Write-Up on The Texas Method

[sstroh]

Typically DL's aren't really done with 5 sets across. And even if they were, doing 5x5 squats, bench, deads on the same day all sets across would be brutal.

it'd definitely be tough, but on the other hand 1x3, even with a bunch of sets working to that 3RM, does not seem like enough deadlift volume.

I guess 3x5 or so on Wednesday is the best compromise.

[vicjg]

it'd definitely be tough, but on the other hand 1x3, even with a bunch of sets working to that 3RM, does not seem like enough deadlift volume.

I guess 3x5 or so on Wednesday is the best compromise.

Rip's thinking is that one heavy set of DL's is sufficient to keep progressing. Alot of the Westside guys, don't actually DL very often at all either.

[Andalite]

Rip's thinking is that one heavy set of DL's is sufficient to keep progressing. Alot of the Westside guys, don't actually DL very often at all either.

Yes, but they do a LOT of deadlift variations. They do snatch grip deads, rack deads, deficit deads, etc.

This is why your statement can be misleading.

[sstroh]

Yes, but they do a LOT of deadlift variations. They do snatch grip deads, rack deads, deficit deads, etc.

This is why your statement can be misleading.

For sure. Same with Bench and squat. Lots and lots of assistance.

1x5 may be enough volume on SS, but I'd prefer a few more sets. And besides, aren't rep ranges for Friday usually 1-3?

[Andalite]

I have been putting this off for a while but I feel like doing something productive right now.

Ok, so I figure those of you reading this post have read my first few posts in this thread.

Therefore, you shoulder understand that:
1.) "Texas Method" is basically about fatigue distribution.
2.) It will not be possible for everyone to be able to hit their 3-5 RM week in and week out and as you progress you will have good days, bad days and ugly days.

Therefore, in keeping with this and in keeping with something I personally believe in: VARIETY IS GOOD! I have come up with a different type of program which still involves the same basic principles.

MONDAY
High Volume + High Intensity Session
1.) Squats 5x5
2.) Bench Press 5x5
3.) Speed Deadlifts - 6-7 doubles of singles with a 4 week wave loading 45%, 50%, 55% and 60%.
4.) Unilateral Flat Dumbbell Press 2x10-12

WEDNESDAY
Low Volume + Low Intensity Session
1.) Front Squats 3x3
2.) Military Press 5x3
3.) Pull-ups 4x failure
4.) Unilateral RDLs 2x6-7

FRIDAY
Low Volume + High Intensity Session
1.) Odd Numbered Weeks: Squats, Even Numbered Weeks: Deadlifts
2.) Odd Numbered Weeks: Military Press, Even Numbered Weeks: Bench Press
3.) Glute Ham Raises 3-4 sets
4.) Dumbbell Rows 3-4 sets

Ok, so Fridays are very important days here. Like I mentioned above, hitting a 3-5 RM week in and week out is sometimes impossible and in most cases: counter productive (atleast after you hit a certain threshold which is different from person to person, it become next to impossible to do this regularly).

So, keeping all this in mind, here are some suggestions with what you could do on Friday.

1.) Try doing the 1-5 RM thingy as prescribed in the book for a while.
2.) Shift to hitting 4-5 singles with 90%+ of your 1RM. This means that lets say you are on week 2 (and hence you should be doing Deadlifts) and your 1RM on Deadlifts is 385 lbs then on this day you could try and hit 3-5 singles with 345 lbs. OR you could do 2 singles with 345, 2 with 355 and 1 with 365. This is all fine. The goal is to move a minimum of 90% of your 1RM.
3.) You could switch and alternate the key exercises (like I have listed about in the template).

I suggest that everyone look into hip mobility and lower back stability drills. They are crucial.

This is all I have for now.

If y'all want to ask questions, go ahead. I prefer this template over the original texas method template but it still adheres to the same principles of fatigue management.

Good Luck to everyone!

[Andalite]

crap double post...sorry for that. My comp got hung for a while...

[vicjg]

crap double post...sorry for that. My comp got hung for a while...

Hey noob

You know you can just delete the post right?

[bango skank]

crap double post...sorry for that. My comp got hung for a while...

