Texas Method Peaking / Meet Prep / RM Calculators

[BBB]

Hi, new guy here... hopefully I'm posting in the correct section.

I've been using a rep max calculator to get a feel for what my 1RM should be for my meet, since there are no singles in TM and I was also using Jordan Feigenbaum's article on skinning the TM to peak for my meet. Unfortunately, either I didn't peak correctly or the calculator is pretty far off (or a combination of both).

Here's the phenomenon I've discovered... although I can easily squat 405x5, I can't squat the calculated ~467x1RM. Conversely, although I find 405x5 deadlifting incredibly taxing and challenging, I'm able to easily pull over 495 for a single.

I'm curious how others peak or figure out/practice 1RM when utilizing something like TM. When do you practice/incorporate singles without ruining TM progress?

[Jeff Brophy]

No good answer for your current situation as to each it is different. I have found that working with RPE has helped me better understand 1 RM potential. Check out RTS for a reasonable description.

[marcf]

Hi, new guy here... hopefully I'm posting in the correct section.

I've been using a rep max calculator to get a feel for what my 1RM should be for my meet, since there are no singles in TM...

Pretty sure you can cycle to 5 singles on intensity day. Take a look at PPST3.

[BBB]

No good answer for your current situation as to each it is different. I have found that working with RPE has helped me better understand 1 RM potential. Check out RTS for a reasonable description.

Thanks for the response. Huge fan of Mike Tuchscherer, but RPE isn't for me and not part of TM.

Pretty sure you can cycle to 5 singles on intensity day. Take a look at PPST3.

I'm assuming you mean for DL's, to handle higher weight, since 1x5 (sets x reps) is too tough?

[Dag]

I find the 1rm calculator to be fairly close for bench but not so good for deadlifts.

[Praetorian]

Hi, new guy here... hopefully I'm posting in the correct section.

I've been using a rep max calculator to get a feel for what my 1RM should be for my meet, since there are no singles in TM and I was also using Jordan Feigenbaum's article on skinning the TM to peak for my meet. Unfortunately, either I didn't peak correctly or the calculator is pretty far off (or a combination of both).

Here's the phenomenon I've discovered... although I can easily squat 405x5, I can't squat the calculated ~467x1RM. Conversely, although I find 405x5 deadlifting incredibly taxing and challenging, I'm able to easily pull over 495 for a single.

I'm curious how others peak or figure out/practice 1RM when utilizing something like TM. When do you practice/incorporate singles without ruining TM progress?

I don't think 1RM calculators are terribly useful for anything other than estimating a general trend in your lift progressions. I would never rely on one for determining my meet attempts. You need to get a feel for the kind of weight that you would handle in a meet. Whatever you can do for a triple or five singles is an appropriate weight to open with. From there you have to go by feel in increasing your attempts, 3-6% increases depending on how easily the weight moved. Of course, if you miss an attempt you should repeat.

This means that you should be handling triples and singles in training to prep for the meet. I think Andy's article on TM Intensity will be helpful to you in how to incorporate them into your training. If you're still running out intensity day, then you can plan to cycle down to triples and singles in the weeks leading up to the meet, and be a little more aggressive with the increases as you transition into lower rep ranges. After you've recovered from the meet, you can pick up where you left off with fives.

[Jeff Brophy]

Thanks for the response. Huge fan of Mike Tuchscherer, but RPE isn't for me and not part of TM.

Fair enough. I run a 4-day split TM. I have a meet next weekend. As I begin the taper down from 5's on I-day, usually about 4-weeks out, I add in a single prior to the rep lift. I use RPE to gauge where the single should be and I increase the RPE as the taper continues . I do this for all lifts. I go this from when Jordan was doing my programming.

[Praetorian]

I'm assuming you mean for DL's, to handle higher weight, since 1x5 (sets x reps) is too tough?

No, there is a section in PPST3 called "Running It Out." Page 120, since it's sitting on my desk next to the keyboard.

