How to run the GZCL The Rippler program

Who Is This Program For?

The Rippler is the natural next stop after GZCLP. It is aimed at the early intermediate: the lifter who has run a linear progression, can no longer add weight every session, and has roughly 6 to 12 months of consistent barbell training behind them.

It is not a beginner program. If you are still adding 2.5 kg / 5 lbs to your squat every workout, GZCLP will give you more in less time. Come here when that stops.

Like every GZCL program, work is organised into three tiers:

• T1: the main lift of the day, heaviest weights and lowest reps, run off your 2-rep max
• T2: a supporting compound that reinforces the T1 lift, moderate weights and reps, run off your 5-rep max
• T3: accessory work at high reps, chosen freely, run by feel rather than by percentage

What makes The Rippler distinct is how the intensity moves. Instead of climbing in a straight line until you stall, it waves: up 5%, down 2.5%, up 5%, down 2.5%. Every step back sets up a bigger step forward, and the net gain is 2.5% every two weeks. Twelve weeks of that lands you at a genuine peak without a single grinding session in the middle.

Program Structure

4 Training Days

Notice the pairing logic. Every T2 supports the T1 above it: incline press builds the bench, stiff leg deadlifts build the squat and deadlift, close grip bench builds the overhead press, front squats build the squat pattern. The lower days carry the back-focused pulling work.

Run the four days in order with at least one rest day between sessions. A typical week is Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, or Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday.

The Two Training Maxes

The Rippler needs two numbers per lift, not one:

Every percentage in the tables below is a percentage of that lift's own max. A T1 percentage is never applied to a 1RM, and a T2 percentage is never applied to a 2RM.

The T1 Wave: 12 Weeks

All percentages are of your 2-rep max for that lift.

Read the percentage column top to bottom and the ripple becomes obvious:

85 → 90 → 87.5 → 92.5 → 90 → 95 → 92.5 → 97.5 → 95 → 100
 +5    -2.5   +5     -2.5   +5    -2.5   +5     -2.5   +5

Up 5%, back 2.5%, up 5%, back 2.5%. Net gain of 2.5% every two weeks, and by week 10 you are handling 100% of the 2RM you started with. That is the whole program in one line.

Reps fall as the percentage climbs: fives in week 1, fours and threes in the middle, doubles and singles by week 8.

The T2 Wave: 10 Weeks

All percentages are of your 5-rep max for that lift.

T2 waves in 3-week blocks rather than the T1 pattern. Each block ramps 80, 85, 90 then resets 2.5% higher: 82.5, 87.5, 92.5, then 85, 90, 95. Set count falls each block, from 5 sets down to 3, while the weight climbs.

T2 disappears entirely in weeks 11 and 12 so that nothing competes with the peak.

T3: Accessory Work

T3 is the loosest tier and it is meant to be. Two accessories per day, chosen from the table above or swapped for anything that trains the same pattern with the equipment you have.

Prescription: 3 to 5 sets of max reps at a fixed weight, leaving 1 to 2 reps in reserve on every set. Aim for 15 or more reps on your first set.

Progression: keep the weight the same for a whole block. When your total reps across all sets climb meaningfully above where you started, add the smallest available increment and start the count again. As a working rule, add weight when your first set reaches 25 reps.

T3 is dropped in weeks 11 and 12 alongside T2.

Understanding the AMRAP Sets

Six weeks out of twelve, the last T1 set is an AMRAP. The T2 last set is an AMRAP in weeks 3, 6, 9 and 10.

How to run one:

• The prescribed number of reps is the minimum, not the target
• Keep going with good form past the minimum
• Stop 1 to 2 reps before failure, when bar speed slows noticeably or your position starts to change
• Never grind to absolute failure. Nothing in this program is worth a missed rep

What the AMRAP tells you. If a week 2 AMRAP at 90% of your 2RM gives you 3 reps and nothing more, your entered 2RM is honest. If it gives you 9, your 2RM is far too low and the back half of the program will be too easy. Week 2 is deliberately early so you find that out with ten weeks left to fix it.

Week 4 has no AMRAP in either tier. That is by design. Week 4 sits at the top of the first block with low T1 volume and no maximum-effort sets, which is the closest thing this program has to a break.

Peaking and Testing: Weeks 11 and 12

The last two weeks strip everything back to the main lifts.

Week 11. T1 only: 4 sets of 2 reps at 90% of your 2RM, with the last set an AMRAP. No T2, no T3. The intensity drops back on purpose so you arrive at week 12 fresh instead of cooked.

Week 12. The test. Warm up, work up in singles, and find a new 1-rep max on each of the four T1 lifts. Take one test lift per day across the four days.

Then convert the results into new inputs for your next run:

New 2RM for T1 ≈ 95% of your tested 1RM
New 5RM for T2 ≈ 85% of your tested 1RM for that movement

Example:

You test a 150 kg / 330 lbs squat:
  New T1 2RM = 150 × 0.95 = 142.5 kg
             = 330 × 0.95 = 313.5, round to 310 lbs

Progression: How Weights Increase

There are no session-to-session weight increases in The Rippler. Progression comes from three places.

1. The wave itself. Percentages climb across the 12 weeks. All weights are calculated from the maxes you entered on day one and never change mid-program.

