Training plans focusing on compound lifts and straightforward progressions can be very beneficial for beginners looking to increase muscle mass and set a strong foundation for more advanced training.
One such program is the Kinobody Greek God 2.0 Program by Greg O’Gallagher which I’m going to review for you today.
Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 Program offers beginner lifters a way to increase muscle size and strength using compound barbell lifts, week to week progressions, and advanced techniques like drop sets, giant sets, pyramids, and supersets.
Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 Program is very informative at explaining their rationale behind the programming and exercise selections. It also offers a wide variety of bonus workout material, workout substitutions, and exercise demonstration videos to further enhance the lifter’s experience and results.
That said, I did find some flaws in Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 Program that are worth discussing more in-depth.
Why This May Not Be The Best Program For You…
Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 is a robust offering of educational slides, videos, and support material that can be helpful to the beginner lifter to get started on their fitness journey.
That said, the program itself lacks variety, has an underwhelming amount of lower body specific training volumes, and may not be the best program for an intermediate or advanced lifter looking to maximize their muscle growth.
We will dive deeper into each of these reasons below.
WORKOUTS ARE QUITE “BASIC”
Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 program cycles two workouts for the first 8 weeks of training (24 workouts total).
Additionally, the program itself has you progress week to week by either increasing the loading or doing a few more reps.
This basic format can be effective for beginners or lifters who can only commit 2-3 hours per week to train, however it can get very repetitive and fall short for more advanced lifters.
If you’re a beginner lifter with less than two years of strength training experience), then I recommend starting with the Fitbod app (click to get 3 free workouts), which will base your workouts on your performance in the gym. The app takes into consideration several data points that learn how you should be progressing based on your logged training history.
NOT IDEAL FOR ADVANCED LIFTERS LOOKING TO REALLY PUSH MUSCLE GROWTH
Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 program has you training two to three days a week.
While the training frequency may suffice for beginner lifters looking to maximize muscle growth, the overall amount of training volume (sets per week) per muscle group is unbalanced and towards the lower end of most people minimal effective volumes – maximum recoverable volume ranges (12-18 total sets on average).
Throughout the Greek God 2.0 training program, Kinobody supplies you with a few training programs that can span over 6 months if done consecutively. At no point in this stage does any of the training volumes per muscle group break the minimum acceptable volumes, with most muscles (besides shoulders and chest), being trained only 4-8 sets per week (well below the maintenance volumes of 8-10 total sets per week).
Furthermore, and most alarming, is the lack of emphasis on lower body training and back work. Most programs offer 4-6 total sets per week (on average) per muscle group, which is shockingly low if you are truly training to gain muscle mass.
That said, Kinobody does state that you can add one more set to things to drive up training volumes, but the recommendations are fairly basic and still would underdeliver training volume as one would progress over the course of the entire program.
If you fall into this category of someone who is not a true beginner, or someone who is looking to really maximize overall growth instead of hitting minimum thresholds, I would (again) recommend checking out the Fitbod app, where you can get workouts that may better suit your needs as a more advanced lifter looking to build top-end muscle, and strength.
LIMITATIONS WITH WORKOUT FORMATTING AND PROGRAM TRACKING
Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 program uses Teachable to deliver all the material and workouts to you, which is a novel way to offer an immersive experience that can educate the lifter.
That said, the workouts themselves are simply typed out in one slide, and are not downloadable in some form of workout log or planner.
Furthermore, the workouts are not mobile-friendly, which may be an issue if someone is trying to access and record their progress week to week at the gym and on the go.
If you are someone who is looking to have success on a program that is less than five days per week, you should use a tracking system like the Fitbod app. With the Fitbod training app, you can choose the training frequency that meets your needs and find an effective workout regimen that will help you reach your goals.
NUTRITION RECOMMENDATIONS ARE SUSPECT
Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 program offers some nutritional guidelines to help you maximize your muscle growth, however, the recommendations put forth (such as skipping breakfast, fasting, eating only 2-3 meals a day) may not actually be the best way to maximize muscle growth (based on the research we know about muscle hypertrophy).
It is true that a beginner will be able to have results just lifting and eating somewhat consistently, however with more advanced individuals building new muscle means you need to be consuming more calories than you burn, eating frequently, and adequately fueling your body for hard training and recovery.
While these recommendations may work for beginners who have very little muscle mass or little foundation to build upon, these may not support more intermediate and advanced lifters looking to maximize muscle growth.
To recap, this is why I feel you should go with the Fitbod training app instead of Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 Program:
Allows for you to choose programs that are suited for intermediate and advanced lifting and performance goals
Provides you with numerous programs to help drive your top-end muscle growth
Provides you with in-app videos on proper lifting technique and form
Modifies your workouts daily to adjust to your individual performance week to week, to allow for better recovery and progress
PROGRAM REVIEW – KINOBODY’S GREEK GOD 2.0 PROGRAM
Greg O’Gallagher is a popular Youtuber and Instagram fitness influencer known for his aesthetic training and diet programs for men and women, such as Greek God 2.0, Superhero Bulking, Goddess Toning, Kinobooty, and Warrior Shredding programs.