[BBB]

I don't think 1RM calculators are terribly useful for anything other than estimating a general trend in your lift progressions. I would never rely on one for determining my meet attempts. You need to get a feel for the kind of weight that you would handle in a meet. Whatever you can do for a triple or five singles is an appropriate weight to open with. From there you have to go by feel in increasing your attempts, 3-6% increases depending on how easily the weight moved. Of course, if you miss an attempt you should repeat.

This means that you should be handling triples and singles in training to prep for the meet. I think Andy's article on TM Intensity will be helpful to you in how to incorporate them into your training. If you're still running out intensity day, then you can plan to cycle down to triples and singles in the weeks leading up to the meet, and be a little more aggressive with the increases as you transition into lower rep ranges. After you've recovered from the meet, you can pick up where you left off with fives.

Wow, what an incredible read! I thought I've read everything on the topic (TM), but learn something new all the time. Sometimes re-reading the same information a few months later, with new experience and perspective, I pick up completely new information. Andy's article is a huge eye opener and ironically, he also references the "Running It Out" section of the book.

One big thing that I learned is that I was mis-using my program to some degree. "Too many trainees get caught up in their focus on volume day and never have the gas in the tank to do any meaningful work on their intensity day." Not going to lie, I was SOO pooped after doing 375x5x5 on volume day that I was mentally (CNS?) beat going into 415x5 on intensity day. The volume day was also a big test in mind over matter. It's so tough to stay mentally tough when you're doing for 5-sets across what you were doing as your 5RM only a few months ago.

I guess the good news is that my mis-application probably means I've made faster progress than I would have otherwise. I was treating TM as a somewhat LP program. My LP is just weekly instead of daily.

I've been manipulating sets/reps on my bench, since that stalled out a long time ago, but never bothered with squat, since it kept going up (but became taxing with the intense volumes in the past month or two). Will be a little less rigid in my programming from now on.

Fair enough. I run a 4-day split TM. I have a meet next weekend. As I begin the taper down from 5's on I-day, usually about 4-weeks out, I add in a single prior to the rep lift. I use RPE to gauge where the single should be and I increase the RPE as the taper continues . I do this for all lifts. I go this from when Jordan was doing my programming.

Are any of Jordan's programs in the public domain? (Links?) I'm always curious how people program and what the philosophy is. I've considered doing the Gillingham Bench program within my TM and noticed that it always starts with a single on heavy day, followed by working sets. In hearing about some Jordan's and Austin's programs, it seems they do something similar. I wonder what intensities they choose and what type of volumes they use.

No, there is a section in PPST3 called "Running It Out." Page 120, since it's sitting on my desk next to the keyboard.

Thank you, sir. See above

[Praetorian]

Wow, what an incredible read! I thought I've read everything on the topic (TM), but learn something new all the time. Sometimes re-reading the same information a few months later, with new experience and perspective, I pick up completely new information. Andy's article is a huge eye opener and ironically, he also references the "Running It Out" section of the book.

One big thing that I learned is that I was mis-using my program to some degree. "Too many trainees get caught up in their focus on volume day and never have the gas in the tank to do any meaningful work on their intensity day." Not going to lie, I was SOO pooped after doing 375x5x5 on volume day that I was mentally (CNS?) beat going into 415x5 on intensity day. The volume day was also a big test in mind over matter. It's so tough to stay mentally tough when you're doing for 5-sets across what you were doing as your 5RM only a few months ago.

You've made some really impressive progress, no doubt. It sounds like at this point your volume weights are too high in relation to your intensity weights, which is a pretty common problem on TM. There is a ton of discussion on these boards about the relationship between volume and intensity on TM, I would encourage you to dig some of those threads up. It sounds like you may need to either keep volume weight constant for a bit and keep increasing intensity weight, or drop a set from volume day. I'm at the limits of my knowledge though as I'm just getting back into my intermediate stage.