2. The AMRAP sets. More reps at the same prescribed percentage is real progress even when the bar weight is identical. Week 2 at 90% for 3+ reps and week 5 at 90% for 3+ reps are the same load, so the rep count is your scoreboard.

3. Between cycles. After the week 12 test you recalculate both maxes from the new 1RM and run the 12 weeks again from higher numbers.

Get Your Form Right First

Everything below assumes your form is already solid. Finding your working weight, adding weight, chasing reps, all of it only works if you can perform the lift correctly. While your form is not locked in, that is your only job. Make good form the goal of every set, not the weight on the bar. Drilling the movement with an empty bar beats loading plates onto a lift you cannot control yet.

To learn, don't hesitate to search Google and YouTube (there is a lot of good free material) and record yourself from the side to compare against a proper demonstration. In general, good form means a full controlled range of motion, a braced neutral spine, no bouncing or momentum, a consistent setup every rep, and ending the set when technique breaks down rather than grinding sloppy reps.

Finding Your Starting Weights

You need eight numbers: a 2RM for each of the four T1 lifts, and a 5RM for each of the four T2 lifts.

If You Know Your 1RM

Convert rather than test:

2RM ≈ 1RM × 0.95
5RM ≈ 1RM × 0.85

Example:

Bench press 1RM of 100 kg / 220 lbs:
  T1 2RM = 100 × 0.95 = 95 kg / 209 lbs, round to 95 kg / 205 lbs

Incline bench press estimated 1RM of 80 kg / 175 lbs:
  T2 5RM = 80 × 0.85 = 68 kg / 149 lbs, round to 67.5 kg / 145 lbs

Round down. Always round down.

If You Don't Know Your Maxes

Do not max out to start the program. Estimate instead:

1. Work up to a weight you can move for 3 to 5 clean reps
2. Estimate the 1RM with Weight × Reps × 0.0333 + Weight
3. Convert to a 2RM and a 5RM with the multipliers above
4. Round down to the nearest 2.5 kg / 5 lbs

Example:

You squat 120 kg for 5 reps:
  Estimated 1RM = 120 × 5 × 0.0333 + 120 = 140 kg
  T1 2RM        = 140 × 0.95 = 133 kg, round to 130 kg

You squat 265 lbs for 5 reps:
  Estimated 1RM = 265 × 5 × 0.0333 + 265 = 309 lbs
  T1 2RM        = 309 × 0.95 = 293.5 lbs, round to 290 lbs

Be Conservative on Purpose

Week 10 asks for 100% of the 2RM you entered in week 1. Week 12 asks for a new 1RM on top of that. If your starting number is 5% optimistic, the back third of the program becomes a series of missed reps.

Set the number low enough that week 2's AMRAP feels comfortable. The wave will catch up to you.

Warming Up

Warm-up sets are never counted in the working sets listed above.

Before Every T1 Lift

From week 6 onward the working percentages get high enough that the extra single at 90% matters. Take it.

Before T2

Two sets are usually enough because you are already warm from T1 and the T2 movement is related. One set at roughly 50% of your T2 working weight for 5 reps, one at 75% for 3 reps.

The exception is day 4, where the T2 front squat follows a T1 deadlift and uses a completely different pattern. Add a set there.

Before T3

One light set of 10 to 15 reps at roughly half the working weight.

Rest Times

Rest longer as the percentages climb. Week 8's nine singles at 97.5% of your 2RM are not a conditioning workout, and rushing them is the fastest way to miss one.

When You Miss Reps

The Rippler runs 12 weeks with no deload week. Week 4 provides the only built-in relief: low T1 volume, no AMRAP sets in either tier, and a T2 reset back down to 82.5%.

That means the program depends on your starting maxes being honest, so use this as the failure protocol.

If you miss reps on a T1 set:

• Stop that exercise for the session. Do not repeat the set
• Reduce that lift's 2RM by 5% and recalculate the remaining weeks
• Continue the program at the corrected number

If you miss reps on a T2 set:

• Finish the remaining sets at a reduced weight or cut them
• If it happens twice on the same lift, reduce that lift's 5RM by 5%

If you miss reps in weeks 1 to 3:

• Your maxes are badly overestimated. Drop the affected max by 10% and restart week 1. Better to lose three weeks than nine

If you feel wrecked rather than tired:

• Take an unscheduled easy week: T1 only, half the sets, no AMRAP, then resume where you left off. Do not skip weeks, the waves only work in order

If you miss a session:

• Pick it up where you left off. Never double up two Rippler sessions in a day

Program Duration

One full run is 12 weeks at 4 sessions per week, which is 48 workouts. Weeks 1 to 10 build, week 11 peaks, week 12 tests.

After the test, take a few easy days, plug your new maxes in and run it again. The Rippler is built to be repeated: each cycle starts from a higher 2RM and a higher 5RM, and each one ends with a real number rather than a guess.

If your test day numbers barely move two cycles in a row, that is the signal to change program rather than to run a third.

Access the Original Program

If you would like to read Cody LeFever's original post, which covers The Rippler along with the rest of the GZCL applications:

GZCL Applications and Adaptations