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Bigger, Stronger, Baseball

Bigger, Stronger, Baseball

I've known the author, Nick, for over 10 years now.  Not only does he like to shoot his meals and has passable taste in music, but he is a great strength coach. I've seen how his players respond and work for him. The difference between an average/good coach and a great one is usually communication. How does he get his athletes to believe in him and trust in his process? Is he able to get his message to an athlete without resorting to gimmicks or abandoning his principles?  NIck has this in spades. Now read up. - Jim Wendler '17
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Excerpt from 5/3/1 FOREVER: Bodyweight Assistance Work

Excerpt from 5/3/1 FOREVER: Bodyweight Assistance Work

The following is an excerpt from the new book, 5/3/1 Forever.  This book outlines how to program all areas of your training including assistance work. Yes, that's right; no more questions about assistance work. Everything is tied up, nice and tight AND allows for a lot of personal choices.  Each and every program detailed in the book has a specific assistance profile which allows you to plug in a variety of different movements; all customized to you.
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Boring But Big, 3 Month Challenge

Boring But Big, 3 Month Challenge

Since I released the first edition of 5/3/1: The Simplest and Most Effective Training System for Building Raw Strength in 2009, I've been asked many questions about supplemental and assistance work.

The most popular, effective, and brutal accessory plan is something I called Boring But Big.

The Boring But Big supplemental program is simple. After completing the strength work with the basic exercise (squat, press, bench press or deadlift), you perform 5 sets of 10 reps with a lighter weight. This might not seem like much work, but it'll lead to new gains in strength and hypertrophy.

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5 Ways to Increase Your Press

5 Ways to Increase Your Press

Ever since I started pressing, I have been obsessed with making it better. Partly because I was so weak at it for so long (which meant that it had no place to go but up) and because it is simply a cool exercise to do. The death of the Press as a movement can be attributed to a lot of things, none of which actually matter. BUT, if you view this lift with as much enthusiasm as I do, use these tips to improve what I consider to be one of the most fun movements in the gym.

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Jim Wendler Bench Press - Quote

Bench Press - How To Set Up In 8 Steps

However you choose to bench press, make sure every single rep, regardless of weight is done with perfection. This goes for the squat, deadlift, press and any other big barbell lift. I've never seen any strong, experienced lifter take any set lightly - they demand perfection from the bar to their max. Think back to the last time you bench pressed - did you have a perfect set-up on the very first rep with the empty bar? Did you treat it with the same importance as your last max attempt? The beginner still thinks there must be some kind of special secret or trick. A veteran lifter always makes sure the simple things are taken care of; they aren't ever sexy but they always work.
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Pressing the Bar Overhead Kicks Ass

Pressing the Bar Overhead Kicks Ass

I needed to rely on my gut and my experience, and certainly not any trends. I had to start by being brutally honest with myself and realize that I was plain weak. Weak everywhere. Everything needed to get stronger. Weak Point Training, while good in theory, suggests that you have "strong points." I'm sorry, but few people with such glaring holes can really classify themselves as strong, period. So I resolved to make everything strong.
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5/3/1 For College & Pro Baseball

5/3/1 For College & Pro Baseball

I recently got a text from a good friend of mine who is a university strength and conditioning coach. He is the head coach for all sports and works directly with the baseball team. For 2.5 months (about 3 cycles) he used the 5/3/1 BBB training plan and reported the following...

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Read Before Engaging In Weak-Lift Shaming

Read Before Engaging In Weak-Lift Shaming

Question: What would you do to bring up a weak lift? For example, my dead, press, and squat are about right relative to each other but my bench is comparatively very weak. It's embarrassing. How would you recommend using 5/3/1 to fix something like this?

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Building the Monolith - 5/3/1 for Size

Building the Monolith - 5/3/1 for Size

6 Week Training Template for size: So this template is not easy but it is very doable – but only if you are dedicated to making it happen. “Dedicated” doesn’t just mean that you want to do it; it means you are dedicated to doing what it takes to get it done and that means EATING right. I had 4 people run this and all of them ate like champions – all ate at least..
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5/3/1 for Beginners

5/3/1 for Beginners

Now if you're a beginner and are working out without any guidance whatsoever, it's probably best to just stick with the basic program. One of the worst things a young lifter can do is take advice from other beginners on message boards –  they usually have all the advice and none of the experience.
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5/3/1 and a 10K

5/3/1 and a 10K

Hey Jim, first off I wanted to say thank you for writing the 5/3/1 program. I love it, it keeps me grounded and I am making great gains from it. So much so that I wanted to share them with you. You don't hear a lot about conditioning goals being reached on here so I thought you might appreciate this.
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531 Boring But Big

Boring But Big

Without a doubt, the Boring But Big is the most popular assistance template for the 5/3/1 training program.  This is because it is easy to program, easy to use and great for both strength and size.  There are two basic ways to do the Boring But Big template:

Example 1

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