5/3/1 Triumvirate
By Jim Wendler · From Original Source
The Triumvirate as Jim Wendler first published it, in his 2009 T-Nation article: three exercises a workout, one of them a main lift. Press with dips and chin-ups, deadlift with good mornings and hanging leg raises, bench with dumbbell presses and rows, squat with leg presses and leg curls. The main lift runs the 5/3/1 wave off a training max of 90% of your max, the last set as many reps as you can, and the max goes up 5 lb on the press and bench and 10 lb on the squat and deadlift every cycle.
Free to use · auto progression, rest timers & PR tracking built in
What is 5/3/1 Triumvirate?
The Triumvirate is the sample workout Jim Wendler published with 5/3/1 itself, in his 2009 T-Nation article "5/3/1: How to Build Pure Strength". The name is the rule: three exercises per workout, one of which is a main lift. Everything else about it comes from the same page, so this is 5/3/1 as he first laid it out.
There are four workouts. The standing press is followed by dips for 5×15 and chin-ups for 5×10. The deadlift is followed by good mornings for 5×12 and hanging leg raises for 5×15. The bench press is followed by dumbbell chest presses for 5×15 and dumbbell rows for 5×10. The squat is followed by leg presses for 5×15 and leg curls for 5×10. Rest is 3 to 5 minutes between sets of the main lift and 1 to 2 minutes on the assistance work; Durata moves through those ranges over each cycle: 3 minutes and 60 seconds in week one, 4 minutes and 90 seconds in week two, 5 minutes and 2 minutes in the heavy week three, and back to 3 minutes and 60 seconds on the deload. Before each workout he asks for a warm-up of mobility, flexibility, something to raise your heart rate such as jumping rope, and foam rolling.
Is 5/3/1 Triumvirate right for you?
This suits a lifter who knows the four big lifts and wants a short, settled program to run for a long time. Wendler's article is aimed at people who will do the program as written; his first rookie mistake is customising it. It takes four days a week (he says three can work as long as all four lifts get trained before any repeats, and never more than two days in a row), a barbell and rack, dumbbells, a leg press and a leg curl. He also recommends two or three conditioning sessions a week, such as hill sprints or Prowler pushes.
How progression works
Your training max is 90% of your max, and every percentage is taken from it. Week one is 65/75/85% for fives, week two 70/80/90% for threes, week three 75/85/95% for 5, 3 and 1, and week four a deload at 40/50/60%. The last set of weeks one to three is as many reps as you can manage, which Wendler says builds the strength and the muscle; the deload week has none. At the end of each four-week cycle the training max goes up 5 lb (2.5 kg) on the press and bench and 10 lb (5 kg) on the squat and deadlift. If the last set of week three falls short of its reps, that lift's training max holds for the next cycle. The assistance lifts have no percentages: pick a weight you can do the reps with and add to it when they get easy.
Durata runs this progression for you — every session's weights are computed from your training maxes, and your logged AMRAP sets are what move those maxes.
5/3/1 Triumvirate — every set, every session
Percentages are of your training max (TM). AMRAP = as many reps as possible on the final set.
Week 14 sessions
Press — 5s week
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Overhead Press (Barbell) | 1×5 @ 65% 1×5 @ 75% 1×5+ @ 85% AMRAP | 3:00 |
| Triceps Dip | 5×15 | 1:00 |
| Chin Up | 5×10 | 1:00 |
Deadlift — 5s week
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Deadlift (Barbell) | 1×5 @ 65% 1×5 @ 75% 1×5+ @ 85% AMRAP | 3:00 |
| Good Morning (Barbell) | 5×12 | 1:00 |
| Hanging Leg Raise | 5×15 | 1:00 |
Bench — 5s week
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Bench Press (Barbell) | 1×5 @ 65% 1×5 @ 75% 1×5+ @ 85% AMRAP | 3:00 |
| Bench Press (Dumbbell) | 5×15 | 1:00 |
| Dumbbell Row | 5×10 | 1:00 |
Squat — 5s week
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Squat (Barbell) | 1×5 @ 65% 1×5 @ 75% 1×5+ @ 85% AMRAP | 3:00 |
| Leg Press (Machine) | 5×15 | 1:00 |
