- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
re: The Greyskull Methods- A Primer
Posted on 6/6/17 at 10:32 am to lsu777
Posted on 6/6/17 at 10:32 am to lsu777
The Greyskull Principles-
• Flexibility is everything in training. The other LPs are Rigid and close minded forcing many to come up short of their goals. Contrary to popular believe weight on the bar is not the only way to progress. If you want a strict adherence program, the GSLP is not it and honestly religion is for strict adherence not the gym.
• No longer is it against the rules to go play pickup basketball or other normal activities people do outside of the gym.
• Over complication leads to failure. Progress is everything and the only thing that fricking matters.
• frick Ego, ego and OCD are the number one reason people fail to reach their goals.
• You absolutely can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time if nutrition and training is on point.
• Squats do not need to be performed every session, in fact the opposite is true for many.
• Accessory work should be added to the base program to fill in physique goals
• The big lift of the day(squats
• Boredom is a progress killer, programs should never be so rigid that you become bored with training and quit. The best program in the world is useless to a trainee the minute they find
• A gallon of milk per day is not needed and only leads to fat frickitus. Better nutrition from whole foods leads to be results in both strength and physique goals than a gallon of milk ever could.
• Recovery is not affected if plug ins are slowly layered in over time
• Conditioning sessions can be added and are no longer taboo and a cast off to hell.
• The big lifts can be rotated out for their variants allowing self-periodization. They are rotated either once a lift stalls multiple times, for simple variation and boredom, or to fill in physique goals. No longer is wanting to due incline instead of bench or front squats instead of squats some taboo subject.
• Variant lifts can also be plugged in for one of the main lift days furthering progression.
The Greyskull LP is all about one thing, Progress. Linear Progression has existed since the story of Milo of Croton, the Greek wrestler who started carrying a Calf everyday on his shoulders. As the calf grew, so did Milo until eventually Milo was carrying a full grown bull on his shoulders.
The point of Linear Progression is to add small amounts of weights to the bar each session. This is common amongst all LP programs. The GSLP differentiates itself from others though because they slow this progression down, in fact they cut it in half only adding 2.5lbs for upper body and 5lbs for lower and lowered the frequency. This allows the user to continue to progress for much longer and not slam themselves into a wall. Johnny adopted these changes because he never understood why you abandon the most basic premise in training after only a few months and he never accepted that an LP can only work for so long.
Hence the Greyskull LP in its current form was born.
Why the GSLP is different than other LPs-
The Greyskull LP differentiates itself from other LP programs because it allows you to set weight or Rep records every session. Personal Records are motivating and really lets the individual push themselves much further than other wise. The ability to push the last set also allows the GSLP to be self per iodizing unlike other LP programs. No longer are you forced to do only 5 reps and if you fail you must reset.
Outside of the til failure final set, Greyskull also scales back the squatting to twice per week and the dead lifts to once per week. This allows the user to not feel so beat up and continue to progress. Combined with the reduced weight additions, this combination allows the user to run the program and continue to progress much longer than other LP programs.
Also the GSLP is not a set in stone program and is more a set of principles and allows the user to choose specific plug ins to reach their specific goal. Not everyone wants to be strong and fat, most begin lifting to look and feel better. Some want bigger arms, some want a bigger yolk, some just want to be ripped to shreds. No matter the goal the GSLP can be adjusted to fit unlike every other LP which says do what the program says and if you do anything else, its no longer the program.
The Program: What is the Greyskull LP
Part 1- The Core-
At its core the Greyskull LP is just the name given to the Greyskull Methods.
The base of the program will revolve around the 4 big lifts and their variants.
1. The Squat
2. The Bench Press
3. The Deadlift
4. The Overhead Front Barbell Press referred to as simply the press here on out
Part 2-Frequency- See page 26 in the book for more info
• The Squat is always performed on Day 1 & 5 of a week.
• The deadlift is performed on day 3, the second/middle training day of the week.
