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Thread: Considerations for a late intermediate/advanced TM run

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    Default Considerations for a late intermediate/advanced TM run

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    I've been tinkering with the Texas Method template latelly and a few ideas ocurred to me:

    -it's probably fair to consider the intensity day as a sort o "max-effort" day;

    -since the overload event for a late intermediate/advanced trainee lasts longer than a week, fluctuations in the SRA cycle make it so that not all fridays will have the right combination of fitness and fatigue that may allow for a new max-effort PR;

    -that being said, PRs are still the goal, but the general trend of tonnage going up over time matters more than setting PRs all the time;

    -consider a 5 week volume day cycle for the squat that looks like this:
    wk 0: 405x5x5
    wk 1: 315x3x3
    wk 2: 315x5x5
    wk 3: 350x5x5
    wk 4: 390x5x5
    wk 5: 410 or 415x5x5
    wk 6 and beyond: if the lifter feels fresh he may go for 420x5x5. If he feels beat up, deload and ramp back up for a new PR.

    -for a lifter of this level of advancement (defined arbitrarily, not because of the numbers), intensity day PRs are more likely to happen between weeks 1-3, since overall fatigue is lower. On weeks 4 and beyond, a "daily max" is probably a better option.


    All that being said, is it fair to say that at some level of advancement, volume day/tonnage progress becomes more important than intensity day PRs happening every week? Am I stating the obvious since PPST clearly begins manipulating intensity day to facilitate PRs, and then proceeds to manipulate weekly strees with things such as speed work for exactly this reason?

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    How frequently have you PRed in the past? What led you to the conclusion that you require 5 weeks to PR?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Santana View Post
    How frequently have you PRed in the past?
    Very infrequently. My last squat PR was 388x5, dec. of last year (squated 375x5 last week). My biggest squat was a 440 at an IPF meet, march 2019. At that time I had a 365x5 or so...

    Bench has seen only marginal progress over the last year. I'm finally PRing with 3's now. Currently at 270x3x2.

    I'm now tying my previous best presses in a fatigued state.

    PRed my deadlift for 440x4 late last year and I'm almost lifting that after 5x5 squats and benches now.

    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Santana View Post
    What led you to the conclusion that you require 5 weeks to PR?
    There's a very clear trend in my training log that after 3-5 weeks pushing hard, things start to go south. For a VERY long time (more than a year for sure) I stubbornly kept banging my head against the wall, making minor adjustments to my training in the hopes to fix it (say 12,5% offload from hard day to medium day instead of 10 or 15%), until I decided to move onto more advanced programs using this 3-5 week timeframe.

    I wouldn't say however that I need 5 weeks to PR. Rather I seem to not be able to sustain high effort/tonnage/loads, specially on the squat and deadlift, for more than a few weeks withouth accumulating substantial fatigue, and that is not fixable with weekly modulation of stress (like a light day, running out the intensity day or a HLM split).

    I've hit 2x3 bench PRs for four weeks in a row now (1kg jumps), and I'm probably good for a few weeks more. Yesterday however I volume PRed a 326x5x5 squat, but everything hurts and my biceps tendon is starting to bother me on heavy presses. I'll deload my volume day squats, do 2's or 3's with a "5RM" load on intensity day, probably go for one more week of heavy deadlifts and deload it as well.

    I'm treating my lifts differently however. Deload for bench and press 5x5 are about 10%. Squats and deadlifts are closer to 20% and volume decreases for one week as well. Finally, they are not in sync, I have a basic plan for the squat, and the other lifts are managed around it as opportunity presents itself.

    Anyhow, that was a rather long and convoluted answer, I hope is makes sense... I'd just like to point out that this was more of a theoretical/conceptual question, not specific to any program in particular. That's why I made it as a separate thread.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ReconquistaBarbell View Post
    Very infrequently. My last squat PR was 388x5, dec. of last year (squated 375x5 last week). My biggest squat was a 440 at an IPF meet, march 2019. At that time I had a 365x5 or so...
    .
    Didn't you just say you are squatting 405 x 5 x 5?

    What is your age, height, and weight? Something tells me that there is a problem in your past programming or this is a nutrition problem.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Santana View Post
    Didn't you just say you are squatting 405 x 5 x 5?

    What is your age, height, and weight? Something tells me that there is a problem in your past programming or this is a nutrition problem.
    That was just an example. I posted personal info in my other thread which you've seen and replied already. 30 yo, 5'11", 199 lb. Starting weight when I begun lifting was around 135.

    There have defitetely been problems with my past programming, too many to name them all... But after 7 years of lifting and perhaps 5 of proper training, I feel like I'm getting the hang of it...

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    This doesn't line up. A man your height, weight, and age should not be stuck for this long at those loads. My money is on programming and perhaps diet. Do you keep track of what you eat?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Santana View Post
    This doesn't line up. A man your height, weight, and age should not be stuck for this long at those loads. My money is on programming and perhaps diet. Do you keep track of what you eat?
    I keep track of macros withouth being too anal about it. They sit at around 180-200g of protein, 400g of carbs and 120-130g of fat. I'm trying to keep protein at the higher end and fats at the lower. Bodyweight is increasing at a slow but steady pace (10 lb over the last 17-18 weeks).

    My training is going well, if anything, I'm increasing weights at a faster pace than what's planned sometimes. So I think that programming is at least decent now. But I've certainly had my share of mistakes... Novice LP while trying to do "calisthenics" at the same time, switching programs, trying to stick too long with a program, you name it...

    Anyhow, would you agree with the general thought outlined on the first post of this thread?

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    I am not convinced you need 5 weeks to add weight to the bar given all of the information you provided.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Santana View Post
    I am not convinced you need 5 weeks to add weight to the bar given all of the information you provided.
    Irrespective of my training, would you agree that as a trainee advances in a TM-like program, there's more leeway on intensity days, since the main driver of adaptation becomes tonnage above a certain intensity threshold, and that doesn't imply PRs every week, but high effort sets?

    And finally, in this context, if volume days assume a cyclical approach, one shoudl aim for true intensity day PRs in weeks where fatigue is lower?

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    Completely disagree. If you aren't driving intensity then you are wasting time getting tired, which is counterproductive. Walking around with a sore back, as fun as that may be for the exercise addicted, is not a very efficient way to get strong.

    Volume and intensity have an inverse relationship and as a program progresses, which by definition means that you are increasing intensity (i.e. adding weight to the bar every week/other week etc), volume is the first variable to be modified not intensity.

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