Texas Method Sorta 5x5 Log

Training Logs
1

Time for a new program. It’s not terribly different, but it’s different enough. I plan on essentially maintaining my weight right now, while just getting stronger. I’ll be eating 3000 calories on training days (up from 2500) and 2000 on non.

Weight: 172

Deadlift 1RM: 365
Squat 3RM: 300
Bench 4RM: 220
Military Press 2RM: 150
Row 4RM: 180

Here’s the plan:

Fullbody, three days a week. Three big lifts a day. Little to no accessory work (I’m still not eating a whole lot). Military Press/Bench will alternate week to week, as will BB Rows/Chins. I’ll squat three days a week every week. I’ll only deadlift on wednesday.

Monday is a “work/volume” day:

Reps/Load: 5x5, with the same weight.

Squat
Bench(A)/Military Press(B)
Chins(A)/BB Rows(B)

Wednesday is a light recovery day:

Reps/Load: 3x3, same weight as used on monday; exception is deadlift.

Squat
Military Press(A)/Bench(B)
BB Row(A)/Chins(B)
Deadlift; working up to one hard set of 5, a 5RM essentially.

Friday is a high intensity day:

Reps/Load: Work up to a 3RM.

Squat
Bench(A)/Miltary Press(B)
Chins(A)/BB Rows(B)

I’ll be working up to my current bests on Monday and Friday. I will not make any PR’s until the 5th week. :slight_smile:

So, on the fridays of the 5th/6th week, I plan on hitting these weights:
Deadlift: 325x5
Squat: 305x5
Bench: 222.5x3
Miltary Press: 142.5x3
Chins: 52.5x3
Rows: 182.5x3

Every week thereafter will be PR attempts.

2

Monday, Week 1.

Bench: 185x5x5
Squat: 260x5x5 (I meant this to be 255, uhm, oops.)
Chins: bw + 15x5x5

I’m actually a little sore today (Im posting the day after that workout). Mostly in my chest/shoulders. I’m not used to this volume. :slight_smile:

3

Wednesday (Yes, I realize I’m posting on Friday), Week 1.

Squat:
135x3
225x1
255x3x3 (I was supposed to do 255 monday)

Miltary Press:
45x5
85x3
115x3x3

Row:
45x5
115x3
150x3x3

Deadlift:
135x3
225x3
275x3
305x3

Cuban Presses:
45x3x6

Low Pulley External Rotations (!):
20x6
10x10

Ok. I guess I am squatting wednesday, like I said. It certainly had an affect on my deadlift, but nothing big. :wink:

I think I need to warmup a bit better. I’m used to ramping sets, so the squats this week were a bit of a “shock”, initially.

The Cuban Presses/Low Pulley External Rotations are accessory work for my rotator cuff. :wink: I figured I should be doing something like this, and it fits in best on wednesday IMHO. They’re from the article “Cracking the Rotator Cuff Conundrum” here: http://www.T-Nation.com/findArticle.do?article=280rotator2

4

I really like routines like this.

Is this a progression from the vanilla 5x5 (as I can see this is slightly more advanced)?

5

Week 1, Friday.

Squat:
185x3
215x3
255x3
285x3

Bench:
135x3
160x3
185x3
215x3

Chins:
bwx3
bw + 15x3
bw + 25x3
bw + 40x3

Easy. Really focused on my form on bench today. I was particularly paying attention to making sure I was squeezing my shoulder blades together.

6

[quote]Der Candy wrote:
I really like routines like this.

Is this a progression from the vanilla 5x5 (as I can see this is slightly more advanced)?

[/quote]

It’s based on a template of the “texas method” from stronglifts.com. I’m not so sure what you mean by “vanilla 5x5” - so I can’t really comment. However, Starr’s 5x5 basically follows the above format of alternating heavy/medium/light days and weekly progression. This is essentially the same thing, just different parameters (exercises, sets/reps … ).

I’m not so sure it’s a “progression” - just something different.

7

The one thing I’m “curious” about, is how the alternating exercises is going to work out.

I’ll have a better feeling for that on the third week (when I repeat my bench/chin workouts), and what will really determine if it was a good idea is if I’m hitting PR’s on the lifts. :slight_smile:

8

Week 2, Monday.