• The press and bench are performed in an alternating A/B fashion
• All plug ins are performed in an alternating A/B fashion
Why do we not squat three times a week like the other big LP programs (i.e. Starting Strength and Stronglifts); because we are trying to prolong progress and not hit a wall. Sure adding 10lbs per session and a total of 30lbs a week sounds great and so does a 720lbs increase over 6 months but is this really sustainable or are you going to hit a wall with the quickness? Its simple, less frequency, more intensity with the final set and slowly adding weight will prolong the progress and over a 6 month time will allow the trainee to make more progress then he would have on one of the aforementioned programs. We are interested in the longevity of the progress.
Adding 5 lbs 2 times per week would yield a 240lbs increase over 6 months, is this completely realistic, maybe? Taking a squat from 135 to 375 in 6 months has certainly been accomplished before, but it’s not the norm. So why not spread the frequency out more and slow down the progression even more? Because bar weight is not the only variable we are using.
Why do we only deadlift once per week while squatting twice per week? The deadlift responds better to being trained only once a week and a proper deadlift session will tax your CNS more so than a heavy squat session. With a progression of 5lbs a week, this still adds up to 120lbs or so in 6 months.
Why are the upper body lifts on a A/B setup and not squats and deads? Simple, the press and bench use less muscles and are less taxing on your CNS then squats and deads. This allows us to recover at a much faster rate.
Remember the more opportunities of individual stress/recovery/adaptation (strength in muscle gains) the greater the overall potential for growth and strength development. In other words, the more often we can provide just enough stress on a particular muscle for it to cause micro tears to have to adapt to protect itself, the faster our strengths and muscle gains will be, but recovery must be considered hence the overall volume of the program and the layering of plugins slowly to ensure adaptation to the increased volume. The goal is to keep frequency high and the load/volume significant enough to elicit this adaptation, without providing unnecessary beat down on the muscle and without unnecessary CNS strain.
• Flexibility is everything in training. The other LPs are Rigid and close minded forcing many to come up short of their goals. Contrary to popular believe weight on the bar is not the only way to progress. If you want a strict adherence program, the GSLP is not it and honestly religion is for strict adherence not the gym.
• No longer is it against the rules to go play pickup basketball or other normal activities people do outside of the gym.
• Over complication leads to failure. Progress is everything and the only thing that fricking matters.
• frick Ego, ego and OCD are the number one reason people fail to reach their goals.
• You absolutely can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time if nutrition and training is on point.
• Squats do not need to be performed every session, in fact the opposite is true for many.
• Accessory work should be added to the base program to fill in physique goals
• The big lift of the day(squats
• Boredom is a progress killer, programs should never be so rigid that you become bored with training and quit. The best program in the world is useless to a trainee the minute they find
• A gallon of milk per day is not needed and only leads to fat frickitus. Better nutrition from whole foods leads to be results in both strength and physique goals than a gallon of milk ever could.
• Recovery is not affected if plug ins are slowly layered in over time
• Conditioning sessions can be added and are no longer taboo and a cast off to hell.
• The big lifts can be rotated out for their variants allowing self-periodization. They are rotated either once a lift stalls multiple times, for simple variation and boredom, or to fill in physique goals. No longer is wanting to due incline instead of bench or front squats instead of squats some taboo subject.
• Variant lifts can also be plugged in for one of the main lift days furthering progression.
The Greyskull LP is all about one thing, Progress. Linear Progression has existed since the story of Milo of Croton, the Greek wrestler who started carrying a Calf everyday on his shoulders. As the calf grew, so did Milo until eventually Milo was carrying a full grown bull on his shoulders.
The point of Linear Progression is to add small amounts of weights to the bar each session. This is common amongst all LP programs. The GSLP differentiates itself from others though because they slow this progression down, in fact they cut it in half only adding 2.5lbs for upper body and 5lbs for lower and lowered the frequency. This allows the user to continue to progress for much longer and not slam themselves into a wall. Johnny adopted these changes because he never understood why you abandon the most basic premise in training after only a few months and he never accepted that an LP can only work for so long.
Hence the Greyskull LP in its current form was born.
Why the GSLP is different than other LPs-
The Greyskull LP differentiates itself from other LP programs because it allows you to set weight or Rep records every session. Personal Records are motivating and really lets the individual push themselves much further than other wise. The ability to push the last set also allows the GSLP to be self per iodizing unlike other LP programs. No longer are you forced to do only 5 reps and if you fail you must reset.