You can edit it and delete one of them. I mean... unless you think more is better.

BTW, Monday should be, "High Volume/Moderate Intensity."

[eekrazyk]

...
2.) It will not be possible for everyone to be able to hit their 3-5 RM week in and week out and as you progress you will have good days, bad days and ugly days.

...

Ok, so Fridays are very important days here. Like I mentioned above, hitting a 3-5 RM week in and week out is sometimes impossible and in most cases: counter productive (atleast after you hit a certain threshold which is different from person to person, it become next to impossible to do this regularly).

So, keeping all this in mind, here are some suggestions with what you could do on Friday.

1.) Try doing the 1-5 RM thingy as prescribed in the book for a while.
2.) Shift to hitting 4-5 singles with 90%+ of your 1RM. This means that lets say you are on week 2 (and hence you should be doing Deadlifts) and your 1RM on Deadlifts is 385 lbs then on this day you could try and hit 3-5 singles with 345 lbs. OR you could do 2 singles with 345, 2 with 355 and 1 with 365. This is all fine. The goal is to move a minimum of 90% of your 1RM.
3.) You could switch and alternate the key exercises (like I have listed about in the template).

Just want to point out a couple things from PP that go along with this thought.

(regarding Monday's workout)

PP p.185...
Sometimes as strength goes up, a set must be dropped from the workout, or the percentage of max lowered to keep residual fatigue from creeping in.

PP p.185...
If progress simply stalls with no reduction in the ability to complete Monday's workouts but an absence of personal records on Fridays, the stress needed to spur progress is probably not being applied on Monday. Often an increase or slight change in Monday's workout will restore progress. Adding a set is a good idea. Or, holding the number of reps constant while using more lower-rep sets with slightly higher weight also works well.
....
The addition of one or two higher-rep sets done after the regular sets is another option...

PP p.186...
If, however, actual regression occurs, not only in Friday's workout but with staleness carrying over into Monday, then usually the workload on Monday is too high and residual unrecovered fatigue is creeping in. Possible solutions could be to drop a set or two from the sets across, reduce the work-set weight, or reduce the reps in the worksets -

I'm sure these have been posted in this thread before. I just wanted to highlight them next to Andalite's post.


Another thing I'd like to make note of is that Rip also suggests speed sets on Friday in lieu of max sets.

PP p.187...
The most useful way to turn on more available motor units each time the bar is lifted is to use a lighter weight, somewhere between 50 and 70% of 1RM, and push the bar as fast as possible.
...
A proven way to use this method is with time sets, usually done with about 10 sets of 2 or 3 repetitions with a short, controlled rest between the sets, and the bar moved as quickly as absolutely possible for each rep.
...
When beginning this type of training, it is normal to continue to use 5 sets of 5 on Monday and replace Friday's workout with speed sets.

So that could be another thing to try.

[Andalite]

Hey noob

You know you can just delete the post right?

Happy?

[Fasttaker]

Just wondering if anyone has found speed sets to help. I've just started with them for Friday's workout (Sat. for me), and am following the set/rep/time suggestions in PP.

If you have done speed sets, did you follow the prescription in PP? If so, did they help your progress much?

[Andalite]

I have been putting this off for a while but I feel like doing something productive right now.

Ok, so I figure those of you reading this post have read my first few posts in this thread.

Therefore, you shoulder understand that:
1.) "Texas Method" is basically about fatigue distribution.
2.) It will not be possible for everyone to be able to hit their 3-5 RM week in and week out and as you progress you will have good days, bad days and ugly days.

Therefore, in keeping with this and in keeping with something I personally believe in: VARIETY IS GOOD! I have come up with a different type of program which still involves the same basic principles.

