Improv Texas Method

Keep in mind, no squats or dead lifts cause of my injury. However, I recently discovered that leg curls and calf raises don't hurt me, so, I added those.
 
Monday:
5x5 Bench (75% of 1rm)
5x5 OH Press (50-60lbs)
3x5 Dips
4 sets of Calf raises (15,10,10,15)
4 sets of leg curls (15,10,10,15)
3x5 Lat pull downs
 
Wendsay:
5x5 Bench (5lbs. less than Mon)
5x5 OH Press (Bar)
4 sets of Calf Raises, 5lbs less
4 sets of Calf Raise, 5lbs less
 
Friday:
Warmup Bench: 1x5, 70% of 1rm
1x1 Bench (Currently 125)
OH Press warmup: 1x5 50lbs
1x1 OH press (currently just under 90)
4 sets of Calf Raises, Monday style
4 sets of Leg Curls, Monday Style
 

I already see something wrong - no horizontal pulls.

If you push in a plane you should pull in it, if the joint is capable of flexing and extending it should be flexed and extended against an resistive force.

Include barbell rows.

Personal Trainer/Nutrition Consultant

I was waiting for someone to answer this. NMoney didn't though answer it although I thought he might have. :)

Crea0tine, look up on the Internet for Texas Method because the routine you designed isn't very good. You have bench and oh press on same day as monday, and then again on Wednesday. This isn't how Texas Method is designed.

Ok. Man, I really thought this was a solid routine.... lol

Nope, anytime you push something away from your body you should pull it towards your body for balance at the joint. The opposite of extension is flexsion; if the joint is capable of pushing and pulling it should push and pull.

Flexsion is involved with any extension but the part of the range of motion where flexsion occurs is eccentric and therefore you're working with gravity and not against it. When you work against gravity, the muscle shortens. When you're working with gravity - the muscle is trying to shorten but is being forced to lengthen due the resistive force being greater than the force generated through the muscle contraction.

Every routine that has a horizontal push should require a horizontal pull; every routine that requires a vertical push should require a vertical pull. Balanced training is working the joint within it's natural capabilities and nothing less.

Personal Trainer/Nutrition Consultant

Alright. I'll for sure ad the rows, but vdk said that I shouldn't do OH press and bench on same day. Will this hurt my growth, or does it just contradict Texas Method principles?

Both.

The agonist muscle in the overhead press is the anterior delts, they are synergists during a bench press. So they will be somewhat exhausted before overhead pressing.

Personal Trainer/Nutrition Consultant

This is currently my routine. Texa's Method is basically a template, so you don't need to follow it strictly, but rather follow the basica principles.

Monday
Bench Press: 5x5
Rows: 5x5
Squats: 5x5
Bicep curls: 3x8 (assistance exercise)

Wednesday
Overhead Press: 5x5
Deadlift: 1x5 (Ramping to 5 sets)
Calf Raises: 3x10
Core Work: 3 x failure

Friday
Bench Press: 1x5
Chinups: 3x5
Rows: 1x5
Squats: 1x5

This is based on my own needs and experience. Most of the people recommend doing the most taxing exercises first, but for me it screws me up for the rest of the exercises. In addition, Deadlift is done on Friday in the original Texas Method, however I changed it to Wednesday simply because doing squats, bench and deadlift all on the same day is too much for me.

Ok, that looks like something I could use. I can't do the squats or deadlifts, so I may just substitute them for leg curls and extensions. On the rows, how much % of max should I be doing?

What exactly is your injury? You could always start light with the squats, and deadlifts and work your way up slowly.

What injury?

The Texas program won't be half as effective without squats and deadlifts. Two biggest mass building movements there is.

Personal Trainer/Nutrition Consultant

On the rows, how much % of max should I be doing?

Do you mean for the 5x5? I don't usually go by % of your 1 rep max, but rather through 5 reps itself. For all your exercises, maybe establish all your 5 rep maxes for your exercises, and drop it down by say 10lbs or so, and use that weight as your 5x5. Don't rely on a % value of your 1 rep max.

BTW, I'm wondering how much do you weigh and how long have you been training. It's just that your bench doesn't seem to be that impressive (although it's like mine, but I have my strongpoints :P).

If you haven't been training long, Texa's method is NOT FOR YOU. You'll make much slower gains as it's based on weekly increases, rather than some other routines where you'll make progress from workout to workout

Looking back at your lifts I agree with V, you won't respond that well to the Texas Method. Something like this might benefit you better.

Workout A:
Squat
Flat Bench
BB Row
Stiff-leg deadlift

Workout B:
Squat
OH Press
Pullup
Hamstring Curl

3-5 sets of 3-5 reps for each movement.

Personal Trainer/Nutrition Consultant

yeah thats not going to be very good. Im sure you will see some gains, but they wont be what you could be doing if you could do squats and deadlifts.

What injury are you dealing with?

