Greyskull LP

[aron]

I don't understand how this Johnny Pain guy is any different than anyone else who's completed the Starting Strength program? Why does he get to change the program slightly and act like he's invented something new? He's just changed from the standard 3 sets of 5, to two sets of 5 with a dropset, does it really matter if you make such a small change to the program? Linear progression is linear progression.

Interestingly I read a post by Glenn Pendlay somewhere saying once the standard 3X5 progress stops, before jumping to an intermediate program you can milk linear progression for another week or two by dropping down to a single set of 5, and that it should yield progress for another week or two.

Yes, this is called linear periodization.... lower the volume, up the intensity. It's a fairly new concept.

[Briks42]

Pain invented this program as much as Rip invented the Starting Strength novice program. They all just built upon the great knowledge that was passed down to them and made tweaks based on trial and error. While adding the AMRAP set doesn't seem like a big change on the surface, the results have produced a big difference for a lot of people who have tried it after stalling on the Starting Strength novice program.

For me personally, I haven't been able to utilize the AMRAP for lower body due to multiple knee injuries, but my upper body lifts are hugely improved without gaining any bodyweight.

[Tamara Reynolds]

I actually just bought the LP book and his conditioning book, so I'm going to play around with stuff and see what I think.

[Paul Sousa]

It sounds like you have already run SS for a while like I had - the GSLP was a nice change of pace. I am not totally onboard with it being easier to recover from like some of the others - by the time you AMRAP squats/deadlifts/squats, you will know it. You are also AMRAPing the pressing movements, doing daily frequency method body weight work with chin ups, pushups, etc., doing AM fasted cardio, and doing high intensity conditioning twice per week. It is demanding and you will need to manage recovery carefully or you may burn out.

That's just it though, once you add in all that stuff the recovery can be as tough as with SS, but SS only has you training the basic lifts. If you strip GSLP down to the base program it is easier to recover from, that is what allows you to add in all that stuff on top of it.

[Chargerforlife]

That's just it though, once you add in all that stuff the recovery can be as tough as with SS, but SS only has you training the basic lifts. If you strip GSLP down to the base program it is easier to recover from, that is what allows you to add in all that stuff on top of it.

All of the extra stuff killed it for me. I could recover from the basic strength program but once I started layering in the other stuff, kaboom, it blew up for me. I was chronically fatigued and unable to recover in time for the next strength workout. The FM add ons, fasted cardio, and conditioning are optional though. To be honest, Texas Method does not seem as bad to me recovery wise as when I was trying to run the full GSLP with the add ons.

[MDR2]

I have been squating (I stole the rep scheme from GSLP) 2x5 1x5+ just once a week, pushing myself as far as possible on that last set and I love it. I know for a fact I won't be able to add 5lbs to the bar every week for a year so why be in a hurry to hit that wall. This allows me to push hard AND recovery, week to week, with so far no downsides.
Basically:

Thursday
Squat 2x5 1x5+ , bench 2x5 1x5+ SLDL 1x8

Sunday
Front squat 2x3 1x3+ (no more than 5 reps on the last set), bench 2x5 1x5+ , some accessory stuff

Tuesday
Squat warm ups only, press 2x5 1x5+ , deadlift 1x5+

And basically thats it. It seems my pressing movements are going to blow my TM sticking point away and my squats and deadlifts are going to as well. That is until I hurt my wrist and now I can't press at all.

At the peak of my Texas methoding I squated 390 for 5rm. Got 2 reps with 395 the next week, diet changed, blah blah blah, 2 weeks later did 365 for what seemed like a 6rm. Working my way up from 315 and adding 5 pounds a week I squated 350 x5x5x10 the other day. I actually feel like (which means motivation) I can set a PR (weight or reps) everyday, that means getting stronger everyday.

If anybody is contemplating doing GSLP instead of TM, give it a shot with the reduced squating frequency, It seems to be working great for me. I like max reps sets.

[Carlos Daniel]

For the sake of non-bias, I did GSLP and the all out last set on Monday wasn't enabling me to recover for the deads on Wednesday, and it didn't look pretty on Friday.

[simonsky]

the best thing about gslp for me is the psychological motivation. i get psyched breaking rep records. plus the change of pace definitely fights of boredom.

another thing is when resetting, you don't just work your way back up , you try to break rep records along the way. i don't know how the cost/benefit ratio of this works but it seems fun making an occasional 11RM or 7RM rather than the constant 5RM.

so if you call right now.....

[manisstrong]

Interesting. I always thought that one of the points of a reset though was that you have a bit of a rest for a couple of weeks to recover. With the AMRAP set, your resets are no longer really that much of a rest?

[MikeC1]

That's correct. I think the verdict is still out on the Greyskull LP, and the AMRAP set in particular. I personally never made progress with it, but I also never dedicated significant time to it either. simonsky is also correct though that (psychologically) going for max reps at a moderate weight is more fun than always trying to painfully grind out the 5th rep on your last set. It definitely breaks up the monotony, but whether it translates to significant strength gains, I don't know how many people outside of Sheaffer's gym can attest to it.