MONDAY
High Volume + High Intensity Session
1.) Squats 5x5
2.) Bench Press 5x5
3.) Speed Deadlifts - 6-7 doubles of singles with a 4 week wave loading 45%, 50%, 55% and 60%.
4.) Unilateral Flat Dumbbell Press 2x10-12

WEDNESDAY
Low Volume + Low Intensity Session
1.) Front Squats 3x3
2.) Military Press 5x3
3.) Pull-ups 4x failure
4.) Unilateral RDLs 2x6-7

FRIDAY
Low Volume + High Intensity Session
1.) Odd Numbered Weeks: Squats, Even Numbered Weeks: Deadlifts
2.) Odd Numbered Weeks: Military Press, Even Numbered Weeks: Bench Press
3.) Glute Ham Raises 3-4 sets
4.) Dumbbell Rows 3-4 sets

Ok, so Fridays are very important days here. Like I mentioned above, hitting a 3-5 RM week in and week out is sometimes impossible and in most cases: counter productive (atleast after you hit a certain threshold which is different from person to person, it become next to impossible to do this regularly).

So, keeping all this in mind, here are some suggestions with what you could do on Friday.

1.) Try doing the 1-5 RM thingy as prescribed in the book for a while.
2.) Shift to hitting 4-5 singles with 90%+ of your 1RM. This means that lets say you are on week 2 (and hence you should be doing Deadlifts) and your 1RM on Deadlifts is 385 lbs then on this day you could try and hit 3-5 singles with 345 lbs. OR you could do 2 singles with 345, 2 with 355 and 1 with 365. This is all fine. The goal is to move a minimum of 90% of your 1RM.
3.) You could switch and alternate the key exercises (like I have listed about in the template).

I suggest that everyone look into hip mobility and lower back stability drills. They are crucial.

This is all I have for now.

If y'all want to ask questions, go ahead. I prefer this template over the original texas method template but it still adheres to the same principles of fatigue management.

Good Luck to everyone!

bump

[eekrazyk]

Just wondering if anyone has found speed sets to help. I've just started with them for Friday's workout (Sat. for me), and am following the set/rep/time suggestions in PP.

If you have done speed sets, did you follow the prescription in PP? If so, did they help your progress much?

I just added them on bench press last week. Monday's workout certainly felt easier, but I only just started them. We'll see how it works out longer term.

Ripp just posted the following on StrengthMill:

The dynamic effort techniques are extremely useful for anyone wanting to get stronger. CFT benefits from their application immediately. They are an incredible tool, and in my opinion are the major contribution the Louie has made to modern strength and conditioning.

[PaC-mAn8]

1. How much do you increase every Monday?

2. How close should you be to failure on Mondays and Fridays?

[Andalite]

1. How much do you increase every Monday?

2. How close should you be to failure on Mondays and Fridays?

1.) 5 lbs at the most

2.) Fridays it depends on what you are doing. For Mondays: you start out 25-30 lbs below your 5x5 max (note: 5x5 max does not equal 5RM).

[craze9]

I recently started a Texas Method routine geared toward improving the Bench Press that was apparently written by Rippetoe himself. It is Routine 2 posted here: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpo...&postcount=245 It looked good to me so I decided to give it a shot to see if I can gain strength or at least not lose any while cutting. I am currently on my 3rd week (just finished the third "Day 1" workout) and everything is going very well so far.

However, I've been doing a bunch of reading on this site and others about the Texas Method, and pretty much everything I've come across suggests routines that are somewhat different from the one above when it comes to training the Bench Press. Going with the Volume/Recovery/Intensity model, the other routines I've seen all seem to advocate less work on Day 2 and Day 3. For example, the above routine includes 5 heavy sets of 5 reps across for the Standing Press on Day 2. All the other templates I've seen recommend only 2-3 sets. Also, the recommended Intensity Day workout for Bench above seems to incorporate an option for relatively higher volume (5x3 or 5x2) rather than just working up to one max set of 3 or 5. Five heavy triples is a lot more volume than ramping to just one work set.

Honestly I'm not too worried about this, but I'd like to clear up the discrepancy if possible, given that the above program was written by Rippetoe himself and as far as I can tell all the other "After Starting Strength" programs were not. I'm also curious about the thinking behind the above routine, and why it would work (and it does seem to work well so far!) given that it isn't as strictly in line with the V/R/I model.

Any help would be appreciated!

[eekrazyk]

I recently started a Texas Method routine geared toward improving the Bench Press that was apparently written by Rippetoe himself. It is Routine 2 posted here: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpo...&postcount=245 It looked good to me so I decided to give it a shot to see if I can gain strength or at least not lose any while cutting. I am currently on my 3rd week (just finished the third "Day 1" workout) and everything is going very well so far.

