What a 5/3/1 calculator does
A 5/3/1 calculator turns your lifting numbers into a full four-week plan. You enter the squat, bench press, deadlift and overhead press. The tool gives every set for every week, with the weight on the bar and the plates to load on each side. It rounds each set to a weight your plates can make, so you do not do the math between sets.
How to use the calculator
- Pick pounds or kilograms.
- Choose if you enter a one-rep max (1RM) or a training max (TM). With a 1RM, the tool sets the TM to 90 percent of it. You can switch to 85 percent.
- Type your four numbers. The tables update as you type.
- Pick the week order, the main sets and the supplemental plan. Turn warm-up sets, joker sets and the deload week on or off.
- Open Bar and plates. Set your bar and turn off any plate your gym does not have.
- Tap a week to see its sets. Tap Print sheet for a paper copy of all four weeks.
The four weeks of the cycle
Each lift has one main day a week. Every percent is a percent of the TM. The last set of weeks 1 to 3 is an "as many reps as you can" set, shown with a plus sign. Stop one or two reps before your form breaks.
| Week | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (5s) | 65% × 5 | 75% × 5 | 85% × 5+ |
| 2 (3s) | 70% × 3 | 80% × 3 | 90% × 3+ |
| 3 (5/3/1) | 75% × 5 | 85% × 3 | 95% × 1+ |
| 4 (deload) | 40% × 5 | 50% × 5 | 60% × 5 |
The 3/5/1 order swaps weeks 1 and 2. The 5s PRO option keeps the same percents but makes every set 5 reps, with no top set to failure.
Training max: the one number that matters
Training max = one-rep max × 0.90, rounded to the nearest 5 lb (2.5 kg). A 315 lb squat 1RM gives a TM of 285 lb, because 315 × 0.90 = 283.5, and 283.5 rounds to 285. A lower TM, such as 85 percent, makes the first cycles easier. The TM is not your true max on purpose. It leaves room to add reps and to progress for many cycles.
Worked example: a 285 lb squat TM
The table uses a 45 lb bar and 45, 25, 10, 5 and 2.5 lb plates. Each weight is the closest load these plates can make.
| Set | Exact | Load | Each side |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1, 65% × 5 | 185.25 | 185 lb | 45 + 25 |
| Week 1, 75% × 5 | 213.75 | 215 lb | 45 + 25 + 10 + 5 |
| Week 1, 85% × 5+ | 242.25 | 240 lb | 45 × 2 + 5 + 2.5 |
| Week 2, 90% × 3+ | 256.5 | 255 lb | 45 × 2 + 10 + 5 |
| Week 3, 95% × 1+ | 270.75 | 270 lb | 45 × 2 + 10 × 2 + 2.5 |
Supplemental work: BBB, FSL and SSL
Supplemental sets come after the main sets. They add volume. All three plans skip the deload week.
| Plan | Sets and reps | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| BBB | 5 × 10 | 50 to 60% of the TM |
| FSL | 5 × 5 | The first main set (65, 70 or 75%) |
| SSL | 5 × 5 | The second main set (75, 80 or 85%) |
The guides we checked give BBB as 50 to 60 percent of the TM. Many lifters start at 50 percent and move to 60 percent only when 5 × 10 feels easy.
Joker sets and the deload week
Joker sets are optional extra sets after a strong top set. One guide describes them as adding 5 to 10 percent above the top set, for 1 to 3 reps, and says they are earned, not expected. This tool shows two sets, at +5 and +10 percent of the TM, with 3 reps (1 rep in the 5/3/1 week). Stopping after one set, or after none, is fine. Advice that we found says to skip them in the 5s week, so the tool leaves them out there unless you turn that on. Skip them on any day your bar speed is slow. The deload week uses light weights so your body can recover before the next cycle. Leave it in unless you have a reason to remove it.
After the cycle: raise the training max
When week 4 is done, add 5 lb (2.5 kg) to the bench press and overhead press TMs, and 10 lb (5 kg) to the squat and deadlift TMs. The calculator shows the new numbers under the sets. If you missed the minimum reps on a top set, many lifters lower the TM by about 10 percent and build back up. Do not rush the jumps.
How the plate rounding works
The smallest plate sets the step. With 2.5 lb plates, a barbell moves in 5 lb steps. A set of 213.75 lb cannot be built, so the tool picks 215 lb. If two loads are equally close, it picks the heavier one. A weight under the bar becomes the empty bar. Switch on the 1.25 lb or 1.25 kg plate to get steps of 2.5 lb or 2.5 kg.
Notes and sources
We could not open the books, so we checked each rule against two public training guides: the Lift Vault 5/3/1 calculator page (liftvault.com/resources/531-calculator/) and the Arvo 5/3/1 guide (arvo.guru/resources/methods/wendler-531). They confirm the weekly percents and reps, the 40/50/60 warm-ups and deload, the 90 percent TM (85 percent as a gentler option), the +5 lb and +10 lb TM jumps, the 3/5/1 order, 5s PRO, BBB at 50 to 60 percent, FSL and SSL. Lift Vault also covers the joker advice above. These ideas come from the 5/3/1 series of books by Jim Wendler (the original book, Beyond 5/3/1 and 5/3/1 Forever). Which book introduced each option, we did not verify. Lowering the TM by about 10 percent after a missed minimum is a common variation, as are the choices of 85 percent for the TM and 50 percent for BBB. This site is an independent tool. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the author or the publisher. It is general training information and not medical advice. Talk to a doctor before you start a hard program if you have a health concern.