Programme · Intermediate · 3 days a week
Texas Method
Texas Method is a common intermediate strength programme. Three-day weekly intermediate split — volume day, light day, intensity day. VALDA has it in its programme library: start it and VALDA sets up the sessions and starting weights, then adds weight once a week when you hit the target.
Free to start, 1 programme at a time. Already have the app? Open in VALDA takes you straight to it. In the app it's listed as “Volume/Intensity Weekly Split”.
Is Texas Method for you?
Intermediate lifters who have exhausted session-to-session progression on a novice programme and want a weekly PR cadence to keep the lifts moving. Best when you can commit to three training days of 75+ minutes each and recover from heavy squatting twice a week.
At a glance
- Level
- Intermediate
- Goal
- Strength
- Time
- 3 days a week, ~75–90 min a session
- Length
- 12 weeks
A three-day intermediate programme that distributes volume, recovery, and intensity across the week. Monday is a high-volume day, Wednesday is a deliberately light recovery day, and Friday is an intensity day where you attempt a new five-rep PR on each main lift. Bench press and overhead press alternate on Monday and Friday across successive weeks.
3 sessions
| Session | Exercises |
|---|---|
| Monday — Volume |
|
| Wednesday — Recovery |
|
| Friday — Intensity |
|
- 1 Chin Up: Bodyweight.
- 2 Back Extension: Bodyweight.
- 3 Squat: A new 5-rep max — beat last Friday by the smallest jump you can load.
- 4 Bench Press: A new 5-rep max — beat last Friday by the smallest jump you can load.
Monday (Volume): squat 5×5 across, bench or overhead press 5×5 across, deadlift 1×5 — all at roughly 90% of your 5-rep max. Wednesday (Recovery): squat 2×5 at about 80% of Monday's weight, the press you did NOT do on Monday for 3×5 light, chin-ups for three sets to failure, and light back extensions. Friday (Intensity): squat 1×5 at a new 5-rep max, bench or overhead press 1×5 at a new 5-rep max, and power cleans 5×3.
How the weights move
Each Friday you take a single set of five at a weight you have never done five reps with. It is one set — not a set taken to failure — because the number that matters is the weight, not the rep count. When you hit it, Monday's volume weight moves up to about 90% of that new 5RM. Miss it and you repeat the week at the same weight; miss twice and you either cut Monday's volume (5×5 down to 4×5) or drop 10% and ramp back. Progress is weekly rather than session-by-session, which is what makes the programme sustainable once novice linear progression has run out.
Texas Method, with the maths done
- Sessions set up from the programme, ready to log
- Starting weights worked out from the programme's own rules and your estimated maxes, with a default where VALDA has no history yet. You can change any of them
- Weight added once a week, when you hit the target
- Log sets from your phone, Apple Watch or Wear OS watch
Texas Method questions
Who is Texas Method for?
Intermediate lifters who have exhausted session-to-session progression on a novice programme and want a weekly PR cadence to keep the lifts moving. Best when you can commit to three training days of 75+ minutes each and recover from heavy squatting twice a week.
How many days a week is Texas Method?
As VALDA runs it: 3 days a week, ~75–90 min a session.
How does progression work on Texas Method?
Each Friday you take a single set of five at a weight you have never done five reps with. It is one set — not a set taken to failure — because the number that matters is the weight, not the rep count. When you hit it, Monday's volume weight moves up to about 90% of that new 5RM. Miss it and you repeat the week at the same weight; miss twice and you either cut Monday's volume (5×5 down to 4×5) or drop 10% and ramp back. Progress is weekly rather than session-by-session, which is what makes the programme sustainable once novice linear progression has run out.
Can I run Texas Method in VALDA?
Yes. It's in VALDA's programme library: start it and VALDA sets up the sessions and starting weights, then adds weight once a week when you hit the target. You can start it on the free plan, 1 programme at a time. Automatic progression: Free: 6 sessions · Pro: unlimited.
Is VALDA affiliated with Mark Rippetoe / Justin Lascek?
No. VALDA is not affiliated with or endorsed by Mark Rippetoe / Justin Lascek. This page describes the programme as VALDA runs it.
Where Texas Method comes from
The Texas Method came out of Glenn Pendlay's coaching at Mark Rippetoe's Wichita Falls Athletic Club and was first published by Rippetoe in *Practical Programming for Strength Training*; Justin Lascek later developed it at length. VALDA adapts the weekly V/R/I split and PR-driven progression for use inside the app, but does not claim authorship of the method.
VALDA is not affiliated with or endorsed by Mark Rippetoe / Justin Lascek. The programme belongs to its author; this page describes it as VALDA runs it.
This page describes a common training programme for information. It isn't a personal prescription.