The Greyskull Methods- A Primer

Part 3-Exercise order- See page 32 in the book for more info

Because most people prefer to have a well-developed upper body, we focus our intensity on the upper body lifts first in a workout. This is when we are freshest and keeps us from our CNS being shot due to the load that deads and squat place on the nervous system. No matter how grueling a bench or press session is, it will not come close to taxing the CNS or causing fatigue like the deadlift or squat do.

Because of this CNS strain we perform squats and deads as the last lift of the day, always. Bottom line is, it’s almost impossible to have an upper body workout be so tough that it messes up your squats. Also because we have removed the squat on Day 3 it allows us to prioritize the deadlift when compared to the other LP programs.

Focusing our intensity on the upper body lift first allows to fall into the trap of the other notable LP programs which call for the squat first. This is noticeable in before and after pics from trainees that have run these programs and an over development of the lower body or should we say under development of the upper body is very noticeable.

The final advantage to this order is it allows the lifter to lay on the floor and cry for a few minutes after the hard squat and deadlift sessions. If you do squats first and its hard as shite, but you grind out a new rep and weight record, the last thing you want to do is turn around 5 minutes later is go try and do the same thing on a bench or press session. Also a heavy squat or deadlift session is going to tax the core in ways nothing else can, this can and will affect your press, period.

Part 4-Set & Rep scheme- See page 33 in the book for more info

2x5, 1x5+ stands for 2 sets of 5 and a 3rd set of 5 plus however many reps you can get until failure. All of the main lifts with the exception of deadlifts are performed for a total of three true working sets. That means we start warming up with the bar(even on squat) and we add weight doing 3-5 reps at each weight until we reach our working weight. A simple approach to this is simply adding 20-50lbs to the bar until we reach out working weight.

For example-225 working weight on Bench
45x10
95x5
135x5 for 2 sets
185x5
205x3
225-first working set-5 reps
225-second working set-5 reps
225- Third set- 8 reps.

An Example deadlift workout with working weight of 265 is

135x5(we always start deadlift warm-ups with 135 due to bar height, if you have bumpers start with 65lbs)
185x5
205x5
225x3
265x9- here the lifter does one set to complete failure. Failure comes before deterioration of safe technique.

The first two working sets, we will arbitrarily stop at 5. One way to look at these sets is simply as your primer sets or as added volume for hypertrophy. Our third set we will take to failure. This is the money set and is the driver of progression both in physique and strength goals.

This flexible setup for reps from workout to workout is the self periodization element of the program. Not feeling good today, fine do the 5 reps with a PR weight and be done. Feeling good that day, great, now knock out 8 with a weight record. Obviously this allows the program to account for good and bad days, which every single person will have.

Part 5 -Progression- See page 35 in the book for more info

It is important not to attempt to make greater increases in weight than one can recover from and still return the next session. If we add too much in a hurry we will hit a wall and get stuck by frying our CNS by adding at unsustainable rates.

The more conservative we are with our weight increases the longer we can sustain progression. Some will scream that for a novice lifter these small increases are a waste of time and that is very far from the truth. Not only are we looking for muscle adaptation we are also looking for adaptation from our soft tissue (ligaments and joints) and from our CNS. This slower progression allows these items to catch up to the faster adapting muscles. Also again bar weight is not our only variable in this program like it is in other LP programs. With the sets being performed to complete failure the creation of a stimulus for growth and strength development is ensured no matter the weight on the bar.
Weight Increase per Session- See page 36 in the book for more info

• Add 2.5 LBS to upper body lifts (these plates can be brought from rogue or dumbbell buddy). Acquiring these weights is cheap and key to the overall program.
• Add 5 lbs to lower body lifts
• If trainee completes-Push the set to complete failure no matter the number of reps, even if 20, and make a decision to increase the weight or just reps next session. I recommend anything above 12 reps on the last set for all lifts but deadlifts, to double the increase.
• A note on rep ranges-The legs tend to respond very well to higher reps so increasing the number of reps even up to 50 reps in lieu of increasing weight is a very viable option for the squat. The money reps for the upper body lifts are between 6-12, so anything above 12 you should think long and hard about increasing reps. For High Rep Squats see Villain Challenge #2
• Do not exceed 10 reps on Deadlifts. If trainee gets 10 reps, double increase

As you can see from the above this will have use Progressing 7.5lbs every 2 weeks on all upper body lifts, 20 lbs every 2 weeks in the squat and 10 lbs in the dead lift. Again the above is not set in stone, feel free to cut the progression down on one, some or all of the lifts. I honestly believe in cutting the squats down to only 2.5lbs per session so an increase of 10lbs of 2 weeks. Cutting the weight that is added does slow progression but it also prolongs progression.

