move from SS to madcow 5x5

[beginner]

Hi, I'd really appreciate it if I could get some advice about this.
I followed a 5x5 routine, moving to 3x5 as the weights increased.

My stats are:
5ft 9.5
86kg/189

low bar back sqt 122.5/270 3x5
deadlift 150/330 1x5
press 60/132 1x5
bench 95/210 3x5
pendlay BB rows 92.5/203 3x5
(all weights in kg/lbs)

After stalling 3x on squats I moved to madcow 5x5 and am in my 4th week now, so am now trying to repeat my previous 3x5 weights for all exercises.

The problem I'm having is that my squats are much weaker.
Previously I could grind out 122.5kg for 5/5/4 squats.
Now I'm barely managing 120kg 1x5, taking 5 second pauses as the set progresses.

It feels as though taking 3 weeks to work back to my 3x5 maximums and the much reduced squat volume (at your maximum working weight, given that you build up to 1 set of 5 or 3 only twice/week) has set me back.
Either that or I'm massively underestimating the impact of the 4x5 sets prior to the last set ?
eg for squats my sets this week are:

warm ups:
1x5 20kg bar
1x5 60kg

working sets, 1x5:

72.5
85
95
107.5
122.5

I appreciate that my strength levels are definitely borderline novice/intermediate but switched from SS to madcow after finding my other lifts (especially deads) adversely affected by squating 3x5 across 3/days week and spending 2-3 weeks at the same squat weight.

I'd say i've lost a bit of strength on my bench, BB row and OHP.
Its difficult to tell because of greatly increased volume of sets leading up to your maximum 1x5 for all of the exercises.

Has anybody experienced this scenario - of general lost strength or underestimating the impact of the higher volume of build up sets (with corresponding reduced rest intervals between these in comparison with sets across rest intervals)?

Thanks.

[ZKP]

Your volume is too high, based on what little can be seen from here. 5x5 is too much to do that often. Your numbers dictate that you can gain a lot on 5x3 linear progression. More is not necessarily better. Plus you weigh 160. Dont expect to get too much stronger at that bodyweight quickly. You reset so often because you're not gaining weight properly. Good luck.

[gzt]

ZKP - 86kg is like 190#.

Beginner, I would recommend that you gain more weight. How's your eating?

[beginner]

Sorry, i forgot to post my diet.
I'm eating about 4300- 4500 kcals/day ( i track these as accurately as you reasonably can, weighing my food and using a spreadsheet) so that I can check the impact of changes.

This kcal level has been enough for me to gain some fat in the first 3 weeks of madcow, given that these are build up weeks where you're not training the same volume of sets at your max working weights as SS.

I've been following a paleo diet for around 18 months, eating around 3xBW gms/protein, with most kcals from fat, gross carbs approximately 150/day (veg, some nuts and sweet potatoes).

A very experienced trainer (and competing power lifter) estimated me at 17-18% bf.

Regarding move from SS to madcow, I felt exhausted by the 3x5 squats, but persevered for a further 4 months, only able to increase weight by 5lbs every 3 weeks (if that) (!) and repeatedly deloading on all exercises.
After a while I realised that all of my other lifts had pretty much stalled for months or only able to increase weights and manage 3x5 after 3/4 weeks.

Happy to return to SS, if thats what it takes.
Maybe this paleo approach, with 150gms gross carbs/day just isn't right for everyone ?

[gzt]

I was asking because somebody your height really should weigh at least 90-95kg and your knowledge of exact calorie consumption while squatting only 125kg indicates you were probably not attacking the contents of your plate with enough gusto. I have, at times, eaten 7000 calories per day when on the SS progression. Granted, I'm a bit taller than you. But it's not easy to eat that much. I could only manage that level for about a week at a time. Anyway. It would have been much more useful for the experienced trainer to look at your squat than to look at your bodyfat. It also might be helpful for you to see terribly strong people squat, especially on a high intensity day. The first time I saw somebody at my gym squatting six plates, I realized that there was, like, another higher gear in my machinery that I wasn't tapping. You think you're working hard now, but when you see how hard it is possible to work, you might find you have a little more in you.

[stronger]

Do Texas Method. It's superior to the Madcow 5x5 by a lot

[ZKP]

ZKP - 86kg is like 190#.

Beginner, I would recommend that you gain more weight. How's your eating?

Yeah you're right....it was early. Still, gain some weight....

[beginner]

thanks, appreciate all the advice.

Technique:
I'll pay for the trainer I mentioned to assess my squats.
He did say they were definitely hip crease below knee, but that I was
leaning too far forward. (I Deloaded and focused on chest up/drive from heels). I'll post a squat video on this site.

Diet:
I find it easy to eat a lot when its a high fat diet - just add another tablespoon of coconut oil to your meal for a good 200 kcals.
I can gain weight easily, but fat as well.
Maybe I should reduce fats and increase carbs ?

Are people successful on these programmes whilst restricting carbs ?
If I return to SS i can't help thinking that recovery is a bigger issue and 48 hr gaps between w/outs insufficient on a restricted carb diet ?

Programme:
Damn, it was a choice between Texas and Madcow - maybe I made the wrong choice.

Point taken about intensity.
Is it valid to use rest pause squats when the pauses increase to about 8 seconds between 4th and 5th reps of a set ?
Or are you just kidding yourself, meaning that you keep stalling when you subsequently try to increase weight ?

[gzt]

Let's lay it down simple. Eat a lot. Got a lot of protein. But eat a lot. We don't want to hear you whine about fat. When you're throwing around 150kg, it's easy to lose fat. When you're not yet throwing around 150kg, you need to shut up about gaining fat. This will take at least 5000 calories. If you mention carbs again, I'll duct tape you to a barbell and force-feed you milk. You'll find that you do the best when you stuffed yourself to the point of discomfort on both the day before lifting and the day you lift. You need to be 90kg. You should probably be 95kg. If you keep talking about carbs and getting fat, I'll say you need to be 100kg.

Of course, this might change if you're a masters lifter. Masters lifters have legitimate concerns about their ability to pack on mass.

[GesD]

Stronger,

What's the superiority of the TM over Madcow's 5x5. I'm about to switch over to intermediate soon would like your opinion.

Thank you