Outside of the til failure final set, Greyskull also scales back the squatting to twice per week and the dead lifts to once per week. This allows the user to not feel so beat up and continue to progress. Combined with the reduced weight additions, this combination allows the user to run the program and continue to progress much longer than other LP programs.
Also the GSLP is not a set in stone program and is more a set of principles and allows the user to choose specific plug ins to reach their specific goal. Not everyone wants to be strong and fat, most begin lifting to look and feel better. Some want bigger arms, some want a bigger yolk, some just want to be ripped to shreds. No matter the goal the GSLP can be adjusted to fit unlike every other LP which says do what the program says and if you do anything else, its no longer the program.
The Program: What is the Greyskull LP
Part 1- The Core-
At its core the Greyskull LP is just the name given to the Greyskull Methods.
The base of the program will revolve around the 4 big lifts and their variants.
1. The Squat
2. The Bench Press
3. The Deadlift
4. The Overhead Front Barbell Press referred to as simply the press here on out
Part 2-Frequency- See page 26 in the book for more info
• The Squat is always performed on Day 1 & 5 of a week.
• The deadlift is performed on day 3, the second/middle training day of the week.
• The press and bench are performed in an alternating A/B fashion
• All plug ins are performed in an alternating A/B fashion
Why do we not squat three times a week like the other big LP programs (i.e. Starting Strength and Stronglifts); because we are trying to prolong progress and not hit a wall. Sure adding 10lbs per session and a total of 30lbs a week sounds great and so does a 720lbs increase over 6 months but is this really sustainable or are you going to hit a wall with the quickness? Its simple, less frequency, more intensity with the final set and slowly adding weight will prolong the progress and over a 6 month time will allow the trainee to make more progress then he would have on one of the aforementioned programs. We are interested in the longevity of the progress.
Adding 5 lbs 2 times per week would yield a 240lbs increase over 6 months, is this completely realistic, maybe? Taking a squat from 135 to 375 in 6 months has certainly been accomplished before, but it’s not the norm. So why not spread the frequency out more and slow down the progression even more? Because bar weight is not the only variable we are using.
Why do we only deadlift once per week while squatting twice per week? The deadlift responds better to being trained only once a week and a proper deadlift session will tax your CNS more so than a heavy squat session. With a progression of 5lbs a week, this still adds up to 120lbs or so in 6 months.
Why are the upper body lifts on a A/B setup and not squats and deads? Simple, the press and bench use less muscles and are less taxing on your CNS then squats and deads. This allows us to recover at a much faster rate.
Remember the more opportunities of individual stress/recovery/adaptation (strength in muscle gains) the greater the overall potential for growth and strength development. In other words, the more often we can provide just enough stress on a particular muscle for it to cause micro tears to have to adapt to protect itself, the faster our strengths and muscle gains will be, but recovery must be considered hence the overall volume of the program and the layering of plugins slowly to ensure adaptation to the increased volume. The goal is to keep frequency high and the load/volume significant enough to elicit this adaptation, without providing unnecessary beat down on the muscle and without unnecessary CNS strain.
This post was edited on 6/6/17 at 10:42 am
11
Posted on 6/6/17 at 10:32 am to lsu777
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.
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.
This post was edited on 6/6/17 at 10:47 am
Posted on 9/27/17 at 8:44 pm to lsu777
Looking at starting this in a few weeks. Where the heck do you find 1.25 plates? I've checked a couple of places and can't find any.
Posted on 3/15/18 at 7:24 pm to lsu777
First off, this is such a great thread, thank you for this so much. Second, I need your advice lsu777. My primary goal is to lose fat/aesthetics and I've run into some problems of losing fat (yes I know nutrition is #1, which I need to fix tbh), hitting secondary muscles and overtraining.
I started exercising 6 years ago with Insanity(lost fat, gained muscle and a weird enjoyment of high intensity cardio), lifting random internet routines with no knowledge of LP, reddit's recommended routine and hopped a lot basically. Lost weight from 240 to 175, then moved back home and back at 240lbs. I'm 5'10, 24 y/o looking better than before with more muscle but still no abs and moobs.
