Basic 5/3/1 Calculator

Enter your lifts and get the original 5/3/1 program - three working sets per lift, four days a week, with every weight calculated and nothing else prescribed.

Your lifts

Weight × reps of a recent hard set for each lift.

Training max

Run Basic 5/3/1 in the 531 Tracker app

The app generates the same cycle, pre-fills every weight, logs your AMRAP sets, flags rep PRs automatically and bumps your training maxes when the cycle ends. Add whatever assistance you like. Works offline, no account needed.

Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play

What is Basic 5/3/1?

Basic 5/3/1 is the program with nothing added: the four main lifts, three working sets each, four days a week, and a training max that goes up every cycle. Every other 5/3/1 template - Boring But Big, First Set Last and the rest - is this program with a particular kind of supplemental work bolted on. This page is the core.

Each day is one lift: overhead press, deadlift, bench press, squat. You warm up, do three sets at percentages of your training max, and take the last set for as many reps as you can. Then you do whatever assistance you want, or none. The calculator above generates all three weeks plus the deload - enter a recent hard set for each lift and every weight is worked out and rounded to what you can load.

The percentages

Everything is a percentage of your training max, which is 85-90% of your true one-rep max - the calculator takes 85% by default. The three weeks step up in weight and down in reps:

  • Week 1, the 5s week: 65% × 5, 75% × 5, 85% × 5 or more.
  • Week 2, the 3s week: 70% × 3, 80% × 3, 90% × 3 or more.
  • Week 3, the 5/3/1 week: 75% × 5, 85% × 3, 95% × 1 or more.
  • Deload: 40% × 5, 50% × 5, 60% × 5, run after every second cycle.

The "or more" is the point of the program. The first two sets of each day are warm-ups in all but name; the last one is where you earn progress. The calculator can also lay the weeks out in 3/5/1 order - 3s week first - which keeps the two heaviest weeks apart. Same weights, different sequence.

The AMRAP set

The last set of each day is done for as many reps as you can with good form - not to failure, and not with reps that grind or bend. Stop when the next rep would be ugly. The prescribed number (5, 3 or 1) is the minimum; anything above it is a rep record to beat next time you see that weight.

Rep records are how 5/3/1 measures progress between cycles. Your training max goes up a fixed amount each cycle whether you had a good month or not, so the AMRAP reps at each weight are what tell you whether you are actually getting stronger. The app tracks these automatically; on paper, write them down.

If you prefer straight sets - every set for the prescribed reps, no AMRAP - switch the calculator to 5s PRO. That version is usually paired with supplemental work; on Basic 5/3/1 there is little reason to give up the rep records.

Adding assistance

Basic 5/3/1 prescribes no assistance work, and the classic way to run it is to add a small amount of your own. Two approaches that have stood the test of time:

  • A push, a pull and a single-leg or core movement each session, 50-100 reps of each. Dips, chin-ups, rows, lunges, back extensions, ab wheel. This is the default recommendation for anyone unsure.
  • Two exercises per day, a few sets of 10-15. Pick something that supports the day's lift - dips and chin-ups on press day, good mornings and hanging leg raises on deadlift day - and keep the weights modest.

Or nothing. Main lifts only, in and out in forty minutes, is a legitimate way to run the program - for a busy month, an in-season athlete, or an older lifter managing recovery. If you want the supplemental work prescribed for you, that is what the other templates are for.

Progression and deloads

When the three-week cycle ends, add 2.5 kg (5 lb) to your press and bench training maxes and 5 kg (10 lb) to squat and deadlift, and run the cycle again. That is the whole progression, and it is deliberately slow: 5/3/1 is built to keep working for years, not to squeeze out a month of fast gains.

Run a deload week - the light 40/50/60% week the calculator shows - after every second cycle. If you miss the minimum reps on an AMRAP set, do not raise that lift's training max next cycle; if it happens twice, drop it by 10% and build back up. Stalling on 5/3/1 is almost always a training max that has drifted too high.

