Chesty's Texas Method Accountabilibuddy

[Chesty McLifty]

Texas Method Sets x Rep Wed 11/21/18
Light
2x5
Squat Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 90
1x3 135
1x2 180
Work Sets 230

3x5
Bench Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 85
1x3 120
1x2 155
Work Sets 175

Everybody is talking about purposefully cheating on their diets for Thanksgiving and then going back on them afterwards. They will soon decide to just let themselves go through Christmas and get themselves back into shape starting next year. Then they will get a gym membership on Jan 1st and go for 6 weeks before they skip a day. Then it won't seem so bad to skip a day. Then they will miss 3 workouts a month for a bit. Then they will miss a whole week once. Then they will only go once per week. Then they will quit. That will take 6 months. Then they will go on diets. Then they will cheat on their diets 25% of the time until November, but feel bad about it when they cheat. Then they will talk about purposefully cheating on their diets for Thanksgiving.

[Chesty McLifty]

Texas Method Sets x Rep Fri 11/23/18
Heavy
1x3
Squat Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 125
1x3 185
1x2 250
Work Sets 315

3
Press Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 80
1x3 105
1x2 125
Work Sets 150

Easy breezy today. Did 3x7 chin ups, and triceps extensions.

[Chesty McLifty]

Texas Method Sets x Rep Mon 11/26/18
Medium
5x5
Squat Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 115
1x3 170
1x2 230
Work Sets 290

5x5
Bench Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 95
1x3 130
1x2 170
Work Sets 190

1x5
Deadlift Warm-up
2x5 130
1x3 200
1x2 280
Work Sets 335

Done early today. Nothing special to report. Session felt tough but it all went well.

[Chesty McLifty]

Texas Method Sets x Rep Wed 11/28/18
Light
2x5
Squat Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 90
1x3 135
1x2 180
Work Sets 230

3x5
Press Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 65
1x3 85
1x2 105
Work Sets 125

Log of yesterday. Nothing special. Worked on form and skipped the extras.

[Chesty McLifty]

Texas Method Sets x Rep Fri 11/30/18
Heavy
1x5
Squat Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 125
1x3 190
1x2 255
Work Sets 320

1
Bench Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 120
1x3 165
1x2 215
Work Sets 240

Everything felt relatively easy for heavy day. Can't complain. Also did 3x7 unassisted chin ups.

[Chesty McLifty]

Texas Method Sets x Rep Mon 12/3/18
Medium
5x5
Squat Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 115
1x3 175
1x2 235
Work Sets 295

5x5
Press Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 70
1x3 90
1x2 110
Work Sets 130

1x5
Deadlift Warm-up
2x5 135
1x3 200
1x2 285
Work Sets 340

Everything felt good today, like a 7/10 challenge-wise.

[Chesty McLifty]

Texas Method Sets x Rep Wed 12/5/18
Light
2x5
Squat Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 90
1x3 140
1x2 185
Work Sets 235

3x5
Bench Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 85
1x3 115
1x2 150
Work Sets 170

Worked on form. Twisted my ankle on a stair earlier in the day but it didn't bother me during the lifts.

[Chesty McLifty]

Texas Method Sets x Rep Fri 12/7/18
Heavy
1x3
Squat Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 130
1x3 195
1x2 260
Work Sets 325

1
Press Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 85
1x3 110
1x2 135
Work Sets 160

The press almost didn't happen but it did this time. There's just some kind of sticking point around this weight.

[Chesty McLifty]

Texas Method Sets x Rep Mon 12/10/18
Medium
5x5
Squat Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 115
1x3 175
1x2 235
Work Sets 295

5x5
Bench Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 95
1x3 135
1x2 175
Work Sets 195

1x5
Deadlift Warm-up
2x5 135
1x3 205
1x2 290
Work Sets 345

Yesterday's log. Everything felt tough except bench. Sometimes squats feel ultra hard for no discernible reason.

[Chesty McLifty]

Texas Method Sets x Rep Wed 12/12/18
Light
2x5
Squat Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 90
1x3 140
1x2 185
Work Sets 235

3x5
Press Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 65
1x3 85
1x2 105
Work Sets 125

Log of yesterday.

Yesterday marked exactly one year of doing the SS->TM track of strength training. It's fantastic and am currently recommending it to several people. Mom, Aunt, Uncle, and a couple friends. Since I will likely be doing strength training for the rest of my life, I think it is time I experimented a bit with different methods out there. I want to make it clear, I am not dissatisfied in any way with SS or the TM, I am simply someone who needs to see for myself how things work. I think messing with volume/intensity/sets/schedules, etc. is something I need to do to better understand strength training. It can only lead to advancement in the long run, even if it sets me back a bit in the short term. I fully recognize that this may not be a helpful move in the short term.

I will most likely be back to the TM. It is very comfortable for me (when it isn't Monday!) and produces consistent results, but I need to have the confidence that comes from experimentation. I want to be able to say "I tried it" when reading about some other style of strength program out there. As of today I am not DTFP. It's a little sad, but overall it's for the best.

I'm not sure if any admin wants to archive this or whatever, you have my permission (as if you needed it) to do whatever you want with this log. It would be nice to come back to it and continue where I left off at some point though, with a summary of my experimental findings from other programs. I don't want to be one of those seemingly irritating people who come on your forums and log the details of non-SS/TM programs, so I'll spare you that. I don't know, maybe it doesn't irritate you.

See you later, most likely.