Dear farvahgc,

I’m glad you asked this, because this is pretty common. General low back soreness on a linear progression should NOT be there. It is an indication of doing too much work and probably not recovering. I would expect to see this from people who are deadlifting every other workout (which should only be done for a few weeks at most in people beginning to lift for the first time ever) or squatting three times a week.

If you are experiencing low back pain during your linear progression, even general soreness, then reduce your training load temporarily and re-evaluate your program. If you are squatting 3x/week, then modify one of the days or bring it down to two. If you are deadlifting more than once a week — or doing pulling work more than twice a week (to include power cleans, power snatches, RDLs, etc.) — then bring the deadlifting down to once a week and the pulling work to just two times a week. Things like weighted back extensions are fine, but accumulating a lot of squat and deadlift work throughout a week will create a recovery deficit, causing soreness, and then eventually an injury (usually some kind of tweak). Don’t let this happen.

snommisjay on September 28, 2012 at 6:57 pm said:

Bs 340×5 intensity, 290 5×5 vol
Bp 195×5 intensity, 175 5×5 vol
Dl 400×5, mp 115 5×5 vol

5’8 167lb 27yo

2 questions:
1. Can anybody link me to the diet recommendations for texas method with conditioning? I hear it is similar to paleo.

2. I work 24 hr shifts. I have implemented texas method on a 9 day cycle to match my work days (1 out of three days, lifting on the day before work, and resting the day after). Day 1 volume day. Bs bp/mp and a couple accessories. Day 2 power snatch or clean and conditioning all out. Day 4 light day. Day 5 conditioning interval oriented. Day 7 Lifting intensity day. Bs bp/mp dl. Day 8 conditioning all out or sustained effort. Day 9 rest.

Can anyone comment on what i might expect from stretching the week and adding conditioning?

 

Dear snommisjay:

First, your volume work is a bit high for a sustained Texas Method program despite you elongating the progression. The squatting volume is at or a bit above 85%, and the recommendation is that the average weight on 3×5 Volume Day should stay under 85% of the weight used on the Intensity Day. You are at that limit with a 5×5, so I would expect things to not work well soon. Also, your bench volume is almost 90% of your bench intensity. Again, this is not something that I recommend on this program. The Texas Method: Part 1 will clear this stuff up and explain why. The book also talks about using conditioning. The basic tenet is that if conditioning is interfering with your recovery — especially for the Intensity Day — then it should be reduced or removed. Placement and type of conditioning is imperative when on a strength program. The conditioning days I see being a problem are on Day 5 (after your light day and two days before your Intensity Day) and Day 8 (which is the day after your Intensity Day and two days before the next Volume Day). If you have to modify one, it may be Day 5, but run it this way and see how you do.

As for the diet recommendations, you will need to eat adequate amounts of protein and calories to supplement your program and goals. Doing this with higher quality foods will yield better results in the short and long term. I am working on something that will detail nutrition for various goals, so keep an eye out for that.

Jonas asks:

I´ve got a question i hope you could answer. I´m reading the “Fit” book chapter on mulit element fitness, and trying to use the “decision tree” on p. 175 to decide what kind of intensity to use in my endurance traning after lifting weights. Right next to my gym we have a 400m running track so i figure it´s time effective to use it. I also need the running. My question is this: would this be a sufficent breakdown of the intensity “zones” with regards to trackrunning?

Tabata: 20 sec all out run, 10 sec pause –>
Short max effort: Running hard for less than 5 min.
Long max effort: Running hard for less than 10 min.

Thank you for the 70s big community and traning philosophy btw. It´s intelligent, down to earth and lots of fun. That´s more than can be said for most of the other strength training websides.

Dear Jonas, 

Your break down is decently accurate. Just remember that high intensity conditioning is relative to what the person is currently adapted to. In the book it details how 15 minutes of speed walking is enough for a de-conditioned person. Note that in FIT it provides a recommended type of conditioning relative to the volume and intensity of the lifting.

As you read in my chapter, Tabata running (on an inclined treadmill) is the most stressful kind of conditioning  I’ve done 20 seconds of running and 10 seconds of rest outside before (in the middle of a south Georgia summer), and it is very hard. I recommend sticking to the 10 seconds of work and 20 seconds of rest structure when outside.

As for the short and long max effort sessions, running in those time frames could work, but they may not achieve an intensity high enough relative to your capability. A short max run could be sprinting an 800m while a long max run could be running a mile for time. Doing those efforts as fast as possible are certainly stressful, but just keep in mind that combining running with other activities can up the stress. Also note that running is best improved through interval training, and the total time of an interval session will last longer than 5 or 10 minutes. You could remove the rest periods and just add up the total running time in an interval workout to see if it will fit in the 5 or 10 minute limit. But since you have the book, you have plenty of examples on how interval training can be conducted, including how it can be used relative to the lifting session. Note that running is much harder after heavy squatting, deadlifting, or posterior chain work.