WHAT IS KINOBODY’S GREEK GOD 2.0 PROGRAM
Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 program is a robust program that offers a foundational 24-week program, a few other 12-week advanced programs, each made to follow the next. In total, if you were to do these consecutively, you could get a full year of training in (2-3 workout per week).
The 24-week base Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 program is a three phase program, with each phase spanning 8 weeks and focusing on one main muscle group at a time. The first 8 weeks is a shoulders focused program (you still train all muscle groups, just you train shoulders a little more). The second phase is chest focused, and the final phase is total body focused. Each phase is designed to help develop your muscles to be able to handle more strenuous and advanced training protocols and volume
There are two more main advance training program options that are offered, in which Greg suggests you perform following the 24-week base phases. The first is called the MEGA program, which consists of two, six week training blocks that consist of two workouts per week (you can repeat one of the workouts for a third session). The following program is called the Greek god 2.0 Three Day split, which like the base phase consists of three workouts per week, but in this program all three workouts are different and slightly more training volume is delivered.
Additionally, there are some notes on how to add some more exercises if you want to further customize your base program but adding in some more body part specialized movements, like adding in some lore leg training if you feel you want to do this.
The program itself progresses via the Double Progression Model, which simply means you can either increase the weight from the previous week and do the same amount of reps, or you can use the same weight from the week prior but do more reps. All exercises are given a rep range, which will allow you to to make changes as you see fit.
WHAT IS KINOBODY’S GREEK GOD 2.0 PROGRAM
Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 program is delivered to you via Teachable, an online software that is used commonly with educational content and courses. The program is a robust offering of explainer videos, background information, FAQs, and bonus material like supplemental workouts and nutrition advice.
The program itself is broken down into three, eight-week blocks (phases), each designed to prepare you for the next, which a specific muscle group being focused on more than others.
Phase 1 – Shoulders
Phase 2 – Chest
Phase 3 – All
In the below sections, we will discuss the key training variables that every lifter should be aware of when looking to gain muscle and strength, and how Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 Program addresses and/or doesnt’ address each one.
Periodization
Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 program uses a double progression model, which simply means each week the lifter can progress either the weight (lift heavier than the previous week by a few pounds) or increase the repetitions using the same weight as the previous week. This is linear progression, however the ability to change rep ranges (since most compound movements are prescribed with a rep range, such as 4-6 reps) makes this a little more adaptable based on how the lifter feels that week.
Training Split
Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 program follows a three day training split, with the lifters repeating one of the two main workouts (Workout A and Workout B) for the third session of the week. For example, week 1 has the lifter doing workout A-B-A, whereas week 2 has the lifter doing workout B-A-B.
It is suggested that you train every other day, such as Monday, Wednesday, and Friday so that you can allow for recovery between sessions. That said, as discussed above, I am skeptical on the amount of overall training volume offered in the program. I would like to see a little more training frequency or volume integrated for lifters who are not beginners.
Specificity
Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 program focuses on large compound movements like incline presses, bulgarian split squats, chin up, dips, and overhead presses. The specificity of this really dedicated to doing movements that are easily performed and when done properly can have good returns for most lifters. However, this program is not a program designed for optimal athetlicicm, strength, or power for more advanced lifters.
Training Volume
Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 program offers beginners a simple and easy to follow program to help them gain muscle and strength using compound movements. The overall average training volume (weekly sets) is however, low, when compared to some established ranges. For example, this program offers 4-6 total sets of quadriceps and hamstrings direct work per week, far below the maintenance volumes (8-10 sets) and standard hypertrophy volumes (12-16 sets).
Throughout this program, my biggest concern is that it is under-delivering training volume to people, meaning that the training may fall short if you are looking to maximize muscle growth outside of the beginner realm.
This program, in my opinion, will do well for beginners who have less than 6 months of experience in the gym, however, it will fall short for anyone who has been training for longer than that when compared to a more robust training program.
Overload
Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 program has no direct protocols of overload outside of simply having the lifter lift heavier or do a few more reps from week to week.
This simple format can be effective for beginners and individuals looking for an easy way to progress and track things, however, it is not the most optimal way to do so if you are looking to gain maximal strength over the course of the 24-week training program.
Again, these protocols will work well for beginners since most things do if they are followed consistently, however, I do have some reservations when it comes to more advanced lifters looking to maximize muscle growth and strength development.
That said, Kinobody does offer some advanced overloading technique for most movements, such as drop sets, pyramid sets, and max effort work followed by drop sets. These are all great ways to apply overload from session to session and can be very important for beginners and more advanced lifters alike.
