Created by John Sheaffer (aka Johnny Pain), Greyskull LP is a 3-day-per-week full body routine for novice lifters. You train Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, hitting squats and a press or bench variation every session, with deadlifts mixed in. Each session follows the same basic structure: two work sets of 5, then a final “5+” AMRAP set on the main lifts.
The AMRAP set is what separates Greyskull LP from programs like Starting Strength and StrongLifts 5×5. Those programs have you stop at 5 reps on every set. Greyskull LP keeps the linear progression (adding weight every session), but lets you go all out on the last set. That extra volume helps you build more muscle alongside the strength gains, and it gives you a longer productive run before you stall.
This is a beginner program. If you haven’t stalled on linear progression yet, you’re exactly who it’s designed for. If you’ve already burned through a novice LP and stalled multiple times, you’ll get more out of something like GZCLP, which is built for people who’ve outgrown the basic add-weight-every-session model.
Table of Contents
- 1 Greyskull LP Video Overview
- 2 Greyskull LP on Boostcamp App
- 3 Greyskull LP Program Spreadsheet (Phrak’s Variation)
- 4 Spreadsheet Instructions
- 5 The Original Greyskull LP Thread
- 5.1 A General Overview from Johnny Pain
- 5.2 What if I can only do 1 chin up? Can I do 10 sets of 1 rep throughout the day?
- 5.3 What about assisted chin ups? Can I start with those and work toward bodyweight chins?
- 5.4 Can you elaborate on the neck harness exercises?
- 5.5 Do I need to finish Starting Strength or some other novice program before starting this program?
- 5.6 My AMRAP sets are super high (15 reps) – should I use a bigger weight increase for my next workout?
- 6 Greyskull LP FAQs
- 7 Updates
Greyskull LP Video Overview
Coach Fulton walks through the full Greyskull LP structure and compares it to other novice programs.
Greyskull LP on Boostcamp App
Phrak's Greyskull LP - Boostcamp App
Prefer an app to a spreadsheet? If so, you're in luck!
Boostcamp has a free app version of the Greyskull LP Program that you can use directly from your phone.
It tracks your progress and calculates your lifts, just like a spreadsheet.
Works on iOS and Android.
Greyskull LP Program Spreadsheet (Phrak’s Variation)
This is the Phrak’s variation, which adds chin-ups or rows to every session. It’s the most popular version of Greyskull LP and the one I’d recommend starting with. You can find the base version (without the rows) in the original forum thread excerpts below.
The spreadsheet runs 6 weeks but you can keep running it as long as you’re still progressing. I’d recommend picking up Johnny Pain’s Greyskull LP book if you plan to run this for a while. It covers the full program logic and plugin options in more detail than any online summary.
Original Source (since edited/improved by Lift Vault)
Spreadsheet Instructions
- Input your starting weight for the various lifts on the “Setup” tab. Input rounding on “Setup” tab. Use 5 for lbs and 2.5 for kgs.
- Your starting weight for Greyskull LP can be a weight you can get for 8 to 10 reps OR you can use the “starting weight calculator” tab in the spreadsheet.
- The weight should start light! You add weight on the bar very quickly in this program, so a little patience goes a long way here, trust me.
- The “rep target” value refers to how many reps must be achieved in a set to add weight to your working sets.
- You can probably leave this as-is, but you can adjust it if you’d like.
- The “increment” value refers to how much weight is added to your working sets after each session when the rep target is achieved.
- Again, you probably don’t need to adjust this at first but it’s there if you need it.
- You’re now ready to train.
- Input the reps achieved in each green cell. These are your working sets. Please note that you have fewer working sets for deadlifts.
To run the program multiple times simply make a copy of your existing spreadsheet in Google Sheets (I like to put the date I started the program in the title for easier record keeping) and plug in your new maxes.
The Original Greyskull LP Thread
Below are selected excerpts from the original forum thread for the Greyskull program (the original strengthvillain.com forum is no longer active; this links to a Wayback Machine archive of the thread).
A General Overview from Johnny Pain
Ok, The gist, since I am tired as hell, plenty on here can elaborate.
Monday
Bench/ or Press (A/B) 2x 5, 1 x 5+
Curl 2x 10-15 (bench days)
Squat 2x 5, 1x 5+
Neck HarnessWednesday
Bench/ or Press 2×5, 1x 5+
Weighted Chins 2 x 6-8 (press days, and only if you can do at least 6-8 BW chins)
Deadlift 1x 5+ (with or without power cleans as warmups)
Neck HarnessFriday
Bench/ or Press (A/B) 2x 5, 1 x 5+
Curl 2x 10-15 (bench days)
Squat 2x 5, 1x 5+
Neck Harness* Bodyweight Chins are done every day.
* 5 lb jumps on Squat and Deadlift
* 2.5lb jumps on pressing movements and curls (when rep ranges are satisfied)
* When reps on last set fall below 5, take 10% off of bar and begin process over (on that lift only)
What if I can only do 1 chin up? Can I do 10 sets of 1 rep throughout the day?
BANE this is villainous thinking. That sounds like a good idea. You have to chin to get better at chins.