I have been following GSLP for about a month and a half and got my lifts up: bench 165, press 100, squat 185, hex bar deadlift 200. Then I switched to Metallicadpa's PPL because I wanted to hit lat delts and biceps more. After that first leg workout, I got wrecked because the next day, my torso was leaning to the right like scoliosis or something but after a day the lower back tightness and the leaning went away. It may be because of lack of stretching or the back squats + sldl + bridges, idk.
I was scared to lift for the rest of the last week and started this week again with GSLP and added in negative chins w/ press and some 2x 8-12 lat raises SS with 2x8-12 band facepulls, but it feels like my lat/lower back shoulder got messed up because I didn't have the energy to squat afterwards or maybe the leaning thing was coming back. It may have been too much volume still. If you have any input please let me know, I might go to a doctor to check this out.
Can you help me create a routine for fat loss/aesthetics and answer a few questions:
1. Should I ditch the accessory movements, including back exercises during lifting sessions and stick to the core four movements?
2. Should I do 3x a week or 4x a week lifting sessions? My lower body is naturally bulky and I'm trying to stop that.
3. Regarding a previous reply you gave to someone, if I only do the core movements during lifting sessions and VC#1, when should I implement the next fat loss layers you have mentioned? Like after week 2 add 360 challenge, and week 4 FM pushups/chins? (I felt weird not hitting my back during my first month of GSLP - I didn't do the FM because I saw it was for hypertrophy and seemed counter intuitive to fat loss)
4. How can I add in calisthenics strength/skill work as well? I really want to be able to do planches, handstands, levers, muscle ups, l-sits, and still enjoy lifting upper and lower body movements.
5. Should I just go back to a pure bodyweight training (plus rings and sandbag and sprints) until a certain point to go back to weights?
Thank you again for this amazing thread.
I started exercising 6 years ago with Insanity(lost fat, gained muscle and a weird enjoyment of high intensity cardio), lifting random internet routines with no knowledge of LP, reddit's recommended routine and hopped a lot basically. Lost weight from 240 to 175, then moved back home and back at 240lbs. I'm 5'10, 24 y/o looking better than before with more muscle but still no abs and moobs.
I have been following GSLP for about a month and a half and got my lifts up: bench 165, press 100, squat 185, hex bar deadlift 200. Then I switched to Metallicadpa's PPL because I wanted to hit lat delts and biceps more. After that first leg workout, I got wrecked because the next day, my torso was leaning to the right like scoliosis or something but after a day the lower back tightness and the leaning went away. It may be because of lack of stretching or the back squats + sldl + bridges, idk.
I was scared to lift for the rest of the last week and started this week again with GSLP and added in negative chins w/ press and some 2x 8-12 lat raises SS with 2x8-12 band facepulls, but it feels like my lat/lower back shoulder got messed up because I didn't have the energy to squat afterwards or maybe the leaning thing was coming back. It may have been too much volume still. If you have any input please let me know, I might go to a doctor to check this out.
Can you help me create a routine for fat loss/aesthetics and answer a few questions:
1. Should I ditch the accessory movements, including back exercises during lifting sessions and stick to the core four movements?
2. Should I do 3x a week or 4x a week lifting sessions? My lower body is naturally bulky and I'm trying to stop that.
3. Regarding a previous reply you gave to someone, if I only do the core movements during lifting sessions and VC#1, when should I implement the next fat loss layers you have mentioned? Like after week 2 add 360 challenge, and week 4 FM pushups/chins? (I felt weird not hitting my back during my first month of GSLP - I didn't do the FM because I saw it was for hypertrophy and seemed counter intuitive to fat loss)
4. How can I add in calisthenics strength/skill work as well? I really want to be able to do planches, handstands, levers, muscle ups, l-sits, and still enjoy lifting upper and lower body movements.
5. Should I just go back to a pure bodyweight training (plus rings and sandbag and sprints) until a certain point to go back to weights?
Thank you again for this amazing thread.
This post was edited on 3/15/18 at 7:35 pm
Posted on 4/9/18 at 8:30 pm to lsu777
quote:
• Over complication leads to failure.
Right. Now print out this phone book sized manifesto about working out
Posted on 3/1/19 at 5:56 am to lsu777
Here we go again!