Beginners need to focus on adding weight every workout. This is called linear progression and can be done for quite some time as a beginner. Even deloading and continuing it some more works. Texas method is designed for periodazation progress, which could mean anything from making gains from 1 week, to 1 month to several months depending on how advanced you are in training.

As a general rule, the more advanced you are the longer it will take make new records.

Something like what MVP suggested is what you want to look into, an A/B workout that you alternate 3 weeks. It really is imperative your able to squat and deadlift, but if your dealing with an injury your just going to have to make due.

Workout A.)

Bench
Rows
Lunges
assistance exercises: 2xabs, 2xdips

Workout B.)

OH press
Weighted pull ups
Power Cleans
assistance exercises: 2x abs, 2xdips

each exercise 3x5 worksets, with about 2-3 sets of warm ups.

You can play with that, but its just something put together with no deadlifts and squats...

but yeah I would save a texas method cycle until you have more time under the bar and have had 6-12 months of solid squating/deadlifting.

6'3"  @215

Squat 1x20x275

press: 190, Deadlift: 450, Bench:285, P.clean: 235, Squat: 385

"The only failure that is final is to stop trying to improve"

I dug up on the Texas method from this site >> http://stronglifts.com/...or-intermediate-lifters/

This is what I made out of it from the file that Rippetoe had wrote.

Day 1
Squat: 5X5
Press: 5X5
Row: 5X5
Dips: 3X5

Day 3
Front Squat: 3X3
Bench Press: 3X3
Row: 3X3
Power Clean: 3X3

Day 5
Squat: 1X1
Press: 1X1
Deadlift: 1X1
Pullup: 5X5

That's a good program. I've read Starting strength, I haven't read Practical Programming. So my comments aren't as formative as a lot of the other guys on here more familiar with Rippetoe's writing - N$, brihead, vdk, etc.

Personal Trainer/Nutrition Consultant

Ok then.... well this kind of sucks. I was liking Texas method a lot. i've put on about 5lbs. on bench.

Anywyas, yeah, i've been serious about training since i joined this site.... so I think January(????)

Yeah, my new bench is 130. Gone up 30 pounds since I joined here...

Ok, so i'll do that one MVP suggested. Do i do it A/B twice a week?

Nope, three times week.

Example,

Monday- A workout
Wednesday- B workout
Friday- A workout

Next week,

Monday- B workout
Wednesday- A workout
Friday- B workout

continue like that- it should go A,B,A,B,A,B,A,B,...

Workout A:
Quad Dominant Movement- Squat
Hamstring Dominant Movement- Stiff-leg deadlift
Horizontal Push- Flat Bench
Horizontal Pull- BB Row

Workout B:
Quad Dominant Movement- Squat
Vertical Push- OH Press
Vertical Pull- Pullup
Posterior Chain Dominant Movement- Power Clean

Personal Trainer/Nutrition Consultant

you still havent told us what injury your dealing with (why you cant squat/dead)

can you do lunges? These would be a good alternative until your able to squat/dead

6'3"  @215

Squat 1x20x275

press: 190, Deadlift: 450, Bench:285, P.clean: 235, Squat: 385

"The only failure that is final is to stop trying to improve"

I'm dealing with a growth plate injury. Sadly, nothing that puts pressure on my knees. I can't even squat down without wincing.

My mom was SUPPOSED to take me to see the specialist last week, but it never happened

What about lunges? N$ brings up a good point concerning them. Have you tried those? Them and stiff-leg deadlifts would be good (temporary) alternatives.

Personal Trainer/Nutrition Consultant

Tried lunges about a month ago. It was EXTREMLY painful. Stiggleg deadlifts, I haven't done.

I'll try them

All quad dominant movements involve knee extension, luckily hamstring stimulus can come from an alternative method (hip extension) but then again you have hip flexsion too, coming from the rectis femoris and the illiopsoas, however in order for balanced quad development you would want to work the other three muscles that make up the quads - the sartorius (largest muscle in the human  body), the vastus lateralis, and vastus mediais. The leg extension is an isolated alternative (once again temporarily) but the agonist muscle would once again be the rectus femoris and the quads need worked more as a whole.

Ugh, I hate to say it but what about leg presses?

Personal Trainer/Nutrition Consultant

I doubt leg press would be of any use to him since he cant put pressure on his knees.

I suppose stick to SL deads, glute/ham machines and the leg isolations he can do without pain.

Any leg work at this point is better then none at all.

6'3"  @215

Squat 1x20x275

press: 190, Deadlift: 450, Bench:285, P.clean: 235, Squat: 385

"The only failure that is final is to stop trying to improve"

Yeah he PM'ed me and said hamstring curls and leg extensions were all he could do.

They are much better than nothing at all, although I would still label them as temporary.

Stiff-leg deadlifts, leg extensions, and hamstring curls.

Personal Trainer/Nutrition Consultant

^x2
Yup. as soon as I get back out of this injury, I'm gonna dive right into them.

what about good mornings for hamstrings as an alternative to SLDL.

Not saying don't do SLDL as they are great exercises but if u wanna swap them around once and a while for variation.