Thoughts on what I should do? (fucked up my 5x5 day)

[milesdyson]

it's why i asked your weight and then didn't make a comment about you being on intermediate programming doing 5x5x255. i'm guessing your intensity day was to be around 5x285 or so, which is legitimate at 163lb.

there will always be someone else to make that comment, anyway, even after you post your height/weight.

I don't think 255lbs 3x5 will be enough stress for me to set a PR, seeing as how I have done 265lbs 3x5 before on SS and am stronger now than I was at the end of SS.

yeah it might not be, but again, the thought of changing your training schedule or going in on what should be an off day should be much more disturbing than the possibility of not making progress for one week of your entire training career.

[FROGGBUSTER]

thanks miles, that makes sense. i just hate it when i'm supposed to do something and end up failing (badly, in this case), but i guess you are right.

[gzt]

May I ask what your squat and bodyweight were when you stopped doing SS?

I'm about 250# at a height of 6'3". I'm doing SS right now after coming back from a short layoff from training, squatting 330 right now. I've been traveling and doing some other nonsense, so training is a little irregular, so I'm maintaining around there until life settles down, which it will quite soon.

If you're doing around 285x5 on intensity day at 165, that's pretty decent, but at 5'8", you could probably make some quick gains by gaining 20#.

[Campbell]

Well, the first thing I'd say is, uh, dude, 255 is way too early to be doing TM unless you're 5' tall and weigh appropriately. You probably have very poor nutrition and need to eat lots more in general if you're on the TM at at 255# squat. Unless you're a woman, in which case, awesome, rock on. Anyway.

Really?

285x5 at 165 shouldn't be on TM?

According to Rip's strength standards for squat, a person at 165 who can do a 1RM at 250 is an intermediate so it would appear that he is perfectly justified to be on an intermediate program.

[Sami]

Ignore the standards table. He removed it from the 2nd edition just because of silly arguments like that.

I'd go back on SS and start eating properly, you'll keep progressing again so long as you're gaining weight. Unless you have some GI issues with food and GOMAD that we should (shouldn't?) know about.

If you still want to do TM, carry on with the program. Don't repeat the 5x5, do have your recovery day and do still go for the PR friday. I've seen some people do TM with a deliberate 3x5 on Monday, and they still made progress for a while. If you can, why not? Why give yourself more work if you are still PR'ing every week? It just that usually, the 5x5 volume is needed, but not always. See for yourself, and don't get bogged down with formalities.

[Greg C]

Really?

285x5 at 165 shouldn't be on TM?

According to Rip's strength standards for squat, a person at 165 who can do a 1RM at 250 is an intermediate so it would appear that he is perfectly justified to be on an intermediate program.

Campbell:

I think you need to read a little more. From what I've read, those charts are not intended to truly describe when you should or shouldn't be on an intermediate program. Intermediate is defined as having exhausted a linear progression per a novice/advanced novice program (see PPST).

Someone else pipe in here if I am FOS... .... Sami beats me to it....

[Campbell]

Campbell:

I think you need to read a little more. From what I've read, those charts are not intended to truly describe when you should or shouldn't be on an intermediate program. Intermediate is defined as having exhausted a linear progression per a novice/advanced novice program (see PPST).

Someone else pipe in here if I am FOS... .... Sami beats me to it....

Greg,

That is also my understanding of when someone should come off a novice program and yet many people seem to comment that people should still be on a novice progression unnecessarily. In this case the lifts are actually quite good (above the average from Rip's standards, which i understand are just a guideline of when people normally run out of linear progression).

Should he be heavier is a different question (and i agree he would be better a bit heavier). You dont say you have a poor lift because you want to be 300lb, you base it on your actual weight. At his weight he is lifting at an intermediate level.

Nobody really knows anything about this guy so why assume he should be a novice? That was really my point.

If he had a squat of 100 or 200 it might be worth mentioning but otherwise just assume he has moved to intermediate for valid reasons. Not everyone is an idiot. Nearly every post seems to get one or two of these comments.

[Platus]

Setting the issue of going back to linear progression aside - OP, you should refer back to PP, as it contains several recommendations for addressing stalling on volume day of the TM.

For instance, my 5x5 press has gotten very close to my 1rm on the press (145 and 170, respectively), so I've had to start toying with reducing the volume and upping the intensity on Mondays. There is more than one way of dealing with these stalls and you'll have to experiment to find what works best for you.

[FROGGBUSTER]

Setting the issue of going back to linear progression aside - OP, you should refer back to PP, as it contains several recommendations for addressing stalling on volume day of the TM.

For instance, my 5x5 press has gotten very close to my 1rm on the press (145 and 170, respectively), so I've had to start toying with reducing the volume and upping the intensity on Mondays. There is more than one way of dealing with these stalls and you'll have to experiment to find what works best for you.

I don't think I've stalled, it was just an off-day due to poor nutrition. I've only been on Texas Method for about a month.

[FROGGBUSTER]

Update: I skipped the 5x5 and went for a PR anyways, as was suggested. I use the rotating 1, 2, 3-RMs method and not 5RMs. The week prior to this week I hit 305lbs x 3, and last night I hit 310lbs x 2, which is acceptable. I would have shit my pants if I had somehow gotten 3 lol, but alas...

Thanks for the help fellas. I can't wait until Friday to finish what I started last week.