Posted on 6/25/19 at 12:08 pm to lsu777
What sites does everybody use to get macros of the things y’all eat? Seems to me all the different sites all have different macros ?
Mainly talking about meat.
Mainly talking about meat.
This post was edited on 6/25/19 at 4:28 pm
Posted on 1/23/20 at 8:50 am to lsu777
Hello all I am new to this site as of today. But I have read quite a bit on this thread specifically for the last few weeks and I have purchased and read the 3rd edition. I am currently using the Phrak's method with a couple add ins which I will get to in a minute.
I am 41 years old and would describe my body type as skinny fat. Yesterdays weigh had me at 172.6 and I would say I am probably 22-25% body fat. Oh yeah and about 5'10". I am by no means a muscular guy but consider my self in decent shape health wise I guess. I have a complete home gym with power rack, cable machine, barbell ez curl bars olympic weights....so basically i believe i have most of the tools necessary. I am happy with some of my leg definition but think my arms are absolutely puny and just would like to be bigger, stronger, and overall have a more desirable body i guess or just be proud of myself. Enough about that here are my current details as of last workouts....
OHP- 110 @ 5
BENCH- 145 @ 9 ONE RESET AT 155
CHINS- 7 NO WEIGHT LAST SET OF 3
YATES- 127.5 @ 8
SQUAT- 177.5 @ 8 ONE RESET DUE TO FORM @185
DL- 175 @ 7
Also do tricep pushdowns with bench and curls with OHP and face pulls with OHP
CURLS- 50 @ 12 STRAIGHT BAR
TRICEPS- 47.5 @ 14 V-BAR PUSHDOWN
FACEPULLS- 81 @ 2 x 8-10
Also have started adding in FM pushups and doing some ladder chins after repeatedly seeing it and realizing i can't make any true judgements about this program unless I dedicate to that also.....and I really want to succeed so I am on it.
I work a lot at least I think so anyways 5am -5pm everyday at least 6 days a week and struggle to get all food protein. I have three shakes a day, morning, after workout or work if non workout day, and casein before bed. I was just smashing food in the beginning but weight jump was about 10lbs in a month and I am not liking the extra love handles....huge insecurity for me.... so I have backed off on that and just try eat smarter normally 2 boiled eggs and some oatmeal after i am at work for a few hours and then try to get a tuna pouch in later in the day, or some ham and cheese, been seeing some things about ground beef so i may start bringing some of that to work with me.... anyways rambling again my weight has stayed right around the same the last couple weeks and still making some gains. I guess I am just looking for a little critiquing from people who know a lot more than I do. At this point I would just love to get to benching 2 plates busting out pullups with ease squatting up in the higher 200 and deadlifting in the same manner. Have arms that i am not embarassed to wear tank top in you know just normal stuff lol then build from there. I am not new to working out by any means its just always been poor guidance and no clear direction and for the first time i feel like I have a little of that anyways. Thank you for your time
I forgot one more thing I am in the middle of week 8 on this program.
I am 41 years old and would describe my body type as skinny fat. Yesterdays weigh had me at 172.6 and I would say I am probably 22-25% body fat. Oh yeah and about 5'10". I am by no means a muscular guy but consider my self in decent shape health wise I guess. I have a complete home gym with power rack, cable machine, barbell ez curl bars olympic weights....so basically i believe i have most of the tools necessary. I am happy with some of my leg definition but think my arms are absolutely puny and just would like to be bigger, stronger, and overall have a more desirable body i guess or just be proud of myself. Enough about that here are my current details as of last workouts....
OHP- 110 @ 5
BENCH- 145 @ 9 ONE RESET AT 155
CHINS- 7 NO WEIGHT LAST SET OF 3
YATES- 127.5 @ 8
SQUAT- 177.5 @ 8 ONE RESET DUE TO FORM @185
DL- 175 @ 7
Also do tricep pushdowns with bench and curls with OHP and face pulls with OHP
CURLS- 50 @ 12 STRAIGHT BAR
TRICEPS- 47.5 @ 14 V-BAR PUSHDOWN
FACEPULLS- 81 @ 2 x 8-10
Also have started adding in FM pushups and doing some ladder chins after repeatedly seeing it and realizing i can't make any true judgements about this program unless I dedicate to that also.....and I really want to succeed so I am on it.
