Been thinking of switching to 5/3/1 For Beginners and wanted to get some thoughts on it from others that have run it.
A little background on me. After practically no prior lifting experience, I did Stronglifts 5x5 from August to December 2017 and got great results. Switch to Phraks' Greyskull variant December to present. Again, great results. I liked both programs but both have their downsides. SL5x5... once the weights started to get heavy, I hated having to deadlift right after doing heavy squats. I really loved the AMRAP set on the Phrak's variant.

5/3/1 For Beginners seems like it's tailored well to me. Using a spreadysheet I found online... my program would look like so:



A couple of questions...

After running the program for 3 weeks... how much do I up my training maxes?
Any recommendations for the accessories? Do I need to mix them up a bunch? For example, could I just pick to do the following every day?
Push: 5x5 dips, 3x10 Pushups
Pull: 3x5 Chin-ups 3x5 Rows, 3x10 Face Pulls
Single Leg/Core: Planks 3x1:30 3x10 Reverse Crunch

Go up 5 lbs for bench and OHP. 10 lbs for squat and DL.

Pick accessories that support the major lifts.
Eg. Bench - dips, rows, a tricep variation, another bench , etc. Don't overthink it.

Squats - pit squats, lunges, GHrs, reverse hyper, etc

Welp, I did the first work out during lunch today... Despite the weights being lighter than my usual loads, I felt pretty wrecked from the volume. Especially on squats.

It's also a much longer workout than the Phrak's one or SL5x5. I could usually do those in about 30-40 minutes, with a few core accessories added at the end. This took me 75 minutes... with less rest time between sets.

So after 3 weeks... I only add 5 lbs on my bench? I was hoping to add more than that since Phrak's and SL5x5 add 2.5 lbs to 5lbs per workout. But the last few weeks of those... a considerable amount of time was spent deloading.

I cant remember the exact rule of thumb i used for adding weight, but it was based on the AMRAP for week 3. generally, if i was able to get 0-3 reps in, i'd keep the weight the same next cycle. 3-7 reps - i'd add the next increment of weights (5 for bench 10 for squat/dl). if i was able to hit 8 or more, i'd add double the normal increment since the weight was too light to start with.

Wendler is about developing real strength. That takes time. I did his program for a couple years and it paid off in some great strength gains without killing my joints. It's the program I compare all others too.
I believe the increment increase is five on bench, 10 on squat and deadlift. Give it six months minimum. You'll make progress.
He writes a lot for his own site and T-nation, where talks accessory lifts and conditioning.

back when I was lifting a lot, 5/3/1 was my standard framework. i think it's one of the best systems for someone with a small to medium amount of lifting experience. you WILL get stronger if you follow the system, dont overtrain, and dont get hurt. full stop.

Just finished my first week on the program.

I really enjoy it. Like mentioned previously, it's a much longer workout than I'm used to. Getting through the Squats/Bench or DL/OHP takes me close to 45 minutes. Then I spend another 30-45 minutes on accessories. The 5x5 sets after performing an AMRAP set are killer! Even with such lower weight.

Not entirely sure about accessories, still. I've started doing hanging leg raises instead of planks, but keeping everything else the same.

I might start to venture off into the machines, but I've never really used them (except for face pulls) so I'll just have to figure them out.

Just finished my first week 3 workout and felt great. Able to get 10 reps and 5 reps on my AMRAP squat and bench sets, respectively.

So, looking ahead to next week, after increasing my TM 5-10 lbs on each lift, my week 1 lifts will be a lot less than week 3.

I haven't read the books (I guess I probably should), does he explain the philosophy for that? I guess for recovery? Your week 3 should be really tough since you are so close to working with your 1RM?

Really do like the program though.