Novice to intermediate back to novice?

[PhillySteak]

Hey coach,

I'm considering switching back to a novice progression after doing the intermediate program for a little over two months. Here are some specifics.

Male, age 47, 225lb. I was doing the novice progression from March 24th to May 8th, and got my squat up to 210lb. The squats were getting too heavy, and because I wasn't able get more than 6 hours of sleep, I decided to switch over to a split Texas progression with focus on squats; increasing the intensity day load by 5lb every week. Since then I've also figured out how to get 8+ hours of sleep a night; no small task. Consequently, the 5lb weekly jumps in the Texas progression are not that challenging any more. My squat on the last intensity day was 245 for one set of 5 reps; and it didn't feel too challenging. The last few volume and intensity days were not too challenging either.

So, now that I got my sleeping up to 8+ hours a night, I'm considering switching back to the novice progression. Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance for considering my question.

[Mark Rippetoe]

At your age I'd probably stay with Intermediate programming, but I wouldn't be doing Texas Method. Use the 4-day split.

[Peter Egener]

I am also 47yrs old. It is a tricky age to program I am finding out. I did 5x5 sets across on linear progression for a quite a few mths until 5x5 270lb squats crushed me. I was not sleeping well at all.
I then shifted to intermediate program and it did seem much easier (almost too easy at first) so after a couple of months I switched back to 3x5 sets across because I thought I might not have run out my linear progression enough.
I lasted about 6 weeks and back to no sleep, huge fatigue issues at work and decreased sex drive. Main problem was squats and the DL getting heavy and really needing intermediate programming.
I'm switching back to TM now and will adjust VD as needed and keep wednesday light and easy.

I am wondering if we were feeling so good because we are now sleeping well because we have gone to an intermediate programming?
Could you try adjusting volume or increase intensity in greater increments to stay challenged, then back to normal when you start getting heavy on the RM sets?
Sometimes throwing in a heavy triple or double after ID 5RM can give that extra challenge if you are feeling good.
Maybe I should get used to the idea of feeling energised and strong on a program instead of shattered all the time. Just my thoughts anyway.
Cheers,
Pete

[DaveJF]

I am also 47yrs old. It is a tricky age to program I am finding out. I did 5x5 sets across on linear progression for a quite a few mths until 5x5 270lb squats crushed me. I was not sleeping well at all.
I then shifted to intermediate program and it did seem much easier (almost too easy at first) so after a couple of months I switched back to 3x5 sets across because I thought I might not have run out my linear progression enough.
I lasted about 6 weeks and back to no sleep, huge fatigue issues at work and decreased sex drive. Main problem was squats and the DL getting heavy and really needing intermediate programming.
I'm switching back to TM now and will adjust VD as needed and keep wednesday light and easy.

I am wondering if we were feeling so good because we are now sleeping well because we have gone to an intermediate programming?
Could you try adjusting volume or increase intensity in greater increments to stay challenged, then back to normal when you start getting heavy on the RM sets?
Sometimes throwing in a heavy triple or double after ID 5RM can give that extra challenge if you are feeling good.
Maybe I should get used to the idea of feeling energised and strong on a program instead of shattered all the time. Just my thoughts anyway.
Cheers,
Pete

53 y/o here. I use poor sleep along with nagging joint soreness as an indicator to back-off a little until recovery catches up. Also "form regression". This may or may not be wrong because of the subjectivity of the approach, but I'm not a competitive lifter and use the training to improve life as I age, not in an effort to make the best progress over the shortest amount of time. Still am mindful of progression and I'll take the PR's as they come but in the meantime don't want / can't afford to feel like shit day-in/day-out in an effort to improve a little faster. Maybe the OP's goals are different though.

My best progress seems to be no more than 3 times per week w/ short but intense sessions, and I think I am figuring out that Squatting more than twice per week doesn't seem to offer (me) much benefit, while still increasing the chance of injury. I have some chronic muscle belly injuries (scarring) that factor into this though, and am constantly struggling with form as well so mileage may vary.

The 4-day split has served me well, especially when the time allotment for workouts is short but over time the 4th day seemed to eat into recovery too much to sustain.

[Peter Egener]

Hi Dave,
I hear you! It is so easy to forget you aren't 18 anymore and and overdo the volume (until the next day anyway). I think you are onto it with short and sharp. One of the best things I got from PPS3 was higher intensity and lower volume for us. I've cut the recovery squat from TM as that is enough. 2x squats per week seems right at the moment. Oh well I'll see how long TM lasts then probably move to a 2x week template. On-call responsibilities cuts into sleep too often for 4x week split to work for me. Stay strong, and thanks for the advice, Dave.