Grindhouse I Gains Weight

Picked up +255 lbs in steel weights off of craigslist after work today.  Like the rest of my equipment, they are dirty, but solid.

Workout Tuesday was Squat/Bench/Deads plus some pull ups with Grover (the blue rubber band).

Horst: 

Squat: 3x5 at 275

Bench: 2x5 at 205, 1x5 at 215 (or was it 225?)

Deads: 1x5 at 295

Root:

Squat:  3x5 at 195 (+40 lbs from my 155 start)

Bench: 3x5 at 155

Deads: 1x5 at 295

Just two weeks in, the Starting Strength plan has shown great results for me.  I haven't had to deload yet, which is encouraging.  I'd like to use this simple Linear Progression program until I really stall hard, then switch to the Texas Method.

Texas Method is volume day/light day/intensity day, and has proven to bear great fruit with advanced novice/intermediate trainers who've stalled using simple linear progression.  An example week on squats would look like this:

Sunday: 5x5 (volume)

Tuesday: 2x5 at 80% of Sunday's weight (light day to maintain motor pathways, but aid recovery from volume)

Thursday: 1x5

Reportedly, the Texas Method came about when coach Pendlay was putting his lifters on volume/light/volume cycles.  The lifters would complain about being burnt out for a second volume day on the third work day, so he told them if they PR'd on the second volume day, they'd only have to do 1x5.  If they didn't PR, they had to drop 10% and do the full 5x5.

This regiment started showing great results, so it was standardized and now somewhat prolific in the strength building community and for athletic training during the off-season.

p.s. I've set a goal for 225/300/400 1RM's for bench/squat/dead by end of 2012!

Root