Your link appears to be broken.

However, I've been doing a bunch of reading on this site and others about the Texas Method, and pretty much everything I've come across suggests routines that are somewhat different from the one above when it comes to training the Bench Press. Going with the Volume/Recovery/Intensity model, the other routines I've seen all seem to advocate less work on Day 2 and Day 3. For example, the above routine includes 5 heavy sets of 5 reps across for the Standing Press on Day 2. All the other templates I've seen recommend only 2-3 sets.

Yes, there are different templates floating around, some of which have more or less volume on some days. The key to remember here is that the TM is a set of principles to apply to your program, not a program in and of itself. I've done a program with 5x5 Press on Wednesday and made decent gains. Ripp recommends keeping day 2 lighter so it remains a recovery day without affecting recovery for the intensity day. However, Press uses a lighter weight that is less taxing than the loads used during bench press (unless your press weight is closer to your bench press weight).

I went with 5x5 Press on day 2 to keep progressing on Press. In retrospect, I probably could have still made progress doing 3x5. Another thing to consider is that Ripp recommends alternating Bench Press and Press to maintain a 1:1 ratio and maintaining good overall shoulder health. That might not apply to you seeing how you're doing a template geared towards improving your bench press, though. In that case, you might try 5x5 and 2/3x5 on day 2 and see what works for you.

Also, the recommended Intensity Day workout for Bench above seems to incorporate an option for relatively higher volume (5x3 or 5x2) rather than just working up to one max set of 3 or 5. Five heavy triples is a lot more volume than ramping to just one work set.

Interesting. I haven't seen those recommendations anywhere (that I recall). From the book, Ripp recommends rotating the intensity set reps in the 1-5 range for one set. Some people rotate 5,3,1.

Honestly I'm not too worried about this, but I'd like to clear up the discrepancy if possible, given that the above program was written by Rippetoe himself and as far as I can tell all the other "After Starting Strength" programs were not. I'm also curious about the thinking behind the above routine, and why it would work (and it does seem to work well so far!) given that it isn't as strictly in line with the V/R/I model.

Have you read Practical Programming? The principles behind intermediate programming are all described in there in great detail. I'd highly recommend picking that book up. FYI, there's a second edition coming out soon.

[craze9]

Thanks for the response Eekrazyk - funnily enough, youre actually the guy who first posted the link to this routine for me (almost 2 years ago). The link ( http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpo...&postcount=245 ) goes to a post on page 9 of this same thread. But I'll just list the routine in question here:

Monday
Squat 5X5
Bench Press 5X5
Power Clean (5X3)or Row

Wednesday
Front Squat 3X3
Press 5X5
Back Extension/GHR
Chin ups

Friday
Squat 1X5
Bench Press
1X5
or 5X3
or 5X2
or 5X1
Dead Lift 1X5



My Press weight is significantly lower than my Bench weight, but given that I'm cutting now I may drop the volume on Day 2 to 3x5 rather than 5x5. Like you say it probably won't prevent progression on the Press and even if it does, the lower volume should help recovery for the Bench, which is what I'm focusing on.

I actually have Practical Programming and recently re-read the section on Intermediate Progression. I guess my issue is that the routine above, written by Rippetoe himself, doesn't conform 100% to what is written in Practical Programming. Part of this might be that it was written to focus on the Bench, whereas none of the templates in PP or elsewhere do this explicitly. But in PP it says quite clearly that the Texas Method uses Day 2 as an easy day for recovery and Day 3 to set a PR (i.e., only 1 work set). As I said, the above routine works in the option for more volume on both Day 2 and Day 3, and I guess I"m just wondering why that is.

[eekrazyk]

Thanks for the response Eekrazyk - funnily enough, youre actually the guy who first posted the link to this routine for me (almost 2 years ago). The link ( http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpo...&postcount=245 ) goes to a post on page 9 of this same thread. But I'll just list the routine in question here:

No kidding! Look at that, I sure did. I thought your username looked familiar...

