I know the one time I ran Madcow it kicked my butt. If I remember right it’s made to run for short periods of time. If you run the calculations out for the programming you will quickly see that the weights you are doing 6 months from start time will seem pretty unreasonable.
I would personally jump right into 531. Unless you are prepping for a powerlifting competition, there is no hurry in getting stronger and the only way to truly mess up is by getting hurt. Slow, steady progression over years of lifting is the name of the game. 531 is a good base program to do just that.
If you really like the 5x5 programming though, look up Andy Baker. He coauthored Practical Programming with Mark Rippetoe, the guy who wrote Starting Strength. He has some good programs available for purchase. He also has a podcast that’s a good listen.
I started lifting in the mid 1960’s. Basic lifts, 3/4 sets per lift increasing weight/decreasing reps each set. Had no machines at the time. First lifts were OH press, cleans, bench, squats, bent rows, straight bar curls, overhead tri ext, reverse curls and lots of sit ups. Later added deads. Hope you didn’t think I started in my 60s.
I agree with Shane, Madcow can be tough, and it’s probably best as a short term program. With the goal of “Peaking” or briefly focusing on strength.
In my 20’s I ran the Bill Starr/Strongest Shall Survive 5x5 program that Madcow is based on, and it would really kick ass, with non stop progress for 6 weeks or so.
That said, lots of guys come up with the idea of pushing a liner style, strength focused progression to get their numbers up, right before starting 5/3/1. So it’s not unheard of. If you go that route, just don’t fall in love with the 5x5 and remember to move on before you have problems.
Obviously you can do what you want but, if you have been training for two years it may be time to
try something else.
Doesn’t get any simpler than this. Just plug your numbers in and get busy.
I am a big fan of this program, and I appreciate your recommendation of it, but I have to say I find the prowler as assistance work for the lower body actually makes this approach a bit more complex than most simple approaches. Do you have a way to make that aspect simpler?
Yep, and he mentions in that podcast that he has ripped off ideas from guys like John Sheaffer, author of Greyskull, and has been influenced by Dante Truedel who wrote Dogcrapp training. Success leaves clues. Most these guys are not THAT far from the basics tree. Train hard, recover, repeat. Of course, that is also where all the nuance is.
You’re right. I live out in sticks and have my own toys so I guess it’s only simple for me. I built a small drag sled. I know it’s not the same as a prowler but, it gets the job done.
In the past I have also used tire flips, trap bar carries, airdyne (weather) , and walking lunges in it’s place. So… don’t listen to me.
I believe Wendler said Dumbbell squats and lunges work basically the same muscles.
This means that you’re at least 65-70 Years old. And been on training all the time, throughout all the ups and downs of life? i really respect that. To me,i find it very inspring to see someone who has decades of consitency.
Hm. You wrote: “I ran it for the neext five years straight”. As far as i got through the 5/3/1 book, most of the plans add 10lbs per month to the ower body exercises. 5 years = 260 months * 10lbs = 2.600 lbs minium for squat or deadlift. So your either remarkalby strong, or i understood something remarkably wrong Which leads to the question on how to deal with plateaus using a 5/3/1 scheme. Do you have any suggestions on that? Thank you.
So, the majority of you guys seems to prefer the wendler strategy. Thas narrows to corridor on how to proceed for me, but raises the question which wendler program would be the best to start with (BBB, 5’s progression). What are your suggestions? Thank you.
When you do Madcow (or any other program) after awhile you get to the end, and after that you have to figure out what to do next. And then when you decide what to do, you need to figure what weights to use and what days to lift on. And if any problems arise, you’re on your own to fix them.
When you do 5/3/1 and you get to the end of a program you know what to do next, and right where to get started on the next one. And if you have any problems, there are plenty of detailed instructions about how to fix stuff and get on track.
So it’s not like 1 month on 5/3/1 is going to be way, way better than a month on some other program. But you’ll make more progress over multiple months of having things lined up and mapped out with 5/3/1 vs making progress on some routine for a month, then spinning your wheels for a month figuring out what to do next.
Ok guys thank you very much for your support and advices. I’d never expected to get such feedback, that alone is more worth than a proper training program.
i got the first two wendler books here to get through and will decide whether scheme to start with. I also found a neat 531 app in the app store (fivethreeone.app, which i have no affiliate or relation to) to make the calculations and tracking of the numbers easy, so i dont need to bring a laptop the gym
After the first experiences i’ll come back here and report.
In my 50s, I kept re-setting Starting Strength Beginner’s Linear Program, and it kept working for me. By re-setting, I mean when I hit plateaus, I’d increase the rest times between sets, add a rest day between workouts, or if that didn’t work, take six weeks or so and do another routine, then come back to SSLP starting with a lower working weight on the lifts. Or another way of re-setting was to drop the added accessory lifts and do just the three lifts in the core routine.
When that really stopped allowing me to add pounds to the bar, I started the SS Intermediate Program and it was like getting beginner gains again. Luckily, my son who was playing football and throwing shot/discus in track at college had the “Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training” book, so I just followed the program there.
Which leads to the question on how to deal with plateaus using a 5/3/1 scheme. Do you have any suggestions on that? Thank you.