| Lying Leg Curl (Machine) | 5×10 | 1:00 |
Week 24 sessions
Press — 3s week
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Overhead Press (Barbell) | 1×3 @ 70% 1×3 @ 80% 1×3+ @ 90% AMRAP | 4:00 |
| Triceps Dip | 5×15 | 1:30 |
| Chin Up | 5×10 | 1:30 |
Deadlift — 3s week
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Deadlift (Barbell) | 1×3 @ 70% 1×3 @ 80% 1×3+ @ 90% AMRAP | 4:00 |
| Good Morning (Barbell) | 5×12 | 1:30 |
| Hanging Leg Raise | 5×15 | 1:30 |
Bench — 3s week
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Bench Press (Barbell) | 1×3 @ 70% 1×3 @ 80% 1×3+ @ 90% AMRAP | 4:00 |
| Bench Press (Dumbbell) | 5×15 | 1:30 |
| Dumbbell Row | 5×10 | 1:30 |
Squat — 3s week
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Squat (Barbell) | 1×3 @ 70% 1×3 @ 80% 1×3+ @ 90% AMRAP | 4:00 |
| Leg Press (Machine) | 5×15 | 1:30 |
| Lying Leg Curl (Machine) | 5×10 | 1:30 |
Week 34 sessions
Press — 5/3/1 week
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Overhead Press (Barbell) | 1×5 @ 75% 1×3 @ 85% 1×1+ @ 95% AMRAP | 5:00 |
| Triceps Dip | 5×15 | 2:00 |
| Chin Up | 5×10 | 2:00 |
Deadlift — 5/3/1 week
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Deadlift (Barbell) | 1×5 @ 75% 1×3 @ 85% 1×1+ @ 95% AMRAP | 5:00 |
| Good Morning (Barbell) | 5×12 | 2:00 |
| Hanging Leg Raise | 5×15 | 2:00 |
Bench — 5/3/1 week
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Bench Press (Barbell) | 1×5 @ 75% 1×3 @ 85% 1×1+ @ 95% AMRAP | 5:00 |
| Bench Press (Dumbbell) | 5×15 | 2:00 |
| Dumbbell Row | 5×10 | 2:00 |
Squat — 5/3/1 week
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Squat (Barbell) | 1×5 @ 75% 1×3 @ 85% 1×1+ @ 95% AMRAP | 5:00 |
| Leg Press (Machine) | 5×15 | 2:00 |
| Lying Leg Curl (Machine) | 5×10 | 2:00 |
Week 44 sessions
Press — Deload
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Overhead Press (Barbell) | 1×5 @ 40% 1×5 @ 50% 1×5 @ 60% | 3:00 |
| Triceps Dip | 5×15 | 1:00 |
| Chin Up | 5×10 | 1:00 |
Deadlift — Deload
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Deadlift (Barbell) | 1×5 @ 40% 1×5 @ 50% 1×5 @ 60% | 3:00 |
| Good Morning (Barbell) | 5×12 | 1:00 |
| Hanging Leg Raise | 5×15 | 1:00 |
Bench — Deload
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Bench Press (Barbell) | 1×5 @ 40% 1×5 @ 50% 1×5 @ 60% | 3:00 |
| Bench Press (Dumbbell) | 5×15 | 1:00 |
| Dumbbell Row | 5×10 | 1:00 |
Squat — Deload
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Squat (Barbell) | 1×5 @ 40% 1×5 @ 50% 1×5 @ 60% | 3:00 |
| Leg Press (Machine) | 5×15 | 1:00 |
| Lying Leg Curl (Machine) | 5×10 | 1:00 |
5/3/1 Triumvirate — common questions
Why only two assistance exercises a day?
Because that is the Triumvirate: three exercises a workout, one of them the main lift. Wendler is wary of piling on assistance work and calls it majoring in the minors; it should help the main lifts, not take from them.
What training max should I start with?
90% of your one-rep max. Wendler adds that his 3RM is about 90% of his 1RM, so a fresh three-rep max can stand in for the calculation. Durata can also estimate a max from any recent hard set.
How long is a session?
About 30–40 minutes: three working sets of the main lift with long rests, then ten sets of assistance. The deload week is quicker.
Which days should I train?
Durata puts it on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday: press, deadlift, bench, squat, in the article's order. Any four days work as long as you never train more than two days in a row.
Is there an app that runs 5/3/1 Triumvirate for you?
Yes. Durata runs 5/3/1 Triumvirate as written, free: the 4-day-a-week schedule, every set and rep, and the progression built in. Log your sets and the next session's weights are worked out for you, with the stalls and deloads the program calls for; a tap on any lift shows why the weight moved. It is on iPhone and Android, works offline, and your history from Hevy or Strong imports free.
Source: Based on Jim Wendler's 5/3/1
Durata is not affiliated with or endorsed by the program's author. The program structure (sets, reps, exercise selection) is presented as published methodology.
5/3/1 is a trademark of Jim Wendler.
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