CUSTOM PROGRAM BUILDER · BASED ON THE GREYSKULL LP, 3RD EDITION
Build Your 4-Week Program
Set your starting weights and increments, pick your accessory work, and generate a printable 4-week log — sourced from the book's own rep schemes and reset math, not generic defaults.
Core mechanic — 2x5, 1x5+: squat, bench, press and front squat are worked for two sets of five, then a third set taken to failure (not stopped at 5). Deadlift is one hard working set only. Standard increments: squat/deadlift +5 lb (2 kg) per session · press/bench +2.5 lb (1 kg) per session. Doubling rule: if your last set goes past 10 reps, consider doubling next session's jump instead of holding pace. The reset: when you fail to hit 5 reps on the last set, drop to 90% of that weight (round down to the nearest increment) and climb back up at your normal pace — you'll usually set new rep records on the way back up before you retake the old sticking point.
1LIFTING — THE CORE PROGRAM
The barbell work: squat, bench, deadlift, press. This is the layer everything else gets built on top of.
PROGRAM TYPE
The book's original template: Press+Squat, Bench+Deadlift, Press+Squat — three sessions a week, with Bench and Press swapping which day they land on every other week so both get equal work.
MAIN LIFTS & STARTING NUMBERS
Squat
VARIANT
START (LB)
+ PER SESSION
Deadlift
VARIANT
START (LB)
+ PER SESSION
One hard working set only — 1 x 5+.
Bench Press
VARIANT
START (LB)
+ PER SESSION
Press
VARIANT
START (LB)
+ PER SESSION
Pull-ups PHRAKS
VARIANT
START (LB)
+ PER SESSION
Row PHRAKS
VARIANT
START (LB)
+ PER SESSION
FULL-BODY DAY ACCESSORIES
Choose accessories separately for each full-body training day. Chin-ups, push-ups, and other pure-bodyweight work live in Section 2 below.
Day A — Squat
SELECT DAY A ACCESSORIES
PULL
PUSH
SHOULDERS
ARMS
LOWER
ABS
CALVES
Pick one lower accessory for each lower day.
OPTIONAL EXTRAS — ADDED TO BOTH LOWER DAYS
Day B — Deadlift
SELECT DAY B ACCESSORIES
PULL
PUSH
SHOULDERS
ARMS
LOWER
ABS
CALVES
UPPER DAY FOCUS (PICK ONE — APPLIES TO BOTH UPPER DAYS)
2DAILY WORK — THE BODYWEIGHT LAYER
The book's "Section Two: Bodyweight Training." Runs every day, independent of which lifting day it is — never taken to failure, always a little more than last week.
METHOD
Multiple easy sets spread throughout the day, never to failure, one full day off per week. Add a set or a rep once the last rep of every set still feels easy.
MOVEMENTS
Chin-ups / Pull-ups
Book's primary daily movement
REPS / SET × 4
Push-ups
Commonly paired with chins in the book's own sample weeks
REPS / SET × 4
Dips
Same three methods apply
REPS / SET × 4
Bodyweight Squats
Daily squat pattern work
REPS / SET × 4
Sit-ups
From the book's Total Work Method example
REPS / SET × 4
Total Work Method: pick a challenging-but-doable daily rep total per movement (the book's own example: 70 push-ups, 80 sit-ups, 30 burpees, 10 dead-hang chins) and chip away at it across the day, staying shy of failure on every set. Increase the total once it stops feeling hard.
3CONDITIONING — CARDIO
Sections Three & Four of the book: High Intensity Conditioning and Low Intensity Conditioning. Optional layers on top of the first two.
High Intensity Conditioning
COUNT
The book's "10-minute rule": keep these short and brutally intense — 10 minutes is about the ceiling. Default placement: right after a lifting day, plus one standalone session (e.g. the weekend).
Low Intensity Conditioning
COUNT
MINUTES
The book's preferred low-intensity tool: fasted walking, done often. Its value comes from frequency, not intensity — it's the least "sexy" layer but effective for fat loss.
The 20-Minute Aerobic Solution
COUNT
A 20-minute RPE-ladder interval session on any cardio machine — effort climbs 5→9 in waves, capped with an all-out minute 19.
Villain Challenge 1
STAGE
Train six days per week. Start with 3 sets of 10 in 30 seconds; add 1-2 reps only after making the target time. Add three seconds for each added rep and reduce rest toward one minute. At 3 x 30 in 90 seconds, move to 2 sets; at 2 x 50 in 2:30, move to a single 100-rep set.
Ruck Marching (Bonus Layer)
LB
MIN
DAYS / WEEK
Book's advice: start light (≤35 lb) and short, progress distance/speed before load, work up to 45-60 min several days/week.
SCHEDULE
3 sessions/week: Press+Squat, Bench+Deadlift, Press+Squat — then Bench and Press swap places the following week, exactly as laid out in the book. Weights are projected assuming you hit every prescribed rep — if you reset on a lift mid-plan, cross out the rest of that lift's projected numbers and restart from 90% by hand using the rule above.