I actually have Practical Programming and recently re-read the section on Intermediate Progression. I guess my issue is that the routine above, written by Rippetoe himself, doesn't conform 100% to what is written in Practical Programming. Part of this might be that it was written to focus on the Bench, whereas none of the templates in PP or elsewhere do this explicitly. But in PP it says quite clearly that the Texas Method uses Day 2 as an easy day for recovery and Day 3 to set a PR (i.e., only 1 work set). As I said, the above routine works in the option for more volume on both Day 2 and Day 3, and I guess I"m just wondering why that is.

Hmmm. I don't know why he'd have that much volume on Bench Press on the intensity day. Perhaps it's higher because he scratched those out for Dave76 for a person moving from SS to Texas Method? I can see the 5x1 and probably 5x2, but my initial reaction to 5x3 is that it's too much volume at too high of intensity - I'd fear it would interfere with the following workout.

I'm looking forward to the next edition of PP. Ripp has indicated that he's updated some of his recommendations and he no longer advocates front squat on day 2. Perhaps we'll see some more info behind the intermediate programming principles.

[Dave76]

The key to remember here is that the TM is a set of principles to apply to your program, not a program in and of itself...

Exactly. It's one reason why Rip absolutely refuses to post or publish sample templates of intermediate routines. At the intermediate level, personalization is needed and no template will work for everyone. The templates that I posted were never meant to be an exact workout for anyone. I suppose you could start with them but you'd need to adjust them as you go.

Here's the intermediate routine that Rip wrote for me. I did this exact routine for about two weeks before we started making changes. The first change was to ditch the rows and start power cleans.

If you examine the routine, you'll notice that it's based on Texas method principles but it's a four day per week program. You'll also notice that some of the lifts are volume - recovery- volume - intensity spread out over two weeks. It's a Texas Method idea adapted to me, an older lifter, who needs a little more recovery before attempting new maxes.

[craze9]

Thanks for the input, guys. I'll just adjust and see what works I guess. I already dropped the Day 2 workout to 3 worksets for the press, and will probably stay away from 5 triples on Day 3, as it does seem like a lot of volume. I did 5 doubles last week though and it was fine, this week I'll probably go for a PR. We'll see what happens.

I'm looking forward to the 2nd edition of PP.

[SerusMournstar]

I have recently read practical programming and as I feel I am at the intermediate level I am starting the Texas Method. I have done the first 2 workouts of the week so far and feel good. I am just looking for feedback on this program. I am trying to increase the strength on my big lifts.

Monday [High Volume/Moderate Intensity]
Squat 5X5
Standing Press 5X5
Incline DB Press 5x5
Pendlay Row 5x5

Wednesday [Low Volume/Low Intensity]
Light Squat 3X3
Calf Raises 3x20
Light Bench Press 3x5
Wide Grip Chin ups 3x12

Friday [Low Volume/High Intensity] Everything is maxed on this day
Squat 1X1-3
Bench Press 1x1-3
Overhead Press 1x1-3
Deadlift 1X5
Pendlay Row 1x1-3

[mcgill09]

How does this write-up look? I've been doing the most basic TX template for the past 10 weeks, but have recently stalled on all my lifts and developed a pretty bad cold (prob because of CNS fatigue?). I'm looking to reset a bit and mix the program up a little while still retaining TX principles.

This is what I was doing:

Monday-
5x5 bench
5x5 squat
3x8 row

Wed-
3x3 front squats
3x3 OH press
5x10 pullthroughs
3xfailure chins

Fri-
Bench 1x5
squat 1x5
dead 1x5
tricep accessory 3x8
bicep accessory 3x8

I was thinking of incorporating speed sets for bench and squat, as this is something I've never tried before and thought it could help increase recruitment of motor units. I also thought about manipulating the reps/sets scheme on Monday (while still keeping total reps constant).

Also, what's the consensus about adding some different types of bodybuilding work? Over the past 10 weeks I've put on 3 pounds with a fairly clean diet, but thought I could increase hypertrophy with some dumbbell benching and lateral raises (friday maybe?)

