This is going to be an easy one. I wanted to give the 5/3 1 Bodybuilding template six weeks, but I could only make it a month. Now that might not be enough time to reap the benefits of such a program. However, it was enough time for me to realize I hated it.
Before I go into any detail please do not take this as a bodybuilding hater post. I am very impressed by what "competitive" bodybuilders accomplish regardless whether one is an amateur or pro. It takes an incredible amount of dedication. I have no problem with dedication. I just don't have the proper mindset for bodybuilding.
As long as I can remember I have been an athlete. I trained for sports when I was younger and since then, I have trained to be a strength athlete. As an athlete, my goal was always just to move the weight. Even more so, I always wanted to be explosive. With bodybuilding there's a huge emphasis on time under tension and feeling the muscles. This is simply something I cannot get in tune with.
I dare say if I wanted to bodybuild, I would care less what I'd be able to bench, squat, and deadlift. The goal is not to be as strong as possible on those and other lifts. The goal is to build muscle and sculpt the body. That's not to say there are not very strong bodybuilders because I know there are. Nonetheless, you do not have to be strong to be a good bodybuilder.
In the short period of time following the program, I felt like I was getting weaker in the big three lifts. My accessory work was no longer meant to assist in those lifts, but rather, build muscle. To focus on a bodypart split instead of a movement day. As a powerlifter my workouts have always revolved around squatting, benching, deadlifting, and the work that would make those stronger.
I firmly believe I'd benefit from a pure hypertrophy training cycle, but the 5/3/1 Bodybuilding template is not the one for me. I know there are some out there who like to "powerbuild" which I assume is working on both powerlifting and bodybuilding at the same time. This is a great program for them and I am sure many others. For me though, I know I'd prefer to either just focus on one or the other.
Perhaps down the road I will effort a purely muscle building routine. I just know if I did, I'd have to commit to there being zero strength component to it. If I continued to squat, bench, and deadlift at all, it would probably be done with dumbbells. It's just that I have spent a lifetime trying to get stronger, so I can't handle a program in which I actually see and feel myself getting weaker.
My not liking the 5/3/1 Bodybuilding is however, exactly why I love 5/3/1. Wendler has created numerous well thought out 5/3/1 programs. If you don't like one, there are many others available to choose from.
Its like just running a period of submaximal training really and when you push yourself very hard on Doggcrap (and Doggcrap is all about going really hard!!) you will be doing sets for reps of weight that is still quite significant for you. (well it was for me). Certainly more than enough % wise to keep and build strength.
By comparison other bodybuilding templates like Mi40, IFBB Pro Ben Pakulski's program which focused largely on time under tension are absolute kryptonite to strength in my personal experience. I ran Mi40 several years ago and ended up very weak after it. It was rubbish, unless someone is happy with all show and no go.