Who Basic 5/3/1 is for

Lifters who know what assistance they need and want the program to stay out of the way. Experienced lifters coming from other programs, people with limited time, athletes lifting around a sport, and anyone who has run the other templates and wants a stripped-back cycle. It is also the right template if you are combining 5/3/1 with a lot of conditioning or another activity, because it asks the least of your recovery.

If you are new to lifting, run 5/3/1 for Beginners instead - it adds the practice volume a beginner needs. If you are new to 5/3/1 but not to training, First Set Last is the usual starting point.

Common mistakes

  1. Using your real max as the training max. The percentages assume a training max of 85-90% of your one-rep max. Enter a recent set, not a hope.
  2. Grinding the AMRAP set. As many good reps as possible, not as many reps as possible. A missed rep or an ugly one teaches you nothing.
  3. Doing too much assistance. "Add your own" is not an invitation to add a bodybuilding program. A few movements, moderate sets.
  4. Skipping the deload. Every second cycle. It is when the previous six weeks get absorbed.
  5. Raising the training max after a bad cycle. If you missed reps, hold it or reset. The program only works if the numbers stay honest.

Questions about Basic 5/3/1

What are the 5/3/1 percentages?

Week 1: 65%, 75% and 85% of your training max for sets of five. Week 2: 70%, 80% and 90% for sets of three. Week 3: 75% for five, 85% for three and 95% for one. The last set each day is done for as many reps as possible. The deload week is 40%, 50% and 60% for sets of five. All percentages are of your training max, which is 85-90% of your true one-rep max.

What warm-up sets should I do?

The standard warm-up is 40% × 5, 50% × 5 and 60% × 3 before the working sets. The calculator adds these when you tick Show warm-up sets. Add an empty-bar set or two before that if you need them; do not add anything between 60% and the first working set.

Can I run Basic 5/3/1 on three days a week?

Yes. Keep the same four workouts and rotate through them - week one is press, deadlift, bench; week two is squat, press, deadlift; and so on. Each cycle then takes four weeks instead of three. Two days a week also works: one upper and one lower lift per session, and a cycle takes six weeks.

What is the difference between 5/3/1 and 3/5/1 week order?

3/5/1 swaps the first two weeks so the 3s week comes first. The weights are identical; the point is that the 3s week and the 5/3/1 week - the two heaviest - are not back to back. Some lifters recover better on it. The calculator can generate either.

What do I do if I miss the minimum reps on the last set?

Finish the session, but do not raise that lift's training max at the end of the cycle. If it happens in two cycles in a row, drop the training max by 10% and work back up. Missing reps on 5/3/1 almost always means the training max is set too high, not that you had a bad day.

How often should I deload?

After every second cycle - roughly every seven weeks. The calculator shows the deload week separately: 40%, 50% and 60% for sets of five, main lifts only. If you are older, recovering poorly or running a lot of conditioning, deloading after every cycle is fine too.

Is Basic 5/3/1 good for beginners?

Not the best choice. Beginners need more practice at the lifts than three sets a week gives them, and they usually do not know what assistance to add. Run 5/3/1 for Beginners - three days, two lifts a day, with 5×5 supplemental sets built in - and come back to Basic 5/3/1 later.

What assistance work should I add?

A push, a pull and a single-leg or core movement each session, 50-100 reps of each, is the safe default - dips, chin-ups, rows, lunges, back extensions, ab wheel. Or two exercises a day for a few sets of 10-15. Or nothing at all. If you want the supplemental work prescribed, use First Set Last or Boring But Big instead.

What are joker sets?

Optional heavier sets taken after a strong AMRAP set - singles or triples at 5-10% more than the top set, on days you feel exceptionally good. They are not part of the basic program and the calculator does not schedule them. If you use them, use them rarely; the app supports them if you want to log them.

Other 5/3/1 templates