Texas method fail squat and bench

[Dan3088]

I failed to improve Texas method intensity squats and bench tonight.
My question is how shall I progress next week?
I'm 25
5,11
240lbs
Monday squat volume was 151kg 333lbs 5x5
Bench was 92kg 202lbs 5x5

Fridays intensity squat should have been 180kg 399lbs for 5 singles
Bench intensity should have been 102kg 224lbs for a set of 3

I got 3 singles on the squat and 2 reps on the bench.
Last week failed the intensity squat with 180kg on the third single had to dump the bar on the safeties.
Two weeks ago i got two reps on the bench at 102kg.
My last successful intensity squat was two weeks ago 178kg 392lbs for a set of 5. The last two reps were a struggle and probably bad form.
My diet over those two weeks was poor lots of chocolate and crap over the Christmas holidays thought the was the problem so iv eaten to Jordan's macro recommendations this week. How should I progress?

[Rob Israel]

I failed to improve Texas method intensity squats and bench tonight.
My question is how shall I progress next week?
I'm 25
5,11
240lbs
Monday squat volume was 151kg 333lbs 5x5
Bench was 92kg 202lbs 5x5

Fridays intensity squat should have been 180kg 399lbs for 5 singles
Bench intensity should have been 102kg 224lbs for a set of 3

I got 3 singles on the squat and 2 reps on the bench.
Last week failed the intensity squat with 180kg on the third single had to dump the bar on the safeties.
Two weeks ago i got two reps on the bench at 102kg.
My last successful intensity squat was two weeks ago 178kg 392lbs for a set of 5. The last two reps were a struggle and probably bad form.
My diet over those two weeks was poor lots of chocolate and crap over the Christmas holidays thought the was the problem so iv eaten to Jordan's macro recommendations this week. How should I progress?

So you did a set of 5 at 178kg and then couldn't do 5 singles at 180kg? That doesn't make much sense. If you are eating and sleeping OK, it sounds like you need a deload.

You should ask Andy in the programming thread-- he's a Texas Method guy.

[Dan3088]

So you did a set of 5 at 178kg and then couldn't do 5 singles at 180kg? That doesn't make much sense. If you are eating and sleeping OK, it sounds like you need a deload.

You should ask Andy in the programming thread-- he's a Texas Method guy.

form broke down on the last two reps of that 178x5 then the following week and a half my diet was terrible thanks mainly to Christmas. The first attempt at 180kg I felt fatigued so got my diet back on track and tried again with no luck even tho I felt rested.

[Rob Israel]

Ok, tell me about your volume progress, how has that gone? What kind of jumps have you been taking?
Also, you might as well lay out your whole program-- maybe you have been doing too much. Christmas food should help you lift more.
Also
Do you have a 1RM on these lifts?
What's your previous lifting experience? (Time lifting, previous programs)

[Dan3088]

Started the starting strength novice progression in March 2013 I had previously run it with out fully doing the program as it is written. Got my squat to 158kg by October 2013 had to reset once in that time. I had a weeks layoff while I was on holiday then came back and started Texas method. My volume days I have been calculating the weight as exactly 85% of intensity day. They are hard sessions but I haven't failed any yet.
My program looks like this :-
Monday
Squat 5x5
Press/bench 5x5
Deadlift 1x5

Wednesday
Squat 2x5 80%monday
Press/bench 90%previous Monday
Dips 3sets of as many possible

Friday
Squat 1x5 until two weeks ago increasing 2kg a week
Press/bench 1x5
Power snatch 6x2

I don't have any 1RM for anything.

[Dan3088]

fwiw, I 5x5 squats were killing me.

I dropped to 4sets x5, and ID for my lifts is singles, doubles, or triples.

I've added 5lb every week for squats; bench is different due to some tendinitis issues, but my press has improved. You can change the volume and intensity a little bit. That being said...

Get your nutrition back in order and see what happens. As increasing weight becomes more difficult, making sure recovery is dialed in becomes more important.

