4 reviews for 5/3/1 Powerbuilding Routine

8 years of prior experience

As expected strength gains

More than expected muscle gains

Don’t let the one review scare you. Yes, this program has a lot of volume, but it it definitely manageable as long as you take some time off every 3-4 cycles. Strength gains were as expected for a 5/3/1 program. What I did not expect was body comp changes I got. Measurements were conducted every 2 weeks with an InBody 770. Over 3 cycles (April-July) I gained 3.5lbs of muscle and dropped 4.4lbs of fat. Overall I went up 0.5lbs of total body weight, but dropped from 21.8 to 18.8% body fat. I was very impressed considering I was a 300-400kcal deficit most days, and I have 10 years of training experience. I can definitely attribute muscle gain in that deficit to the high volume/high intensity of this program.

1 year of prior experience

As expected strength gains

As expected muscle gains

This is the only program that I gain reward

5 years of prior experience

Less than expected strength gains

Less than expected muscle gains

Word to the wise for anyone that wants to try this program, be sure you use a training max that is 90% of your ORM for the first week and don’t set it up based on your actual ORM. This is outlined in the book but not mentioned here. Also the program had a lot of volume that is not sustainable for more advanced lifters. Didn’t even bother to complete the 4 weeks, halfway through week 2, I just got a copy of the 5/3/1 book from a friend and used the actual Simplified Strength workout this one is trying to modify. Much simpler and actually a manageable program.