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.
Krypteia is one of the harder programs in 5/3/1 Forever. It’s built on 5’s PRO and First Set Last for the main lifts, paired with a heavy dose of supersetted assistance work. The name comes from the ancient Spartan rite, which tells you most of what you need to know about the intent.
Table of Contents
What is Krypteia?
Krypteia is a complete 5/3/1 training template, not just a supplemental scheme. The main lifts run on 5’s PRO (straight sets of 5 with no AMRAP) followed by 5×5 First Set Last, so you stack up real volume on the big movements. Each main lift is then supersetted with two assistance exercises, which keeps the sessions dense and the heart rate high. In leader and anchor terms, it leans hard on the leader-cycle idea of high volume at submaximal loads.
How Krypteia Works (Example)
Take a squat day with a squat training max of 300 lb, in week 1 of the cycle (5’s PRO percentages are 65%, 75%, 85%):
- Squat, 5’s PRO: 195 x 5, 225 x 5, 255 x 5 (no AMRAP)
- Squat, FSL: 195 lb x 5 sets of 5
- Assistance (supersetted with the squat work): two movements, around 5 sets of 10 each, starting light and building over the cycle
Between the 5’s PRO sets and the FSL work, the main lift sees a lot of quality volume, and supersetting the assistance keeps the whole session moving. To know exactly how the days, assistance, and conditioning are laid out across a full run, pick up 5/3/1 Forever.
Who Should Use It
Krypteia is for experienced lifters who want a hard, high-volume block and recover well enough to handle it. It’s not a starting point, and it’s a poor fit for a stressful, low-recovery stretch of life (that’s what a template like I’m Not Doing Jack Shit is for). Go in with a sensible training max and let the assistance build up slowly rather than starting heavy.
Krypteia Resources
Here are some helpful discussions of the Krypteia program:
- Krypteia Training Review (Jim Wendler)
- 5/3/1 Krypteia 5’s PRO Help (T-Nation)
- r/531Discussion (Reddit)
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.