Fatigue Management
Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 program has low overall training volumes, low training frequency (two to three days per week), and does not have the lifter lifting above their 90% maxes often.
For these three reasons, I find it hard to believe that any lifter will have issues recovering from this program. While soreness may be an issue for some in the beginning, fatigue management should not be a high concern unless you are not following the program directly or are not eating properly.
Individual Differences
Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 program is designed for beginners and intermediate lifters who want to gain muscle and set a foundation of strength with compound movements.
The program itself is straightforward, yet offers little exercise swaps for individuals who may have issues with some movements. The exercises themselves are extremely common and can be done in most gyms, and are all beginner-friendly exercises.
There are additional specialization protocols lifters can use if they want to further add volume and training emphasis to their training programs, such as more leg training or increase chest growth. This is typically achieved by adding a few more sets in a workout.
I feel that Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 program offers beginners a simple program to get started and progress very easily, however it can be underwhelming in terms of the overall training volume and progressions for non-beginners and does not update on a personalized basis when compared to using a more personalized training app program like the Fitbod app.
4 BENEFITS OF KINOBODY’S GREEK GOD 2.0 PROGRAM
Below are four benefits of Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 program.
1. Simple and Straightforward Workout Structure
Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 program is very basic in nature, which can actually be very beneficial for individuals who tend to overthink and over complicate training.
The workout program is two different workouts per week (workout A and B), which are done 1-2 times a week (alternate which one you do twice per week), making total training days three days a week.
Over the course of each phase, the same exercises are performed and progressions are done very easily by either increasing the weight or increasing the reps (but never both in the same session).
By making things very “simple”, you can help beginners stick to a program for a longer term, which will most likely lead to better results.
2. Very Beginner Friendly
As stated above, the program is very simple and straightforward, which is exactly what is often needed with beginners in a gym.
With beginners, the biggest thing is to keep them training consistently, and to make workouts simple enough that they can achieve some mastery of the movements, but also fun enough to keep them motivated.
The exercises in the program are compound in nature, and very easily performed after learning the initial technique, which means beginners can get down to training hard and having fun instead of trying to learn complicated movements for weeks on end.
3. Emphasizes Strength in 5 Main Lifts
Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 program incorporates roughly 10-15 exercises total per each phase, however, 5 main movements (Kinobody Indicator Exercises) are tracked and progressed throughout the plan to maximize muscle growth and allow lifters to progress week to week.
The incline bench press, weighted dip, shoulder press, weighted chin up, and box squat OR Bulgarian split squat are all tracked and considered the “Kinobody Indicator Exercises” that should be tracked throughout the program.
By focusing on these large compound movements, lifters will spend a good amount of energy progressing things that have the maximum return on muscle growth.
4. Offers Additional Specialization Routines and BONUS Workouts
If receiving 24-weeks of workouts wasn’t enough, the Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 program offers you an additional 24+ weeks of advanced workout, specialized routines, and nutrition guidance to help you transform your physique and fitness in one year.
5 NEGATIVES OF KINOBODY’S GREEK GOD 2.0 PROGRAM
Below are five negatives of Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 program.
1. Lacks Significant Training Volume and Frequency
When analyzing the overall training volumes for each muscle group, regardless of the phase of specialization, all muscle groups were trained with minimal effective volumes or less, meaning the training volumes may not actually be most optimal for muscle growth for individuals other than beginners.
Below is a chart of the overall total volume per week per muscle group, per phase.
Phase 1 (Shoulder Emphasis) – Weeks 1-8
Shoulders = 16.5 total sets
Biceps = 4.5 total sets
Triceps = 4.5 total sets
Back = 4.5 total sets
Chest = 4.5 total sets
Quads = 6 total sets
Hamstrings = 6 total sets
As you can see, the shoulder fell within the 12-18 total sets range, however, the vast majority of other muscle groups were well below the minimal range, and even well below the maintenance volume (maintenance volume is how much you need to do to NOT lose muscle).
Phase 2 (Chest Emphasis) – Weeks 9-16
Shoulders = 12 total sets
Biceps = 4.5 total sets
Triceps = 4.5 total sets
Back = 4.5 total sets
Chest = 9 total sets
Quads = 7.5 total sets
Hamstrings = 4.5 total sets
Phase 3 – Weeks 1-8
Shoulders = 12 total sets
Biceps = 4.5 total sets
Triceps = 4.5 total sets
Back = 4.5 total sets
Chest = 9 total sets
Quads = 7.5 total sets
Hamstrings = 4.5 total sets
Greg does offer the ability to increase training volumes by adding more sets, however, even then, the workout itself would struggle to get maximum volumes for anyone other than beginners simply due to the lack of training frequency and/or workout structures.
