Mad agreed. I remember seeing in an FAQ by Jim when I first started 5/3/1 where he was saying something like “If you can do x weight for 2 now, and you can do it for 3 a few weeks later, you got stronger”.
Personally, when I did 5/3/1, I would push my last set for as many reps as possible to “earn” a joker set, where I’d go up in weight. Not sure if I did this right, but I progressed in weight fast and enjoyed it. For example: On my 5s day, I’d push for 7 on my last set. Then I’d “earn” my next set, add 5lbs and go for 5. If I did this on a 3s day, I’d push for 5 on my last to “earn” my joker set, and then I’d add 5lbs and go for 3.
Sometimes, I could rep out enough weight to exceed my old calculated 1RM, which I would then use 90% of for my training max. In this example, let’s say I started with a max of 225, but I did 210x3. 210x3 is a 1RM value of 231. I’d use 90% of 231 as my training max.
lol
Look into a few variations and see what you like. There are plenty of them for free here on T-Nation. Pick one and run it for 2-3 months and see how it goes - One 2-3 month trial is about 3-4 cycles of 5/3/1, so you get to do your singles at least 3-4 times.
One of my favorites is:
I personally started this when I got serious into lifting. I was a cardio-centric and “functional” fitness commercial gym trainer before this. Basically the skinny guy who foam-rolled all the time
I went from half-repping 205 on bench to repping it out full range of motion for 5’s in a few months. Went from struggling with 245 for 5s to regularly doing 275 with ease.
I also enjoyed a 5/3/1 for Powerlifting Meet program that I saw somewhere else. It was kinda tough and I had to to do 2 a days to split up the workout - 5/3/1 sets in the afternoon, eat, go to class, then the heavy triples in the evening.