Tentative template:

Mon-
bench 3x8
squat 5x5
Pendlay row 4x6

Wed-
2x5 front squat
3x5 OH press
3x10 GHR
3-4xfailure chins
2x10 lateral raises

Fri-
speed squats 10x2 @ 50-65% 1RM
speed bench 10x3 @ 50-65% 1RM
Dead 2x3 (I was thinking to skip the Speed deads, as Deadlifts are not done on Monday and I want to make sure I maintain some heavy deadlifting)
2x10 Incline DB bench
2x10 curls
2x10 tricep extensions

What are everyone's thoughts on this?? Has anyone else had any experiences with speed work helping to drive Mondays workouts? Thanks in advance.

[JiP]

The soreness from 5x5 weight across squatting is becoming debilitating for me. I find when I come to deadlift (48 hours later) my hamstring/quads become tight as hell and genuinely painful.

I either need some programming tips for this, or a good way to get rid of the soreness..

[xXDeadmanXx]

The soreness from 5x5 weight across squatting is becoming debilitating for me. I find when I come to deadlift (48 hours later) my hamstring/quads become tight as hell and genuinely painful.

I either need some programming tips for this, or a good way to get rid of the soreness..

Try putting deads on Friday with the low volume heavy work.

[raiderredjd]

I have never heard of this method before now, thanks for the info

[BrotherWolf]

The soreness from 5x5 weight across squatting is becoming debilitating for me. I find when I come to deadlift (48 hours later) my hamstring/quads become tight as hell and genuinely painful.

I either need some programming tips for this, or a good way to get rid of the soreness..

How long ago did you start the 5x5 ?? What where you doing before that?

[Andalite]

The soreness from 5x5 weight across squatting is becoming debilitating for me. I find when I come to deadlift (48 hours later) my hamstring/quads become tight as hell and genuinely painful.

I either need some programming tips for this, or a good way to get rid of the soreness..

This is why you don't do this as it's listed. I made a post a few pages ago addressing things of this nature. Here's another way to better distribute fatigue...Before I get to that, I should warn you: I believe the most intense and heavy sessions should ALWAYS be at the beginning of the week when I am at my best. Having said that:

Monday:
Deadlifts 1-5 RM
Bench Press 1-5RM
Pull-ups 3-5 sets to failure
Core Training

Wednesday:
Front Squats 3x3
Military Press 3x3
Rows 3-4 sets
Core Training

Friday:
Back Squats 5x5
Bench Press 5x5
Speed Deadlifts 3-5 sets of 1-2 reps starting with 50% of your 1RM for all sets across and then adding 10% each week till you hit 80% and then going back to 50%
Glute Ham Raises
Core Training

This, IMO, is a MUCH MUCH better to distribute stress and fatigue. Ofcourse, you tailor this as you go along.

[BrotherWolf]

This is why you don't do this as it's listed. I made a post a few pages ago addressing things of this nature. Here's another way to better distribute fatigue...Before I get to that, I should warn you: I believe the most intense and heavy sessions should ALWAYS be at the beginning of the week when I am at my best. Having said that:

Monday:
Deadlifts 1-5 RM
Bench Press 1-5RM
Pull-ups 3-5 sets to failure
Core Training

Wednesday:
Front Squats 3x3
Military Press 3x3
Rows 3-4 sets
Core Training

Friday:
Back Squats 5x5
Bench Press 5x5
Speed Deadlifts 3-5 sets of 1-2 reps starting with 50% of your 1RM for all sets across and then adding 10% each week till you hit 80% and then going back to 50%
Glute Ham Raises
Core Training

This, IMO, is a MUCH MUCH better to distribute stress and fatigue. Ofcourse, you tailor this as you go along.

I don't think he's talking about fatigue but soreness..
the basic texas method has the max effort 1RM lifts at the end of the week
if you are not able to recover by the end of the week and perform near 1rm then I think you need to rework the beginning of the week lifts .
There is a recovery day mid week... make sure it is a recovery day

[Andalite]

I don't think he's talking about fatigue but soreness..
the basic texas method has the max effort 1RM lifts at the end of the week
if you are not able to recover by the end of the week and perform near 1rm then I think you need to rework the beginning of the week lifts .
There is a recovery day mid week... make sure it is a recovery day

Nah....you train the heaviest when you are at your best. It's simple logic.