Madcow 5×5 vs Texas Method
Both are free in Durata and shown in full on their own pages. Here they are side by side, from the same program data the app runs.
- Session: Madcow 5×5, 55–75 min; Texas Method, 40–50 min.
- Length: Madcow 5×5, ongoing; Texas Method, 2-week cycle, repeats.
- The same: days a week (3), level (intermediate), goal (strength) and equipment (barbell + a rack).
Madcow 5×5 and Texas Method, line by line
| Madcow 5×5 | Texas Method | |
|---|---|---|
| Days a week | 3 | 3 |
| Session | 55–75 min | 40–50 min |
| Length | Ongoing | 2-week cycle, repeats |
| Level | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| Goal | Strength | Strength |
| Equipment | Barbell + a rack | Barbell + a rack |
| Written by | Traditional | Mark Rippetoe & Glenn Pendlay |
| Progression | Fixed % of Training Max for the block — the TM holds; retest and re-run to move it; Double: reach rep ceiling on all sets → +2.5 kg, deload 10% after 2 misses | Fixed % of Training Max for the block — the TM holds; retest and re-run to move it; Linear: +5 kg on success, deload 10% after 3 misses |
Who it suits. Pick the madcow 5x5 program when session-to-session jumps have stopped sticking but week-to-week ones still can — typically after several months of a novice barbell routine. Three days a week and only three or four lifts per session keep it practical. Skip it if you have never built base strength with a linear program first, or if your five-rep maxes have already needed monthly cycling to budge; Madcow assumes weekly PRs are still on the table.
How it progresses. Each lift runs off a single training max — Monday's top-set weight — and every set all week is a percentage of it. Friday's 102.5% set is the only progression event: get your five reps and the TM rises 2.5%, which lifts the entire ladder, making next Monday's top set equal to the PR you just set. Miss it and the TM holds for another attempt; miss repeatedly and it deloads 10%. Deadlift progresses separately, adding 5 kg to its weekly top set. Durata recalculates every ramp percentage from the updated TM, so the classic madcow spreadsheet math happens without the spreadsheet.
Who it suits. This is a program for early intermediates who still want a PR on the bar every week and can pay for it in food and sleep. If you have just stalled out of a novice linear progression and your five-rep maxes are still moving month to month, the Texas Method captures that. It is a bad match if Monday's 5×5 at 90% sounds like something you would skip — the volume day is the engine and it is genuinely hard — or if you prefer spreading work across four or five shorter sessions.
How it progresses. Friday decides everything. Hit five or more reps on the intensity set and the training max rises 5 kg on the squat and 2.5 kg on the press for the following week — which also raises Monday's 90% volume work and Wednesday's 70% recovery work, since all three days hang off the same TM. Miss the five and the TM holds; stall repeatedly and it drops 10% to rebuild. Deadlift and power clean progress on their own simple linear schedule. Durata tracks the Friday AMRAP and moves the TM — and every derived percentage — automatically.
Common questions
Madcow or the Texas Method?
Both are heavy/light/intensity weeks. Texas Method concentrates its volume into a brutal 5×5-at-90% Monday and progresses in fixed kilos; Madcow spreads effort across ramps and progresses by 2.5% of each lift. Madcow is the gentler entry and includes rows; Texas suits lifters who thrive on a harder volume stimulus.
Are Madcow 5×5 and Texas Method free?
Yes. Both are free to run in Durata, and each one's page shows every set of every session.
Run Madcow 5×5 or Texas Method in Durata
Every program here is free in Durata, with each one's own progression worked out for you as you log.