel stronger and am able to finish harder climbs. I would love to hear your comments or if you any of you have similar experiences, or if there is any better way to do this?
Cheers