Goal Setting and Texas Method

**johnwolfram** · 05-28-2011, 01:44 PM

I am 150 lbs., 5'4", 23 yrs old. A couple weeks away from the end of novice progression my PRs were:
3x5x275 squat
3x5x111 oh press (microloading 3 lbs./workout)
3x5x193 bench (microloading 3 lbs./workout)
1x5x330 deadlift

I eventually want to get to (1RMs):
400 squat (75 lbs. more than estimated 1RM)
450 deadlift (70 lbs more than estimated 1RM)
300 bench (70 lbs more than estimated 1RM)
185 oh press (55 lbs. more than estimated 1RM)

Is it reasonable to expect that sort of progress in 6-8 months on the Texas Method? The texas methid goal is to add 5 lbs. a week to PR attempts on Friday, but I assume there will be stalls, deloads, etc. involved to keep that up.

If not, what sort of progress should I expect so that I don't unnecessarily pissed at perceived lack of progress? If my major goals listed above are unlikely to be met following the Texas Method how long (obviously an educated guess) would you expect that to take?

Thanks.

**Mark Rippetoe** · 05-28-2011, 09:55 PM

These expectations are fairly ambitious for 6-8 months, even with a 20 lb. bodyweight gain. I'd expect them in a couple of years.

**johnwolfram** · 05-29-2011, 10:35 AM

So I'm guessing the first month or so of the Texas Method should be steady progress, adding 5 lbs. a week to squat and bench, 1-2 pounds for press and 2-3 for bench (maybe). After the first stall occurs and actions are taken to undo it (# of sets decrease/increase, addition of back-off sets, weight reduction) progress should be resumed (as with all stalls in the program). However, I don't really understand the weekly increases in weight. Assuming 6 months of progress on the Texas Method (and say a month of that modifying the program to overcome stalls), that means that if you increase the squat weight by 5 lbs. a week, then by the end of the Texas Method you would have added 100 lbs. to your squat. Similarly, for press it would be 40 lbs. (2 lbs. a week) and 60 for bench (3 lbs. a week). Of course, such progress would be considered extraordinary.

While the weekly increases in weight could certainly be decreased to 1-2 lbs./week for squats or deadlifts, I seem to recall seeing something somewhere out here on the internet where you said that if you're having to microload the squat or deadlift (< 5 lbs.) then you need a more advanced program. I think that recommendation might have been referring to someone microloading squat and deadlift in the novice program so I do not know how that applies to an intermediate program like the Texas Method. Since the Texas method is designed to produce weekly progress, and assuming that less than 5 lb. increases constitutes the need for a more advanced program, then it seems like the Texas Method would outgrow its usefulness for squats and deadlift within a few weeks...? Do you microload them or move to a more advanced program?

Could you do something like take the principle of overload event-->supercompensation and "spread out" a program like the Texas method over a longer period of time? For example, say what a lifter needed was a 2.5 lb. increase per week. So, instead of doing 5x5, 2x5, 1x5 (squat example) in a week, you would "spread it out" over two weeks:
Mon 5x5, Wed 5x5, Fri 2x5, Mon 2x5, Wed 1x5, Fri 1x5
making 5 lb increase every 2 weeks?

**Mark Rippetoe** · 05-29-2011, 12:58 PM

Your progress is going to be slower because you're 5' 4" and 150.

**johnwolfram** · 05-31-2011, 10:27 AM

I'm aware that my progress will be slower than that of a larger trainee. What I'm asking is if microloading squats and deadlifts is a waste of time, meaning people would be better off doing a more advanced program.

Also, if microloading isn't possible, can you go for progress every 2-3 weeks instead of two by modifying the Texas Method to a multi-week program?