Texas Method - New Program

[sonnymack]

Coach,

I've had a few injuries over the last few months: a wrist injury that led to me dropping presses and cleans from my program (De Quervain's Tenosynivitis); and hospitalised with a back injury I picked up when I was squatting. I got this while I was trying a Madcow program, that I think overtaxed my lower back with the 4x5 deadlifts. As a result, I have put more ab work in to future programs, although, to get down to the gym again at all, I had to buy a belt. My squat jumped by 15 kilos straight off the bat when using it, which I took to be weak abs, hence more sit-ups with weight. I refrain from using the belt until I feel the same pains that wrote me off last time (usually 2nd or 3rd work set), then I put it on to finish the sets off.

I have now purchased some power-lifting wrist supports, and I am able to clean and press again. As such I have knocked together a new program, and I was wondering if you would be so good as to give me some advice on it.

Monday:

• 5x5 Squats
• 5x5 Bench / Press
• 8x3 Power Cleans
• 1x5/6/7 Power Shrugs (strapped @ Squat 1RM weight)
• 4x10-20 Sits (Weighted to failure)

Wednesday:

• 3x5 Overhead Squats
• 3x3 Press / Bench
• 3xMAX Chin-ups / Pull-ups

Friday:

• 1x5/4/3/2/1 Squats
• 1x5/4/3/2/1 Bench / Press
• 3x10 Weighted Chin-ups
• 3x5/6/7/8 Weighted Dips / 3xMAX Dips
• 3x8/9/10 Good Mornings/1x5 Deads once every couple of month or so
• 4x10-20 Sits (Weighted to failure)

I wanted to put in the two chinning sessions as I'm terrible at chins; when I'm getting out a set of 10 I'll drop one of the sessions, probably the Wednesday one. This should get the bench on the move too.

I like the overhead squat for core strength, so I'm using that as the light day squat exercise.

I read an article by Bill Starr saying that he advised to not do deadlifts if you wanted them to get better, and I have taken this to heart, as they were nuking my lower back, which felt weak, and put me in the hurt locker. Thus I have added two more exercises that he said had carry-over to the deadlift: heavy shrugs (after cleans) and good mornings, which I have tried and I quite like. I intend to carry on deadlifting, but I wanted to strengthen my lower back with good mornings to improve my squat; which, to date, seems the key to getting the other lifts moving.

Also, would you recommend speed work for the Friday? I am just looking for general strength and conditioning, with a 2xBW squat as a major target for the future. Is speed work too powerlifting-specific, or is it good for your average garage gym user with no powerlifting meet aspirations (yet)?

General info: Training for 1 year, BW of 250lb. Squat 330lb 1RM, Bench 220lb 1RM, Press 143lb 1RM, Clean 132lb 1RM (haven't done it for 6 months), Deadlift 352lb 1RM. Used a belt with the squat 1RM, although it was a crap BBer one. Progress has been slow over the last 6 months.

Thanks for all of the coaching and the books.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Jesus I'm tired. KSC, since you're here...

[Andy Baker (KSC)]

The more I coach lifters the harder and harder I find it to provide quality programming advice to someone without very specific goals. Not that you don't have them, you just didn't state them so its hard to recommend. "General Strength & Conditioning" is hard to program for.

Narrow your focus a bit and your programming will be easier.

Also, it looks like you have lots of assistance exercises for both the upper and lower body that you want to try. Perhaps an upper/lower split might accomodate your needs better than fullbody 3x/week. That is about the only thing I can recommend for this one.

[Mark Rippetoe]

KSC's tired too.

[jailer345]

I just don't understand how one can recommend not deadlifting to get better at deadlifting. I find it to be such a technical lift. To me, it seems practicing the movement is imperative.

[sonnymack]

I think I see what you guys mean. I'm an engineer, and if people came into the office and asked us to design things but wouldn't tell us what they were... well I think I would be tired too.

I've never really thought about specifics; I saw a book with good reviews, bought it, and I really like the training. I love training; I love getting stronger; I don't want to stop, even if I never find anything to train for.

I've put in loads of assistance exercises to try and work on the areas that I feel are weaker than they should be: it really grips my sh*t that I can't do sets of 10 chins and pulls; when they're up to speed, I'll do one session a week. My bench seems tied to my dips; when I work the dips, the bench goes up. I'll drop a day of weighted sit ups; if I add weight every session they'll catch up eventually with just one session a week.

Do you think that it'd be worth me having a shot at a powerlifting meet? What kind of weights in each of the lifts would it be advisible to have before I turned up so I don't get laughed out of the meet? It stands to reason that if I like doing this, I'll like powerlifting.

[Andy Baker (KSC)]

No one will laugh at you at a meet. No one really gives a crap what you lift there...most people are thinking strictly of themselves and in some cases their close competitors within a given weight class.

In your first meet the most important thing is to just try and get in 9 good lifts. They don't even have to be PR's. Do some weights you know you can hit and get comfortable lifting in a meet environment and get familiar with the rules of the organization you are competing in.

[George Noble]

Do you think that it'd be worth me having a shot at a powerlifting meet? What kind of weights in each of the lifts would it be advisible to have before I turned up so I don't get laughed out of the meet? It stands to reason that if I like doing this, I'll like powerlifting.

I've never heard of anyone being laughed out of a meet ever.