The Texas Method Strength Program (Run it 3-6+ Months)

Have you ever ever wondered why some strength training programs result in remarkable gains while others appear to plateau?

Strength training shouldn’t be nearly lifting weights; it is a science. A correct strength training routine is not going to only increase strength and muscle mass, but in addition improve bone density and overall metabolic health.

At SET FOR SET, we understand the intricacies behind the science of strength training and the importance of tailoring your workouts to your personal goals.

That is where The Texas Method Strength Program (TM) comes into play, a proven linear progression strategy that can allow you to break through strength training plateaus.

In this text, we’ll teach you all the pieces it’s essential to know in regards to the Texas Method workout program, including user testimonials and results.

Table of Contents

• What Is The Texas Method Workout?
• Texas Method Basics
• Texas Method Workout Routine
• How Does The Texas Method Work?
• Texas Method Pros vs. Cons
• Texas Method Program Suggestions
• Testimonials From Reddit r/Weightroom
• FAQs 

What Is The Texas Method Workout?

The Texas Method Workout is a linear progression strength training program designed for intermediate to advanced weight lifters. It is a three-day full-body strength program that primarily focuses on compound movements for sets of 5 reps. 

Linear progression is an idea applied to strength training programs where you steadily add small amounts of weight to your lifts, often every week.

Typically, linear progression strength programs are designed for beginners to construct a foundation and get used to handling increasingly heavy weight, yet TM takes linear progression to the following level. 

The Texas Method, developed by renowned strength coach Mark Rippetoe, is an excellent selection for many who have plateaued in beginner linear progression programs like Starting Strength, also created by Rippetoe. While each programs share similarities, Starting Strength caters to beginners constructing foundational strength, whereas the Texas Method advances lifters past early training plateaus.

In keeping with Mark, the Texas Method balances the stress of increased weight and varied volume with adequate recovery time so intermediate lifters can consistently make gains over an prolonged period.

The most important difference between the Texas Method and a novice progression program is that the Texas Method uses varied periodization, where the amount and intensity vary between workouts.

We are going to cover this, and all the small print of the Texas Method explained below.

Texas Method Basics

The Texas Method involves three full-body workouts every week, performed on Monday-Wednesday-Friday, specializing in the main lifts, including squats, bench presses, overhead presses, and deadlifts.

The primary workout of the week is a high-volume day, the second is an energetic rest light day, and the ultimate is a high-intensity day where you lift the heaviest weights.

The training program’s goal is to consistently add five to 10 kilos to your lifts every week.

The entire program uses sets of 5, aside from body weight exercises.

Creator Mark Rippetoe found that sets of 5 reps are the right combination of coaching intensity and volume. Higher reps require too light of weight to achieve strength, while super heavy weights for a few reps cause an excessive amount of structural stress.

We are going to explain this in-depth within the sections below after we lay out the routine.

The core principles of the Texas Method include:

• Three full body workouts performed on Monday-Wednesday-Friday
• Deal with basic structural exercises, including the squat, bench press, deadlift, and overhead press, performed with sets of 5 reps.
• Increase weight lifted each week by 5 lbs for upper body exercises and 10 lbs for lower body.
• Undulating Periodization: The Texas Method template uses the concept of undulating periodization, which is where volume and intensity vary by workout. This is essential for the body to recuperate properly to handle the increasingly heavy load.

The Texas Method Strength Program Routine

It is important to notice the difference between even weeks and odd weeks, because the bench and overhead presses (OHP) alternate.

Should you bench-pressed Monday, you need to do OHP on Wednesday, then bench again on Friday for odd weeks. Should you do the OHP on Monday, you do the bench press on Wednesday with a bit of lighter weight than your previous bench, then the OHP on Friday for even weeks.

Ideal Weekly Schedule:

• Session 1: Monday (High Volume)
• Session 2: Wednesday (Light Day)
• Session 3: Friday (High Intensity)

After all, you may shift the times of the week around as best suited to you, just keep a rest day between each session. 

Note: Odd weeks confer with weeks 1, 3, 5, etc. Even weeks are 2, 4, 6, etc.

