It’s really fun and I do it every now and then for a change of pace. You must be ready to bust your ass because this type of program is not for the squeamish. Your job, week in and week out, is to add weight to that damn bar and do it like you mean it! Your main focus should be linear progression on a weekly basis. The back squat can easily be replaced by the leg press but this is no excuse to do a bunch of extra leg work to make up for anything. No need to add extra cable crossovers or some other BS movement. You don’t have to do flat bench if there is a machine that suits your needs or if you’ve had previous shoulder injuries. In lieu of that, there’s always room for exercise substitutions (not synonymous with additions) but DON’T add a bunch of extra crap. This is why I choose RDL’s over conventional deads. You and I could be similar in anatomy and be built for squats but not necessarily deadlfits or vice versa. To put it simply, if you are not a competitive powerlifter, there is no reason why you have to do the flat bench, squat, or the deadlift. Now, I agree that Bill Starr’s ideas are wonderful and his programs are pure gold, but I disagree with the idea that if one chooses a different exercise, their gains will be inferior. The guy who is responsible for this program is of the best on the planet at bulking lifters and making people stronger. As a rule those people who want to change it don’t know enough to make proper alterations – those who do know enough, don’t have much to change. The bottom line is that these are all the most effective exercises and just about anything one does will result in less gains. Every bodybuilder seems to have Attention Deficit Disorder and an overwhelming desire to customize everything. Directly from the site:ĭon’t fuck with this. Of course the MadCow 5×5 is based around the big-boy movements.
A good, simple remedy for this is Starting Strength.Īgain, this program is for the intermediate trainee. Of course, gains are not always going to be predictable and occur every time you train, but beginners will make strength gains much faster than an intermediate trainee will. They need something that emphasizes making gains every workout whether they are in the form of weight lifted or reps achieved. Newbs will make better progress using a workout to workout linear approach. Maintaining that level of intensity is simply not feasible anymore. They’re finally to the point where progress has slowed a bit and discover that making gains from workout to workout is just impossible to recover from. Intermediate trainees intermediates are generally those who have 1-2 years of solid training under their belt. I also remember puking at the end of my workouts while my coach yelled at us to stop being a bunch of sissies! I would do it again, really. I remember them fondly I just never knew who the author was. If any of you’ve participated in athletics, particularly those which incorporate strength training, this type of routine will be very familiar to you. It was designed by Bill Starr to elicit maximum gains in strength and was often utilized in off season football programs. The MadCow 5×5 is a strength program first.
Stronglifts 5x5 calculator full#
The workouts are on non-consecutive days and are full body (oh how I love thee). It’s built around the big movements: squat, bench press, overhead press, deadlift and the barbell row. If you can use an excel spreadsheet, you can utilize this program to its maximum benefit. While I may or may not decide to do what they’ve done as far as mirroring and hosting the content, I’ve created this article to cover the intermediate version of the MadCow 5×5 program. I am so thankful someone took the time to back everything up as there’s so much great information on this program and I honestly thought it was gone forever. WackyHQ and StrongLifts both have the same information. I’ve since found sources with replicated pages of the program. Thankfully, some folks out in cyberspace backed up the web pages and are now hosting them elsewhere.
It’s an intermediate program by Bill Starr that focuses on weekly linear progress and is very well suited for the experienced trainee who’s gotten much stronger but struggling to make consistent strength gains well past their newbie phase.Īs you might have realized, the MadCow 5×5 site was previously hosted on geocities but back in October 2009, many of the user-built pages were wiped out completely. In past articles when discussing training, I’ve referenced and linked to a very popular 5×5 training program often referred to as the MadCow 5×5. A reader sent a quick email to notify me of some broken links they’d found. Something was brought to my attention a few weeks ago.