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Jonnie Candito 6 Week Powerlifting Program Spreadsheet

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Note: Novice lifters will progress more quickly using the Candito Linear Progression Program. For a deadlift specific program, see newly the released Candito Deadlift Program.

Jonnie Candito’s 6 Week Strength Program is fantastic to run repeatedly or to peak for powerlifting meets.

Based on personal experience, I highly recommend the Candito 6 Week Strength Program for squats. I’m able to run this repeatedly and continue to see gains of 5-10 lbs per every 5 weeks. It’s a solid choice for deadlifts as well, but I’ve had minimal success running this program for bench press. I’d recommend a bench specific program to help complement the Candito 6 Week Program. Alternatively, someone did combine this program with the Candito Advanced Bench Press Program: Candito 6 Week + Advanced Bench.

Candito 6 Week Program Spreadsheet

Jonnie provided a written summary of the program, which can be viewed in this PDF.

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Candito 6 Week Program

Note on Optional Exercises

From Jonnie’s PDF summary of the program, here are some notes on optional exercises.

  • They are optional, and do not need to be completed.
    • They should be done when you have the energy after the main work.
  • They should be low impact in order to not negatively impact recovery from the main work.
  • Use light weights in the 8 to 12 rep range.
  • They can be done on a workout to workout basis. They can change whenever you’d like and do not necessarily need to progress in any particular way.
  • They should probably be isolation accessory exercises (i.e. they work a single muscle/muscle group at a time, like a tricep extension or bicep curl).
  • They are personal to you and should be tailored to your individual weaknesses.

Here are some examples of optional upper body exercises provided by Jonnie:

  • Lateral dumbbell raise
  • Incline chest fly
  • One armed tricep extension
  • Bicep cable/machine movements
  • Preacher curl
  • Skull crushers
  • Hammer curl (if not already a main accessory)

Here are some examples of optional lower body exercises provided by Jonnie:

  • Calf raises on leg press
  • Leg curls
  • Leg extensions
  • Isolation glute exercises (e.g. barbell hip thrust)
  • Single leg press
  • Single leg curl

And here are some optional explosive lower body exercises:

  • Box jumps
  • Single leg box jumps
  • Med ball throws
  • Explosive single leg press
  • Jump squats, deep squat jumps
  • Power cleans

Explosive lower body exercises should be done for 4 reps each set so that each rep is truly explosive.

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