Program Length:

It’s generally really useful to run this program at a minimum of three months. 3-6 months is average, but you need to ideally proceed with it until you see diminishing returns, which for some people could possibly be 1 yr or longer. 

Starting Weight:

To find out the starting weight, calculate the utmost weight you may lift for five clean reps (five rep max). You’ll be able to have a “starting week” where you run through the routine to find out ideal starting weights, then actually begin this system.

Session 1 (Monday): 

• Rest time between sets needs to be at the very least 3 to five minutes to ensure that the body recovers. Take so long as you wish.
• The deadlift won’t be a real 5RM because your legs will likely be exhausted from the squats, but you need to still increase your weight every week.
• Limit accessory exercises to temporary arm work at the tip of the workout (for those who decide to accomplish that).

Session 2 (Wednesday):

• Rest for around five minutes between chin ups sets to failure.

Session 3 (Friday):

• Warm up as much as you wish for the squat and second exercise (odd weeks). The nice and cozy-up is more extensive Session 3 (Friday) since you might be working toward a latest 5 rep max.
• The full load (amount lifted) needs to be heavier than Session 1 (Monday). Add at the very least 5 lbs to bench press and 10 lbs to squat.

Power Moves: The choice to perform power cleans or power snatches is determined by the person, but ideally they needs to be alternated. Dynamic effort work is a way where you lift lighter weights faster, equivalent to with an influence clean. Dynamic effort is critical to Olympic weightlifting-derived power since it helps improve speed and explosiveness. While chances are you’ll think you do not need that since you are not an expert athlete, Olympic weightlifting can drastically increase strength. If you have to, you may replace the clean/snatch with deadlifts, but ensure that you might have a lighter weight and concentrate on pulling fast.

How Does The Texas Method Work?

With the Texas Method you continually increase the load lifted, which challenges recovery ability and forces the body to adapt by getting stronger. It uses a high-volume day for tonnage stress early within the week, an energetic rest day to recuperate, and lastly a high-intensity day for strength gains.

A very important a part of the Texas Method is calculating the load you ought to be lifting. This system uses the term tonnage, which refers to the whole amount of weight lifted in a certain period.

So, for those who bench press 150 lbs for five sets of 5, your total tonnage is 150 x 5 x 5 = 3,750.

Tracking the tonnage is an amazing strategy to track your progress and calculate how much weight to extend or decrease between workouts. The starting weight in week one in every of this system needs to be 90% of your five-rep max.

Although the usual Texas Method template calls for a Monday-Wednesday-Friday split, you would do this system any day of the week. The vital part is ensuring at the very least 48 hours between workouts to make sure adequate recovery.

Many individuals try so as to add extra workout days into the routine, often for isolation exercises. Should you are doing this system appropriately, your body won’t need greater than three workouts per week.

The remaining time is rigorously calculated to maximise gains and forestall overuse injuries, so follow the three days. You must rest at the very least three to 5 minutes between sets, if not longer, especially for exercise to failure. This system is flexible in that you need to hearken to your body and adjust accordingly.

Texas Method Progression Schedule

Like other linear progression programs, the weekly goal is five kilos for upper-body lifts and ten kilos for lower-body lifts. This only applies to Monday and Friday’s workout, as Wednesday is a lighter workout recovery day. The goal is to position optimum stress on the muscle while maintaining proper form. Should you cannot increase the load by Friday’s workout, there’s a failure protocol.

Texas Method Squat Progression Example:

Should you successfully complete Monday’s workout but fail to progress on Friday, consider the next adjustments:

• Option 1: Add an additional set to the primary two exercises on Monday.
• Option 2: Maintain the identical total reps but increase the load and reduce reps per set. For instance, as an alternative of doing 5 sets of 5 reps with 225 lbs, try 8 sets of three reps or 6 sets of 4 reps with 235 lbs.
• Option 3: Introduce a high-rep “burnout” set after the primary two exercises on Monday.

Should you’re unable to extend the load on Friday or the next Monday, you would possibly must:

• Option 1: Reduce the variety of sets for an exercise.
• Option 2: Lower the reps for Monday’s work weight.
• Option 3: Decrease your starting work weight, which is predicated in your 5-rep max (5RM).

