Are you curious about Jim Wendler accessory work?

Do you wonder how the creator of the 5/3/1 training program organizes his assistance exercises for the squat, bench press, deadlift, and overhead press to build size and strength?

Then you’ve come to the right place.

In this comprehensive guide, I will show you how to use Jim Wendler’s favorite accessory work to take your training to the next level!

Introduction

• Part 1: The Triumvirate
• Part 2: Boring But Big
• Part 3: Boring But Big Beefcake
• Part 4: Westside Style
• Part 5: I’m Not Doing Jack Shit

Jim Wendler is one of the most successful strength coaches in the world today. He is most famous for inventing the incredibly popular 5/3/1 training program, which he describes as “the simplest and most effective way to build raw strength.”

One of the great things about Jim Wendler’s program is there are many different ways you can customize the workouts.

For example, Jim gives you a wide variety of accessory exercises and templates that you can use to strengthen your weak muscle groups!

Jim Wendler Stats

• Date Of Birth: February 13th, 1975
• Height: 5 Feet 10 Inches
• Weight: 240 Pounds
• Body Fat: About 15 Percent

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Jim Wendler Accessory Work

So how does Jim Wendler organize his accessory work for the 5/3/1 training program?

The truth is Jim has several different templates that you can use for your accessory exercises:

• Option #1: The Triumvirate
• Option #2: Boring But Big
• Option #3: Beefcake
• Option #4: Westside Style
• Option #5: I’m Not Doing Jack Shit

Each of these templates has their own advantages and disadvantages. But before we dive into them, let’s take a quick overview of how Jim organizes his 5/3/1 workouts.

The original 5/3/1 program was designed using a simple 4-day training split. Check it out:

The 5/3/1 Training Split

• Day 1: Squat
• Day 2: Bench Press
• Day 3: Deadlift
• Day 4: Overhead Press

As you can see, Jim devotes 1 training day to the “big 4” exercises: the squat, the bench press, the deadlift, and the overhead press.

For each workout Jim performs about 3 working sets on one of these big “big 4” exercises, followed by 2-4 accessory exercises.

Here is a quickie overview of the training percentages that Jim uses for his heavy working sets:

5/3/1 Programming

• Week #1: 3 sets of 5 reps @ 65%, 75%, 85%
• Week #2: 3 sets of 3 reps @ 70%, 80%, 90%
• Week #3: 3 sets of 5, 3, 1 reps @ 75%, 85%, 95%
• Week #4: 3 sets of 5 reps @ 40%, 50%, 60%

Note: these percentages are based on something Jim Wendler calls your “training max,” rather than your actual 1-rep max.

You can check out the following article if you want to learn more about 5/3/1 programming:

• Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 Training Program: The Ultimate Guide!

Now let’s take a closer look at some of Jim Wendler’s most popular 5/3/1 accessory work templates.

Part 1: The Triumvirate

The Triumvirate is probably the simplest accessory work template that you can use with Jim’s 5/3/1 program.

The basic idea is to perform your working sets on the “big 4” exercise, followed by 2 assistance exercises for your upper or lower body. Check it out:

The Triumvirate Assistance Work

• Upper body: “push” exercise, “pull” exercise
• Lower body: quads exercise, posterior chain exercise

This assistance work template is about as simple as it gets! Here are some of Jim Wendler’s favorite accessory exercises for each of these categories:

5/3/1 Push Exercises

• Dips, weighted push ups, dumbbell presses

5/3/1 Pull Exercises

• Chin ups / pull ups, lat pulldowns, dumbbell rows

5/3/1 Quad Exercises

• Leg press, Bulgarian split squat, dumbbell squats

5/3/1 Posterior Chain Exercises

• Glute ham raise, 45 degree back extension, reverse hyperextension

Jim says you should pick the assistance exercises based on your individual weakness. For example, if you have weak hamstrings then you may want to focus on glute ham raises. On the other hand, if your lower back is weak then 45 degree back extensions may be a better choice.

Here are some sample Triumvirate workouts that you can try. Check it out:

5/3/1 Overhead Press Day

• Exercise A1: Overhead press, 3 sets of 1-5 reps
• Exercise B1: Dips, 3-5 sets of 5-15 reps
• Exercise B2: Chin ups, 3-5 sets of 5-15 reps

5/3/1 Deadlift Day

• Exercise A1: Deadlift, 3 sets of 1-5 reps
• Exercise B1: Leg press, 3-5 sets of 10-20 reps
• Exercise B2: Back extension, 3-5 sets of 5-15 reps

The main advantages of the 5/3/1 Triumvirate template is that the workouts are very easy to design and recover from.

It also forces you to focus on the basic compound exercises, rather than fluffy isolation work.

Part 2: Boring But Big

Boring But Big is easily one of Jim Wendler’s most popular assistance work templates.

Jim says this is one of the best 5/3/1 templates for building muscular size. However, many individuals find their strength goes up VERY quickly when using this template.

The basic idea is to perform your 3 heavy sets on the “big 4” exercise, and then immediately perform 5 sets of 10 reps with 50% of your training max. You also perform 5 sets of 10 reps with an accessory exercise working different muscle groups. For example:

Boring But Big Template

• Main lift: 3 sets of 1-5 reps
• Main lift: 5 sets of 10 reps
• Accessory lift: 5 sets of 10 reps

Jim says Boring But Big is a very demanding program. It produces a LOT of muscle soreness, so make sure you are following a good muscle-building diet while using this template!

