5/3/1 Calculator

5/3/1 is a strength program created by powerlifter and coach Jim Wendler, built around four barbell lifts. Each cycle lasts four weeks: a week of 5s, a week of 3s, a week of 5, 3 and 1, then a lighter deload week. Every weight in the program is a percentage of a training max, a number set a little below your real one rep max (1RM).

What the 5/3/1 Calculator Measures

This calculator does not test your strength. It turns your 1RM, a recent set or your current training max into a set-by-set plan for one cycle, plus the training max for your next cycle.

The Formula

Training max = 1RM x 0.90 (or x 0.85)

Estimated 1RM, if you enter a set of more than 1 rep = weight x (1 + reps / 30)

Set weight = training max x the week's percentage, rounded to your increment

Next training max = training max + 5 lb (bench press and press) or + 10 lb (squat and deadlift)

Wendler's rule is that the training max is 90% of your best gym lift¹. Some of his later programs start at 85%². The estimate from a set uses the Epley formula, the same one our One Rep Max Calculator uses.

How This Calculator Computes Your Result

Choose lb or kg and a rounding increment, such as 5 lb or 2.5 kg. Then enter, for any of the four lifts, either your 1RM (leave reps at 1) or a recent hard set of up to 12 reps. If you already run 5/3/1, switch to "Training max" and enter your training max directly.

The calculator multiplies each training max by the percentages below and rounds each weight to the nearest multiple of your increment (an exact halfway value rounds down). It shows a 4-week table for each lift and your next-cycle training max, which the "Plan next cycle" button fills in for you.

What Your Result Means

Each week has three main sets. All percentages are of your training max, not your 1RM. A "+" marks a plus set: do as many good reps as you can, with at least the listed number³.

For example, a 315 lb squat max gives a training max of 283.5 lb. Week 1 is then 185 x 5, 215 x 5 and 240 x 5+, rounded to 5 lb. Your top set in week 3 is 95% of the training max, which is only about 86% of your real max. That gap is on purpose. It lets you hit good reps and still make progress.

After the deload, add weight to each training max and start again:

Wendler raises the squat and deadlift by 10 lb and the press by 5 lb each cycle¹, and reproductions of the program add 5 lb to the bench press too³. The kg values are the nearest standard plate jumps.

How to Set Your Training Max

Start from a recent max or a hard set you did with good form. A set of 10 reps or fewer gives a better estimate than a long set. For the deadlift, an estimate from a set may run low: in one study, every 1RM prediction equation tested underestimated it⁴. That makes the training max more cautious, not too heavy. If you are unsure between two numbers, pick the lower one. Wendler advises erring on the light side and not raising your training max if your reps were slow, grinding or in poor form⁵. If you miss the target reps on a plus set, keep the same training max next cycle.

Boring But Big Supplemental Work

Boring But Big (BBB) is a popular Wendler add-on: 5 sets of 10 reps of the same lift after the main sets. His general rule is 50 to 60% of the training max, and in the deload week he suggests the same 5 x 10 or cutting it to 3 x 10⁶. Turn on the BBB option to add these sets to your plan at 50%, 60% or 70% of your training max.

What the Evidence Says

No study has tested 5/3/1 itself, but its two main ideas have been studied. 5/3/1 is a form of periodization, a plan that changes load and reps from week to week. A 2022 meta-analysis found that periodized programs gave greater 1RM strength gains than non-periodized programs with the same total volume, though muscle growth was similar⁷. Plus sets let your effort on the day shape the work, a kind of autoregulation. A 2022 review of 15 studies found that adjusting load by effort or bar speed gave similar strength gains to fixed percentages⁸.