If you want to build serious strength and muscle mass, then you need to try the best 6 day strength training program. This 6-day workout routine will last 6 weeks in length, giving you one rest day per week. It’s designed for experienced athletes who have solid technique in all the basic lifts. If you want to set strength records in as little as 6 weeks, then this is your program. Keep reading for more.
Readers of this website know that I’ve write many different kinds of programs. The first thing we need to do is go over some of the specific fitness goals for this program, and determine which athlete this is best suited for. Take a look below for a quick overview.
The Best 6 Day Strength Training Program Overview
- Best for intermediate to advanced lifters
- 6-day split routine, with one rest day per week
- Designed to promote muscle growth in all major muscle groups
- High volume program with each compound lift performed 2+ times per week
- These are intense workouts designed to last 60-90 min
- Can be done in a well appointed home gym or commercial gym
- No WODs or HIIT style training
The most important thing to keep in mind is that this program is designed for experienced athletes. If you’re brand new to lifting or functional fitness you can try this program. There is a lot of upper body, and lower body volume in this program, and you need time to acclimatize yourself to these level of training, before starting the program.
The other key point to remember is that this is a pure strength training program, similar to my 7 Week Free Strength Training Program. There are no WODs, or functional fitness circuits in this program. If you want a program that builds muscle and in corporates this style of training then check out these programs.
In the next section we’ll cover some of the science behind gaining strength, so you can see why this program is so effective. After that, we’ll review the program in detail. In the last section of this article, I will provide some nutrition guidance as well as some great follow on programming options, after you’ve finished this 6 day workout program.
The Science of Gaining Strength
If you’ve read any of my other articles on gaining strength and muscle mass, you’ll remember that volume is a big driver of hypertrophy (building muscle). It’s also closely correlated with increasing absolute strength. In fact, most research shows that it doesn’t really matter how many times per week you perform compound exercises, it matters how many hard sets you do.
Said in another way, one training session with 10 sets of bench press is just as good as 2 sessions of 5 sets. There are some practical considerations, namely, 10 heavy sets are very difficult to perform in one session. However, the point remains. Check out this research excerpt for more info.
The primary finding was that 6 weeks of resistance training led to significant increases in maximal strength and FFM. In addition, it seems that increased training frequency does not lead to additional strength improvements when volume and intensity are equated. High-frequency (6× per week) resistance training does not seem to offer additional strength and hypertrophy benefits over lower frequency (3× per week) when volume and intensity are equated. Coaches and practitioners can therefore expect similar increases in strength and lean body mass with both 3 and 6 weekly sessions.
Training Volume, Not Frequency, Indicative of Maximal Strength Adaptations to Resistance Training
Unlike my 4 Day Strength Training Program, this program adds in more volume in the form of accessory movements. When writing a strength training program, it’s important to pick accessory movements that fix weaknesses in the primary movements. After all, if you’re not trying to lift heavy weights, then you shouldn’t be reading this article.
In this next section we’ll review some of the details of the program, including how I recommend warming up for each session, and for each lift. If you like awesome workouts then join the email list below, so you don’t miss any more!
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We’ve covered the preliminary information about this 6-day workout split strength program. Let’s start talking about the first weeks of the program, and see just what’s in store for us.
The Best 6 Day Strength Training Program
The first thing you’ll notice for this program is that it isn’t percentage based. I’ve got tons of programs that are based on percentages of your one rep max. That doesn’t mean they are inherently better than the method I’ve use here.
As you’ll see, once we get to the details, each session is based on reps in reserve, or RIR. For example, if I tell you to do a set of 10 at 2 RIR, that means you will pick a weight that you could actually do for 12 reps, with an all out effort. You are purposefully stopping the set short, leaving 2 reps in reserve.
In all my years of coaching and lifting, I find that there are certain advantages to this style of prescribing heavier weights. First, it allows for fluctuations in strength that we all feel from week to week. If you’ve been to the gym for any time, you’ve had sessions where you can barely move weight that is normally easy.
Conversely, you’ve probably had different days where the weight practically moves itself. The RIR method allows you to take advantage of this by moving up or down in load as you see fit. Next, let’s talk about the warm up for each session.
