5/3/1 Workout logger - 531

I use this app religiously every week. I’ve been tracking progress and following the programming it sets up for me for over two years now. My overall strength has steadily increased. I’m 64 years old and my total for bench/squat/deadlift has methodically increased from the mid-700’s to over 1000 lbs through following the 531 methodology. The app has several great features like a plate loading function that uses the weights you own to then quickly tell you what to load on the barbell so you don’t even need to do any gym math. It can also set up programming for alternative lifts like front squats or dumbbell bench press, etc. Bottom line, if you have the patience and commitment to do the work, this app is a fantastic tool to help you achieve your goals. This has been worth every penny!

The first thing that drew me to this app was that the 1RM calculator exactly matches the formula in the book. Some of the apps and spreadsheets get skewed calculations by rounding or using a different multiplier. I like knowing that I can do a manual calculation if I have to and it will be in line with the app. Having all the Beyond 531 features and being able to customize them is great. Same with accessories. One minor point is that you can’t sub an exercise for BBB sets, as is allowed in the book. For example, I alternate inclines bench for my bench press BBB sets. Again, this is a minor point because I can just skip BBB entries that week and enter inclines as an accessory. But the log and chart tracking volume doesn’t account for that. Not a big deal because you can just enter the BBB sets for tracking purposes even if you actually did another lift. A bigger issue is not being able to switch deload options after the initial setup. I usually take a deload on the 4th week, so I set it up that way. But, if I’m feeling good I might skip the deload or do it on a 6-week cycle. When I switch the basic settings to 6-week deload and then check the Future Main Sets page, it still shows future sets for a 3-week deload cycle. Overall, it’s a great app. But it’ll be really annoying if I decide to skip that deload and all my future sets are out of sync. Fidgeting with it to manually fix that each time would make me not want to use it for very long.

I’m six cycles in, and it’s a pretty good, intuitive and customizable app. There are some odd choices. Some examples: (1) The way body weight is tracked on the graph, you basically have to log it every single week so that it corresponds with the graph tracking progress; (2) If there’s a way to remove sets from the assistance lifts, it’s not intuitive. This became a problem for me when I ran into a glitch with the scrolling rep counter and the app added over 1,000 reps to my third and fourth sets (why would the app even allow the rep counter to go into the triple digits, let alone quadruple?). And because you can’t long touch and change the rep counter or figure out how to kill those sets, fixing them is a cumbersome process; (3) You can’t delete a workout if you accidentally save it browsing the site, so even if you’re not at the gym and accidentally save your OHP workout on squat day, your only fix is to go in and edit the workout you saved—or you will inadvertently jump a week ahead in the cycle. You should be able to delete any of your most recent workouts. Finally, it would be nice if the app incorporated a few more of the the Beyond 5/3/1 variations. It’s nice that it has the Joker sets, FSL, the 13-wk challenge, etc., but there are a bunch of other variations in the book and working within the context of the app, there are only so many ways you can change your routine every couple cycles. ETA (after developer response): Long Press only works to change the weight of sets. It does not work on the rep meter, and the rep meter should be capped at double digits. This is a strength program; you could probably get away with capping reps at 25 and nobody would ever notice, but going past 99, let alone 999, is just silly. Thx for other responses!