Every time I talk about increasing chin numbers I am reminded of a very close friend of mine who was locked up for a little less than a year a few years ago. He went in being able to do about one and a half shaky legit chin ups. He came out with over 20 dead hangs. Asked how he got his numbers up so high he’ll simply say, “I was just bored and did lots of chin ups”.
What about assisted chin ups? Can I start with those and work toward bodyweight chins?
I’d stick to the bodyweight version.
If you’re in a gym that has an assisted pullup machine, they probably have a pulldown setup. I like V handle pulldowns heavy and with good technique (will post a video in the exercise demo section soon).
Can you elaborate on the neck harness exercises?
I have people start with a weight they can do 4 x 25 with. We never do less than 100 reps in a day. We add weight or reps each time. It’s pretty straight forward, and as along as you’re adding weight and or reps and doing no less than 100 a day, you’re not doing it wrong.
Do I need to finish Starting Strength or some other novice program before starting this program?
As I’ve stated before, this is the program I start people on from the beginning unless we’re dealing with a severely underweight and undertrained teenage boy.
Note: Don’t be deterred by the “severely underweight and undertrained teenage boy” comment. This is a novice program. If you’re underweight, make sure you’re eating to gain weight, but you should be good to go.
My AMRAP sets are super high (15 reps) – should I use a bigger weight increase for my next workout?
In that case, add 10 lbs (~5 kg). Bring your AMRAPs under 10 reps.
Greyskull LP FAQs
How does the AMRAP set work in Greyskull LP?
On your last working set for squats, bench press, and overhead press, you go for as many reps as possible (AMRAP) instead of stopping at 5. These sets are labeled “5+” in the program. Your minimum target is 5 reps, but you keep going until your form starts to break down. Deadlifts are done as a single “1×5+” set, so you also go for max reps there.
If your AMRAP set hits 15+ reps, you started too light. Add a bigger jump (10 lbs on squats, 5 lbs on upper body lifts) to bring future AMRAPs down into the 5-10 rep range where they’re doing the most work.
What do I do if I fail a set or can’t hit the rep target?
If your AMRAP set drops below 5 reps on a given lift, take 10% off the bar and start building back up on that lift. This is called a reset. You only reset the lift that stalled. The others keep progressing normally.
Don’t panic when this happens. The reset isn’t failure; it’s how the program handles stalls. You’ll typically come back through the weights faster the second time around since your body is better trained than it was at that load before.
How does Greyskull LP compare to Starting Strength?
Both programs use the same core lifts (squat, press/bench, deadlift) and add weight every session. The main difference is the AMRAP set. Starting Strength has you do 3 sets of 5 on squats and upper body, stopping at 5 on every set. Greyskull LP keeps 2×5 for the first two sets but opens up the last set to as many reps as you can manage.
In practice, Greyskull LP tends to produce more hypertrophy alongside the strength gains because you’re accumulating more volume, especially when your AMRAPs are in the 8-12 rep range. If you want to purely focus on adding weight to the bar with minimal variation, Starting Strength is a cleaner entry point. If you want a bit more muscle alongside the strength, Greyskull LP is the better pick.
How long should you run Greyskull LP?
The spreadsheet covers 6 weeks, but you’re not meant to stop there. You keep running Greyskull LP as long as you’re still adding weight session to session. For most beginners, that’s 3-6 months before the LP stops working consistently. When you’re regularly resetting multiple lifts and the resets aren’t clearing, that’s the signal to move to an intermediate program.
To run it again, make a copy of the spreadsheet in Google Sheets and plug in your new starting weights. I’d suggest dating the copy so you can track your progress over time.
What is Phrak’s variation of Greyskull LP?
Phrak’s variation adds rows or chin-ups to every training session, on top of the base program. In the original Greyskull LP, upper back work is minimal. Phrak’s version incorporates barbell rows or chin-ups to balance out all the pressing, which is a reasonable addition for most lifters.
The spreadsheet on this page is the Phrak’s variation. It’s the more popular version and the one most people are referring to when they talk about Greyskull LP online. If you want the base program without the rows, the workout template from Johnny Pain is in the forum excerpts above.
Can you add accessories to Greyskull LP?
Yes, but keep them minimal while you’re still progressing on the main lifts. The book covers what Johnny Pain calls “plugins” (optional add-ons like the arms plugin for curls and tricep work, or a conditioning block). These are meant to supplement the base program, not replace it.
If you want to add accessories on your own, the general guideline is to do them after the main work and keep the total session under 90 minutes. The program works well without anything extra. Adding too much too soon is a common beginner LP mistake. You end up recovering from your accessories instead of your main lifts.
Updates
- June 2026
- Refreshed post structure and added FAQ section. Updated embed display title to v2.1 to match the current sheet version.
- August 31, 2020
- Thanks to a helpful Lift Vault reader, the progress tab is now properly labeled. Thanks, Aaron!
- If you see anything that needs fixing, please contact me.
- June 4, 2020
- Made a very important update to the spreadsheet. You should use a weight you can get for 8 to 10 reps as your starting weight for the program, not your 1RM. I added a starting weight calculator tab to help with this if needed. Thanks to a Lift Vault reader for pointing this out to me via the contact form.