The Best 6 Day Strength Training Program Warm Up
Some coaches can go a little overboard with the warm up. Rest assured I’m not one of those guys. In my opinion there are only two phases of a warm up. The first phase is literally warming up for the full-body workout, and the second is a specific warm up, that prepares the body for the specific movement patterns to be used in the lifts.
I recommend 3-5 minutes of general movement, like walking, jogging, rowing, or assault bike, to warm the body up. This is to be done at moderate effort. Next, I like to put together a mini circuit using bodyweight exercises, that mimic the lifts used later on.
If you have a session with bench press and back squats, then I would do something like 3 rounds 10 reps of push ups, and air squats. This too, would be done at moderate effort. The goal isn’t to get this done as quickly as possible. It’s to warm up those movement patterns.
Now that you’re ready to begin the workout, we should review how I like to warm up to the first working sets of the workout. Remember, warm up sets don’t count as work sets!
Specific Lifting Warm Up
Now that you are generally warm, and you’ve practiced the correct movement patterns, we can move on to the first movement. This is one area where athletes often err on the side of not doing enough warm up sets.
The best rule of thumb for these movement warm ups, is to start with just the bar and make something like 10-15% jumps for each successive set, once you get somewhat close to your working weight. Here is an example progression you could follow.
- 1×10 at 30%
- 1×8 at 50%
- 1×5 at 60%
- 1×2 at 70%
- First Work Set
If you’re very strong, and are working up to a heavy loads, then you might have to add even more warm up sets. It’s also important to note that you don’t need to warm up with the same sized sets as your working sets. The specific goal is to ready yourself for the actual work, not tire yourself out prematurely. Now let’s review how much rest you should be taking between sets.
Rest Between Sets
As you’ll see, I’ve specified rest on some of the movements, but I haven’t on every single lift for a couple of reasons. In the beginning of the cycle the lifts won’t be extremely heavy, compared to your one rep max. As the weeks progress, the sets will start to push you to your strength limits.
In my opinion as a coach, it’s silly to specify a strict rest period much of the time, because there really isn’t a need for this in strength training. If you read my article on rest periods you’ll remember that 3-5 minutes is enough time to rest for strength training. You’ll also recall that resting more doesn’t always equate to increased performance.
When I switch movements, I normally use the time to strip my bar off and warm up the next movement as a rest period. However, there’s nothing wrong with taking a few minutes between movements before doing this.
Remember, this is a pure strength program. If you want strength and conditioning you should look at something like this program below. Because it’s a premium program, it has much more detail on guided warm ups, accessory work, and nutrition information as well.
Now that you know how to warm up, and how to get ready for your first work sets, as well as how much rest you should be taking, let’s move onto the specifics of the program. Before you do that, don’t forget to download the free PDF with each session.
It is a Dropbox download. If you happen to be on a network where you can’t download from them, not to worry. I’ve included each week in the details section below.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE THE BEST 6 DAY STRENGTH TRAINING PROGRAM PDF
The Best 6 Day Strength Training Program
As I mentioned previously, this is a 6 week long program, by design. I’ve found that 6 weeks is about the limit that one should work out on a 6-day split. I normally recommend a 5-day training split for advanced athletes, because rest is important.
However, during periods where you’re really pushing for maximum strength and muscle mass, then you need to take your workout volume and intensity up. This is exactly what this program is designed to do. Let’s get to the first week.
The Best 6 Day Strength Training Program Week 1
This program is designed to be done at almost any facility. There are a few speciality pieces of equipment, like a leg extension, or a hex bar. If you don’t have access to those pieces of equipment that is ok. Just read this article on how to properly scale a workout. Even my very best athletes still modify or scale workouts from time to time. It’s to be expected.
You can see from week 1 that we are working with 4 distinct movements per session. Most athletes will take their rest day after the last day of the week, but you can throw it in where-ever you like. I also recommend adding in an additional rest day if you feel you need it.
Not taking enough rest is the best way to short change your strength gains. Don’t abuse this, but an extra rest day here and there is fine, provided that you continue on sequentially with the program. Now let’s move on to week 2.
The Best 6 Day Strength Training Program Week 2
This week we’ve maintained most movements at 2 RIR, with a few dropping to 1 RIR. The goal for this week is to gradually increase volume, which as we know, is a primary driver of strength and muscle gain. Let’s talk about some of the power movements I’ve included.
