Madcow 5×5 is a free 3-day-per-week, full-body strength program built as a derivative of Bill Starr’s original 5×5 work. Each session ramps through progressively heavier sets of 5 on the squat, bench press, and row, finishing on a top set. Monday is your volume day, Wednesday is a lighter recovery day, and Friday is your heaviest day. Two versions are on this page: the Intermediate, which runs indefinitely with weekly linear jumps, and the Advanced, a fixed 9-week program with two distinct blocks.
The idea behind the program is simple: you ramp up to a top set, try to beat it the following week, and let Wednesday’s lighter session keep you fresh for Friday. Weekly progression keeps each jump small enough to sustain for months without burning out the way daily jumps eventually do. It’s closer in feel to Texas Method than to a straight beginner LP, but the bar math is less involved.
Madcow is the right move once you’ve stalled on session-to-session jumps from something like StrongLifts 5×5 or Starting Strength and you’re ready to move to weekly progress. Beginners still adding weight every workout should finish a beginner LP first. Lifters already managing training blocks or running percentage-based programs will likely find Madcow too conservative.
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Madcow 5×5 Intermediate Program Spreadsheet
This Madcow spreadsheet accepts both 1RM and 5RM starting inputs. It’s a good fit if you’re graduating from Starting Strength, StrongLifts 5×5, or Texas Method. The program progresses linearly on a weekly basis.
Madcow’s original 5×5 program guide
Madcow 5x5 Intermediate Spreadsheet | LiftVault.com
Madcow 5×5 Advanced Program Spreadsheet
This is the 9-week periodized version of Madcow. It can be run back to back. You’ll hit a new 5RM at the end of week 4, deload in week 5, then build toward a new 3RM by the end of week 9.
Madcow 5×5 Program Overview
The program runs three days per week on non-consecutive days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday is the standard). The core movements are the squat, bench press, and barbell row, with the deadlift appearing on Fridays. Assistance work includes hyperextensions, sit-ups, dips, barbell curls, and tricep extensions depending on the day.
Each day ramps through sets of 5 at increasing weights before landing on a top set. Monday is the heaviest volume day. Wednesday drops back to roughly 80% of Monday’s weights for the same movements. Friday ramps up past Monday’s top set to a new weekly PR attempt, then drops to a back-off set of 8.
Weekly jumps on the Intermediate version are roughly 2.5% on the top set. The program auto-populates based on your starting 5RM or 1RM inputs, so there’s no manual math to do each week. When you’re adding ~5 lbs per week to your squat, a 2.5% jump equals about 3-5 lbs on most working weights.
The Advanced version follows the same 3-day structure through week 4, then drops Wednesday squats for weeks 5 through 9. The first block (weeks 1-4) is higher volume; the second block (weeks 6-9, after the week 5 deload) shifts to lower volume and higher intensity. This dual-factor structure gives the program a built-in performance peak at week 9.
Madcow 5×5 Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between Madcow Intermediate and Advanced?
The Intermediate version is an open-ended program: you run it until you stop making weekly progress, reset, and try again. The Advanced version is a fixed 9-week block with a built-in deload at week 5 and a 3RM peak at week 9.
The Advanced version skips Wednesday squats after week 4, so you’re squatting two days per week instead of three. It also has two distinct blocks: weeks 1-4 are higher volume, and weeks 6-9 are lower volume with higher intensity. The Intermediate just keeps adding weight each week with no deload built in.
If you’re still making weekly progress on the Intermediate, stay on it. When stalling and resets become frequent, the Advanced is the logical next step.
Is Madcow good after StrongLifts 5×5?
Yes. Madcow is probably the most common next step after StrongLifts 5×5. Both programs use sets of 5 on the Big 3, so the movement patterns carry over directly. The main difference is the progression rate: StrongLifts adds weight every session, while Madcow adds it once per week. When you can no longer add weight every session, weekly jumps are the natural adjustment.
The spreadsheet accepts your current 5RM as a starting input, so transitioning is straightforward. Plug in what you’re lifting now and the program handles the ramp-up.
How do I pick my starting weight?
Use your current 5-rep max on each lift as the input. The spreadsheet has an entry field for either your 5RM or your 1RM. Enter what you’ve actually done in training, not what you think you can do. The program ramps up from there, so starting too heavy means you’ll miss lifts in week 1 or 2.
If you’re coming from StrongLifts or Starting Strength, a good rule of thumb is to take the weight you were doing when you hit your last stall and subtract about 10%. That gives you room to build momentum without leaving too much on the table early.
How long do I run Madcow?
The Intermediate version is indefinite. You run it as long as you’re hitting your weekly PRs, which for most lifters is 8-12 weeks before the first stall. After a stall, you deload, reset a few weeks back, and keep going. Some lifters get months of productive training before switching programs.
The Advanced version is a fixed 9 weeks and can be run back to back. Because of the built-in deload and intensity wave, it handles fatigue better over repeated cycles than the Intermediate does.
What do I do when I stall?
When you miss a top set two weeks in a row, deload and reset. Take your current top set weight and drop it by 10%, then run the ramp back up from there. This is normal and expected. Resets on Madcow aren’t a failure — they’re how the program is designed to extend over time.
If you’re resetting frequently after only a week or two of progress each time, it’s worth checking three things: sleep, food (are you eating enough to recover?), and training age. Lifters with a few years of serious training under their belt often stall faster on Madcow and may get more out of a program with more built-in variation, like Texas Method.
What is the Madcow 5×5 program?
Madcow 5×5 is a 3-day-per-week strength program based on Bill Starr’s original 5×5 framework. The Intermediate version uses linear periodization and progresses on a weekly basis, programming for a 5-rep PR in week 5 and continuing to add weight from there. The Advanced version targets a new 5RM at the end of week 4, deloads in week 5, then builds to a new 3RM by week 9.
Despite its origins on a bodybuilding forum, Madcow is better suited to strength goals than aesthetic ones. You can still gain muscle and lose fat while running it depending on your diet, but the program is structured around moving heavier weight over time, not maximizing muscle damage per session.