Rest- This will depend on goals but in general a legit 2 minutes on the first two sets and 3-4 before the last set is suitable. But rest periods should depend on the goal, if fat loss is the goal, shorten them up some, if strength is the main goal, lengthen them; if a mix of strength and muscle gain is the goal, keep them as is.


Part 6 - Starting Weight- See page 36 in the book for more info

The book does not give a ton of guidance on the starting weight. On page 36 he simply says to make an educated guess as to the weight to start with and to pick a weight that you would fail on between 8 and 10 reps.

My advice is start lower than you think you should. From my experience with 5/3/1 I encourage you to take your estimated one rep max and multiply by 0.9 (90%) and use that as your training max. Your starting weight would be 80% of that.

For Example on bench, you are able to complete 175x8 on the program prior to starting the GSLP. This gives us an estimated 1 rep max of 220(219). So 90% of 220 would be 200(198).

So our training max for bench is 200lbs. We will take 80% of that which would be 160(158.4). So 160lbs would be our starting weight.

1 rep calculator
Use the above link to estimate your 1rm. Then use then do
*.9*.8 and this will give you your estimated starting weight.

So I know many of you will be screaming, I don’t want to start that low, that’s stupid. Remember we are looking for long term adaptation, not short term/short lived weight records. I understand that it sucks to start 15lbs lighter than a weight you just lifted for 8 reps, but we are trying to work the program and the best way to get the program to do what you want is to start a little lower than you think. Feel free to do as Johnny Pain says in the book and start at the weight that you can do 8 times, but that does not leave very much wiggle room to build up momentum.

Part 2 –The intermediate reset- Why the GSLP is infinitely adaptable – See intermediate syndrome article and page 92-98 in the book

First off let me say this type of reset should only be performed after stalling in a lift at least twice. For the novice lifter, this would more than likely be applied after 3 or 4 resets.

So many of you reading this will be saying, yea well what happens after I reset and I get stuck again and then again…..WELL, WELL, WELL we have any answer for that also.

So if you read the Intermediate Syndrome article I asked you read to in the first section, you would have any idea of where this is going. When Daunte Trudal introduced his now famous DoggCrapp Training method he introduced the training world to the idea of switching out stalled lifts for variants of that lift, example subbing bench for incline. Daunte did so because he realized that in the presence of proper nutrition, he who makes the most strength gains also gains the most muscle. This wasn’t a new concept in the powerlifting world as Louie Simmons of Westside Barbell had been doing something similar for years, but it was never out in the open like it was once Daunte made the now in famous Cycle of Pennies thread and shared his training and nutrition program.

Daunte came on the scene at a time when everyone was light weight and insane volume despite Dorian Yates & Ronnie Coleman doing the opposite and dominating all of Bodybuilding at the time. This breath of fresh air is incorporated into what I call the Advanced Greyskull Reset.

For this type of reset, a trainee would have already completed at least one of the traditional Greyskull resets. So how do we perform this advanced reset?

Imagine Johnny Joe Blow from above works his way back through the reset and stalls out again, this time at 215 lbs. Johnny has a choice, perform another traditional reset or he can remove bench from the program for now and replace it with one of its variants. In this case let’s say he chooses to sub in Incline Barbell press. Well Johnny would back the weight off quite a bit and restart blasting away on incline pushing the last set until failure every time. Let’s say he pushes the incline and gets all the way up to 225 before he stalls on this lift. Now he performs a traditional reset and blast away again getting all the way back up to 240 while destroying the log book along the way and packing on quite a bit of muscle. After he stalls at 240, Johnny decides he likes using the variants for now and chooses to use close grip bench for this run. Johnny again lowers the weight and blast away, working his way up to 225 on close grip, he performs the traditional resets and gets to 235 before stalling again.

