The 5/3/1 methodology published by strength coach Jim Wendler is frequently recommended on the internet as a great strength program for anyone. Over the years, I've done the Big But Boring variation, Building the Monolith, First Set Last with Joker sets, and probably some others that I've forgotten. I've never had much success with 5/3/1 despite its reputation, and I think that's because most variations have the same three weaknesses.
Lack of Frequency: Nearly every 5/3/1 program is designed around a four day schedule, with a day focused on the squat, bench press, deadlift, and military press. I have never, in my nearly ten years of training, improved any lift by training it once a week, except maybe the deadlift. Exercise science kind of sucks and I'm not going to cherry-pick some study analyzing the rate of muscle mass gained while performing leg extensions for six weeks with untrained individuals, but most experienced lifters recommend squatting at least twice a week and benching two to three times a week. You're just not greasing those neural grooves by performing a lift once a week. My squat always feels strange and my bench press weak if I only perform them once a week. This sort of low frequency approach only works on terribly strong lifters (big guys squatting over 600 lbs) and PED users. Wendler does have programs that have multiple squat days like Building the Monolith, but that particular program isn't sustainable. Also, dividing your pressing between the bench and the military press is suboptimal. Shoulder strength is almost never a limiting factor in the bench press (Wendler even admits this: he had a 400 plus bench and a sub 200 lbs press before he starting training the military press) and the pecs are not used in the military press unless you're doing a severe back bend. Neither lift does much for the other, and so you'll not see much in the way of improvement dividing your pressing between both lifts with suboptimal frequency.
Not Enough Volume: Big But Boring is usually the recommend 5/3/1 program for hypertrophy. In addition to your 5/3/1 work, you do 5 sets of 10 with around 50 percent of your training max, or you utilize a First Set Last approach (for example, on your 5s week, you'd do 5 sets of 10 with 65 percent). That's a hell of a workout, for sure, yet in the grand scheme of things, not really enough volume. On your fives week, you'd do between 60 and 70 reps of squats, with most of that volume in the lower end of the intensity spectrum. For a hypertrophy program, that's not a lot (keep in mind, you're lifting light weights), especially when considering that Wendler only recommends light assistance work (curls, chin-ups, back raises) and no further focus on the lower body other than squats and deadlifts. You won't see any gains with your bench press or military press only performing 60 to 70 reps with low intensities. Really, for the bench press in particular, you need well over a 100 reps during a hypertrophy cycle, and that's not counting assistance work. Only a natural presser with tiny little t-rex arms could possibly improve their pressing with such low volume programming, and it's certainly not optimal. Besides Big But Boring, most 5/3/1 programs have much lower volume. Only Building the Monolith really approaches a decent workload.
Lack of Specificity: If you've ever read any of Wendler's books, you'll know that they are poorly formatted and written. There isn't any overarching approach to his training programs, other than the 5/3/1 microcycle, and some of them don't even have that. The lifter is left to his or her own devices to choose among the many 5/3/1 variations. There's the whole leader/anchor system that he introduces which is certainly an attempt at a hypertrophy/strength dichotomy, but Wendler has never figured out that you can do more than sets of five or work in more lifts that just the big three and the press. Over the last couple years I've found that having a distinct hypertrophy phase where you work with lighter weights and higher volume to build muscle is really useful and leads to bigger gains during a dedicated strength block. Performing bodybuilding exercises throughout your training, even in a strength phase, prevents muscle imbalances and injuries as well as keeps you strong in the big lifts. I don't think I would have ever fixed my squat without doing some unilateral work. Similarly, switching up your lifts in a hypertrophy block (like exchanging the back squat for the front squat, or bench press for the incline press) helps build strength and mass in under utilized areas.
I know that there are 5/3/1 programs out there that likely address my three big criticisms, yet I haven't seen them recommended by the internet hive mind. I don't want to be a big Juggernaut systems fan boy, but I really think a basic program utilizing periodization and specific training blocks is the best way to go. I recommend going to Juggernaut's youtube channel (here) and checking out their principles of programming series to better understand what makes a good program.
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