Sorry to revive a quiet thread, but I’ve been really happy with 5/3/1 for the last little while. Exactly what the routine looks like changes throughout the year, but I feel like it’s been pretty positive on the balance.
As a triathlete, my racing season is generally late spring to early fall, during which I try to do a pretty standard base/build/specialty arrangement. During base and build, I like the approach Wendler outlines in the T-Nation forum for distance runners:
- Lift twice a week, two main lifts per week
- Use a training max of 80-85% instead of 90% for each lift (that’s a percentage of your 1 rep max, which you should probably be estimating instead of testing)
- Instead of 5/3/1 go with “5’s PRO and 5x5 FSL,” which is three sets of 5 reps of increasing weight (65/75/85, 70/80/90, or 75/85/95% of your training max), then 5 sets of 5 reps at the first weight
- No AMRAP (“as many reps as possible”) sets
- Do accessories appropriate for your sport in between sets of the main lifts
- Increase your training max at the end of every third week: 5lbs for upper body lifts and 10lbs for lower body lifts.
The week before an important race, or if I’m feeling rundown, I do the recovery week percentages (40/50/60) and drop the 5x5.
During the specialty phase, when I’m really focused on an A race and worried about fatigue, I drop the 5x5 entirely, and don’t up my training max. My goal during the specialty period is minimizing fatigue while making sure that when I return to strength training, I don’t get knocked over by DOMS. (My general experience - and it’s different for everyone - is that if I take a couple weeks off from strength training entirely, then the next time I pick up a barbell I’m going to be incredibly sore for several days afterward.)
Outside of my racing season, I try to prioritize strength training more. I’ll generally only swim if it sounds like fun, I’ll try to maintain consistency of running and biking without any intensity (this is a good time for supplementing fun rides with traditional base on the trainer, and watch some TV), and I’ll go with a different 5/3/1 program. I’ll reset my estimated 1-rep maximums, I’ll switch to a training max that’s 90% of that, I’ll do the 5/3/1 sets with an AMRAP finishing set, and I’ll train 3 days a week instead of just 2.