The last two days of each week are geared towards powerful, quick movements. You’ll sometimes see this referred to as rate of force development. These types of movements are key for developing functional strength. While it’s cool to be strong, it’s even cooler to express that strength quickly.
Movements like the hex bar speed deadlift, and barbell box squat, are to be done with lighter weight, as fast as possible on each rep. This teaches your muscle fibers, and motor units, to fire quickly, with high coordination. Ultimately this will make you a stronger more athletic person. At no time should you be moving slowly for these movements. Now let’s talk about week 3.
The Best 6 Day Strength Training Program Week 3
I bet you’ve probably noticed there is some method to my color coordination. I’ve roughly grouped each body part by color. If you care to count the reps and sets, you’ll see that each movement pattern is performed at least twice per week, and sometimes more.
In this week we’re increasing load by adding a lower rep set to the primary movements. Last week your heaviest set of deadlift was a set of 5, where as this week you will do a set of 3 at 2 RIR. Depending on how you’re feeling, this should be approaching 90% of 1RM. Remember, you don’t have to constantly make progress. If you aren’t feeling it, then do your best with good form. Now, on to week 4.
If you like this program, and want to build more muscle mass, then this is your next program.
The Best 6 Day Strength Training Program Week 4
In my longer programs, week 4 tends to be a deload week. This is needed to continue to make strength progress over many months. However, for a shorter 6 week program, we can push the recovery time off till the end of the last week of the program.
You’ll note that I’ve increased the volume on the accessory work. I’ve also moved most lifts to 1RIR. There are still a few that are lower, but we are gradually increasing load and volume towards the final week of the program.
This might also be a good week to add in an extra rest day, if you feel you need it. This is optional. If you’re kicking the gym’s ass, then carry on smartly. Next is week 5, the most challenging week in this program.
The Best 6 Day Strength Training Program Week 5
You’ll probably be cursing me during this week, as it’s both the heaviest week, and the highest volume week. Hey you wanted to get strong, and this is how you do it. Let’s take a look at a few of the details.
You’ll note that on some of the exercises I’ve left the same instructions from the previous week, and I’ve asked you to beat last week. You can see an example of this on the inverted barbell row. You will do the same number of reps, but I want you to beat the total number of reps from last week by a few reps, if able. Now we’re going to be talking about new PRs in week 6.
The Best 6 Day Strength Training Program Week 6
This is the week you’ve been waiting for, the week where you test your 1 rep max strength. In this section, I’m going to cover how I like my athletes to go for a 1 rep max attempt.
You’ll see that each of the primary barbell movements are listed as AHAP, on the 1×1 set. The previous sets are there to provide some final warm up, prior to your 1RM. It’s ok to take more than one attempt at the 1×1. I recommend 3 attempts at most.
The first attempt is a small PR, and the next attempt is what you really want. The final attempt is a moonshot. Don’t be afraid to fail the attempt, as long as you have a spotter, or know how to bail from the lift safely. In the next section, let’s talk about nutrition and recovery, so you can get the most from this program.
Nutrition and Recovery for Strength Training
I can’t tell you how often I get an email from an athlete asking how they can gain strength, increase fat loss, and improve their conditioning, all at the same time. I’m left in the unenviable position of telling them that these things generally aren’t possible.
If you want to build strength, and associated muscle muscle mass, then you need to eat in a caloric surplus. I don’t recommend eating thousands of calories more than you need each day, as that’s just going to make you fat and strong.
I highly recommend checking out this nutrition calculator where I give you some great recommendations for overall caloric intake, and macro splits. Check it out.
Protein Requirements for Strength Training
It’s important to note that while overall caloric intake is important, your individual macronutrient requirements are just as important. In terms of protein, recent research indicates that figuring your protein requirement from your lean body mass is a better method than using your overall bodyweight.
Most athletes think that more protein equals more gains. This isn’t true, as it seems like 0.9-1.15 g/lb of lean body mass is best. For a 200 pound man with 165 pounds of lean muscle mass, that’s only 150 – 190 grams of protein.
The Meathead obsession with protein is mainly due to the high protein requirements when on a diet. If you’re trying to lose body fat, then higher protein will help retain muscle tissue. However, if you’re just gaining strength and mass, then you don’t need sky high protein!
