Stuart Evans

#TL;DR: [Infographic link](https://saynotobroscience.com/gzclp-infographic/) #**EDIT: I made a spreadsheet that looks all nice and pretty with a few tweaks on what has worked well for the beginners I've been training the past year or so. [Download it here.](https://saynotobroscience.com/gzclp-for-hypertrophy-spreadsheet/)** I was replying to another user last night when he asked for details as to why I told him to get off Stronglifts ASAP and [recommended the GZCLP linear progression program](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/44hnbc/strength_training_using_the_gzcl_method_from/) in its place. His problems were a pretty common symptom among novices who use Stronglifts, and lead to [a pretty long writeup](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/6paopa/im_new_to_lifting_and_i_feel_terrible_dont_know/dko62pb/) as to why I think SL is absolute trash and why GZCLP is a much better option by leaps and bounds. After writing that post I wondered why GZCLP wasn't getting recommended as much around /r/fitness despite it being a perfectly great beginner program. * It's extremely similar to SL/SS -- just 3 exercises per workout -- but is a lot more intelligently programmed thanks to a slight change up with the rep ranges per workout (and probably simpler and less intimidating for the rank novice to get into than nSuns 5/3/1 variant). * It's also more effective for a broader range of beginners and actually helps them build more strength and muscle (since it's not a peaking program which is one of its biggest flaws [as MythicalStrength explains here](https://www.reddit.com/r/weightroom/comments/6mlqqk/training_tuesdays_beginner_programs/dk2kxmr/) and [Gary_Oldman_AMA explains here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/6mt6uc/what_is_the_consensus_on_stronglift_5x5/dk4dfib/)) and thus can be ran for a longer period of time. That's when I realized that as great as /u/gzcl's program is, the original writeup is possibly not very beginner-friendly, and could be turning away a lot of newbies with the acronyms and seemingly foreign terminology. Well, today was a relatively light day for work, so I decided to take a few hours to put the GZCLP methodology in a simple infographic to give beginners a simple overview of the program in a minute or two. Given the uproar from people about SL/SS getting removed from the the /r/fitness and /r/gainit wikis, my hope is that this infographic would: a.) explain why GZCLP is a far superior program for novice lifters, and b.) allow beginners to understand the basics of the program without getting too overwhelmed. Once again [here's a link to the infographic.](http://imgur.com/WIhiBOy) ************* #What the hell is GZCLP? Simply speaking, it's /u/GZCL's Linear Progression program. A lot of people are asking what the hell it means: it stands for GZCL (Cody Lefever's screen name here on Reddit) + LP (linear progression). The program is relatively simple. **Each workout is dedicated to three different types of lifts:** * A primary heavy compound lift (the Tier 1 lift) done for 5 sets of 3 reps * A secondary light compound lift (the Tier 2 lift) done for 3 sets of 10 reps * Tertiary accessory exercises like curls, abs, pulls, etc. (the Tier 3) done for 3 sets of 15 reps These exercises all form a pyramid, which the infographic attempts to explain. For a more detailed explanation of of the method behind the madness, read [this](http://swoleateveryheight.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-gzcl-method-simplified_13.html) and [this](http://swoleateveryheight.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-gzcl-method-for-powerlifting.html). Here's a quick summary (emphasis mine): > **The height of the pyramid is determined by the intensities with which you lift (with respect to percentages of your 1RM) and size of the base of the pyramid is determined by your training volume.** If you want to have a pyramid that is tall you’ve got to make sure it’s also wide. Conversely, a wide yet short pyramid isn’t too impressive. *A necessity to building an impressively tall pyramid is to make it only as wide as required in order to support its ever-growing height.* > > Too often I see lifters focus solely on the height of their pyramid and leave their foundation to the wayside, resulting in a tall yet easily toppled structure. This can be seen in programs like Smolov or similar peaking programs. Many times a portion of these strength gains are lost after the program has been completed. For the purpose of simplification, *consider T1 and T2 to be two different exercises when selecting your weights*. So your T1 squat will use a different weight than your T2 squat even though you're performing the same lift. ###**The Progression Protocol** I see there's a bit of confusion over the progression protocol, which is my fault as I didn't explain it all that well and forgot that most people aren't used to the idea of adding sets/reducing reps to deal with stalling. I've since updated the infographic to reflect this and hopefully make it easier to understand, but here's a quick explanation: It works just like every other beginner program does: everytime you perform the