You love to squat. Perhaps the most agonizing – and rewarding – exercise known to man, the squat is by far, THE measuring stick for muscular strength performance. Bench press it the ultimate measure of upper body performance. Deadlift is the global measure of pure brute strength against gravity. These three exercises combine to create the Big 3, the compound exercises which comprise more muscle than all other movements combined. And many lifters are discovering a new training protocol known as the Texas Method for boosting strength gains in these big 3 lifts, in a very short period of time.
It should be noted that the Texas Method is just that – a method. It is not a training program. You’ll be breaking down your weekly training sessions in volume, recovery, and intensity training sessions, on a 3 day per week basis. You’ll be using the Big 3 lifts, for 5 sets of volume training, 2 sets of recovery, and 1 set for intensity, all out with your 1RM, or your one repetition maximum lift. In other words, on a standard Mon/Wed/Friday training session, you’ll train for muscle mass on Monday, for soreness recovery on Wednesday, and for max strength on Friday, on all 3 lifts. Simple enough, right?
What does a sample Texas Method workout plan look like?
Here’s a sample Texas Method workout. As you can see, you’ll be hitting the big lifts several times each week. Each DAY of the week is actually a BLOCK consisting of 3 workouts. The FIRST workout is for volume, the second for recovery, and the third is for intensity.
Saturday (volume)
- Squat: 265. 270. 275. 285. 295. 295. 275
- Bench: 150. 155. 160. 165. 170. 175. 175
- RDL: 185. 185. 185. 195. 195. 195. 155
Monday (recovery)
- Pause squats: 225. 215. 215. 225. 235. 235. 225
- Press: 95. 100. 105. 110. 115. 120. 125
Wednesday (intensity)
- Squat: 315. 320. 325. 330. 335. 340. 345. 350x2,3
- Bench: 185. 175. 180. 185. 190. 195. 200. 205x3
- Deadlift: 355. 335. 345. 355. 365x3. 365. 375
WEEK TWO
Monday (volume)
- Squat: 275. 275. 275. 280. 280. 280
- Bench: 155. 165. 165. 155. 160
- RDL: 155. 165. 175. 165. 165
Wednesday (recovery)
- Pause squats: 185. 195. 185. 225. 225
- Press: 105. 95. 95. 100. 100
Friday (intensity)
- Squat: x. 325. 315x3. 315(slow poor form). 315
- Bench: x. 175. 165. 170. 175
- Deadlift: x. 355. x. 355. 360
WEEK THREE
Monday - volume
- Squat 5x5 - 280. 285. x. 285. 285. 290. 290. 295. 295. 300. 305. 305
- Bench 5x5 - 160. 165. x. 165. 170. 170. 170. 175. 175. 175. 185. 185
- Incline (starting 185 week) - 40s. 45s
Tuesday- speed/back
- Speed Deadlifts 6-12x1 (every min on the min on min 55-65%)- 275x6, 275x8, x. 275x10. 275x12. 275x12. 295x10. 295x10. X. 295x12. (30 sec rest) 295x12
- Chins 3xAMRAP (comas separate sets, periods separate days) - 13, 9, 5. 13, 10, 7. X. 13, 12, 9. 14, 10, 7. 14, 10, 7. 15, 10, 5. X. X. (abs)
Wednesday - recovery
- Squat 2x5 - 225. 225. X. X. 225. 225. 225. 235. x. 235. 235
- Press 3x5 - 100, 100. X. 100. 100. 100. 100. 105. x. 105. 105 (Face-pulls)
Friday- intensity
- Squat 1x5 - 320, 325. X. 330. 335. 340. 345. 350. 355. 360. 365
- Bench 1x5 - 180, 185. X. 190. 195. 200. 205. 3rm: 210. 215. 220x2,1. 225x1
- Deadlift 1x5 - 365. 370. X. 375. 380. 385. 390. 395. 400. 405. 410
- Bench reset, everything else going well
WEEK FOUR
Friday - volume
- Squat 5x5 - 305. 315. 325. x. x. 325
- Bench 5x5 - 185. 190. 190. x. x. 180
- Incline and rows 3x8 - 45s. 50s. 55s. x. x. 60.60 (Facepulls)
Saturday - accessory
- Speed deadlifts - 275x12(30sec&deficit). same. same. x. 295x12(30sec&deficit).
- Chins/pullups
Sunday - recovery
- Squat 2x5 - 235. x. x. 235. x. 235
- Press 3x5 - 105. x. x. 105. x. 105
Tuesday - intensity
- Squat - 5rm: 370. 375. 380
- Bench - 5rm: 205. 210x4. 215x3
- Deadlift - 5rm: 415. 420. 425
What should my nutrition & recovery plan look like?
You’re training harder than ever, using very heavy weights, so you are going to be impacting your body in a big way. You’ll need more calories for training, so bumping up clean carb sources such as pasta, rice, and potatoes is a very good idea. Higher calorie protein such as beef is also a good idea for a week like this. Drink plenty of water and consume fruits & vegetables to ensure your digestive system is ready for the bulk of clean calories you’ll need to train and recover using this method.
Any words of warning?
Take all possible precautions when training using the Texas Method. Knee wraps, back brace, chalk and gloves need to become your best friend as you embark upon a very heavy, very frequent lifting strategy. Also… don’t get sick! Losing a week to the flu isn’t that big of a deal if you’re using a 52-week bodybuilding split training method of lifting. However, if you’re training using the Texas Method and your goal is short term use for maximum gains in strength, missing workouts can be highly detrimental and set you back in a big way.
Will supplements help?
You’re training with a new level of intensity and insanity, pushing your body to new limits, and doing so on a fairly regular basis. If you’re a bodybuilder, then you’re using to taking 7 days between working the legs with squats. That just flew out the window, didn’t it? Supplements will help a great deal when training using the Texas Method. Best results will be seen with the use of Humatropic and plenty of whey protein powder!
