GreySkull LP (GSLP)

[Roldanis]

• So I'm looking at making a switch in programs.  I've been lifting for 6 months as of this posting.  I have tried out two programs, StrongLifts and Jonny Candito's Linear Strength program.  I briefly talked about what I did and didn't like in another post here -> http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/65114-from-0-to-6-months-of-progress/ this is more to talk about my purposed version of GSLP.

 

To briefly describe GSLP it looks something like this:

 

Monday 1

OHP 2x5 1xAMRAP

(Accessory) 2x6-10

Squat 2x5 1xAMRAP

 

Wednesday 1

Bench 2x5 1xAMRAP

(Accessory)2x6-10

Deadlift 1xAMRAP (Atleast 5 less than 10)

 

Friday 1

OHP 2x5 1xAMRAP

(Accessory)2x6-10

Squat 2x5 1xAMRAP

 

Monday 2

Bench 2x5 1xAMRAP

(Accessory)2x6-10

Squat 2x5 1xAMRAP

 

Wednesday 2

OHP 2x5 1xAMRAP

(Accessory)2x6-10

Deadlift 1xAMRAP (Atleast 5 less than 10)

 

Friday 2

Bench 2x5 1xAMRAP

(Accessory)2x6-10

Squat 2x5 1xAMRAP

 

Upper body lifts are done first.  The last set on the main lifts are always As Many Reps As Possible.  This is the set that decides on how much weight to add or if to de-load.  If you get 5-9 reps on last set then upper body lifts get +2.5 lbs lower get +5 lbs.  If you get 10 or more reps on last set then double the weight you add (+5/+10.)  If you fail to get 5 reps on last set then you de-load 10%. That's pretty much it. 

 

What I find appealing of this program is the AMRAP set.  Instead of being locked into a strict number of reps, this give you an opportunity to set PRs even when you have a de-load.  Yes you may be moving less weight but you'll be able to set a rep PR for that weight which you have already done.  So instead of just mindlessly grinding out 3x5 or 5x5 for a weight you already did, you get to see how much stronger you are form the last time you were moving that weight.  I really think that is going to be great for your sanity.  Also it gives you an opportunity for some hypertrophy for building mass and endurance.  Not to mention more reps to help "grease the groove" on getting your form improved.

 

Accessories:

 

The vanilla program has curls, chin-ups and neck harness as the accessories.  Well I don't care for the neck harness and the lack of pulling lifts to counter the two pushing lifts.  So my idea of accessories are Chin-ups, Barbell Rows, Curls and either shrugs or Upright Rows.

 

On Bench days I would do Chin-ups and curls.  On OHP days I would do shrugs/Upright rows and Barbell rows.  The reason I chose the accessories I did is that I wanted ones that would have a positive influence on keeping my deadlift going as well as build a balanced upper body. No Starting Strength T-Rex mode here.

 

Here's a chart of how it would run.

 

M1 Press/Shrug/Barbell Row/Squat

W1 Bench/Chin-up/Curl/Deadlift

F1 Press/Shrug/Barbell Row/Squat

 

M2 Bench/Chin-Up/Curl/Squat

W2 Press/Shrug/Barbell Row/Deadlift

F2 Bench/Chin-Up/Curl/Squat

 

The only aspect of this I'm having a hard time deciding on is to go with shrugs or upright rows.  I'm open to suggestions or critiques.   Oh!  I will be running this on a bulk of about .5 lbs a week.

[Hamp21]

I went with Greyskull late last year and loved it. It's definitely a step up from SS and SL. I got to the point with SS that squatting three days a week was too much for recovery. Dropping it to two days a week helped me. 

 

for the shrug/upright row situation. have you considered high pulls? I have those programmed in to my current program and damn they are awesome. It's basically an upright row, but you do it explosively. It really hits the traps harder than any shrug I have ever done. Just throwing that out there.

[Roldanis]

I went with Greyskull late last year and loved it. It's definitely a step up from SS and SL. I got to the point with SS that squatting three days a week was too much for recovery. Dropping it to two days a week helped me. 

