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In short
Both plans are for lifters who have outgrown a beginner plan.
The Texas Method trains three days a week and builds to one hard session on Friday.
5/3/1 moves slowly, trains three or four days a week and gives you an easy week every fourth week.
Which plan should you pick?
Pick the Texas Method if you train three days a week and still feel fresh on Friday after a big Monday.
Pick 5/3/1 if you want one plan to run for months and you are happy to move slowly. Train four days a week? The four-day 5/3/1 split fits that schedule.
Neither plan suits a beginner. If you can still add weight most weeks, stay on linear progression a little longer.
How does a week look?
The two plans spread the squat, bench and deadlift across the week in different ways.
- Texas Method, three days a week. Monday is the long day, with most of the week's sets. Wednesday is light, so you recover. Friday has one heavy top set on each main lift.
- 5/3/1, three or four days a week. On the four-day plan, each day trains one lift. You start with a top set for as many good reps as you can, then do light back-off sets, mostly sets of ten.
- The three-day 5/3/1 plan trains each main lift once a week.
How does each block feel?
Texas Method. The block starts below your max. Friday's top set gets heavier as the reps drop from fives to singles.
The last few Fridays are the hardest stretch. On the 12-week block, week 11 ends in a single at RPE 10. The final week is a deload, so you start the next block fresh.
5/3/1. Each cycle runs fives, then threes, then a single, and every top set is an AMRAP. The fourth week of every cycle is a deload, so no hard stretch lasts more than three weeks.
In the second cycle, the top sets ask for more effort, and pause and pin variations replace the back-off lifts. The third cycle brings the heaviest top sets.
Who does each plan suit?
- Texas Method. Lifters whose beginner plan has stalled and who train three days a week. If a big Monday leaves you flat all week, the Texas Method will be a struggle.
- 5/3/1. Lifters who want one plan they can run for months with little change. If you want new maxes fast, 5/3/1 will feel slow.
The Texas Method asks for steady sleep, food and recovery. 5/3/1 asks for realistic maxes and patience.
What mistakes should you avoid?
- On the Texas Method, Monday should leave you fresh for Friday. If Monday leaves you flat, drop a Monday set before you touch Friday's top set.
- If Friday's top set stops climbing, a new rep range can help more than more weight. SBD Guru's block changes the Friday rep range through its phases.
- Near the end of a Texas Method block, work up to the heavy single in small jumps. Take one clean rep.
- On 5/3/1, take each easy week as written. The easy week keeps you from overdoing the three weeks before it.
- On 5/3/1, the top set is a rep record, not a one-rep max attempt. Count reps instead of chasing a heavier single.
- On 5/3/1, you squat and deadlift once a week each, so both lifts get less practice.
Where can you see each plan before you choose?
SBD Guru builds its own version of each plan from your maxes. The Texas Method runs for 12 or 16 weeks on three days a week. 5/3/1 runs for 8, 12 or 16 weeks, on three or four days.
5/3/1 uses a training max, a working number below your true max, so the weights stay manageable. Open each program page to see week 1 and the full block.