Please note: This is not official 5/3/1 advice and is not associated in any way with Jim Wendler. If you want official 5/3/1 advice, buy the book.
The 7th Week Protocol is a special week from 5/3/1 Forever that you run after a training block. It comes in two versions: a deload to recover, or a Training Max Test to confirm your training max is still the right number before you push on.
Table of Contents
What is the 7th Week Protocol?
In 5/3/1 Forever, Wendler organizes training into leader and anchor blocks, usually a few cycles of work at a time. The 7th Week Protocol is the short week you run at the end of a block to reset before the next one. You pick one of two versions depending on what you need: the Deload when you just want to recover and hold your training max where it is, or the Training Max Test when you want to verify the number is honest before raising it.
7th Week Protocol Example
Say you have an overhead press training max of 150 lb. The two versions look like this:
- Deload version: 40/50/60% for 5 reps each, so 60 x 5, 75 x 5, 90 x 5. Light, fast, and fully recovered.
- Training Max Test version: work up with 70/80/90% for 5 reps (105 x 5, 120 x 5, 135 x 5), then take 100% of your training max, 150 lb, for an AMRAP set.
The test is simple to read: hitting roughly 3 to 5 solid reps at your training max means it’s set correctly. Fewer than 3 reps means the training max is too high and should come down. Comfortably more than 5 means there’s room to bump it up for the next block.
When to Use Each Version
Run the Training Max Test when you’re about to start a new block and want proof the number is realistic, especially before raising it. Run the Deload when you’ve trained hard, feel beat up, and just want to recover while keeping your training max the same. Either way the seventh week is light and short by design, so resist the urge to add extra work to it.
7th Week Protocol Resources
Here are some helpful discussions of the 7th Week Protocol:
- r/531Discussion (Reddit)
- 5/3/1 for Beginners (The Fitness Wiki)
- A Review of Beyond 5/3/1 (PowerliftingToWin)
5/3/1 Glossary
Learn about other 5/3/1 terms in our 5/3/1 glossary.
5/3/1 Forever Book (Recommended Reading)
To best utilize the 5/3/1 training framework, the book is highly recommended. It’s a small investment for a lifetime of training knowledge.
The most up-to-date and complete collection of Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 programming framework. Contains dozens of templates to keep 5/3/1 fresh and adaptable.
