Reply With QuoteHave you read the two articles about annual periodisation by Andy Baker? I think you will the part 1 particularly relevant for your situation.
A Plan For Annual Periodization (Part 1: January - May) - Andy Baker
Member
Texas method stall. What to do next?
Hi, I'm a 20 year-old male, 5'11, 205lbs trying to get to 220. Been running texas method for about 9 months and current PRs are:
Squat 385 for 5 singles
Deadlift 500 for 1
Bench 285 for 1
Press 160 for 3 singles
I've been spinning my wheels for the past couple of months trying to break the plateau I'm in, and I'm considering a different program as I'd really like to get my press and squat numbers up. I currently eat 3500 cals/day if that matters. Would I be best served by just re-cycling texas method for another 18 weeks or switching to HLM style or even 531? I'd like to only lift 3x a week if possible, and I like squatting 3x a week. Thanks for the input!
✓ Member
Have you read the two articles about annual periodisation by Andy Baker? I think you will the part 1 particularly relevant for your situation.
A Plan For Annual Periodization (Part 1: January - May) - Andy Baker
Member
Not a coach or nutrition expert, but with the info given and assuming you're otherwise healthy, I'd say first thing to look into is to up your calories to 4000 with a 500 calorie healthy snack in the mid-morning, mid-afternoon or split it over both and see if that breaks the stall. That would only be about 4 cups of 2% Milk if you tolerate it, and Milk has about the right macro breakdown.
Take a look at this: Eating Through the Sticking Points | Matt Reynolds, and there's a nutrition section on the forum too.
In my experience, gaining even a small amount of weight can do wonders for your Press especially.
Starting Strength Coach
It's going to be hard to give you a definite answer without looking at your program. If you've been doing a basic Texas Method, you can put your squat intensity day on 5/3/1 and leave your volume day the same. If you're going to do AMRAPs on 531, just go up to the point your form starts to break down.Originally Posted by hreiter
For your press, you'll need to do more singles and press more overall. See here: Intermediate Programming for the Upper Body Lifts | Nick Delgadillo
Make sure you're gaining about a half a pound a week.
Member
Thanks for the advice! I'll increase cals to 4000 and see how quickly I gain weight. I have just a couple of questions: Would it work to do a 6-week cycle of 5RMS on Friday, then 4-weeks 3RM, then 4-weeks 1RM, and then alternate 5,3,1 RMs until I stall again, or should I just switch to 531 style on Fridays right now?
I'll try the intermediate upper body programming you recommended. Is the 1x5 Bench on Friday 5 singles or 1 set of 5? Also, should I alternate this programming every week between bench and press or leave it as is? Thanks!
Monday: 5x5 Bench Press @ 90% of Friday’s planned intensity day weight.
Wednesday: 5x5 Strict Press @ 90-95% of your last completed set of 5 at the end of your LP.
Friday: 5-7 Press Singles @ 2-5 lbs more than your last “heavy” press workout AND 1x5 Bench.
Starting Strength Coach
Either approach is fine, but I would alternate 5s/3s/1s on a three week cycle first. You may need some backoff sets eventually on the days you do triples and singles. See what happens.
The 1x5 Bench is a set of 5 in that example. Just follows the same as Texas Method, only compressed into one week rather than two. No need to alternate priorities week to week.
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