Squat:
0x0x0 :frowning:

Military Press:
45x5
85x3
115x5x5

Row:
95x5
135x3
150x5x5

I hurt my knee. I started to feel a dull ache and a reduction in ROM (straightening my leg out) on saturday. It’s currently swollen, with lotsa pressure on my knee while doing even a bodyweight squat. The injury seems to have been on a ligament/tendon on the back right side of my right knee. Stretching my calf/hamstring reduces some of the pain. I’m limping slightly. It doesn’t really hurt to walk, but I feel I have to be extra careful as I’ve placed it in bad positions a couple times only to feel a quick stabbing pain.

It feels almost as if I twisted it. I don’t know what exactly happened. Anyway, I’m not squatting at all this week at the very least. I may or may not try to deadlift on wednesday. I’ll start very light, and see how I feel.

9

Week 2, Wednesday.

Deadlift:
135x5
225x3
273x3
310x5

Bench:
135x5
165x3
190x4x3 (4 sets of 3)

Chins:
bwx2
20 + bwx4x3

Cuban Presses:
50x3x6

Low Pulley External Rotations:
10x2x12

I increased the number of sets I did from 3 to 4. 3 is just too few. I’m also going to add one more set on friday of a lighter weight and more reps, similar to mad cows 5x5 friday scheme.

I ripped that damn barbell off the floor doing my deads. No knee pain! I did wrap the shit out of my knee, though. I also took 3 advil about 30 minutes prior to going to the gym. I’ll have to wait and see if I made things worse, I guess. :wink: The pain is now more towards to front on the inside of the knee (my left side). I wonder what I did …

The rotator cuff stuff was way easier this time. I feel good doing those exercises.

I miss squatting.

10

Week 2, Friday.

Military Press:
95x3
105x3
120x3
140x3
115x6

Row:
115x3
135x3
155x3
175x3
150x6

Good Morning:
45x10
95x10
135x10

I added in an extra set like I said I would. It’s a set of 6 of the weight I did for 5x5 on the previous monday. Also, instead of squatting, I decided to do some good mornings. They felt great! I may do them next week monday and friday, instead of squatting. I really want to baby my knee. I do not have health insurance, so I need to be extra cautious. :-/ The swelling has gone down, and the pain has pretty much subsided. I was able to do a few squats with just the bar without any pain or “weird feelings.”

I got a new gym membership at L.A. Fitness. It’s a lot closer than the Y I was going to, and more importantly, I’ll be able to lift with my g/f every friday!

11

[quote]goochadamg wrote:
Week 2, Wednesday.

I increased the number of sets I did from 3 to 4. 3 is just too few. I’m also going to add one more set on friday of a lighter weight and more reps, similar to mad cows 5x5 friday scheme.[/quote]

Now your plan was to keep it a light day, correct? If the program says 3 sets, do 3 sets. I always have the tendency to do more because, I want more results. But if it is to aide in recovery, dial it back to 3 sets.

12

[quote]goochadamg wrote:
Week 2, Wednesday.
The pain is now more towards to front on the inside of the knee (my left side). I wonder what I did …[/quote]

There was an article on stronglifts.com a week or two ago about the patellar (?) tendon and rehab for it. Sounds similar … I used to get pain in the same location from playing basketball. Hurt every time I jumped. I found out it’s called jumpers knee. Go figure.

13

[quote]TheDudeAbides wrote:
goochadamg wrote:
Week 2, Wednesday.

I increased the number of sets I did from 3 to 4. 3 is just too few. I’m also going to add one more set on friday of a lighter weight and more reps, similar to mad cows 5x5 friday scheme.

Now your plan was to keep it a light day, correct? If the program says 3 sets, do 3 sets. I always have the tendency to do more because, I want more results. But if it is to aide in recovery, dial it back to 3 sets.
[/quote]

Heh. I made the program from a template, so I can change it as a I see fit. :stuck_out_tongue: 4 sets of 3 at the weight I’m going to use next week for 5x5, is still FAR less work than 5 sets 5 of a weight 5 lbs lighter. Infact, the volume is half of mondays + 60 lbs. So, I’m still following the template: wednesday is a light day. Maybe I’ll dial it back when I stall. :slight_smile:

Thanks for the info on the knee thing too! I’ll go check that out.

