General Gainz Program

I switched my workout routine from Jacked and Tan to General Gainz around September 2019. I previously wrote about how Jacked and Tan was structured so I thought a comparison would be insightful. I’ve been able to complete a whole cycle and have a pretty good idea of the advantages and how to customize for own schedule and preferences.

I typically go to the gym 4 days a week, each day focused on one of the primary compound lifts: squat, bench, deadlift, and overhead press. More recently, I’ve been going to the gym at lunch time during the work week, because it’s been healthier for my time schedule.

Base Program

There’s no blog post or material about this other than a reddit post from gzcl himself. But this is not really a complete program: rather it’s a methodology or template to structure your own training.

A quick summary for what distinguishes this program:

• Uses the same working weights through sets
• No fixed rep and set scheme
• Uses tiering structure (T1, T2, and T3)
• Relies on lifter to be able to auto-regulate effort, RPE, and fatigue

Each day consists of a primary compound lift (T1) with lower rep range and heavier weights. The rep range is between 3-6 for top set, then singles and doubles for the rest. Like other gzcl programs, the focus here is to build skill and time under a heavy load. The exercise will be a primary movement, one that the lifter is adept towards. For example, this will be low-bar squat.

Then follows a secondary compound lift (T2) where you choose a variation to work on weaknesses. The rep range is between 5-10 for the top set, with the working sets between half as much. The focus here is work on imbalances and accumulate load at a lower intensity. For example, this will be front squat where the lifter has weaknesses in upper thoracic extension.

Lastly, the lifter chooses a few accessory exercises that focus on areas of improvements or are fun. These exercises should be more isolation or lighter compound lifts. Rep ranges should be kept >12 and about 3 sets. If time is short, these are the exercises that get cut first.

Example

I’ll give a working example of how it works for me.

Day A

Lift	Weight	Sets and reps
Bench	185	1x5, 5x1
High bar squat	185	1x10, 4x5

Day B

Lift	Weight	Sets and reps
Sumo deadlift	335	1x6, 6x2
Overhead press	75	1x10, 4x5

Day C

Lift	Weight	Sets and reps
Low bar squat	225	1x6, 6x2
Incline press	125	1x10, 4x5

Day D

Lift	Weight	Sets and reps
Overhead press	95	1x6, 7x2
Conventional deadlift	275	1x10, 5x5

Advantages

Working weights stay the same

The primary advantage is that the working weight is the same. No more fiddling with weights for each set.

It might not seem like a big deal but every bit of friction is an opportunity to slack and dilly dally in the gym. I’m sure you’ve noticed people in the gym who get their 5x5 done in 45 minutes for one exercise.

I’ve managing to keep my workouts to 60 minutes, with 8 exercises and boatload of volume. Previously, I’ve been averaging 80-90 minutes. Keeping my workouts compact make it possible to sneak in during the work week. Being able to workout during lunch means I have 5 slots available, that have little impact on my life schedule. Oddly enough, I’ve actually noticed I go to the gym more often now!

Also, being able to collect the weights you need and hold on to them for 30 minutes without being “that guy” is great. “That guy” being the guy who’s feels like an rpg character, hoarding all the weights because their routine needs it. Looking like they spend more time walking around the gym finding weights than actually lifting them.

Flexible progression schemes

Unlike linear progression programs, General Gainz is designed to be flexible in the gym. This leads to flexible ways to make progress, that don’t necessarily involve adding weight. Often at the gym, there’s only one set of 30 lb dumbbells. If your program dictates a 5 lb increase every cycle with fixed rep-set scheme, what do you do if the person using it is planning on using it for another 20 minutes?

This program gives many options for progressions.

You can use double progression, by adding either reps or sets. Use the same weight as last time but add an extra set (up to 2 extra sets). Or you can add an extra rep to each set. Once you’re able to add extra reps and extra sets, you’ll notice that you’ve turned a T1 into a T2 exercise! This is progress.

You can use exercise variations for progression purposes, as well as to manage fatigue. If the working weight is too easy, you can increase the difficulty by doing paused or tempo variations. Or do your best to be explosive and work on coordinating your muscles. This attacks the quality of your technique from a different angle but it’s all good for progress.

The last form to progress is to reduce the rest time between sets. Inevitably adding extra reps and sets is going to extend your workout session. Why can’t you keep the workouts just as short as before? Is it because it’s hard? By reducing the rest time, from 3-5 minutes down to 1.5 minutes, you are forcing your body to adapt by increasing work capacity. If you’re able to perform the same amount of work but in 60 minutes instead of 90, you can always take 30 extra minutes to do more exercises!

Overall Summary and Review

I’ve finished one whole cycle and I’m starting another over. I really like how flexible it is. It’s not a program but an framework that lets you adapt to the gym and arms you with knowledge.

No longer am I upset when the weights I need are gone. I simply get a heavier weight and do less reps. Or I get the lighter weight and work on form or a variation that I’ve been neglecting.

For deloading or if I had a bad sleep, I can do the same thing. Get a lighter weight and use variations. Or do less sets.

If I’m feeling supercharged, I’ll attempt the extra reps and sets and keep the rest times down. This leaves even more time to do more accessories.

Overall I’m very pleased and look forward to how much strength gains I can make with this program.