Stronglifts 5x5 for Women

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Texas? Madcows/ Make up my own?

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inkysmurf
inkysmurf Posts: 168
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Hello

I am looking for some help or advice about the texas method - I would happily pay the $20 for the ebook - but can't seem to get this with a UK credit card...aaggghhh

I have had a look at madcows and I like the look of this for my next stage of lifting - seems like it might work in helping me move up with regards in particular to my weak lifts - OHP & Bench.

I love squats & deadlifts :-)

current weights on everything
Squats 75kg (176.3lbs)
Deadlift 80kg (187.39)
Row 35kg (77.16lbs)
OHP 25kg (55.1lbs)
Bench 30kg (66.1lbs)

My ideal goal would be to hit a 90kg deadlift - 200lbs...

I enjoy doing accessories, and know these were beneficial to helping my core stay strong for my squats.

I do only have 10 weeks of knowledge - I lift at home, in the morning fasted. I adore lifting - I love feeling strong. Just really want to impress myself with what i can achieve and I thing I need to tweak/ amend what I am doing to let me progress.

So super strong ladies - ideas? directions ?

Replies

  • girlie100
    girlie100 Posts: 646 Member
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    http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/the_texas_method

    this article pretty much covers all you need to know about Texas.

    Whats the reason for switching after 10 weeks, are you stalling a lot or just want to change it up a bit?
  • girlie100
    girlie100 Posts: 646 Member
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    If you have a Kindle Texas is covered in this book which is the follow on from starting strength

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Practical-Programming-Strength-Training-ebook/dp/B004AYCUDC/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1375957096&sr=8-2
  • inkysmurf
    inkysmurf Posts: 168
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    hey Girlie - thank you very much - away to buy this now!

    Stalled badly on OHP & Bench - which is really, really frustrating me! I love the simplicity of strong lifts - my dyslexic self likes simple, 5x5 - note I am the idiot that deadlifted 5x5 as well for a while....

    But my inner super strong lady wants more - heavier things shall be lifted

    Doh!!!! completely forgot about that texas article (embarrassed face) on tnation - maybe just need to spend a wee hours sorting a spreadsheet out - thank you - this might make more sense for me.
  • inkysmurf
    inkysmurf Posts: 168
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    This just caught my eye as well...

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Simplest-Effective-Training-Strength-ebook/dp/B00AJ8CIQM/ref=pd_sim_kinc_5#reader_B00AJ8CIQM

    hmmmmmmmmmm
  • girlie100
    girlie100 Posts: 646 Member
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    this is a good TM spreadsheet:

    http://www.allthingsgym.com/texas-method-excel-spreadsheet/

    but TM assumes you are progressing from SS and are good with power cleans
  • girlie100
    girlie100 Posts: 646 Member
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    if you DM me an email address I have the 5/3/1 as a PDF :)
  • Martucha123
    Martucha123 Posts: 1,093 Member
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    before doing Texas switch to 3x5 as recommended per Mehdi, and only if you fail this as well try Madcows or Texas.
    Texas and Madcow are both intermediate programme (for a person who was lifting for a year) you did only 10 weeks and your lifts are not in the intermediate range. You will not benefit from Texas as much as you can from reducing your volume to 3x5.
  • BikerGirlElaine
    BikerGirlElaine Posts: 1,631 Member
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    And be forewarned: Texas and Madcow are beastly hard. Harder than SL. So it's best to milk your novice status for as long as possible.

    If you are stalled, make sure you've checked your form. Us beginners can often get a lot of strength gains by tweaking our form -- because our form usually isn't very good yet. I made a change to my bench that got me 10 pounds in a week after slowing to 1 pound each session.

    And of course, dropping to 3x5 is something you should already have done before you consider moving to intermediate programming.

    I personally moved over to Starting Strength after doing SL for a couple of months. Working on mastering power cleans kept my interest up even while my OHP and bench were frustrating me. It's now 7 months later and I am still working Starting Strength.
  • kirabob
    kirabob Posts: 481 Member
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    Bee, your squat and deadlift numbers are crazy for only 10 weeks of lifting!

    First - I'm assuming you are taking a rest/deload week? Your muscles probably need it!

    I would also suggest switching to SL 3x5, and do this as until you start stalling out. This would have been my preference after finishing SL, but I tried it for a few weeks and my hip flexors just couldn't stand squatting heavy 3 times a week (that's why I switched to Texas, but I am progressing much slower than I could have).

    As for progressing on bench and ohp, have you employed adding extra reps in before you move up? And do you have fractionals?
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
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    And be forewarned: Texas and Madcow are beastly hard. Harder than SL. So it's best to milk your novice status for as long as possible.

    If you are stalled, make sure you've checked your form. Us beginners can often get a lot of strength gains by tweaking our form -- because our form usually isn't very good yet. I made a change to my bench that got me 10 pounds in a week after slowing to 1 pound each session.

    And of course, dropping to 3x5 is something you should already have done before you consider moving to intermediate programming.

    I personally moved over to Starting Strength after doing SL for a couple of months. Working on mastering power cleans kept my interest up even while my OHP and bench were frustrating me. It's now 7 months later and I am still working Starting Strength.

    I agree with all of this. If you are only 10 weeks in, your stalling is more likely due to a form problem or overly ambitious weight jumps than to having exhausted novice gain potential.

    The press is a difficult lift to get right technically, so yeah, it's frustrating. For me, it is also most likely to fail or regress when I am poorly rested or didn't eat my full allowance the night before, etc.
  • inkysmurf
    inkysmurf Posts: 168
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    Thank you so much!

    and yup - I have tendency to want more, more, more when I start anything - cue damaged IT band when I started running (too much, too far, too soon...)

    3x5 makes sense - and thank you all for not saying.

    OI NOOBIE - CALM DOWN :-) he he he

    Spent some time this after looking at texas (cheers girlie! - liking this one ) madcow & texas - all the while thinking what am I doing - my ohp & bench are no where near good enough - I am a beginner,

    My sessions were starting to get a bit long with the pauses inbetween for my OHPs & Benches.

    So I think a good deload = lady of leisure and ice cream.

    And then jump back in and really focus on my form.

    Thank you all very, very much - your feedback means a lot, and the advice is invaluable.

    xx
  • lwoodroff
    lwoodroff Posts: 1,431 Member
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    Hey, Daisy, I switched to 3x5 too as it was starting to creep towards 90 minutes on 5x5, I was getting frustrated etc. Add in a couple of deloads still on 3x5 and I'm still loving lifting, working on form (that bloomin' OHP!) and avoiding the cardio (bad Lydia!).. :)

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