Carbohydrate Requirements for Strength Training
Carbs are very important for performance in the gym. They are often unfairly demonized, but they are a must for those that want to hit the weights hard. In my experience 2-3 grams of carbs, per pound of lean mass, is a good place to start.
Using our example guy above, that would be 330 – 495g of carbs. This figure is going to be highly dependent on the program difficulty. Obviously, a four day program would require less carbs than an advanced strength program. More volume requires more energy.
Dietary Fat for Strength Athletes
You do need a baseline amount of dietary fat, as it provides the building blocks for your hormones, like testosterone. If you go too low, you’ll quickly find your hormones go to hell and you feel terrible. All those bodybuilders on chicken and rice diets know the feeling!
Most athletes need around 0.5 – 0.9 grams per pound of lean mass for dietary fat. Using our 200 pound male example that puts us at 83 – 150 grams. This is one area where there is a wide margin depending on your individual desires. Now let’s discuss some science based recovery techniques for hard training lifters.
Recovery for Strength Athletes
Get ready because I’m about to recommend some really expensive, very complicated recovery techniques. They require a poodle, and a jar of old mustard. Just kidding, most muscle recovery things that are sold to you are actually a massive waste of money. Read this article on scientific based recovery methods, and you’ll see there are only a few things that truly work
The best way to recover is to sit on an exercise bike for 10 minutes after your session in the gym. It doesn’t have to be an exercise bike, as any light movement will work, hello walking! The important thing is to cool down at a very easy pace for at least 10 minutes.
This increases circulation throughout your entire body. Circulation is needed to begin the recovery process, allowing your body to begin to repair damaged muscle tissue sooner. As a nice bonus, you’ll find you actually feel better leaving the gym.
There’s also some evidence that wearing exercise tights can decrease the amount of soreness you feel, and increase your muscle mass when worn during, or after training. Check out this article where I reviewed the research on that topic.
Performance Enhancement for Strength Training
One of my favorite methods for increasing the amount of reps you can do is very simple. All you need to do is some light hyperventilation, prior to your set. The research on that topic was quite interesting, and resulted in athletes lifting 35% more reps just by breathing heavily prior to their work sets.
This technique is best for sets that use full body movements and full-body workouts. It’s not going to work on your triceps extension and rear delt work! Moreover, it’s best for sets that are going near to failure. If you’re doing a heavy double or single, you probably aren’t accruing enough metabolic byproducts for this technique to be effective.
Check out the article, and take a look at the research. I bet you’ll be surprised how well this technique works. I’ve found it to work very well on different muscle groups in my own training.
Finding Your Next Program
I’ve been writing programs on this website for years. The vast majority of these programs are functional fitness programs, and are completely free. However, I do have some premium programs, that include a lot more info compared to the free versions.
In this section I’m going to list several of my most popular programs for tactical athletes. Some of them will be functional bodybuilding programs, where as others might focus on endurance, or strength. I recommend clicking around to see which program interests you the most.
Programs to Build Muscle Mass
- The 8 Week Functional Bodybuilding Hybrid Program
- 6 Weeks of Muscular Growth for Functional Fitness Athletes Program
- 12 Week Free Bodybuilding Program
- The 11 Week High Intensity Bodybuilding Program
Programs to Build Strength
- 9 Week Functional Strength Program (Part 1)
- 9 Week Advanced Strength Program for Functional Fitness
- 7 Week Free Strength Training Program
Hybrid Programs: Strength, Muscle Mass, and Conditioning
- 15 Week Lift Heavy Run Fast Program for Functional Fitness
- 10 Week Functional Powerbuilding Program
- 9 Week Sprint Program for Running
This is just a small sampling of some of my more popular programs. I would estimate that if you followed all of my programs, you’d have a fitness program laid out for the next several years! I bet you can find something that will fit your needs.
Final Thoughts
This is a challenging program, and I recommend picking one of the easier programs from the ones I’ve mentioned above. You can’t train this hard all year without injury or detraining. Look at professional strength athletes. They almost all start with a volume building portion of the year, and only really peak one or two times per year. There is no reason why we should do differently.
If you have any questions or comments, then put them in the comments section below, and I’ll get you an answer. Now get out there and get training!
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