The 8x5/6 Program

Slow and Steady Wins the Hypertrophy Race

An “Easy” One-Exercise-Per-Bodypart Muscle-Building Program

     Part of effective programming—whether you’re trying to build muscle, gain strength, or a combination of both—is learning how to balance volume, frequency, and intensity.  I often write that you must have two of the factors high—or one high and the other moderate—and the remaining factor must be low.  If you’re going to train with a lot of volume and intensity, then your frequency must be low (the standard method of training these days).  If you’re going to train using a high-frequency program—of which I am admittedly and unabashedly a fan—then you need to keep either your volume or your intensity low.  And so on and so forth.  But you can also do a program where all of the factors are moderate.  The program I want to present here takes this latter approach.

     I have actually wanted to write about this program before, but I’ve been a little hesitant to do so because it seems so, well, easy.  It’s deceptively simple, but also effective.  I was reminded of that this morning when I was looking over my training journal for the past year.  I’ve done this program twice before—once during the past year—and it was the most effective training I’ve done during the year, at least from a hypertrophy standpoint, so I thought it was about time I put pen to paper and presented you with the program.

     As mentioned, this is a hypertrophy program.  Make sure you do it at a time when you can eat plenty of calories, and you don’t have too much activity other than the training itself.  This isn’t the best program for athletes, or anyone engaged in a sport or an activity that is demanding.  When I’m training in martial arts, for instance, I use more of an “easy strength” method of high-frequency lifting but only do it 2 to 4 days per week instead of 5 or 6.  But for the average gym-goer who primarily trains for aesthetics, this is one of the best programs you could have in your training arsenal.

     I will outline the program first, and then discuss some other factors that you need to consider.

The 8x5/6 Program

     For this workout, you will train each bodypart 2x weekly utilizing one exercise per bodypart for 8 sets.  You will do no more than 3 exercises at each workout.  On each exercise, start the program with a weight where you would probably reach failure at the 12th repetition.  Don’t select a weight that’s too heavy or the program won’t work!  In fact, you could even select a weight where you know you could get 15 or 16 reps just to make sure you’re not starting with a weight that’s not too heavy.  At the first workout, do 2 sets of 6 reps and 6 sets of 5 reps.  At the 2nd session for that exercise, do 4 sets of 6 reps and 4 sets of 5 reps.  At the 3rd session, do 6 sets of 6 reps and 2 sets of 5 reps.  Finally, at the 4th session, do 8 sets of 6 reps.  At that juncture, you can either add weight to the exercise at the next workout, and repeat the process, or switch over to a new movement.

     This workout is going to almost seem too easy.  That’s the point.  If it’s hard right off the bat, then you selected a weight that’s too heavy.  But don’t let that fool you.  Instead of killing your muscles at each session, you’re going to just let the accumulated volume during the course of the week—and then the coming weeks—add up.  It will produce a lot of muscle if followed as described.

     For this program to work, the only other thing needed is to select big, bang-for-your-buck movements.  Squats, bench presses, chins, weighted dips, military presses, deadlifts, behind-the-neck presses, barbell curls, and rows and cleans of all sorts are the correct answers.  Here is what the program might look like over the course of 4 weeks of training:

Weeks One and Two:

Day One: weighted dips, chins, military presses

Day Two: squats, deadlifts, barbell curls

Day Three: off

Day Four: repeat day one

Day Five: off

Day Six: repeat day two

Day Seven: off

Weeks Three and Four:

Day One: bench presses, t-bar rows, behind-the-neck presses

Day Two: front squats, Romanian deadlifts, dumbbell curls

Day Three: off

Day Four: repeat day one

Day Five: off

Day Six: repeat day two

Day Seven: off

     For weeks five and six, return to the same exercises from the first two weeks, but increase the weight used.  And on weeks seven and eight, return to the exercises from weeks three and four.  If you want, you can also stick with the same exercises for 4 weeks straight, adding weight after the first two weeks, but I personally prefer the way I have outlined it here.  But if you know your body responds better to less change, then, by all means, stick with the same movements.

Some Tips and Points to Consider

     Because I can’t reiterate it enough, let me repeat: do NOT select a weight that’s too heavy when first starting out.  With that out of the way, here are some other points to consider…

     Along with using a starting weight that’s too heavy, another mistake I can see lifters making is adding more work.  Do not add any extra exercises.  At least, at first.  After training on this program for 8 weeks, and feeling as if you easily handled the volume, then it would be okay to add an additional exercise.  At first, you may only want to add the extra movement to one of the days.  If you can handle that, then add another exercise to the second day after a few weeks.

     Conversely, if you know that you’re the kind of lifter that simply responds better to less, then you can always just stick with the program as I have written it, but cut out the 3rd exercise on each training day.

     Another option, as you advance, is to train 6-days-per-week but do just 2 exercises at each workout.  One day might be chins and bench presses.  A 2nd day might be military presses and curls.  And the 3rd day could be squats and deadlifts.  If you like to train more frequently, and you know that your body can handle the additional training days, then by all means, give this option a go.

     After running the program for a couple weeks, feel free to add in some abdominal work to one of the days, and some loaded carries (or other “odd” lifts) to the other day.  You don’t need to do much of this extra work, however.  One or two sets of ab wheels and one or two sets for distance of farmer walks or sandbag carries (or anything similar) would be plenty.  An additional option would be to add in some kettlebell swings if you’re after a fat-loss “kick” to go along with the muscle-building.

     Whether you’re trying to stay lean while gaining muscle, or are simply going to “bulk up” as much as possible, make sure that you eat plenty of good, muscle-building food.  Eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight daily, and at least 12x your bodyweight in calories on a daily basis.

     Sure, this program is simple, and, sure, it may even seem easy (as long as you enjoy squats and deadlifts).  But simple and easy doesn’t mean that it’s not effective.  In fact, it might just be one of the most effective mass-gaining programs available.  Now, all you have to do is discover that for yourself.