- Level
- Beginner
- Days a week
- 3–4 days
- Goal
- Strength and size
- Equipment
- Full gym
- How long
- 3–6 months, then repeat cycles
- Created by
- Cody Lefever
GZCLP is Cody Lefever’s linear progression built on his tier system. Every session has a T1 lift (heavy, low reps), a T2 lift (moderate weight, more sets) and T3 accessories (light, high reps). It mixes the strength focus of a classic beginner program with the volume that builds muscle.
Its best feature is what happens when you miss reps. Instead of simply resetting, each tier moves through stages with fewer reps per set, so you keep adding weight for longer before you ever have to drop it.
This page explains the program in our own words. All credit for it goes to Cody Lefever. The original: GZCL Applications and Adaptations, by Cody Lefever. Read it for the full detail.
Who it’s for
Beginners, and lifters coming off a first linear program who still progress session to session. It needs a full gym: barbell, rack and a lat pulldown or cable station for the T3 work.
It suits people who like rules more than intuition. Every miss has a defined next step.
The weekly schedule
| Week | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | A1 | B1 | A2 |
| Week 2 | B2 | A1 | B1 |
| Week 3 | A2 | B2 | A1 |
| Week 4 | B1 | A2 | B2 |
Every workout
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Back squat | 5 × 3+ (T1) | Last set AMRAP |
| Barbell bench press | 3 × 10 (T2) | |
| Lat pulldown | 3 × 15+ (T3) | Last set AMRAP |
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Overhead press | 5 × 3+ (T1) | |
| Deadlift | 3 × 10 (T2) | |
| Dumbbell row | 3 × 15+ (T3) |
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell bench press | 5 × 3+ (T1) | |
| Back squat | 3 × 10 (T2) | |
| Lat pulldown | 3 × 15+ (T3) |
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Deadlift | 5 × 3+ (T1) | |
| Overhead press | 3 × 10 (T2) | |
| Dumbbell row | 3 × 15+ (T3) |
Lefever writes his sets as reps × sets, so his "3x5+" is five sets of three and his "10x3" is three sets of ten. The tables here use the more common sets × reps. The last set of every T1 and T3 is as many reps as possible.
You can run it four days a week by doing A1, B1, A2, B2 in order every week. T3 exercises can be swapped for any back or arm isolation movement you like.
How to progress
T1 and T2: add weight every session you hit the target reps. Lefever suggests jumps of no more than 10 lb (4.5 kg) for lower-body lifts and 5 lb (2.5 kg) for upper-body ones.
T3: keep the weight until the last set reaches 25 reps, then add a little.
Don’t push AMRAP sets past about ten reps on T1; bank the rest for next time.
Stalls and deloads
T1 stages: when you miss the base reps, keep the weight and move to the next stage: 5×3, then 6×2, then 10×1. When you fail the last stage, rest a couple of days, test a new 5-rep max, and restart at 5×3 with 85% of it.
T2 stages: 3×10, then 3×8, then 3×6. When the last stage fails, restart at 3×10 with a weight a little heavier (up to 20 lb, 9 kg) than where you began the previous cycle.
How long to run it
GZCLP can run for many months because the stages stretch each progression. When restarts stop moving your weights up from one cycle to the next, you have outgrown the linear version.
What to do next
Lefever’s own follow-ups, such as The Rippler and Jacked & Tan 2.0, use the same tiers with weekly progression. nSuns 5/3/1 LP is another common step up.
Common mistakes
Picking T3s that are too hard
T3 work should allow 15–25 reps. Pulldowns, rows, curls and face pulls work; heavy barbell lifts do not.
Skipping the 5RM test
After a T1 cycle ends, the new start weight comes from a fresh 5-rep max. Guessing it usually means starting too heavy.
Treating stage changes as failure
Moving from 5×3 to 6×2 is the program working as designed. You keep the weight on the bar.
Running it in Splyt
Build each workout above as a template in Splyt. When you finish a session, the weights you actually lifted carry into the next run of that template, so every set shows last time’s numbers beside it and you can see at a glance whether to add weight. Log on iPhone or Apple Watch, and the Watch counts your reps for you.
Have the program in a spreadsheet or screenshot already? Import it and Splyt turns it into editable templates. Use the one-rep max calculator to set a training max, the warm-up calculator for warm-up sets in whole plates, and strength standards to see where your lifts sit for your bodyweight.
Questions
Is GZCLP good for beginners?
Yes. It is one of the most recommended beginner programs because it adds more volume than 5×5-style programs and handles stalls without big resets.
Can I run GZCLP four days a week?
Yes. Run A1, B1, A2 and B2 in order each week. Each lift then gets one heavy and one volume day every week.
What are T1, T2 and T3?
Tiers of intensity. T1 is the heaviest work at low reps, T2 is moderate weight with more volume, and T3 is light accessory work for high reps.
Similar programs
- Greyskull LP — beginner, 3 days
- nSuns 5/3/1 LP — intermediate, 4–5 days
- StrongLifts 5×5 — beginner, 3 days
- Reddit PPL (Metallicadpa’s beginner PPL) — beginner, 6 days
- Every program, by level and days
More for your training
- Workout splits: how push pull legs, upper/lower and full body compare
- Ready-made workouts for every muscle and piece of equipment
- The exercise library: how to do every lift above
- Strength standards by lift and bodyweight
Run this program in Splyt, the workout tracker for iPhone and Apple Watch that remembers what you lifted. Get Splyt free on the App Store