Want strength + size around the squat, bench, deadlift, and press.
Main 5/3/1 work, then 5×10 supplemental volume from one clearly identified BBB version.
An inflated training max or extra assistance turns a simple template into a recovery problem.
FitFrek provides a blank calculator and private training log—not copied 5/3/1 programming.
The old version of this page collected several community spreadsheets without a reliable way to prove where every formula came from. That is not a good foundation for a program in which the training max, template version, supplemental progression, and lift pairing all matter.
The replacement files are deliberately neutral:
You download your own .xlsx file. There is no shared Google Sheet to edit and no permission request to send.
Blank calculator with user-entered training-max percentage and rounding
Enter the percentage required by the official 5/3/1 source you are following. The workbook does not choose the programming rule for you.
Generic strength, conditioning, and progress tracker
Enter only the sessions prescribed by the 5/3/1 source and BBB variation you selected. No Jim Wendler programming is embedded in the file.
Boring But Big is one of the best-known supplemental templates used with 5/3/1. The simple version is exactly what the name suggests: perform the main strength work, then accumulate five sets of ten with a lighter load.
That does not make BBB the entire 5/3/1 system. The main work, training-max philosophy, progression, jumps or throws, assistance, conditioning, and recovery still need to fit together.
The two parts of the session solve different problems:
The template works because the priorities are obvious. It fails when a lifter turns the training max into a true max, treats every main set as a test, and then adds a second bodybuilding workout after the supplemental work.
New to the system: Jim Wendler's current store positions 5/3/1 Second Edition as the foundation. It is available in official paperback and eBook editions.
Already understand the base system: Beyond 5/3/1 expands the available tools and templates. An authorized eBook is sold directly by Jim Wendler.
Experienced with 5/3/1 programming: 5/3/1 Forever is the advanced physical book. Its official product page explicitly says no authorized eBook, PDF, or other digital edition exists.
Want the public BBB overview first: read the official “Boring But Big” article and the public three-month challenge. They are useful public examples; use the books for the broader rules and variations.
Do not assume that a file titled “531 Forever PDF,” “complete BBB spreadsheet,” or “all templates” is authorized just because it is easy to download.
Jim Wendler's public explanation of same-lift and paired-lift options
Includes public examples and starting guidance; it is not every BBB variation published in the books.
A specific four-day progression using 50%, 60%, and 70% of training max
Treat this as one demanding public implementation, not the universal percentage rule for every person or BBB template.
Second Edition, Beyond 5/3/1, 5/3/1 for Powerlifting, and 5/3/1 Forever
Buy digital editions only when the official store offers them. The official Forever listing says that title has no authorized digital edition.
The public three-month challenge progresses its 5×10 work as follows:
It also keeps the final main set to the required repetitions instead of chasing extra reps, uses four training days per week, and tells the lifter to keep other assistance restrained.
That progression is real, public, and extremely demanding. It is also one named challenge.
In the separate public BBB article, Wendler tells new users to start very light—around 30% of training max for lower-body work. He describes 50–60% as a common range rather than an unbreakable rule and also shows ascending, descending, and up/down loading options.
This is why a spreadsheet should never silently preload one percentage and label it “the 5/3/1 BBB program.” The correct input depends on the exact version you deliberately chose.
Complete only the required repetitions on the final main-work set in this challenge.
Keep assistance limited so the supplemental work remains the priority.
This is the hardest public phase and should not be treated as the default starting point.
Wendler's public BBB article shows two basic arrangements.
Same-lift BBB: the supplemental work repeats the main lift. A press day uses press 5×10; a squat day uses squat 5×10.
Paired-lift BBB: the supplemental work uses the other lift in the same movement family. A press day may use bench 5×10, while a squat day may use deadlift 5×10.
Neither layout is automatically superior. The same-lift route concentrates practice and local fatigue. The paired route exposes each movement more often across the week and separates the heavy and high-repetition work.
Pick one official version and run it consistently. Do not combine the weekly layout from one article, the percentages from another challenge, and progression rules from an anonymous spreadsheet, then assume the result is still a coherent template.
The calculator intentionally opens without choosing a training-max percentage for you. A blank input is safer than a confident but wrong default.
A useful BBB spreadsheet should reduce friction without pretending to be the coach or the book.
It should help you:
It should not:
The main work and the 5×10 lift already create the core training stress.
The public three-month challenge keeps assistance to restrained push, pull, and abdominal work. The point is not that every lifter must copy one exact exercise list. The point is that assistance should support the block rather than compete with it.
When recovery starts failing, do not automatically blame the template while preserving every optional curl, row, conditioning finisher, and failure set. Remove the work that matters least first.
Warm-up sets should prepare you for the main work without becoming extra fatigue. Use the ramp-up method in the official 5/3/1 source you are following rather than treating warm-ups as another assistance circuit.
Summarized recurring themes from long-running BBB discussions and official comments; these are practical observations, not controlled outcome data.
Lifters often raise the 5×10 load too quickly because the opening sessions feel manageable. The accumulated lower-body fatigue usually becomes clearer after several sessions.
Recurring community theme; interpreted alongside Wendler's official start-light guidanceOnce BBB is loaded appropriately, the five sets of ten often create more perceived difficulty and soreness than the main work. That is why main-set effort and assistance volume need restraint.
Recurring community theme; consistent with the official challenge structurePeople frequently compare percentages without realizing they are discussing different BBB versions, different training-max assumptions, or same-lift versus paired-lift layouts.
Recurring program-selection issue; not an outcome claimSimple rule: BBB fits when you can repeat the work and recover—not merely survive one hard week.
BBB can build substantial muscle because it adds a large amount of compound-lift volume while keeping heavier strength work in the program.
It is still a strength system with hypertrophy-oriented supplemental work, not a fully individualized bodybuilding plan. The main movement patterns receive a lot of volume, but per-muscle exercise selection and local fatigue management are less precise than in a dedicated hypertrophy framework.
Choose BBB when improving the main lifts and adding size are both important. Choose a dedicated hypertrophy approach when exercise variety, muscle-specific volume, and physique balance are the primary decision criteria.
5/3/1 Boring But Big is useful because it is hard to misunderstand once the source is clear: perform the main work, then accumulate purposeful 5×10 volume without allowing assistance and ego to take over the session.
The percentage is not the whole program. Your training max, chosen BBB variation, lift pairing, main-set effort, assistance, conditioning, and recovery all determine whether the template is sustainable.
Use Jim Wendler's official articles for the public examples and the official book that matches your level. Use FitFrek's calculator and log only for arithmetic and record keeping. That is more reliable than another anonymous shared spreadsheet.