14

Link to article about dealing with knee injuries, in case anyone gives a shit: How to Squat with Proper Form: The Definitive Guide | StrongLifts

15

[quote]goochadamg wrote:
Heh. I made the program from a template, so I can change it as a I see fit. :stuck_out_tongue: 4 sets of 3 at the weight I’m going to use next week for 5x5, is still FAR less work than 5 sets 5 of a weight 5 lbs lighter. Infact, the volume is half of mondays + 60 lbs. So, I’m still following the template: wednesday is a light day. Maybe I’ll dial it back when I stall. :slight_smile:

Thanks for the info on the knee thing too! I’ll go check that out.[/quote]

Makes sense. I’ll be doing your routine or Bill Starr when I’m done with Rippetoe.

16

Week 3, Monday.

Squat (I couldn’t resist.):
135x5 - felt fine.
185x3 - felt fine.
255x5x5 - felt fine, but harder than it should’ve been.

Bench:
135x5
155x3
190x5x5

Chins:
bwx3
20 + bwx5x5

My knee felt good today. I was going to “warm up” for some heavier good mornings by squatting 135 a bit. However, it felt so good, I just went and did my normal thing. I was in the gym early this morning, and my knee is still fine as of 12 hours later.

I supersetted my chins with my bench press, as I was running out of time. Wore me out a bit. :wink: My last set of bench was easier than expected. Last set of chins was harder. :slight_smile:

17

Week 3, Wednesday. (Late post)

Squat:
135x5
185x3
225x2
260x3x3

Military Press:
45x8
95x3
120x4x3

Deadlift:
135x5
225x3
273x3
315x5

Cuban Press:
60x5 (Way hard)
55x2x6

That’s it. Technically the deadlift is a PR, but that’s because I deviated slightly from my last program. :slight_smile:

My knee feels ok. It was SLIGHTLY swollen last night (Thursday). I gotta keep ice on it, I guess.

18

Week 3, Friday.

Squat:
135x3
185x3
225x3
255x3
285x3
260x6

Bench:
135x3
160x3
185x3
220x3
195x6

Chins:
bwx3
bw + 15x3
bw + 25x3
bw + 45x3
bw + 25x6

Good workout. Chins felt easy, bench & squat … not so much. :slight_smile:

19

Late posts. Life happened.

Week 4, Monday.

Squat:
135x3
185x3
225x2
260x5x5

Miltary Press:
45x5
85x3
120x5x5

Row:
95x5
135x3
155x5x5

The MP’s were difficult, as were the squats.

Wednesday:

Squat:
135x5
185x3
225x2
265x3x3

Bench:
135x5
165x3
195x4x3

Chins:
bwx2
25 + bwx4x3

Deadlift:
135x3
225x3
275x3
320x5

Cuban Presses:
55x8x2
55x7

The deadlift was brutal. I probably took 5 seconds rest between the fourth and fifth rep. My grip was starting to give; I almost dropped the bar after locking out the last rep.

Friday:
I lost this workouts log. Oops. Everything went as planned except I ended up not having enough time for my rows. I thought the gym closed later than it did. The MPs were again particularly difficult. I really struggled with my last set of 125x6.

20

Week 5, Monday.

Squat:
135x5
185x3
225x3
265x5x5

Bench:
135x3
160x3
185x2
195x5x5

Chins:
bwx3
25 + bwx5x5

Barbell holds:
315 for 6 seconds (double OH grip)
365 for 6 seconds (mixed grip)

The squats were tough, but as usual the last set was easier than expected. I really get “into the grove” by the third set.

The same occurred with the bench. For some reason, I was slightly nervous about making my lifts, but I did. It was easier that I thought it would be.

The chins went fine, I didn’t feel near failure at all.

I wanted to do some extra grip work because I feel my weak grip may result in me prematurely stalling on the deadlifts. I’ll try and do this every monday.

So far I’ve noticed a definite size increase in all the muscle groups being worked. My lats have grown considerably. I’ve been relatively strictly following my 2k non training/3k training diet.