Iv read the ppst Texas method section and I'm going to try and up the volume day weight and try 8 sets of 3 to see if that gets me un stuck on the squat

[Rob Israel]

Iv read the ppst Texas method section and I'm going to try and up the volume day weight and try 8 sets of 3 to see if that gets me un stuck on the squat

Hey Dan,
I saw you posted in Andy's thread and as you can see by his answer, this is a tough nut to crack. You could try the 8 sets of 3, but that's usually something you move to later, but it may be worth a shot.

So, have you been doing this last cycle with no breaks since October? That may be your problem. I would do deload and a small reset. You must have gotten run down and under-recovered.

You may want to go back to 5RM on your ID day. I would go back to a 5RM until you only get 4 reps, then 4's until you can only get 3 reps and then 2 doubles for a couple weeks and then singles across. This will provide a chance to work on your form under lower intensities, but still maximal efforts. You could probably drop your volume day too.

You could go back to 375x5 for intensity, you also lower your volume to 320 or 325 or so. That will give you some room for growth and when you get back to these numbers again in 5 weeks you should be able to push through them. It really seems like you need a deload week regardless.

[Dan3088]

Hey Dan,
I saw you posted in Andy's thread and as you can see by his answer, this is a tough nut to crack. You could try the 8 sets of 3, but that's usually something you move to later, but it may be worth a shot.

So, have you been doing this last cycle with no breaks since October? That may be your problem. I would do deload and a small reset. You must have gotten run down and under-recovered.

You may want to go back to 5RM on your ID day. I would go back to a 5RM until you only get 4 reps, then 4's until you can only get 3 reps and then 2 doubles for a couple weeks and then singles across. This will provide a chance to work on your form under lower intensities, but still maximal efforts. You could probably drop your volume day too.

You could go back to 375x5 for intensity, you also lower your volume to 320 or 325 or so. That will give you some room for growth and when you get back to these numbers again in 5 weeks you should be able to push through them. It really seems like you need a deload week regardless.

Hi this sounds like a good idea the 3x8 went horribly yesterday with me only completing 3 sets before my legs began aching I then only managed 2 on the 4th set. It's was starting to feel like a was building up a lot of accumulated stress on my legs. Thanks for the info I'm going to take it easy for the rest of the week no squatting then deload next week and build back up

[Rob Israel]

Hi this sounds like a good idea the 3x8 went horribly yesterday with me only completing 3 sets before my legs began aching I then only managed 2 on the 4th set. It's was starting to feel like a was building up a lot of accumulated stress on my legs. Thanks for the info I'm going to take it easy for the rest of the week no squatting then deload next week and build back up

Yea, it sounds like you are burnt. I know Andy doesn't like resets on TM, but sometimes you have no choice and after a deload I prefer to reset a little. I would throw in some very light squatting during your deload week (this week would be the deload, next week would be the reset and back to TM). Instead of not squatting entirely, squat low volume and low intensity. My advice:

Take 3 full days off squatting and on the fourth day (Friday) do 2 triples at about 245. This will be a good recovery squat and keep the groove greased. Take the weekend off and then hit your volume squat Monday. Don't DL at all. Fair warning, you may get really sore from your first volume day though. If you want to avoid that, I have another protocol for it, but it's more time consuming. That may not happen if you aren't an old man like me...

[Dan3088]

Yea, it sounds like you are burnt. I know Andy doesn't like resets on TM, but sometimes you have no choice and after a deload I prefer to reset a little. I would throw in some very light squatting during your deload week (this week would be the deload, next week would be the reset and back to TM). Instead of not squatting entirely, squat low volume and low intensity. My advice:

Take 3 full days off squatting and on the fourth day (Friday) do 2 triples at about 245. This will be a good recovery squat and keep the groove greased. Take the weekend off and then hit your volume squat Monday. Don't DL at all. Fair warning, you may get really sore from your first volume day though. If you want to avoid that, I have another protocol for it, but it's more time consuming. That may not happen if you aren't an old man like me...

Well Monday I didn't do my deadlifts my other lift that day was the press I got the volume no bother so I was planning to bench tonight and do my intensity press on Friday as planned as my upper body feels good does that sound reasonable? Or would total rest till Friday light squats be better?