Question about the texas method

[theoryrun]

In the sample template provided here, deadlifts are only used on fridays, for a heavy set of 1-3 reps.

This surprised me - why so little? Why not in the volume/rest phases as well? I know it's just a template, but it seems odd for an exercise to only be in the PR attempt day

 

[Bullitt68]

Deadlifts aren't like squats. If you put it to the test, you'll likely find that deadlifts benefit most from comparatively infrequent low volume/high intensity efforts, whereas squats actually seem to benefit more from the exact opposite (see the 20 Rep Squats program).

Form is extremely important with the deadlift (that's not to say it isn't for other lifts) and past 1-3 reps, form will inevitably break down, especially if you're going heavy and squatting, to boot.

T NATION | Dead Zone by Dave Tate

The Top 10 Deadlift Mistakes

Mistake #1: Training the deadlift heavy all the time

Very few people can train the deadlift week after week and still make progress. I feel the only ones who can get away with this are the ones who're built to deadlift. If you're built to pull, then the stress on your system is going to be less than those who aren't built to deadlift.

The deadlift is a very demanding movement and it takes a lot to recover from. This is compounded if you're also squatting every week. The squat and deadlift train many of the same muscles and this is another reason why you don't need to train the deadlift heavy all the time. Years ago the only deadlifts I did off the floor were in meets. The rest of the time was spent training the lower back, glutes, and hamstrings. While my deadlift increased 40 pounds over the first few years, I did run into some problems with this approach.

The major problem I had was when I'd go to a meet I didn't know where to place my feet and if I got stuck I didn't know how to adjust. Since I'm not built to deadlift, these things aren't natural to me. I had to find a way to put some pulling back in the program without taxing the system. What we came up with was a session of speed deadlifts with a moderate weight pulled for five or six singles. This way the weight was heavy enough to teach good form and not too heavy to tax the system. This worked out to 45 to 50% of max to be trained after the dynamic or speed squat workout. These don't need to be done every week but should be used as the meet or test day get closer.

I still suggest letting the box squat train the deadlift muscles with dynamic squat training of eight sets of two reps in a wave-like sequence. (For squat training details, see the following articles: Periodization Bible Part II, Squatting from Head to Toe, and TNT Part II for cycles and percentages.)

Let the max-effort day be for training the heavy deadlift. Try to pull off pins, off mats, or with bands one out of every four to six max effort days. Let the other day be some type of medium or close-stance good morning or low-box squat.

Of course, everybody is different and you should find what works for you and train towards your own personal needs/goals/abilities etc. That template is just an example of the above prerogative.

 

[theoryrun]

ahh awesome, that makes sense. I knew I was missing some information. Thanks for the reply.

A second question about the program;

I want to encorperate power cleans as well, where should they fit into this basic template? Would I switch out an exercise?

I know it's just a guide and template, and the theory behind it is the driving force, but I have no idea where I would benefit most form power cleans.

 

[glennpendlay]

ahh awesome, that makes sense. I knew I was missing some information. Thanks for the reply.

A second question about the program;

I want to encorperate power cleans as well, where should they fit into this basic template? Would I switch out an exercise?

I know it's just a guide and template, and the theory behind it is the driving force, but I have no idea where I would benefit most form power cleans.

Post up the particular template that you are wanting to follow, and I will tell you. If its anything like the original "texas method" that i wrote about in Rips book practical programming (which is not the origination of the program, but is the first place that it was called "texas method") powercleans should go on wednesday.

 

[theoryrun]

Post up the particular template that you are wanting to follow, and I will tell you. If its anything like the original "texas method" that i wrote about in Rips book practical programming (which is not the origination of the program, but is the first place that it was called "texas method") powercleans should go on wednesday.

here is the template I was looking at - it's a spreadsheet (.xls)

 

[glennpendlay]

wow, thats a pretty good layout of the system. I am impressed.

replace rows on wednesday with 3-5 sets of 3 on the power clean.

 

[theoryrun]

wow, thats a pretty good layout of the system. I am impressed.

replace rows on wednesday with 3-5 sets of 3 on the power clean.

thanks for responding in my thread. I'm honored!

Do you think one would benefit from jump squats thrown in somewhere in this program as well? I'm trying to develop a little more explosiveness. (I've done 5X5 type work for a while now)