That is where this system’s flexibility and your creativity are available. Hearken to your body and make the suitable changes. Crucial part is completing the whole variety of reps, so don’t be concerned if you might have to interrupt that down into more sets.

Texas Method Pros vs Cons

Pros:

• Only three days every week: This system only requires a three-day training week, which is good enough for those who follow the protocol.
• Can break plateaus: This program is ideal for anyone who has hit a plateau, especially intermediate lifters who maxed out their beginner gains. The creator considers it a follow-up to Starting Strength or the same beginner strength program.
• Introduction to periodization: Doing the identical amount of reps and using the identical weight every week will be boring and counterproductive. This program introduces the concept of periodization to lifters, which is when the variety of sets and reps varies. Periodization helps lifters maximize gains while providing adequate recovery time.
• Boosts confidence: Let’s face it – there aren’t many higher feelings than hitting a latest PR. With this program, you ought to be hitting a latest PR every Friday. This will help construct confidence each in and out of the gym.
• Great for bulking: This system focuses on performing compound exercises with heavy weights for sets of 5 reps, which is ideal for adding mass and strength. Rippetoe recommends eating as much as 5,000 calories every day to properly recuperate, so this program is ideal for a bulk.

Cons:

• Not for beginners: This training program is meant for individuals with strength training experience, not beginners. There are similar programs that use the identical concepts but are designed for beginners, equivalent to Starting Strength and the GZCLP method.
• Limited isolation work: This system is incredibly limited regarding assistance exercises to focus on specific or lagging muscles. This system only allows for a couple of light arm exercises on Mondays at the tip of the workout.
• Requires Time and Planning: This routine requires a bit of extra considering and planning outside the gym. It’s essential calculate your 5 rep max as accurately as possible since your entire lifts are based on this weight. Workouts on Mondays and Fridays can take as much as two hours attributable to the prolonged rest between sets.
• Not ideal for a cutting food plan: The Texas Method could be very high intensity, so the body requires extra protein and carbs to recuperate. The typical user on the Texas Method may eat as much as 5,000 calories a day, which shouldn’t be ideal for somebody attempting to drop some weight.
• Heavily squat dominant strength plan (for key reasons – see below)

Texas Method Program Suggestions

• Light warmup: Keep your warm-up sets very light to conserve energy and maximize the load in your major lifts. At the identical time, it is important to not slack in your warmup sets either. It’s essential warm up to forestall injury.
• Don’t inflate your 5 rep max: Should you start this system at a heavier weight than you may handle, you’ll set yourself up for failure. Be as accurate as possible together with your starting weights.
• Don’t overdo it on Monday: One in all the most important mistakes people make on TM goes too heavy on Monday. Should you struggle to make progress, try the workout with a rather lower weight relatively than reducing volume.
• Go heavy on Fridays: Friday, also generally known as intensity day, is an important day of the Texas Method program. You need to be lifting the heaviest weights of the week on Friday and attempting to set a latest PR each week.
• Be explosive but controlled: Attempt to be as explosive as possible in the course of the lifts while maintaining proper form. This is particularly vital for the dynamic effort work on Friday.

Why aren’t deadlifts more of a priority within the Texas Method?

The Texas Method doesn’t prioritize deadlifts before squats on any of its training days for a couple of key reasons:

• Fatigue Management: Squats are typically placed before deadlifts in lots of strength training programs because they’re more taxing on the central nervous system and your complete body. Performing squats first ensures that you simply’re at your freshest and strongest, which is crucial for maintaining proper form and maximizing performance on this fundamental lift.
• Overlapping Muscle Groups: Squats and deadlifts goal lots of the same muscle groups, equivalent to the glutes, quads, and lower back. Doing squats first pre-exhausts these muscles, which may make deadlifting afterwards more difficult. Nonetheless, this can be a strategic selection within the Texas Method. By deadlifting when barely fatigued, it limits the whole volume and intensity you may handle within the deadlift, which is intentional to administer overall recovery demands. Deadlifts are highly taxing, and doing them when fresh may lead to overtraining, especially when combined with the amount of squats in this system.
• Program Focus: The Texas Method is primarily designed to enhance overall strength with a major emphasis on the squat. By focusing more on the squat, this system aligns with its goal of enhancing strength on this core lift. While deadlifts are included, they’re treated as a secondary exercise on this context.
• Frequency and Recovery: The Texas Method has a high frequency of squatting (3 times every week) in comparison with deadlifting (once every week). This distribution allows for higher recovery from the numerous stress that deadlifts place on the body, particularly the lower back. Doing deadlifts first in a workout could compromise the recovery and performance for squats throughout the week.

