Candito 6 Week Strength Program
Created By Jon Candito
Before I get into the program, I’d like to thank you for supporting Candito Training.
Whether it is by donating or simply liking a video, each action helps the mission of advocating strength training without gimmicks possible. Now with that said, let’s delve into the methodology of the program.
Basic Weekly Setup
Week 1 ­ Muscular Conditioning
Week 2 ­ Hypertrophy
Week 3 ­ Linear Max OT
Week 4 ­ Heavy Weight Acclimation/Explosiveness
Week 5 ­ Intense Strength Training
Week 6 ­ Deload (optional)
Note ­ There is an option to max out on the 6th week, which will then call for a 7th week to be added as the deload to end the cycle.

So that is the program broken down into a focus from week to week. This is called periodization. Some people say that periodization is just for advanced lifters, but the truth is that periodization is optimal for beginners as well. The benefit from periodizing rather than just doing straight sets (5x5), is that you prevent weaknesses before they can begin. Plateaus are best handled by preventing them in the first place! Also, the specific weights along with varying rep ranges greatly improve focus for beginners. You won’t psyche yourself out by comparing each workout to the last every single week. You will never be unsure of what weights to use, which is often the cause for weeks of no progress. You will be on a long term path for consistent gains.
All you have to do is follow the plan as formulated for you, and just lift the weights!
It is also crucial to understand that each phase effects the other. The hypertrophy phase will also make you much stronger. The strength phase is going to build muscle as well. The fact is with natural athletes, strength and muscle mass go hand in hand. If you focus only on low rep strength development, injuries are much more likely to occur. And if you focus only high reps, there will be a great deal of total body stimulation being missed. This program is also built with the bigger picture in mind. So the transition from each phase is taken into consideration.
Setup Within Week ­ Upper/Lower Split
This is an extremely important aspect of the program. A 5 day bodybuilding split is NOT optimal for natural bodybuilders. And most certainly not optimal for athletes looking to develop strength. Upper/lower splits allow for a greater emphasis on compound movements, which stimulates your body to produce more testosterone than isolation exercises. Also, the quality of each set will be far greater in an upper/lower split. 5 day splits have far too much volume per workout. By the 18th chest set, how strong are you really? Now compare that to an upper/lower

split where you come in fresh, slam 3­4 sets of bench and move on. This helps for injury prevention as well because you will use better form having shorter, more goal oriented workouts.
The one advantage the 5 day split would appear to have is volume, but then the upper/lower split allows for 2­3 upper days a week. So the volume ends up being about the same, of much higher quality work.
Upper Vs Lower Frequency
This is an issue you can’t solve through research. It only comes through experience. I have found that the upper body can handle a much greater frequency than the lower body. Full body movements like the squat and deadlift can be very taxing, not just on your CNS but also psychologically. I always say there is no such thing as an easy squat. So I’d rather squat with high intensity than underperform while using a high volume. Now compare the feeling after squats to the feeling after training biceps, abs, or calves. The smaller range of motion movements tend to be much easier to recover from. Obviously the bench press is still a compound movement, but it is clear the feeling is entirely different in comparison to a squat/deadlift. It is vital to keep in mind that the tradeoff between