re: 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.