I thought I would post some specifics in regards to training, since everything else has been more on principles.
You’ll notice the title is “5/3/1 Inspired” instead of “5/3/1 Variation.” Jim Wendler, the progenitor of the 5/3/1 program, has many variations of the 5/3/1 base program in his various books, many of which can be found in articles he’s written online. I’ve used the program in my own training as well as for some of my athletes, and it works extremely well. However, as with anything, I’m always tinkering to see if it can be improved in some way.
In Science and Practice of Strength Training by William Kraemer and Vladimir Zatsiorsky, it is noted that maximal muscle recruitment occurs at around 80% of maximum load (in larger muscle groups). Anything above that, and you are moreso training intramuscular coordination, rate coding, etc. – skill acquisition, essentially. And if your goal is to improve that movement specifically, that becomes very important.
However, for athletes, weight training is an addendum – that is, it is not the goal of training. It is used to enhance the effects of the more sport-specific work. Therefore, the goal of the coach must be to stimulate progress, while leaving plenty of adaptive reserves for the stuff that really counts.
So, I came up with what I believe to be a solid 5/3/1-esque program that covers these bases. I don’t call it a variation because I’m sure if you were to show it to Wendler, he wouldn’t say it is – and that is fine. However, I absolutely used it as the basis for this program.
The original program:
5 week – 65%x5, 75%x5, 85%x5+
3 week – 70%x3, 80%x3, 90%x3+
5/3/1 week – 75%x5, 85%x3, 95%x1+
All based off of 90% of maximum.
My changes:
5 week – 55%x5, 65%x5, 75%x5, 75%x5+
3 week – 60%x3, 70%x3, 80%x3, 80%x3+
5/3/1 week – 65%x5, 75%x3, 85%x1, 85%x1+
Again, based off roughly 90% (often I go even lower than that). I then progress the max roughly in accordance with Jim’s guidelines.
Now, it should also be noted that this is but a very small part of the whole program. I often use this as a basis for the “big lifts,” but frequency, assistance lifts, etc. all vary wildly.