I work a lot at least I think so anyways 5am -5pm everyday at least 6 days a week and struggle to get all food protein. I have three shakes a day, morning, after workout or work if non workout day, and casein before bed. I was just smashing food in the beginning but weight jump was about 10lbs in a month and I am not liking the extra love handles....huge insecurity for me.... so I have backed off on that and just try eat smarter normally 2 boiled eggs and some oatmeal after i am at work for a few hours and then try to get a tuna pouch in later in the day, or some ham and cheese, been seeing some things about ground beef so i may start bringing some of that to work with me.... anyways rambling again my weight has stayed right around the same the last couple weeks and still making some gains. I guess I am just looking for a little critiquing from people who know a lot more than I do. At this point I would just love to get to benching 2 plates busting out pullups with ease squatting up in the higher 200 and deadlifting in the same manner. Have arms that i am not embarassed to wear tank top in you know just normal stuff lol then build from there. I am not new to working out by any means its just always been poor guidance and no clear direction and for the first time i feel like I have a little of that anyways. Thank you for your time
I forgot one more thing I am in the middle of week 8 on this program.
This post was edited on 1/23/20 at 10:47 am
Posted on 2/7/20 at 11:39 am to lsu777
Hi LSU777
Thank you so so so much for this thread! Ive been reading it religiously for a few weeks now. I started greyskull lp about two-three months ago, and I'm absolutely loving it! I'm not new to exercise/fitness, but I am new to this type of strength training. I spent a year or two program hopping, and f*cking around, so it's awesome being dedicated to one specific program, and I feel like im reaping the benefits. I'm making great gains in size and strength, so I'm super happy. And this thread has been an absolute wealth of knowledge, so thank you so much!
I did have a question about squats (to LSU777, or anyone)- Right now, most of my AMRAP sets are falling in the 9-13 rep range (Ive been increasing 5 lbs/session whether I hit 10+ or not). I started fairly light, but not too light, so the gains have been good. However, I'm struggling a bit with squat form when I get to my 7th or so rep. Ive always prided myself on good lifting form, regardless of the exercise, but when I really push myself during squats, my knees can start to cave a bit, as well as I hinge forward. Its not terrible, but enough to where I can feel it. I can usually get the first 5 ok, but when I really start to go after it, my form starts to suffer. I never let it get to the point where its REALLY bad, though.
The dilemma is I'm not one to keep lifting with shitty form (duh), however, if I were to stop at 5, 6 or 7 reps, I would feel like I have a TON left in the tank. What should I do here? Is there a plug-in you could recommend that would help? Ive debated using Wendler's BBB style, and once I feel my form start to go (after I get my 5 reps, of course), take the weight down to 50-60 percent, and hammer out a few sets of 10, really focusing on strict form. I'm also a big believer in doing the thing that youre not good at until you are good at it, so I'm leaning more towards this method. At the same time though, I dont want to add a crazy amount of volume, to the point where it will affect my next session. I know my big problem is probably just overall strength/familiarity of the lift, however, I feel just stopping when I have much more in the tank will do a disservice to my volume and intensity.
Just a couple FYIs, I work out at home, so I dont have access to diff machines like leg press, ext., curls, etc., and im a definitely a beginner when it comes to strength programs/lifts.
Thanks again!! (sorry for writing a novel haha)
Thank you so so so much for this thread! Ive been reading it religiously for a few weeks now. I started greyskull lp about two-three months ago, and I'm absolutely loving it! I'm not new to exercise/fitness, but I am new to this type of strength training. I spent a year or two program hopping, and f*cking around, so it's awesome being dedicated to one specific program, and I feel like im reaping the benefits. I'm making great gains in size and strength, so I'm super happy. And this thread has been an absolute wealth of knowledge, so thank you so much!
