5x5 vs 5/3/1 for beginners: which should you run first?

Run 5x5 first if you are new to the barbell. It adds weight every session, and a new lifter can keep that up for months. Move to 5/3/1 for beginners once you keep missing reps and resetting, because it adds weight only once per 3-week cycle.

Both plans run on progressive overload, which means asking your muscles for a little more over time. Our progressive overload guide covers the idea in full. Below you get how each plan adds weight, a kilogram example of each, and 1 rule for when to switch.

What is the difference between 5x5 and 5/3/1?

5x5 means 5 sets of 5 reps on a few barbell lifts, with the same weight on every set. The lifts are the squat, bench press, barbell row, overhead press and deadlift. Our plan alternates 2 full-body sessions, with squats every time. StrongLifts, the best-known version, runs 3 days a week with 2 alternating workouts. The deadlift gets 1 working set of 5, because it builds fatigue faster than any other lift in the plan.

5/3/1 for beginners is built on Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 method. Every weight is a percentage of a training max. A training max is 90% of the most you can lift for one rep. Wendler's own site sets the work from percentages of the training max, and The Fitness Wiki's beginner version does the same.

Each week has a plus set. A plus set is the last working set of a 5/3/1 week, marked with a plus sign. Do as many clean reps as you can and stop 1 or 2 short of failure. Failure is the point where you cannot do another clean rep.

A Sherdog thread puts the difference in one line. 5x5 is a set and rep scheme, while 5/3/1 is a full program of percentages and cycles.

How does 5x5 add weight?

Hit every rep on every set, and next session the bar goes up. Add 2.5 kg on the squat, bench, row and press, and 5 kg on the deadlift.

Here is how fast that moves. Squat 60 kg on Monday, 62.5 kg on Wednesday and 65 kg on Friday. Next Monday it is 67.5 kg. That is 7.5 kg a week, because you squat every session.

The stall rule is just as plain. Miss reps for 3 sessions in a row, and cut the weight by 10%. A squat stuck at 100 kg drops to 90 kg, and you build back up in the same 2.5 kg steps.

Why does this suit a beginner? A new lifter recovers from one session to the next, so the bar can climb every time. Squatting every session also gives you practice. The Sherdog thread makes that point too: new squatters need to squat often. For most people, adding weight keeps working for 8 to 16 weeks from an untrained start. The full plan, with every exercise, set and rep, is on our 5x5 strength plan page.

How does 5/3/1 for beginners add weight?

Finish a 3-week cycle, and the training max goes up. Add 2.5 kg for the bench press and overhead press, and 5 kg for the squat and deadlift.

Here is the same lift on 5/3/1. A 100 kg squat max gives a 90 kg training max. After 1 cycle it is 95 kg. After 4 cycles, about 12 weeks, it is 110 kg.

Now put the 2 side by side. 5x5 can add 22.5 kg to a squat in 3 weeks, from 9 sessions of 2.5 kg jumps. 5/3/1 adds 5 kg to the training max in the same 3 weeks. Slower on paper is the point. Once the fast gains run out, a jump you can recover from beats a jump you keep missing.

The plus set shows progress inside the cycle. The Fitness Wiki calls it an AMRAP, short for as many reps as possible. More reps at the same percentage than last cycle means the training max has room to climb.

The beginner version has no deload week. It runs cycle after cycle without one, because its extra 5 sets of 5 stay light. If your lifts drop, take a week at the same weights with about 60% of the sets. Our 5/3/1 for beginners page shows the week, each workout with sets and reps, and how to add weight.

Which one should you run first?

Run 5x5 first if you have never trained with a barbell, or your lifts still climb every session. A brand-new lifter can add weight every session for months. Most people get more from 3 to 6 months of a simple linear plan first. Linear progression means adding the same small jump every session. The forums agree. One MyFitnessPal thread says a 5x5 such as StrongLifts is probably better when you are just starting. In another, a lifter describes starting on StrongLifts 5x5 and then moving to 5/3/1.