The advanced options (MEGA Training and the Advanced 3-Day Routine) do offer greater volume options, however, most still fall at or below the minimum thresholds, with legs being more drastically undertrained.
2. Little Emphasis on Leg Training
Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 Program places little emphasis on lower body training in relation to the shoulders and chest.
While there are some movements like Bulgarian split squats and Romanian deadlifts the mix, the total volume (on average 6 sets per week for hamstrings and 6 sets for quadriceps) is well below the recommendations for muscle growth (typically those ranges are 12-16 total sets).
While the program does offer an additional “specialization” plan if you want to add more leg training in (like adding some split squats or sumo deadlifts), the program still barely scratches the minimum thresholds. This isn’t to say beginners won’t get results (because let’s face it, beginners can do just about anything to get results), but this is definitely a program that lacks lower body emphasis.
3. Nutrition Advice is Not Best for Everyone
Greg offers some nutritional advice that on its face value is sound.
To gain muscle, you need to train hard, and eat food. He then goes on however to discuss how you do not need to eat more than three meals a day, you should skip breakfast, and even adopt some fasting (since you are skipping breakfast).
He claims this will help you lose body fat and gain muscle, which can be misleading since outside of beginners (most of these things will work for beginners, because well, most things do work with beginners), these recommendations will not cut it.
For example, if someone wants to gain muscle mass and needs to eat more calories to do so (let’s assume they are a hardgainer), this person may have to eat 4,000 calories per day, making sure to get enough protein (let’s say 200g) and carbs to fuel hard training (lets day 600g).
If they were to skip breakfast, and only eat lunch, a small snack, and dinner, they would have to consume all of those macros in 2.5 meals… meaning they will have to eat a TON of food at one time, which not only is very difficult for some people (just think how many people struggle to gain muscle and weight because they cannot eat that much) but it is also eat too much food at once that your body simply can not process at one time (like eating 60-70g of protein at one sitting — we know for most people 30-40g in more frequent doses is better).
To recap, the advice can be a tad misleading and not fully based on some pretty established principles on muscle growth nutrition.
4. Workout are Basic
Basic is not always a bad thing, in fact this is a great thing to allow many lifters to get into a groove, have some skill mastery, and learn to enjoy the process of progressing week to week.
That said, the program itself is repetitive, meaning for the first 8 weeks (24 workouts) you will do the same workouts every week, with no exercise variations.
Furthermore, you will repeat one of the two workouts (Workout A or Workout B) twice per week in a staggered fashion following the same rep ranges and progressions (which are really either lift heavier or try to do a few more reps). While this simple approach can be effective, it can quickly run its course leaving some individuals feeling burnt out and bored.
5. Not for Serious Lifters
If you are concerned with maximal muscle growth, increase leg size, and improving your overall physical and muscle balance… and are not a beginner, this program most likely will not deliver all that you are looking for.
Due to the numerous reasons above, the program may not supply enough training volume or frequency to help significantly increase muscle growth in the later phases of your training lifestyle.
Furthermore, there is little emphasis on developing strength, power, or athleticism, which will have this program fall short for any athlete looking to gain mass and strength applicable to their sport, or any lifter who has moved past the beginner stage.
WHO IS KINOBODY’S GREEK GOD 2.0 PROGRAM FOR?
Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 program is a solid option for beginners or any individuals looking for an easy to follow 3-day muscle building program that requires less than one hour in the gym per session.
The program focuses on compound movements like presses, chin-ups, and split squats, and can be a good workout template for beginner lifters just starting out. It also offers some educational content and exercises videos to assist you in your 6-8 month training journey.
But, before you jump on the program, make sure you consider the drawbacks listed above. My main concerns for the program is:
(1) that Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 program lacks sufficient training volume (total sets per week) and training frequency to deliver significant training stress and stimulus for non-beginners.
(2) Kinobody’s Greek God 2.0 program focus on developing the shoulders and chest far more than developing a balanced musculature. The underwhelming amount ot lower body training emphasis and back work lead me to believe that this program will fall short for anyone who has issues gaining leg size and strength, even with the added supplemental lower body training focus.
KINOBODY’S GREEK GOD 2.0 PROGRAM – FINAL RECOMMENDATION
This program, even with its flaws in delivering higher training volumes for intermediate and advanced lifters, is a viable option for beginners or lifters looking for an easy to follow program that can deliver muscle growth in a simple 3-day program. The program emphasizes compound movements for muscle growth and strength development, which is also a benefit to this plan.
While it is true that I feel this program may under-deliver significant amounts of muscle growth and strength development for more advanced lifters (mainly due to lower than optimal strength training intensities and low weekly training volumes), I do feel it will at least help maintain or slightly increase strength while allowing for muscle growth and size to occur while staying within recoverable training volumes during times when more serious lifters may not be able to train at their hardest..