I did have a question about squats (to LSU777, or anyone)- Right now, most of my AMRAP sets are falling in the 9-13 rep range (Ive been increasing 5 lbs/session whether I hit 10+ or not). I started fairly light, but not too light, so the gains have been good. However, I'm struggling a bit with squat form when I get to my 7th or so rep. Ive always prided myself on good lifting form, regardless of the exercise, but when I really push myself during squats, my knees can start to cave a bit, as well as I hinge forward. Its not terrible, but enough to where I can feel it. I can usually get the first 5 ok, but when I really start to go after it, my form starts to suffer. I never let it get to the point where its REALLY bad, though.
The dilemma is I'm not one to keep lifting with shitty form (duh), however, if I were to stop at 5, 6 or 7 reps, I would feel like I have a TON left in the tank. What should I do here? Is there a plug-in you could recommend that would help? Ive debated using Wendler's BBB style, and once I feel my form start to go (after I get my 5 reps, of course), take the weight down to 50-60 percent, and hammer out a few sets of 10, really focusing on strict form. I'm also a big believer in doing the thing that youre not good at until you are good at it, so I'm leaning more towards this method. At the same time though, I dont want to add a crazy amount of volume, to the point where it will affect my next session. I know my big problem is probably just overall strength/familiarity of the lift, however, I feel just stopping when I have much more in the tank will do a disservice to my volume and intensity.
Just a couple FYIs, I work out at home, so I dont have access to diff machines like leg press, ext., curls, etc., and im a definitely a beginner when it comes to strength programs/lifts.
Thanks again!! (sorry for writing a novel haha)
This post was edited on 2/7/20 at 11:40 am
Posted on 1/23/22 at 8:44 am to lsu777
Does greasing the wheel/homework sets work as supersets during a workout? Instead of doing them all day?
I can knock out 4-5 pull ups in between sets and get about 12 sets per workout. Or I could do a few sets of 10 pull ups (or less reps with weight added). Or homework sets where I spread 5-6 sets throughout the day.
Does it really matter if I do multiple mini sets during a workout? Or does Greyskull say it has to be throughout the day?
I can knock out 4-5 pull ups in between sets and get about 12 sets per workout. Or I could do a few sets of 10 pull ups (or less reps with weight added). Or homework sets where I spread 5-6 sets throughout the day.
Does it really matter if I do multiple mini sets during a workout? Or does Greyskull say it has to be throughout the day?
Posted on 1/20/24 at 3:07 pm to lsu777
I apologize if this has been talked about a lot. Does anyone use the Greyskull app? I bought the lifetime subscription. It seems very confusing. I clicked on burn fat workout and has push press, squats, 20 minute walk the first workout. 2nd workout is a 1 mile jog, every day seems a different one. Once I click start it just takes me to control panel page. I go to home page and only options every day are push press and squats, nothing else. Confusing so far
Ok bad eyes. Next workout is bench and deadlift. I wonder why the 1 mile jog isn’t showing? I assume the workouts get more as time goes on or does it just stay with 2 workouts?
Ok bad eyes. Next workout is bench and deadlift. I wonder why the 1 mile jog isn’t showing? I assume the workouts get more as time goes on or does it just stay with 2 workouts?
This post was edited on 1/20/24 at 3:50 pm
Posted on 4/29/24 at 8:54 am to lsu777
I started lifting a week ago, haven't lifted in probably 8 years or so. Feeling great!
I'm doing Phrak's variant., and I have a couple of questions.
1. For chinups, I'm only getting to 3-4 on my AMRAP set. Should I begin to add weight as soon has I can do 5 reps? or should I wait until 7 or so?
2. Regarding the homework bodyweight stuff. I'm concerned that it will interfere with recovery, particularly for the chinups which I'm already not completing my AMRAP set. Should I hold off on these until I can complete the working sets, or continue with the homework. For chinup homework, I'm doing 3 rep sets using the FM.
I'm doing Phrak's variant., and I have a couple of questions.
1. For chinups, I'm only getting to 3-4 on my AMRAP set. Should I begin to add weight as soon has I can do 5 reps? or should I wait until 7 or so?
2. Regarding the homework bodyweight stuff. I'm concerned that it will interfere with recovery, particularly for the chinups which I'm already not completing my AMRAP set. Should I hold off on these until I can complete the working sets, or continue with the homework. For chinup homework, I'm doing 3 rep sets using the FM.
Page 1 of 1
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News