What results do people get from Texas Method?

[Kregna]

I'm interested in what people's progressions look like on Intensity Day. How much weight have people managed to add to their squat/bench/presses doing 1x5 before having to drop to triples? And how much progression do they get out of the triples before moving to doubles?

I ask because I've been on TM 1 month and feel I might have to change from 1x5 to 1x3 soon. I've gained 10kg on my squats (which i'm fine with if this now goes to triples) but my bench press and overhead press have increased 2.5kg each... only got 1x4 bench press today, having had 4.5 hours sleep and not eating much last night. But I already felt I was barely making the 1x5 bench/press as it was, even though squats and deadlifts were making progress? If I'm recovered enough to increase squats and deadlifts I'd think the problem isn't recovery... although I do 90% volume day for bench/press and only 85% for squats.

Basically i don't want to go to triples after 1 month because from what I hear triples don't last as long... and adding 1kg to the damn bar every 2 weeks for bench/press is depressing enough as it is. If I start going down in reps am I really getting stronger? If I start cycling 1/2/3RMs per the book, I'm not really adding 1kg to the bar every 2 weeks because one of those rep ranges will only increase every 3 weeks...

Thanks

[brkriete]

Somebody should write a book about this programming stuff and how it varies by individual.

[Kregna]

umad?

[Kregna]

Kregs, baby, you slept 4.5hr and fucked up nutrition.

Y so silly?

I thought the pepper could sustain me

The 5s were so hard anyway I thought I'd have to move to 3s. I didn't want to wait 2 weeks (for bench day again) to redo and then find I have to go to 3s anyway. Because if I'm done with 5s already I'd rather try doing my own thing as this is progress is too slow...

[mcombs]

But I already felt I was barely making the 1x5 bench/press as it was, even though squats and deadlifts were making progress? If I'm recovered enough to increase squats and deadlifts I'd think the problem isn't recovery... although I do 90% volume day for bench/press and only 85% for squats.

Thanks

In my (limited) experience, it is the opposite. The lifts that engage more muscle mass (deadlift and squat) are able to power through "less than optimal" recovery, whereas the presses need recovery to be dialed in. They have less muscle mass to rely on to complete the work, so it is relatively more important to be relatively more recovered.

N=1 observation, I can progress the weights on deadlift even if I only slept four hours, had a salad as my last meal, and have bronchitis. But, to progress the press into a new 5RM, I need to be well rested (7+ hours), well-fed, and feeling sparky. I have to be dialed in. Fewer muscle groups, less margin.

With deadlift, I can "stubborn" my way through an extra 5 pounds, in lieu of adequate preparation (for one boneheaded session, not as a long-term program tweak). With press, I have tried to add 2.5 pounds to last week's 5RM, after a terrible night's sleep and bad nutrition. The barbell pretty much says "F you, pal", gives me three reps, and then mercilessly crushes me under it's weight.

I actually eat a big "carb load" meal the night before heavy press (I train early morning). I don't care about "carb loading" as a protocol (not re-feeding because of carb restriction) and I realize this may be placebo, but I have tracked the results for over a year. If I eat a bunch of pizza/burgers/meatloaf&taters, etc., and then I sleep for 7-8 hours... the next morning I murder the press. If I eat some chicken and tofu and broccoli (or any other hippie food), stay up late watching Netflix, and get 4.5 hours of sleep... the press murders me. Fairly consistently.

So, I eat like a jackass the night before heavy press, and then sleep a whole bunch. Complete and utter bro-science. But, I like eating, sleeping, and killing the press, so it works for me.

Same phenomenon, to a lesser extent, seems to happen with bench press. Point being, if your bench press stalled after one month on TM, and you got 4.5 hours of sleep and ate crappy the night before, that's probably why.

tl;dr - Try eating a bunch and sleeping a bunch. It helps.

[Kregna]

In my (limited) experience, it is the opposite. The lifts that engage more muscle mass (deadlift and squat) are able to power through "less than optimal" recovery, whereas the presses need recovery to be dialed in. They have less muscle mass to rely on to complete the work, so it is relatively more important to be relatively more recovered.

N=1 observation, I can progress the weights on deadlift even if I only slept four hours, had a salad as my last meal, and have bronchitis. But, to progress the press into a new 5RM, I need to be well rested (7+ hours), well-fed, and feeling sparky. I have to be dialed in. Fewer muscle groups, less margin.

With deadlift, I can "stubborn" my way through an extra 5 pounds, in lieu of adequate preparation (for one boneheaded session, not as a long-term program tweak). With press, I have tried to add 2.5 pounds to last week's 5RM, after a terrible night's sleep and bad nutrition. The barbell pretty much says "F you, pal", gives me three reps, and then mercilessly crushes me under it's weight.

I actually eat a big "carb load" meal the night before heavy press (I train early morning). I don't care about "carb loading" as a protocol (not re-feeding because of carb restriction) and I realize this may be placebo, but I have tracked the results for over a year. If I eat a bunch of pizza/burgers/meatloaf&taters, etc., and then I sleep for 7-8 hours... the next morning I murder the press. If I eat some chicken and tofu and broccoli (or any other hippie food), stay up late watching Netflix, and get 4.5 hours of sleep... the press murders me. Fairly consistently.

So, I eat like a jackass the night before heavy press, and then sleep a whole bunch. Complete and utter bro-science. But, I like eating, sleeping, and killing the press, so it works for me.

Same phenomenon, to a lesser extent, seems to happen with bench press. Point being, if your bench press stalled after one month on TM, and you got 4.5 hours of sleep and ate crappy the night before, that's probably why.

tl;dr - Try eating a bunch and sleeping a bunch. It helps.

That's great advice, thanks

[Kregna]

How long do 5s tend to work for you guys then before having to switch to 3s?

[Sean Stangl]

How long do 5s tend to work for you guys then before having to switch to 3s?

The whole point of daily/weekly programming is that you don't limit yourself artificially by having low expectations.

You need to *require* 5lbs progress each week, and do what is necessary to get that progress. If we give you a timeframe, that fucks the whole thing up.

[Kregna]

The whole point of daily/weekly programming is that you don't limit yourself artificially by having low expectations.

You need to *require* 5lbs progress each week, and do what is necessary to get that progress. If we give you a timeframe, that fucks the whole thing up.

I'm not asking for that reason (so I can say yay I achieved x weeks) I'm asking so I know if something's gone wrong (for example if most people get 3 months of 5s and I got 1) or if it's a more natural progression (e.g. everyone finds 5s finish quickly)

[Cody]

5s last for months. Longer than your novice progression. Except that you're a vegan.