We Have a Situation

[Mike Longnecker]

Well, since my LP is over I guess this is the place to post. I am not an intermediate in terms of my lifts being heavy weight, but rather my recovery is fairly poor-hence situational Intermediate. Link to my LP MikeyD's Training w/ Shift work

Current Lifts
Squat-3x5x245
Bench-3x5x135
Press-3x5x95
Deadlift- 5x310 with poor form which will mean a slight deload.

I train 3 days a week and wanted something to aid my recovery and not take up too much time in the gym.

Geoff Bishop helped me out tremendously and by his suggestion I've decided to give the 4 Day Texas Method a shot.

I really like Andy Baker's article here 3 or 4 day Texas Method? Why Not Both? - Andy Baker

And maybe that will get done. But right now I'm going to start with the method laid out in PPST.

I guess since I did a tough press session Tuesday I'll have to start with session 2 today.

1. Volume Press/Press Assistance

2. Volume Squat/Light pull

3. Intensity Press/Light Bench

4. Intensity squat/intensity deadlift.


So-Intensity Press will start at 97.5x5
Intensity Deadlift I will deload, possibly to 275-295. 1x5
Intensity Squat-245x5

Light Bench-105-3x8
Volume Press-80x5x5
Volume Squat-205x5x5
Light Pull will be chins, maybe rows.

So later on today I will start the 4 day TM.

[Mike Longnecker]

4 Day TM Week 1 Day 1

Volume Squat/Light Pull

Time-12:25pm
Length- 46 minutes
Volume-9545

Squat
5x5x205-Definitely a good starting weight. Cardiovascular overload though. Ha.
4 minutes rest between first 3 sets. 5 minutes on the last 2 sets.
I lacked about an inch of depth so next session I'll get down in the hole.

Banded Chins
3x5xGreen and Purple Combination-maybe 60 pounds? This was the perfect weight for sets of 5. Hope I work towards losing the green band, then eventually swap it for the purple, then go to no bands. I will probably chin on multiple days during the week. 90-120 seconds between sets. Last rep of last set was a limit single, so maybe I could use a touch more rest between sets.

Enjoyed a fast session.

[Geoff Bischoff]

Wow man, that link ends up being super close to what I pushed to you. I feel good knowing that I managed to think through the method in a way that's really close to what the expert published.

Thanks man.

Also: Is your press feeling really froggy? I noticed you were planning to go UP in weight for your first TM week; usually you don't PR any lift in Week 1 Texas Method.

[Mike Longnecker]

Yes! Andy Baker cowrote PPST with Rip, but your application of the 4 day TM is exactly how he would apply it.

Ah, yeah I should probably back the intensity press to 95. I know I'm capable as 97.5x5, but better to leave progress for the future rather than kill myself right off the bat. Good catch.

[Dillon Spencer]

Nice one Geoff! I read that article a while ago, and I mostly just use it to console myself whenever I can't get to the gym 4 times per week haha Either way though, even on the weeks I only make it three times the progress keeps coming, albeit more slowly. Think you're going to like it Mike! I switched a bit before the true end of my LP too, mostly for shorter workouts. I like to chin or row on upper body days, but if I'm really crunched for time I can hit two lifts and get out of there in good time.

I'm also going to play devil's advocate a bit and say that you can probably get away with going for PRs in your first week, unless you've been missing lifts recently (sorry, haven't checked out your log in a couple of weeks). If you'd just finished milking the last out of a long LP it might be another story, but if you're just making the switch you're probably fine. If you've been missing lifts lately, or just generally feel run down, I'm definitely with Geoff that you might want to give yourself a few weeks to run back up to a new PR. When I switched my squat was the lift that kept getting stuck on LP and had me feeling shitty, so I set it up to hit a new PR in week 4. Haven't missed a PR since! I feel like that little reset was key.

[Mike Longnecker]

Dillon,
Thanks for checking in!

I have been spinning my wheels thanks to a bout of tendonitis that caused a reset with some rehab. Thankfully that is gone. I think I could get a PR this week but maybe not 3 weeks in a row, so I like the idea of starting off a bit lighter.

I'm excited at the prospect of weekly PRs and some added mass.

[Mike Longnecker]

I think it's a little bit dumb of me to not at least try adding the bench press to this program, because If I don't and I could have I'll be upset. Might as well try.

That would call for intensity bench on volume press day and volume bench on intensity press day.

[Mike Longnecker]

4 Day TM 3 Days a Week
Week 1 Day 2
Intensity Press/Volume Bench

Time-3:30am
Length-34 minutes
Volume-4540

Intensity Press

95x5-Glad I listed to y'all. This was tougher than expected. First 3 reps were great, used a lot of layback in the last 2.
Do y'all think I should just continue microloading? Or try 5 pound jumps since I have more time to recover?

Volume Bench
5x5x105-3 minutes between sets

I was still struggling with my bench grip because my wrist was bending. Finally got it. So that's a relief.

After lifts
C2 Rower
500 meters-2:04
Heart rate around 140
Nice back pump? Never used a Rower before.

[Geoff Bischoff]

Glad to see you at the benching!

On the press (and really anything), the goal is to maintain progress, and delay failure, as long as possible. If you're rock solid certain that you've got 100 in you, then take it. If you have a reasonable doubt, hit 97.5.

[Dillon Spencer]

I'd say definitely keep microloading, even if you're sure you could hit 100. What's a week in the grand scheme of training? Geoff's turning into quite the competitor, so it might be more important for him to grab the faster gains. I know he loves blowing past his planned reps on intensity days I'm more of a stick to the plan kind of guy.

Don't get greedy because you have more recovery time. The whole point of intermediate programming is that you NEED that extra recovery time. Don't squander it by switching back to bigger jumps.