re: The Greyskull Methods- A Primer

Part 8 – The Layout

Part A- The OG base: (see page 47 & 48 for more info)

Day 1-
1. Press-2x5,1x5+
2. Squat-Always last lift of the day- 2x5,1x5+


Day 3-
1. Bench-2x5,1x5+
2. Deadlift-(Always last lift of the day)- 1x5+

Day5-
1. Press-2x5,1x5+
2. Squats-2x5,1x5+

Day 8-
1. Bench-2x5,1x5+
2. Squat-2x5,1x5+

Day 10-
1. Press-2x5,1x5+
2. Deadlift-2x5,1x5+


Day 12-
1. Bench-2x5,1x5+
2. Squat-2x5,1x5+


Above is the base program. We will layer our exercises on top of this depending on one’s goals. This is simply the foundation program; for more splits see pages 49-55.

Part B-The Plug Ins- See Page 56-60 for more info.
Please see book for suggested rep ranges for each exercise if you have questions.

Before you just go picking exercises to plug in, I want you to stop and think about your goals. If they are strength based, pick strength based exercises and when it comes time to rotate lifts after a stall, pick lifts that address you weak points in a lift. If they are physique oriented, then pick those the well help bring up lagging body parts.

Once you decide what your goals are, layer in the movements that help you achieve those goals. For basic trainee looking to get stronger and look better I suggest the following

• Weighted Chins on Press days
• Straight Bar curls on Bench Days
• Row Variant on Bench Days
• Face pulls or reverse ring flyes on Press Days

The standard add-ons from the book are
• Weighted chins
• Curls in different varieties
• Neck extensions with neck harness
The above was a generalized approach but will serve most trainees extremely well. The neck harness is not needed imo and most non-athletes would be better off doing heavy farmers walks with dumbbells instead.

The Greyskull LP principles can be applied easily in designing a training program for any part of the population. Anyone can make serious progress and build lots of strength and muscle simply by following the OG Base program, but many will enjoy and relish many of the plug ins.

The Greyskull approved Plug ins- See page 58
• Bench Variants- Barbell & DB-Bench, Incline, High Incline, Decline, low decline; board press, floor press, rack press, paused bench, close grip bench, wide grip bench, reverse grip, plate loaded machine, hurricane press, landmine press, specialty bar bench, chained, bands, reverse band
• Tricep Variations- Close grip bench, close grip pushups, Incline close grip, high incline close grip, reverse bench/incline/high incline/low decline, skull crushers, overhead extensions etc
• Curl Variants- ez bar, dumbbell, barbell and all variations of these and ring curls
• Neck extensions
• Row Variants- all barbell, plate loaded machine, dumbbell and bodyweight variations of rows.
• Chin and pull-up variants- all hand positions, behind the neck, racked chins, weighted and BW versions, Rings, lat pull downs- all variations etc. Banded and Kipping pull-ups are a no go.
• Olympic lifts- Recommend sticking to Power Clean, Muscle Snatch and clean and jerk
• Direct Ab Work- Hanging L-sit and ab roller are the best
• Direct Calf Work-please google DC training Calf exercise to learn to train calves correctly
• Forearm Exercises-Wrist Roller, Loaded Carries, hanging for time
• Pullovers-Barbell, Dumbbell, Machine
• Dips- all varieties
• Pushups- All variations, weighted, ring, close grip, wide grip etc
• Cable Arm/Shoulder/Back Movements
• Smith Machine presses/bench etc for the more advanced lifter.
• Squat variations including front squat, box squat(different height variations), paused squats, barbell hack squat, squat machines, plate loaded leg press machines, hack squat, lunges, barbell step ups, sissy squats, pistol squats, split squats, zercher, cambered bar squat, ssb squat, belt squat, stance variations, high bar/low bar, buffalo bar squat, front box squat
• Shoulders- Bradford press, Plate loaded machine press, handstand pushups, db press, Arnold press, any version of barbell or db press including but not limited to standing, behind the neck, landmine presses, single arm db press, push press, clean and press, klovkov press, snatch grip press, javelin press, kneeling DB press, L-sit on ground presses, hurricane presses, scrape the rack, muscle snatch, Ahrens press, etc
• Deadlift variants- conventions, sumo, banded, Romanian, rack pull, deficit, snatch grip, good mornings-(seated, suspended, chains, banded, ssb)


The above list is not all inclusive and neither is the book. Bottom line is you should choose plug ins based on your goals. If you want bigger arms, well put in weighted chins, weighted dips, curls, close grip or reverse bench etc. Want a bigger yoke, well pick racked deads, farmers walks, truck deadlifts power cleans etc.

In general you should stick to the big multi joint movements if at all possible.



Rep Ranges-
• Curl Variants-2 sets of 10-15 reps
• Neck ext-4 sets of 25+ reps
• Row Variants-2 sets of 6-8 reps
• Chin/Pull up Variants-2 sets of 6-8 if weighted
• Olympic Lifts-5-6 singles per session
• Direct Ab Work-2 sets of 10-12 reps
• Direct Calf work-1-2 sets of 15-20 slow painful reps as described in dc training
• Forearm Exercises-2 sets of 12-20 reps
• Pull Overs-2 sets pf 8-10 reps
• Dips-2 sets of 6-8 if weighted
• Cable Arm Movements-2 sets of 10-15 reps