 

for the shrug/upright row situation. have you considered high pulls? I have those programmed in to my current program and damn they are awesome. It's basically an upright row, but you do it explosively. It really hits the traps harder than any shrug I have ever done. Just throwing that out there.

 

I'll have to look into High Pulls.  I like the idea of Upright Rows because of the number of muscles worked, but it has a stigma of being hard on the shoulders.

[Karl UK]

That's an interesting read - thanks for sharing.

 

I guess if you wanted you could alternate the weeks between squatting twice, deadlifting once, and vice versa (ie week 2 deadlift twice, squat once). 

 

Cheers

 

Karl

[Karl UK]

Another thought - what's the reason for having the big lifts at the end of the workout?

 

Cheers

Karl

[Roldanis]

Another thought - what's the reason for having the big lifts at the end of the workout?

 

Cheers

Karl

The idea of having big lifts at the end is that your not completely worn out for your accessories.  Its very possible to have your bench or OHP suffer from being drained after heavy squats or deadlifts.  Its much less like to have you squats suffer from doing heavy benches or OHP.

[Dradis]

I'm gonna start a sort of greyskull this week but i've modified it to my own requirements. I do one main lift per session (except thurs) and a bunch of accessories. I've added in a lot of pulls and shoulder work because that is where i have injury issues....

 

Monday - Overhead press 2x5+AMRAP, front squats, chins, plate pulls, shoulder rotations

Tuesday - Low bar squat 2x5+AMRAP, push ups, dips, plate pulls, shoulder rotations

Thursday - Bench 2x5+AMRAP supersetted with DB rows 2x5+AMRAP, incline dumbbell bench, pec deck/flies, plate pulls shoulder rotations

Friday - Deadlift 2x5+AMRAP, rear delt raises, side delt raises, front delt raises, plate pulls, shoulder rotations

 

The plate pulls and shoulder rotations are always high reps, circa 20 per set. Which means i can do them every day. Its a very slow progression weight wise and its more to do with correcting imbalances i have.

[Bolson32]

I had really good luck with this variant. I enjoyed the VD/ID mix. I made something like 70lbs to my 5rm Squat is 14 weeks. I hit a wall there pretty hard but It was probably the most effective 14 weeks of my training career. 

 

http://www.barbellmedicine.com/potpourri/gslp-strength-bias/

[El Exorcisto]

I've never done them but upright rows get a lot of bad press due to impingement of the rotator cuff. If you have decent awareness of what you are doing and can take video the first dozen times that you do them, then I'd second the high pull idea instead. I did them for about 6 months and they felt great the whole time. I didn't find them carrying over especially well to anything but my programming wasn't the greatest then either. If high pulls look too technical, which they might if done correctly, then some three-way shoulder raises are a good way to hit a pile of volume on all three heads of the delt quickly. I also like DB rows WAY better than barbell rows since low back and glute strength seems to limit them more than lat strength.

[Roldanis]

 I also like DB rows WAY better than barbell rows since low back and glute strength seems to limit them more than lat strength.

 

That's part of my reasoning to go with barbell vs dumb bell rows, it has great carry over to deadlifts.  I'm hoping once the weighted chin-ups get heavy, it'll be enough to really hammer my lats.

[El Exorcisto]

It's your call, but if training the low back is the real goal then hypers or SLDLs on a block would do a better job.

[Roldanis]

Oh no, lower back isn't my goal, just general strength with some ascetics. I  gave myself the goal of a 4 plate DL simply because it is obtainable but still a challenge goal for someone like me has never lifted before.  Who knows, maybe a few months from now I find out my lower back is the weak link in my DL and have to change my programming to improve upon it.

[El Exorcisto]

Fair enough. Four plates felt fucking amazing when I got it for the first time.

[blackwatch]

The more I read about it and think about it, the more I feel that GSLP is in my near future.