You can read more about Jim Wendler’s muscle building diet here:

• The Jim Wendler Diet | The Ultimate Guide!

Now let’s look at some sample 5/3/1 Boring But Big workouts. Check it out:

Boring But Big: Bench Press Day

• Exercise A1: Bench press, 3 sets of 1-5 reps
• Exercise B1: Bench press, 5 sets of 10 reps
• Exercise B2: Barbell row, 5 sets of 10 reps

Boring But Big: Squat Day

• Exercise A1: Squat, 3 sets of 1-5 reps
• Exercise B1: Squat, 5 sets of 10 reps
• Exercise C1: Inverse leg curl, 5 sets of 10 reps

The most important thing is to pick accessory exercises that work the opposite muscle groups as the main exercise.

For example, if your main exercise of the day is the bench press, then you want to pick a pulling exercise like pull ups or rows as your accessory movement.

Part 3: Boring But Big Beefcake

Boring But Big Beefcake is Jim Wendler’s new and improved version of the original Boring But Big Template.

The main difference with the Beefcake template is you also perform 2 accessory exercises for the other half of your body at the end of the workout.

For example, if you are doing an upper body workout, then your 4th and 5th exercises would be for the lower body. Check it out:

Beefcake Training Template

• Main lift: 3 sets of 1-5 reps
• Main lift: 5 sets of 10 reps
• Accessory lift: 5 sets of 10 reps
• Secondary accessory lift: 50 total reps
• Secondary accessory lift: 50 total reps

This is how Jim Wendler recommends you organize your Boring But Big Beefcake workouts.

This is obviously a more intense version of the original template, as you are performing more exercises, and you are now performing full body workouts.

Here are some sample Boring But Big Beefcake workouts that you can try. Check it out:

Beefcake Overhead Press Day

• Exercise A1: Overhead press, 3 sets of 1-5 reps
• Exercise B1: Overhead press, 5 sets of 10 reps
• Exercise B2: Lat pulldown, 5 sets of 10 reps
• Exercise C1: Single-leg work, 25 total reps
• Exercise C2: Abs, 50 total reps

Beefcake Deadlift Day

• Exercise A1: Deadlift, 3 sets of 1-5 reps
• Exercise B1: Deadlift, 5 sets of 10 reps
• Exercise C1: Leg press, 5 sets of 10 reps
• Exercise D1: Push ups, 50 total reps
• Exercise D2: Face pulls, 100 total reps

Boring But Big Beefcake is a much more demanding version of the original Boring But Big template.

You need to have at least reasonably good recovery ability to recover from these workouts. However, if you have good recovery ability, and are primarily interested in building muscle mass, then it can be a great choice!

Part 4: Westside Style

Jim Wendler spent many years training with Louie Simmons at the Westside Barbell powerlifting club. Because of this, he is very familiar with how the Westside team performs their accessory exercises.

Jim says using a Westside style template for your accessory work is a perfectly valid option. For example:

Westside Style Assistance Work

• Upper body: chest, triceps, back, shoulders
• Lower body: hamstrings, lower back, abs

Here are some sample Westside style 5/3/1 workouts that you can try. Check it out:

5/3/1 Bench Press Day

• Exercise #1: Bench press, 3 sets of 1-5 reps
• Exercise #2: Incline DB press, 3 sets of 8-15 reps
• Exercise #3: Skull crushers, 3 sets of 8-15 reps
• Exercise #4: Chest supported row, 3 sets of 8-15 reps
• Exercise #5: Plate front raise, 3 sets of 8-15 reps

5/3/1 Squat Day

• Exercise #1: Squat, 3 sets of 1-5 reps
• Exercise #2: Glute ham raise, 3 sets of 8-15 reps
• Exercise #3: Reverse hyperextension, 3 sets of 8-15 reps
• Exercise #4: Cable abs, 3 sets of 8-15 reps

The Westside accessory work template works reasonably well for most individuals. Jim doesn’t recommend it as much as his Triumvirate template, but it is still a very viable option.

Part 5: I’m Not Doing Jack Shit

This is one of Jim Wendler’s all-time favorite accessory work templates. Sometimes Jim goes to the gym and he just doesn’t feel great.

He is strong enough to hit his working sets on the “big 4” exercises, but he doesn’t have the energy or desire to perform anything else.

When Jim has off days like this, he just skips his assistance work completely! Jim calls this his “I’m Not Doing Jack Shit!” template.

Here are some sample workouts that you can try. Check it out:

Bench Press Workout: I’m Not Doing Jack Shit!

• Exercise #1: Bench press, 3 sets of 1-5 reps

Squat Workout: I’m Not Doing Jack Shit!

• Exercise #1: Squat, 3 sets of 1-5 reps

Remember: this template should only be used when you are having an off day.

Jim says that accessory exercises play a very important role in terms of your long-term progress. 

Conclusion | Jim Wendler Accessory Work!

Jim Wendler is one of the most successful strength coaches in the world today, and it’s easy to see why.

He designed his 5/3/1 training program with several different accessory work templates that you can use, so you can build size and strength regardless of your recovery ability and goals.

If you are looking for a new way to organize your assistance exercises, then you have to give Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 accessory work templates a shot.

They may be just what you need to take your training to the next level!