Phraks Greyskull LP Program – Introduction
What is Phraks Greyskull LP, and why should you use it?
You are a beginner in strength training and hit a plateau.
But you are stuck.
This common problem of stalling is what led to the development of Greyskull LP and Phrak’s Greyskull LP Variant strength training programs.
For example, let’s say you began the 3×5 workout plan, one of the most popular programs for basic barbell training.
Your strength increases over two to three weeks, and you add up to 30 pounds on the main lifts – squat, bench press, and deadlift.
But then, the gains stop. For the first time on the program, you cannot hit five reps on your sets, and cannot add weight.
The Greyskull linear progression program (Greyskull LP) and Phraks Greyskull promise to overcome this hurdle.
But first, let’s look at the original 3×5 weight training program Mark Rippetoe popularized in his classic barbell training book Starting Strength.
The Original Starting Strength 3×5 Workout Plan
3×5 Workouts A and B
There are two workouts, A and B:
Workout A
- Squats – 3 sets of 5 repetitions of your work sets (aka 3×5)
- Overhead or military press – 3 sets of 5 reps
- Deadlift – 1 set of 5 reps
Workout B
- Squats – 3×5
- Bench press – 3×5
- Deadlift or Power clean (as you get more comfortable with pulling the weight from the floor) – 3×5
You alternate workout A and workout B on your strength training days.
And recover on your rest days.
If you want to gain strength, you will never train the big lifts on consecutive days.
Your muscles must heal from the prior workout.
For example:
- Monday – Workout A
- Wednesday – Workout B
- Friday – Workout A, and continue the Monday of next week with Workout B
Starting Strength Base Program – 3×5 Workout Plans A and B
*As always, seek professional medical advice before starting a novice program like the 3×5 workout plan.
John Sheaffer (aka Johnny Pain) Greyskull linear progression (LP)
Greyskull LP is a modification of the Starting Strength program.
Like Starting Strength’s 3×5 workout, Greyskull LP is also a linear progression program.
However, there are several differences between the Starting Strength and Greyskull beginner programs:
- Phraks Greyskull LP starts with your upper body as opposed to Starting Strength, which starts with your lower body.
- Include one AMRAP set for additional volume.
- Amrap stands for As Many Reps As Possible.
- A plus sign (+) next to a set and rep ranges indicates an AMRAP set.
- For example, 1×5+ means one set of five repetitions in which you continue to perform as many reps as possible on the final set.
- Phraks Greyskull only has one or two days of deadlifts, whereas Starting strength has three days deadlifts and alternates with Power cleans once you are strong enough.
- Starting Strength requires three lifts every other day, whereas Greyskull LP has two.
- As a result, a Greyskull workout will take less time.
3×5 Workouts A and B
There are two workouts, A and B:
Workout A
- Bench Press or Overhead press – 2 sets of 5 reps, 1 set of 5 reps +, which you can write as 2×5, 1×5+
- Squats – 2×5, 1×5+
Workout B
- Bench Press or Overhead press – 2 sets of 5 reps, 1 set of 5 reps +, which you can write as 2×5, 1×5+
- Deadlifts 1×5+
Greyskull LP (GSLP Program) – Workout Plans A and B
Greyskull LP Isn’t Good, It’s a Great Program
Phraks Greyskull LP Variant
Phraks Greyskull Variant GSLP as it appears on Reddit:
Day 1:
- Overhead Press / Bench Press (alternating) 3×5
- Chinups / Barbell Rows (alternating) 3×5
- Squats 3×5
Day 2:
- Overhead Press / Bench Press (alternating) 3×5
- Chinups / Barbell Rows (alternating> 3×5
- Deadlifts 3×5
Day 3:
- Overhead Press / Bench Press (alternating) 3×5
- Chinups / Barbell Rows (alternating> 3×5
- Squats 3×5
Rules:
- The last set is As Many Reps As Possible (AMRAP set)
- Progress by adding weight from workout to workout – 2.5lbs for upper body and 5lbs for lower body
- If your final AMRAP set hits 10+ reps, then double your weight increase
- Any barbell row variant will do, but Phrakture is partial to Yates rows
- Feel free to use Power Cleans to warm up for Deadlifts
- Chinups are palms facing you, approximately shoulder-width grip – begin unweighted, adding weight in 2.5lbs increments
- If you cannot do 3×5 chin-ups, do negatives until you can
- If you fail to make five reps in the final set, de-load by 10 percent
Benefits of Phraks Greyskull LP
The essential advantage of Phraks Greyskull LP to Greyskull and Starting Strength is the inclusion of a pull movement, either chin-ups or a barbell row variant.
Neither Starting Strength nor Johnny Pain’s GSLP includes a pull movement for your back besides the deadlift.
Another feature is his autoregulation de-load of ten percent if you cannot make at least five reps on your final set.
Stalling in strength progression will happen sooner or later in a linear progression program.
Mark Rippetoe’s solution is to sleep more, eat more, and rest more in between sets.
Phraks GSLP suggests reducing the weight and working your way back up.
Phraks Greyskull LP – Wrapping Up
Starting Strength 3×5 workout vs. Greyskull LP vs. Phraks Greyskull LP Variant
Are You Working Out or Training?
If you want to make progress in strength training, linear progression is the way to go.
If you are only going to your home gym or neighborhood gym to work out, you most likely do the same exercise every time with the same weight, maybe for years.
It is no wonder that you do not see any progress.
Linear progression means that you record every workout in a notepad or on google sheets, and you add weight to the core compound movements of squats, bench press, and deadlifts.
Training means that you are training towards a goal of building muscle mass and overall strength, adding weight, even a pound to trigger the overload principle.
Working out does not require keeping a training log fitness planner, but training does!
Another option for training is to use the Phraks Greyskull lp weight lifting app at https://apps.apple.com/us/app/greyskull-lp/id1423487295 which is available for the iPhone.
What’s Next
See what Ed Coan, one of the greatest powerlifters of all time, says about using a workout fitness planner to record your progress.
To sum up, whether you use
- Starting Strength,
- The Greyskull LP, or
- Phraks Greyskull LP Variant,
the key is weight progression, even the most minor adjustments of increasing weight, however nominal, from workout to workout which is why fractional plates come in handy.