[Roldanis]

The more I read about it and think about it, the more I feel that GSLP is in my near future.

 

I wish I had discovered ti when I started lifting.  The flexibility of the program with the accessories really allows you to tailor it to your goals.

[BlackMetal]

I'm staring GSLP. Right now I'm working on form with just the barbell -squats, benchpress, overhead press, and deadlift. I haven't worked out exactly what I'll be doing yet, but I want to limit my lifts to the basic four mentioned above, at least until I've built some mastery with them form-wise. 

 

This is my first experience with a barbell and it's pretty exciting. 

[El Exorcisto]

I'm staring GSLP. Right now I'm working on form with just the barbell -squats, benchpress, overhead press, and deadlift. I haven't worked out exactly what I'll be doing yet, but I want to limit my lifts to the basic four mentioned above, at least until I've built some mastery with them form-wise. 

 

This is my first experience with a barbell and it's pretty exciting. 

 

Don't limit yourself. Yes, big barbell movements should be the bread and butter of most everyone's training but there is a world of movements that build those movements better than just doing them. 

[Roldanis]

Don't limit yourself. 

 

There is much truth in this statement.

[El Exorcisto]

There is much truth in this statement.

 

I just hate the Rippetoe-esque bullshit about the BIG FOUR *shudder* being the basis of all strength. Squats are huge, but not just squatting with a bar low on your back to just below parallel with no pause or box. Dips and incline bench make me better at putting shit overhead than putting shit overhead. High box squatting (I know, blasphemy) makes me a better puller than pulling. I'm also pretty sure that a big events day last weekend set me up for a huge PR on my axle today, which makes no sense but it's the only new introduction to my training.

 

Everything you do in the gym will have an effect on everything else you do in the gym. It will take a lot of experimenting to figure out what drives what. Some people thrive on just hitting squat, bench, deadlift, and lat work but they are a distinct minority in any community I've done much reading in.

[Sam Ashen]

Everything you do in the gym will have an effect on everything else you do in the gym. It will take a lot of experimenting to figure out what drives what.

 

Late to this discussion.  I have to agree with this statement.

 

Some time late last year, I reached the conclusion that learning how to do front squats was related to big gains in overhead press.  It is weird.  I know.

[Roldanis]

I just hate the Rippetoe-esque bullshit about the BIG FOUR *shudder* being the basis of all strength. 

 

This was my biggest complaint of Medi and StrongLifts.  I kept getting the impression that if you deviated at all from the program, you're going to kill all your gains and get herpes. 

[Jaelen]

The real reason is if you deviate from the program they can't claim the program is what got you your gains.

[BlackMetal]

I just hate the Rippetoe-esque bullshit about the BIG FOUR *shudder* being the basis of all strength. 

Down the road I'm sure I'll want to work in other exercises. But as someone who is coming into the gym with zero experience from a sedentary lifestyle I'd like to keep it simple. Until I build some strength I'm really not interested in performing more than a couple lifts per visit to gym. Given my inexperience and lack of strength, what would you recommend I focus on? If I performed two or three lifts per trip to the gym what would they be, ideally?

[El Exorcisto]

Squat, Romanian deadlift, planks

 

Strict press, dips, chin-ups

 

Deadlift, front squat, planks

 

Bench, DB row, some curl variation

 

It's really similar to my current template ignoring the strongman variations of the main movements. You'd have to learn DB rows, front squats, and dips beyond what you already want to try. RDLs are just a partial deadlift from lockout down to the knees and back up. Pick whatever rep scheme blows your skirt up and run it for 6 months or until you can't stand it any more. You'll be stronger and better developed at the end than if you just squat, bench, deadlift, and press.

[Dradis]

Late to this discussion.  I have to agree with this statement.

 

Some time late last year, I reached the conclusion that learning how to do front squats was related to big gains in overhead press.  It is weird.  I know.

 

Not that weird. My trainer prescribed me front squats to help rehab my torn rotator cuff. Keeping the bar in position is very shouldery