Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 strength cycle has stood the test of time in the world of powerlifting. Powerlifting a focus on training the basic multi joint movements and a foundation of our programming at EDCF. Wendler states that “the bench press, parallel squat, deadlift, and standing press have been the staples of any strong man’s repertoire. Those who ignore these lifts are generally the people who suck at them. If you get good at those, you’ll get good at other stuff, as they have such a huge carryover.” Now are we training for Strongman competitions or to just get huge? Not necessarily. We would like to strengthen joint and core stability as well as overall raw strength which will carry over into other types of training inside the gym or sport/life outside the gym.
The key to Wendler’s program is the basic concept periodization, a method that has been in strength and conditioning for quite a while. Does that make his method new and novel? Not at all. It is simplified and effective though. Basically the method is designed to start light with more reps then move heavier decreasing the number of reps on a certain movement each week. At the end of the cycle you take a deload week(s) then add about 5% to your previous max and start again. A typical four week Wendler 5/3/1 cycle looks like this:
Week 1: 3 x 5
Week 2: 3 x 3
Week 3: 3 x 5, 3, 1
Week 4: deloading
We are starting off putting this method to work on the strict press. If favorable results ensue, look for this method to also be applied to the bench press, low bar back squat, and deadlift.