Hi jim i was reading my partners 5/3/1 book and decided id like to give it ago so we have something to do together. Anyway ill be doing it while in a caloric deficit since i want to drop some bodyfat. Anyway could you recommend to me a template to do while im trying to drop some weight please? I couldn’t find the answer i was looking for in your book ,sorry to bother you. Thank you.
Obviously I’m not Jim but for what it’s worth my answer: don’t.
You won’t get the results you could, your recovery probably won’t be great and you’ll likely feel like garbage. Just eat plenty of good food and do the conditioning like you’re meant to.
5/3/1 is excellent for strength but I agree with MarkKO you will not get optimal results in a calorie deficit. Take a look at CT’s Athlete Lean Athlete Strong program much better tool for fat loss and focus on 5/3/1 in a calorie surplus.
Jim has posted a beginner’s training template a few times. Here’s one thread with it:
I see no reason not to do it in a reasonable (meaning moderate and nothing crazy stupid) deficit. It’s not BBB; it’s a beginner’s program. You may want to scale back your weight increases from cycle to cycle, but I’d wait and make that decision when the time comes.
x2 on Marian’s post.
The key is to be sensible.
Pick your template based upon your performance goals rather than to “cut fat” or “add 10lbs of mj5scle” . Then eat a bit less or add a bit more activity.
Eating 75% less food, removing all carbs, adding a few sets of everything, adding 2 extra conditioning seasions plus a 30 minute walk per day, for example, is a poor choice.
It is also what seems to be the go to chooce for most.
Put your calories back to maintenance eat clean and focus on really busting ass in the gym especially the ‘+reps/main set’ -you will see faster rseults in both fat loss and muscle tone.
As Jim often says ‘diets dont work…developing great habits is what works’
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