lift, you add 5-lbs/2.5kg for upper body lifts (bench press and overhead press) and 10-lbs/5kg for lower body lifts (squats and deadlifts). Obviously, you can't keep going like this forever or else we'd all be benching 500 lbs after 100 workouts. The GZCLP protocol for dealing with stalling is to simply **change up the number of sets and reps** as outlined in the infographic. **- For T1 Lifts -** Once you can no longer do 5 sets of 3 reps at that particular weight, you then continue with that same weight in the next workout but do it for 6 sets of 2 reps instead. Note that you'll only switch it up for that particular exercise -- leave the other lifts alone if you're still making progress at 5x3. /u/YummyDevilsAvocado wrote an excellent example of how the progression works in a comment below, which I'll just quote here: > Let's look at a T1 lift, benchpress. This is done on workout A2. I'm assuming you do all 4 workouts in a week, so you do workout A2 once a week > > For all T1 lifts, in this example benchpress, you start by doing 5x3, adding 5lbs every time until you fail. This is just like Strong lifts or starting strength! > > Your schedule would look like: > > week 1: 50lb - 5x3 (success) > > week 2: 55lb - 5x3 (success) > > week 3: 60lb -5x3 (success) > > Now lets say on week 4 you fail at 65lb: > > week 4: 65lb -5x3 (fail!) > > This is where things change. Now you no longer use 5x3 for workout A2 bench press anymore. 5x3 is done. Now you use 6x2. And You keep using 6x2, increasing the weight by 5lbs until you fail again. This is the key part that confuses people. > > Now you continue like before, but you use 6x2. For example: > > week 5: 65lb - 6x2 (success) > > week 6: 70lb - 6x2 (success) > > week 7: 75lb - 6x2 (success) > > Now lets say you fail on week 8: > > week 8: 80lb - 6x2 (Fail!). > > So now you no longer use 6x2. Instead you use 10x1, increasing the weight by 5lbs every time still. > > week 9: 80lb - 10x1 (success) > > week 10: 85lb - 10x1 (success) > > week 11: 90lb - 10x1 (success) > > Lets say you fail on week 12: > > week 12: 95lb - 10x1 (Fail!) > > Congrats, you have finished a progression. This is where the progression starts over. At the end of the cycle, when you can't do 10x1, the protocol is to rest for a few days then test for a new 5-rep max. You'll then take 85% of whatever this weight is, and use it as your starting weight for a new cycle of 5x3, then start the cycle all over again. If you want to make it easier, you could just take 80-85% of the weight that you failed 10x1 at and start a new cycle from there. I personally haven't tested this though, but it's just another way of doing things. More than one way to skin a cat, and all. **- For T2 and T3 Lifts -** The same progression protocol applies for T2 lifts, except you go from 3x10 -> 3x8 -> 3x6. At the end of the cycle, just go back to 3x10 with a slightly heavier weight than the last time you did 3x10 (no more than 20-lbs). So if you failed to do 3x10 at 100-lbs, start a new cycle with somewhere between 105-lbs to 120-lbs. For T3 lifts, you increase the weight by the smallest possible increment once you can do 25 reps during the last set. ###**Switching from SS/SL to GZCLP** I've had a few comments and PMs from people currently doing SL and asking a.) if they should switch, and b.) how to switch. My personal answer to A is a deafening, resounding **YES.** First of all, the GZCLP program isn't that much different from SL, with a few major improvements: * Instead of placing an absurd importance placed on squatting everyday at the expense of the other lifts, *you balance out the volume and frequency across the squat, the bench, the deadlift, and the OHP.* * Instead of using one constant 5x5 scheme (which, despite its simplicity, is actually a very bad idea for beginners), *you train each lift using two different rep ranges -- high weight + low reps, and low weight + high reps.* * Instead of deloading by taking 10% off the weight and working your way back up, *you simply change the set-and-rep scheme, which is a far more intelligent way to progress.* That's it in a nutshell. As for HOW to switch things over, it's actually pretty simple as well. *All you have to do is to use your current 5x5 weights and switch that over to 5x3* -- tadaaaah! Just don't forget that your last set is AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible) and as one of the commenters below mentioned, be sure to leave 1-2 reps in the tank. For your deadlift, I suggest lowering the weight slightly, somewhere around 10-20%. Because if all you've been doing are 1x5 this whole time, 5x3 could shock the hell out of you and fry your CNS (lol jk). Finding out your 3x10 weights is a little bit trickier. Many people won't have the conditioning to do 10 reps for 3 sets (yet another reason why doing 5x5 for EVERYTHING is a bad idea). I would suggest using anywhere from 50-75% of your current 5x5 weight and progressing from there. Thought I should add that the Redditor I replied to and inspired me to create this infographic [had pretty good things to say on his first day](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/6pjiwd/heres_a_quick_summary_of_the_gzclp_linear/dkqseyi/... See more