In summary, the Texas Method’s structure is designed to optimize performance and recovery, with a selected emphasis on improving squat strength. This rationale guides the choice to perform squats before deadlifts in this system.

Desire a program that is more balanced across the large lifts? 

Testimonials From Reddit r/Weightroom

Among the finest ways to gauge a workout program is by real-life testimonials from people much like us. When scanning reviews of the Texas Method, we found some incredible results from intermediate and experienced lifters.

Within the subReddit r/weightroom, a post titled “Program Review: One Yr on the Texas Method,” shares some remarkable progress.

1. Original Poster Jeremiah05 posted,

After making some impressive beginner gains in just five months on the Starting Strength program, the OP tried the Texas Method.

¹

So in roughly a yr, the user was capable of increase his bench press by 80 lbs, his squat by 150 lbs, and deadlift by 200 lbs, all while gaining 25 lbs of primarily muscle. These results are incredible and show the true potential of a program just like the Texas Method.

A typical theme in testimonials is the importance of recovery, including your food plan.

2. One user stated, ²

3. Similarly, user boojombi451 posted, ³

These great examples highlight the importance of recovery in an intense routine just like the Texas Method.

Texas Method FAQs

How long does each Texas Method workout take?

The workout on Mondays and Fridays can take as much as two hours because the remaining period between sets needs to be three to 5 minutes. Wednesday’s workout is barely shorter, around 60 to 90 minutes.

What’s the weekly progression for the Texas Method?

The progression goal is so as to add 5 kilos for upper body lifts and 10 kilos for lower body lifts each week on Monday and Friday.

Can a beginner use the Texas Method program?

No, the Texas Method is for more advanced weight lifters with at the very least 18-24 months or more of strength training. A beginner should use a more basic program, equivalent to Starting Strength or the GZCLP method.

How long do you have to do the Texas Method Workout routine?

Creator Mark Rippetoe recommends you stay on the Texas Method for at the very least six to nine months. It is sweet to cycle the routine off so you may concentrate on cardio and isolation exercises and provides the body a break. 

Can I add extra workouts to the Texas Method Workout?

Should you are doing the TM program appropriately, you will want the total 48 hours of recovery time due to intensity of the workouts. It’s best to follow the rules and only workout three days every week to avoid unnecessary stress on the body.

Summary:

Only a few successful lifters achieved their physique without the assistance of a proven strength training program. Mark Rippetoe is a pioneer within the fitness industry that has helped countless beginners make incredible gains in only a couple of months. The Texas Method is an intense workout routine designed for intermediate to advanced weight lifters as a follow-up to the beginner program Starting Strength.

Like Starting Strength, it focuses on the first compound Olympic lifts; the difference is the numerous intensity and volume. Monday is a volume day, Wednesday is energetic recovery, and Friday is the intensity day where you increase your personal records each week. Some experienced weight lifters may frown upon only figuring out three days every week, but trust us, you get your money’s price.

Should you are doing this system appropriately, you will want as much recovery time (and calories) as possible to maintain increasing your weekly load. It is important to start out this system at the right weight (90% of your five rep max) and execute with proper form to make the weekly progression.

As all the time, hearken to your body and adjust as needed, because no exercise is price an injury. Should you follow the protocol, you will likely be shocked on the long-term progress you may make in the load room from such a “easy” workout program.

Final Thought: The Texas Method may not align together with your goals. Should you want a strength program with more options, try our SFS Strength Program, created by Strength Coach, Garett Reid ( NSCA, CSCS, CISSN, M.S.E.S.S).