Programme · Intermediate · 3 days a week
Madcow 5×5
Madcow 5×5 is a common intermediate strength programme. Intermediate 5×5 with a weekly volume / light / intensity split. 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 “Weekly Ramping 5×5”.
Is Madcow 5×5 for you?
Intermediate lifters who have stalled on a simple novice linear progression and still have room to grow on basic compound lifts. Best when you can accept weekly rather than session-by-session jumps and commit to a three-day weekly cadence.
At a glance
- Level
- Intermediate
- Goal
- Strength
- Time
- 3 days a week, ~60–75 min a session
- Length
- 12 weeks
A three-day intermediate 5×5 programme with distinct weekly roles. Monday is a heavy volume day, Wednesday is a deliberately light recovery day, and Friday is the intensity day where you attempt a rep PR followed by back-off volume. The programme is typically run for 10-12 weeks at a time before a deload or reset.
3 sessions
| Session | Exercises |
|---|---|
| Monday — Heavy |
|
| Wednesday — Light |
|
| Friday — PR |
|
Monday: squat, bench, and barbell row — each a 5×5 ramping in 12.5% steps up to a single heavy top set (50 / 62.5 / 75 / 87.5 / 100%), plus two sets of weighted back extensions. Wednesday: squat 4×5 where the fourth set repeats the third rather than climbing, overhead press 4×5, and deadlift 4×5 — kept easy on purpose. Friday: squat, bench, and row ramp over Monday's first four sets, then a 1×3 PR attempt 2.5% above Monday's top set, then a single 1×8 back-off set at the weight from the third ramp set, finished with dips and barbell curls. The top set you start on is NOT your 5RM: your 5RM belongs at week 4, and week 1 is that weight stepped back 2.5% three times.
How the weights move
Monday's top set of 5 is whatever you tripled the previous Friday, and each Friday's triple is 2.5% above that Monday — so the week is a ladder that pulls itself up. Where you get on that ladder matters as much as the ladder: the method has you place your current 5RM at WEEK 4 and step backwards 2.5% a week to find week 1, which is roughly 92.5% of your 5RM. The first three weeks are therefore a run-up, not the programme proper, and every week from the fourth on is a personal record. Miss reps and you hold the weight rather than adding to it; when most lifts stall, you reset and build back to PRs over about four weeks. Weekly progression is slower than a novice LP by design; the trade-off is recoverability.
Madcow 5×5, 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
Madcow 5×5 questions
Who is Madcow 5×5 for?
Intermediate lifters who have stalled on a simple novice linear progression and still have room to grow on basic compound lifts. Best when you can accept weekly rather than session-by-session jumps and commit to a three-day weekly cadence.
How many days a week is Madcow 5×5?
As VALDA runs it: 3 days a week, ~60–75 min a session.
How does progression work on Madcow 5×5?
Monday's top set of 5 is whatever you tripled the previous Friday, and each Friday's triple is 2.5% above that Monday — so the week is a ladder that pulls itself up. Where you get on that ladder matters as much as the ladder: the method has you place your current 5RM at WEEK 4 and step backwards 2.5% a week to find week 1, which is roughly 92.5% of your 5RM. The first three weeks are therefore a run-up, not the programme proper, and every week from the fourth on is a personal record. Miss reps and you hold the weight rather than adding to it; when most lifts stall, you reset and build back to PRs over about four weeks. Weekly progression is slower than a novice LP by design; the trade-off is recoverability.
Can I run Madcow 5×5 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 Madcow, after Bill Starr?
No. VALDA is not affiliated with or endorsed by Madcow, after Bill Starr. This page describes the programme as VALDA runs it.
Where Madcow 5×5 comes from
Madcow 5×5 is the intermediate adaptation of Bill Starr's 5×5, written up by the author known as Madcow on his own GeoCities pages in the mid-2000s and carried forward by the strength forums of that era. VALDA follows that write-up for the weekly heavy / light / PR structure, but does not claim authorship of the method.
VALDA is not affiliated with or endorsed by Madcow, after Bill Starr. 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.