Now Johnny decides he was to go back to his ole trustee the barbell flat bench press. But he hasn’t performed the lift in months and last time stalled out at 215. Do you really think that after improving his upper chest and triceps that he is going to stall out again on 215? frick no he won’t, hell he already blew past that with variants that are considered more difficult. Sure he will have to start at 10% less than his last stall, but on his way up he is going to absolutely destroy the log book and blow way past 215, prolly to up to something like 260 or 270 before stalling again.

Ladies and gentleman that is progress no matter how you look at it. What an idea, right? Understand that the lift itself could be a variable that can be adjusted and that adjusting the said variable would allow for continual progress with such a basic setup. This might not fit what the experts consider linear progression and that’s ok, but to Johnny pain and myself increasing at least one performance variable in one training with each training session is in fact linear progression.

If you think I am wrong and that Johnny Joe Blow would lose tons of strength, then go listen to Louie Simmons of Westside Barbell talk about squatting. His trainees rarely perform barbell squats outside of competitions, instead they focus on box squats, good mornings, speed squats etc. Are you going to tell me that it’s good enough for the best power lifters in the world, but not Johnny Joe Blow on tigerdroppings….bullshite? Daunte Trudal trains some of the most advanced bodybuilders in the world, including Dave Henry and many of his trainees are walking around with 225lbs or more of actual muscle mass. Daunte has all of his lifters replace stalled lifts with variants and has them continue on like nothing happened. So again are you telling me it’s good enough for the top and strongest bodybuilders in the world, but not good enough for Johnny Joe Blow on tigerdroppings because he read a book? If you believe this then you are beyond help.


Look no matter the program, all training is essentially linear progression, at least it should be if you want to make real progress over time. Sure it comes in different forms, but the bottom line is if you aren’t progressing in some way, then you are just moving backwards. There is no maintaining or standing still in this Game. There just isn’t, either you are getting better or you are getting worse.

If you take anything away from this article, take away the fact that you have to learn to think for yourself if you want to be injury free, strong and fit for life. You have to make the program work for you and your goals, not the goals of a damn program created by somebody that has never even spoken to you. This is not a blessing to go bastardize the GSLP but if you are an older lifter (older as in lots of time in the gym, not age); then sure feel free to blast away in higher rep ranges. Just blast away and get strong as shite in those rep ranges. Flat bench hurts your shoulder, well by all means, get you some plate mates for micro loading and get after it with the dumbbells. You gym only has a leg press and smith machine, well by god make that smith machine your bitch to were people in the gym no longer refer to it as the Smith machine but as your machine.

For the intermediate reset you have 3 things to consider when choosing which variant to sub in. Like I said above, you have to think and make the program work for your goals, not the goals of the program. You are going to have to have some self-awareness in choosing what is best for you. There is nothing wrong with having confidence, but we can all improve in some way and you need to figure out where it is you need or want to improve and address this when choosing a variant.

2. Total Volume- For the majority of trainees (95%) the 2x5, 1x5+ set & rep scheme is a perfect amount of volume to cause both strength and muscle adaptation. But for those that have reached a certain point, Johnny has his trainees perform the warm up sets as described above and then perform just the money set at working weight for AMRAP. They push this set to the absolute maximum knowing this is the only chance they get this session to cause an adaptation and they must beat the log book. For example Johnny Joe Blow is now benching 315 for reps. Instead of performing the traditional 2 feeder sets at working weight, they simply warm up and hit the 315 for as many reps as they can possibly get. At that point they are done. If you learn to push yourself this is all that is needed. Most of Johnny’s trainees in his home gym move to this setup after a couple years. This works extremely well on the pursuit of complete the bodyweight squat villain challenge. See pages 99-101

3. Deloading- There are three simple protocols you can use for the deload
a. This is simple, after 9 weeks of training, take a week off from the gym and then return the next lowering lifts by 5% and start blasting away again.
b. The second easy way is we train for 9 straight weeks blasting as hard as we can along the way and we set all kinds of personal records. Well on week 9 we come in and we find our maxes. This is referred to by Jim Wendler as the 7th week protocol. We are going to use it as the 10th week protocol. This about setting a PR and ensuring we are making progress. It is also time to rest and let your body recover.
c. The last and final way to move to what Daunte Trudal refers to a Blast and cruise setup. Essentially we are going to Blast away as hard as we can on our money sets for 6 weeks. Then we are going to take 10% off the bar and perform just straight sets for two weeks. When we come back we will go back to using the weight we stopped our blast at and we will try and beat the log book again. Another way to perform the Blast and Cruise method is after the cruise, we rotate the lift. For example, let’s say Johnny from above blast bench for 6 weeks, then does a 2 week cruise. Instead of going right back to bench he simply performs the intermediate reset and switches bench out for a variant like we discussed above. This allows continual progress in an easy to follow format. The time blasting can be adjust and auto regulated. If you feel yourself getting beat up, your mind is not into it, well cut the blast and perform a cruise, come back refreshed and then get after it again.


