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The Great 5 Day 5/3/1 Routine

Squat Rack large

I found this routine inevitably online somewhere years ago so I cannot take credit for it. This 5 day 5/3/1 routine is just amazing for increasing your 1 rep max quickly (within months). This will primarily focus on the Squat/Bench/Deadlift workouts but can be really used for anything.

The key focus is using a percentage of a Training Max. In order to figure out yours you initially take 90% of your 1 Rep Max and that becomes your Training Max. Afterwards, one day a week, you do an AMRAP set which then adds weight to your Training Max the following week as follows:

0-1 Reps: No increase

2-3 Reps: Add 5lbs

4-5 Reps: Add 5-10lbs

> 5 Reps: Add 10-15lbs

The process then repeats each week. You start with your 5 rep sets in Week 1, then your 3 rep sets in Week 2, and then in Week 3 you do 3×5, 3, 1. Week 4 you restart.

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