Run 5/3/1 for beginners first in 3 cases. You are back after a break, you already know the lifts, or you cannot recover from heavy squats 3 times a week.

Be honest about the trade-off. 5/3/1 needs a max to start, and a new lifter's estimate is a guess. You can estimate it with our 1RM calculator, but an estimate is not a tested max. If you have never tested it, a set of 5 is roughly 87% of your max. Start low rather than high.

Neither plan appeals? Our 3-day full-body plan for beginners alternates Workouts A and B on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It is written for beginners who want steady progress without living in the gym.

The research does not crown a winner. A Brookbush Institute review found most studies in novices show no significant difference between periodization models. The Strength Athlete summarizes 2 of them: Simão (2012) with 30 untrained men and Kok (2009) with 20 untrained women. Those samples are small, so treat this as low certainty. The plan you finish matters more than its design.

When should you switch from 5x5 to 5/3/1?

Switch when the reset stops working. You missed reps for 3 sessions in a row, cut 10%, built back up, and the second run stalls at about the same weight. That is a pattern, not a bad day.

One rough session after a bad night is not a trigger. One rough session is not a signal. A pattern across a week is.

Before you switch, run 2 checks from Mark Rippetoe on the Starting Strength forum. Are you eating and sleeping enough? Have you tried smaller jumps? If your gym has small plates, a 1 kg jump on the press can buy a few more weeks. Our guide on how to break a training plateau covers the other options.

Then set your first training max from your 5x5 numbers. Take a hard set of 3 to 8 reps you finished with clean form, and put it into the 1RM calculator. The Epley formula is 1RM = weight × (1 + reps ÷ 30). A squat of 100 kg for 5 reps estimates 116.7 kg. Take 90%, and your training max is about 105 kg.

Can you switch back, or run both lifts differently?

Yes. You do not have to move every lift on the same day. A Starting Strength forum thread supports switching one lift at a time, once that lift stops moving. The press usually stalls first. Your deadlift might still take 5 kg jumps while the press moves to a cycle.

Going back to 5x5 after a long break is fine. The first sessions climb quickly again, and the 2.5 kg jumps pick up where your strength left off.

Almost nobody runs a 5x5 forever, and nothing is wrong when it ends. It did its job when it stopped.

How does Trackist run this idea?

Trackist does not run 5x5 or 5/3/1 by name. Its weight suggestion does not follow training-max percentages. Our Trackist vs Boostcamp comparison is the place to see when another app suits you better.

What Trackist does instead: you answer 14 questions, and it writes its own plan of 4 to 12 weeks. From your second session of an exercise, a line above it suggests today's weight. That suggestion comes from your last session's sets, target reps and logged RPE. RPE is how hard the set felt, on a scale of 1 to 10. Hit the top of the rep range on every set, and the barbell goes up 2.5 kg. Fall short, and Trackist keeps the weight, takes about 5% off or leaves the call to you.

You can still borrow either layout. The plan editor lets you shape a day to a 5x5 structure. For 5/3/1, you can lay out the days and type your weights from the percentages as you log. The exercise page charts your estimated one-rep max between cycles.

Plans of 6 weeks or more end with a deload week: the same weights at about 60% of the sets. Trackist gives no weight suggestion in that week.

Log your next session in Trackist. Trackist writes a plan around your week and your gym, and suggests your next weight from the sets you logged.

Putting it together

Start with 5x5 while every session still adds weight. Expect 8 to 16 weeks of steady jumps from an untrained start.

Switch to 5/3/1 when resets stop working. Set the training max at 90% of an honest estimate, and start low rather than high.

Both plans build muscle as well as strength, with strength moving faster. If size is the main goal, our hypertrophy workout plan fits better after 6 months of training. Browse the rest in our workout plans.

Pick the plan you will still run in 3 months.