Ok from the above you can see how the program can adapt as you advance through your lifting career. It isn’t a complicated but you must think for yourself!!

Part C-Body weight Training- See page 61-75 for more info

Bodyweight exercises are highly encouraged to be incorporated into the program as “homework”. Please read thisarticle to understand the importance of the body weight training in the GSLP program. The bodyweight exercises are arguably the most important part of the GSLP. WHY? Because they set us up for good habits in the future and if you commit to 3 months of the bodyweight movements you will transform your physique.

Bodyweight exercises are performed because most people cannot handle tons of volume lifting and with the bodyweight movements being so easy on the CNS, it allows us to pack in volume over the course of a Day/Week/Month etc. . . . So what is the easiest way to layer in volume, we do easy sets of the core body weight movements, pushups and chin ups.

Pushups and chins lend themselves to higher volume so long as the volume is worked up to. They also are excellent tools for upper body development when used in High volume. The biggest mistake people make when trying to improve bodyweight movements is going all out too soon. Our goal should be to improve on our total volume of bodyweight “Homework” and stronger on our weight room training at the same time. With everything with bodyweight movements, everything should be relatively easy.

If you prioritize the bodyweight homework and commit to it, doing it every day with the same zeal you hit the weight room you will see amazing results.

We have three methods we can use
1. Frequency Method-FM method- practice of doing multiple submaximal sets throughout the day. See page 62 in book.
2. The Ladder Method- Similar to pyramid method. We pyramid up to a set of max reps, then start over again at 1 and repeat. See page 65 in the book.
3. The Total Work method- total reps over the course of a week. You assign yourself a total amount of work for the week, then split it up however you want and get it done.

Our Goals-
1. Use Burpees to reduce body fat(See villain Challenge #1)
2. Use situps and variants to increase core strength
3. Use Pushups and Chins to increase volume to cause Hypertrophy. ( villain challenge #3 & Villain Challenge #4)

4. Once a certain volume is reached for pushups and chins we will move to the harder variant. Think close grip, incline, weighted, ring and handstand pushups and weighted chins.
5. Once villain challenge #3 has been completed, dips can be incorporated in the same fashion.
Of all the bodyweight movements and methods, if you want fat loss work up to villain challenge #1. Burpees done throughout the day will keep you burning fat like crazy. The best movement for hypertrophy is going to be frequency method chins. These will build your arms faster than anything else.

I believe Johnny Pain put it best “The frequency method is one of the most important, yet often most neglected if not outright ignored, components of the Greyskull lp program. It is the practice of performing bodyweight exercises daily in an incrementally increasing fashion, the result being an increasing volume of sub maximal work performed over the course of the week and month. The results of those who skip the all-important piece and those who possess the resolve to actually complete the work, are not easily mistakable The latter group always produces a much more powerful result in all measurable metrics across the board”

“It is imperative to consider your strength training in the gym as the “assistance” work to, and layered over the top of your daily bodyweight work if you are to truly maximize your results from you training efforts”

PLEASE SEE THIS CHAPTER IN THE BOOK TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW AND WHY WE USE BODYWEIGHT MOVEMENTS. READ AND DIGEST PAGE 74, THEN READ AGAIN.

Good read for anyone who doesn't know where to start or anyone who doesn't know why things are planned the way they are planned!

Rippetoe is often forgotten now a days but he's good!

How to Add Volume to the GSLP

strength and conditioning Challenges to pursue

old Greyskull Elite S&C site

Phraks Modified version is another great template. I was just posting some.

Please feel free to Post any templates I didnt post.

Yes basic version is 3 days a week.

Going to link this thread in the compilation thread of programs. Awesome work!