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5/3/1 for Beginners
5/3/1 for Beginners is Jim Wendler's beginner template, and the program r/Fitness names as the next step after a first linear progression. It is built into Ægir Iron and free to load for individual lifters and for athletes on a coach's roster.
This is not the same program as 5/3/1
Both are Wendler's and both share the core sets, but they are laid out differently and should not be confused. The standard 5/3/1 runs one main lift a day over a four-week wave with a deload. This one runs two main lifts a day over a three-week cycle with no deload week, and its supplemental work is First Set Last rather than Boring But Big. Ægir Iron ships both.
The three-week cycle
Sets, reps and percentages change each week on a repeating three-week cycle, and the third set of each lift is taken for as many reps as you can. Percentages are of your training max, which is ninety percent of an estimated one-rep max.
| Week | Core sets | First Set Last |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 5 @ 65% · 5 @ 75% · 5+ @ 85% | 5x5 @ 65% |
| Week 2 | 3 @ 70% · 3 @ 80% · 3+ @ 90% | 5x5 @ 70% |
| Week 3 | 5 @ 75% · 3 @ 85% · 1+ @ 95% | 5x5 @ 75% |
After the main lifts, pick one push, one pull and one single leg or core movement and do 50 to 100 reps of each. Wendler is deliberate that the number of sets does not matter and that you should not overthink the choice.
At a glance
| Discipline | Powerlifting |
| Experience level | Beginner, and the usual step up from a first linear progression |
| Length | 12 weeks, as four three-week cycles |
| Training days | 3 per week |
| Equipment | Full power gym |
| Loading | Percentage of a training max, resolved live from your PR page and rounded to the nearest five pounds. |
| Price | Free for individual lifters and rostered athletes |
Free for individual lifters and for athletes on a coach's roster. Coaches pay only for roster tools.
How it works in Ægir Iron
The grid is identical every cycle, on purpose. What climbs is your training max, and that is the whole progression: Wendler has you add 5 lb to the upper-body lifts and 10 lb to the squat and deadlift at the end of each three-week cycle. Ægir Iron writes each cycle as its own cycle, so when you finish one the app offers to advance your maxes off the all-out sets you actually logged, and every set in the next cycle reprices itself. If you never take the prompt the program genuinely will not get heavier, which is worth knowing before you start.
Every 5/3/1 variant is written against a training max rather than a true best, so when you load it you say whether the number saved on your PR page is a one-rep max, in which case the app takes ninety percent for you, or already a training max. Getting that backwards would prescribe eighty five percent of ninety percent and quietly turn the hardest week into a moderate one.
Start 5/3/1 for Beginners
Open Ægir Iron, go to Program and choose New Program, then the Program Wizard. On the first screen pick Powerlifting, then choose 5/3/1 for Beginners from the cards under WHAT DO YOU WANT TO RUN? Its own page shows how the loading runs and which lifts it needs a max for before you commit. It is free on iOS, Android and the web, with your data synced across all three.