Madcow 5×5
Also known as: madcow · madcow 5x5 · bill starr · 5x5 intermediate · heavy light medium
The classic intermediate 5×5 — the step up when novice linear progression stalls. Heavy / Light / Intensity across the week off a single top-set weight per lift: Monday ramps to a heavy 5×5, Wednesday is lighter recovery, and Friday you ramp to a new 5-rep PR plus a back-off set. Beat the Friday PR triple and the whole ladder moves up ~2.5% next week. Starts you ~10% under your current bests on purpose — the classic on-ramp that builds momentum before new PRs.
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What is Madcow 5×5?
Madcow 5×5 is the most popular adaptation of Bill Starr's heavy light medium system, and for years the standard answer to "what do I run after StrongLifts". Where novice 5×5 programs use straight sets and add weight every session, madcow ramps: Monday's heavy day takes squat, bench and barbell row through five sets of five climbing from 50% to 100% of the lift's top-set weight. Wednesday backs off — squat and overhead press ramp to just 75% over four sets of five, with one heavy set of five deadlifts. Friday is the payoff: ramp up again, then a PR triple — one set of three at 102.5% of Monday's top weight — followed by a lighter set of eight. Assistance rounds the week out: weighted hypers and sit-ups Monday, sit-ups Wednesday, dips, curls and triceps work Friday.
That weekly rhythm of push, recover, peak is what separates an intermediate 5x5 from a novice one. You only prove a PR once per week per lift, so recovery debt never snowballs the way it does when every session is maximal.
Is Madcow 5×5 right for you?
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 progression works
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.
Durata runs this progression for you — every session's weights are computed automatically from your training maxes and logged AMRAP sets.
Madcow 5×5 — every set, every session
Percentages are of your training max (TM). AMRAP = as many reps as possible on the final set.
Monday — Heavy
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Squat (Barbell) | 1×5 @ 50% 1×5 @ 62.5% 1×5 @ 75% 1×5 @ 87.5% 1×5 @ 100% | 3:00 |
| Bench Press (Barbell) | 1×5 @ 50% 1×5 @ 62.5% 1×5 @ 75% 1×5 @ 87.5% 1×5 @ 100% | 3:00 |
| Bent Over Row (Barbell) | 1×5 @ 50% 1×5 @ 62.5% 1×5 @ 75% 1×5 @ 87.5% 1×5 @ 100% | 3:00 |
| Back Extension (Weighted Hyperextension) | 3×10–12 | 2:30 |
| Sit Up | 3×15 | 2:30 |
Wednesday — Light
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Squat (Barbell) | 1×5 @ 50% 1×5 @ 62.5% 2×5 @ 75% | 2:30 |
| Overhead Press (Barbell) | 1×5 @ 50% 1×5 @ 62.5% 2×5 @ 75% | 2:30 |
| Deadlift (Barbell) | 1×5 | 4:00 |
| Sit Up | 3×15 | 2:30 |
Friday — Intensity (PR)
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Squat (Barbell) | 1×5 @ 50% 1×5 @ 62.5% 1×5 @ 75% 1×5 @ 87.5% 1×3++ @ 102.5% AMRAP 1×8 @ 75% | 3:00 |
| Bench Press (Barbell) | 1×5 @ 50% 1×5 @ 62.5% 1×5 @ 75% 1×5 @ 87.5% 1×3++ @ 102.5% AMRAP 1×8 @ 75% | 3:00 |
| Bent Over Row (Barbell) | 1×5 @ 50% 1×5 @ 62.5% 1×5 @ 75% 1×5 @ 87.5% 1×3++ @ 102.5% AMRAP 1×8 @ 75% | 2:30 |
| Triceps Dip (Weighted) | 3×8–12 | 2:30 |
| Bicep Curl (Barbell) | 3×8–12 | 2:30 |
| Triceps Extension (Cable) | 3×8–12 | 2:30 |
Madcow 5×5 — common questions
What weight do I start Madcow with?
Set each training max so that week one's Friday PR set is slightly below your current best set of five — most lifters start the TM about 5–10% under their true 5RM. That buys two to four weeks of momentum before the PRs get honest.
What happens when I miss the Friday set of five?
The training max stays put and you take another run at the same PR next week. Two or three straight misses on a lift means it deloads 10% and re-ramps — the back-off usually carries you past the old sticking point within a month.
Why ramped sets instead of five straight sets?
Ramping puts only one truly heavy set of five in each session, with the earlier sets acting as progressively loaded practice. Total tonnage stays high but the systemic cost is far lower than 5×5 straight sets at intermediate weights — that is what makes weekly progress sustainable.
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.
How long does a Madcow session take?
Monday and Friday run about 60–75 minutes — fifteen-plus ramped sets with longer rests as the bar gets heavy. Wednesday is a deliberate 40–45 minute recovery session; resist the urge to add to it.
Source: Madcow 5×5 — the popular intermediate adaptation of Bill Starr's 5×5.
Durata is not affiliated with or endorsed by the program's author. The program structure (sets, reps, exercise selection) is presented as published methodology.
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