Candito Six-Week Strength Programme

This article is verified by 2 studies/publications.

Plan overview

Muscle focus

See how the planned working sets are spread across muscle groups.

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Jonnie Candito’s six-week strength programme changes emphasis as the cycle develops, moving from higher-volume work toward heavier squat, bench press and deadlift training. It is an upper/lower strength cycle with varying weekly demands, not seven lifting sessions every week.

Who this plan suits

It suits experienced intermediates and advanced recreational lifters who know their lifts and can follow percentage-based prescriptions. The early workload and later heavier sessions are different challenges. Keep your schedule flexible enough for the number and placement of sessions to change.

Schedule and workout structure

These are the five sessions of week one. The upper-body choices are barbell rows, standing barbell presses and weighted pull-ups. Comma-separated repetitions follow set order; AMRAP means as many technically sound repetitions as possible. The spreadsheet’s optional accessory slots are left out of this example and its calculation. Later weeks have different schedules and workloads.

Day 1

Exercise	Sets	Repetitions
Barbell Squats	4	6
Deadlift	2	6

Day 2

Exercise	Sets	Repetitions
Bench Press	4	10, 10, 8, 6
Barbell Row	4	10, 10, 8, 6
Standing barbell overhead press	4	12, 12, 10, 8
Weighted pull-up	4	12, 12, 10, 8

Day 4

Exercise	Sets	Repetitions
Bench Press	4	10, 10, 8, 6
Barbell Row	4	10, 10, 8, 6
Standing barbell overhead press	4	12, 12, 10, 8
Weighted pull-up	4	12, 12, 10, 8

Day 5

Exercise	Sets	Repetitions
Barbell Squats	4	8
Deadlift	2	8

Day 6

Exercise	Sets	Repetitions
Bench Press	1	AMRAP
Barbell Row	4	10, 10, 8, 6
Standing barbell overhead press	4	12, 12, 10, 8
Weighted pull-up	4	12, 12, 10, 8

How progression works

Use the published weekly prescriptions and appropriate starting lift values. Follow the plan’s rules after missed repetitions instead of repeating difficult days indefinitely. Accessory work has more flexibility than the main lifts. At the end, use the author’s chosen deload, testing or next-cycle instructions rather than assuming every six-week implementation ends identically.

What the science says

A review found a modest maximal-strength benefit for periodized training, without a clear hypertrophy advantage in volume-equated comparisons. This supports considering a phased strength cycle, not a claim that six weeks is an optimal duration. ^[1]

A narrative powerlifting review discusses tapering before performance testing. It supports distinguishing a test from an ordinary training session, while the evidence does not validate Candito’s exact weekly sequence. ^[2]

These papers examine training principles and prescriptions. They do not establish that the Candito Six-Week Strength Programme is superior to other well-designed programmes.

Programme source and version

The link leads to an archived copy of the author’s guide. Original programme description: Jon Candito – Candito 6 Week Strength Program (PDF).