Want to enhance your workout and add a few more days to your training routine but are unsure where to start? Then look no further than this article!
Below you’ll find a 6-day gym schedule for practically every kind of workout, from bro-splits to full body workouts and push-pull leg exercises.
Whether you want to improve your muscle mass or lose weight, we have a schedule that’s sure to meet your fitness needs.
But first, let’s take a look at why 6-day training can be so effective.
A 6-day split is one of the most beneficial workout splits for speeding up and enhancing muscle growth and strength. But this is usually only the case for those who already have a pretty solid fitness routine.
So if you’ve only just begun to lift weights as part of your exercise routine, then it’s best to start with a 3-day workout split and gradually build this routine up so you can have ample recovery time.
If you go hard in the gym, then naturally you will need a longer recovery time. Experienced weight-lifters know how to enhance their workouts and recovery, and this is why they can handle a 6-day workout schedule.
If you’re still figuring out how to plan your workouts, control intensity, rep ranges, weight load and recovery time, 6 days of weightlifting can be dangerous and lead to injury, which is the last thing you want!
However, beginners can cope with low energy workouts 6 days per week, but they won’t be as effective as 3 high intensity workouts.
It’s always worth bearing in mind that it’s quality not quantity, and overtraining is counterproductive to what you want to achieve.
There are many ways you can create a 6-day workout split. A 6-day workout split can include training each muscle group up to three times a week.
A 6-day workout split that includes training each muscle group about once a week would be ideal for a novice lifter, as it gives you ample recovery time for every muscle group.
Most people believe that the most beneficial 6-day split is one that trains each muscle group at least twice a week, which is why a 6-day split is so appealing to some.
If you’ve got a good recovery schedule, then you can take advantage of protein synthesis with a 6-day split.
Muscle protein synthesis is a process that repairs your muscles and hypertrophy and is a process that happens naturally. Muscle protein synthesis balances out around 36-48 hours after a good workout.
Ideally, you could work out the same muscle group every third day and keep that process going while avoiding DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness).
However, this is easier said than done, and knowing how to recover properly (by eating well, sleeping well, and keeping hydrated) is just as important as knowing how to work out efficiently.
In this article, however, we’ll give you tips on how to do this. While most of these 6-day workout schedules are for advanced and intermediate fitness enthusiasts, we do have a muscle building workout schedule for beginners too.
In our article we’ll be going into detail about the following 6-day gym workout schedule:
You should rest for about 1-3 minutes between every set. If you do HIIT exercises, the intervals should be about 20 seconds to 1 minute depending on your fitness and your actual fitness goals.
When you’re working towards muscular hypertrophy, the short rests of 30-60 seconds may be more beneficial when combined with moderate-intensity sets.
To make gains in your muscle growth, then you must take advantage of short rest intervals. So for example, a bodybuilding session should be 72-120 minutes, while a high-intensity workout for losing weight should last 45-60 minutes.
When bodybuilding, you can lift as much weight as you like. But to get you started, you can begin with your normal weight and then boost the weight in your second and third sets.
On your 4th set, set a target for 4 reps in the last set with the heaviest weight you can push or lift.
How much you lift will of course totally depend on your strength, so we’ll just talk about how many sets and reps you can do in your routine.
The main goal of four of our 6-day workout schedules is to build strength and muscle mass, while another is concerned with weight loss.
There are a lot of exercises packed into your 6-day routines, and that is because there are many workouts available.
When you repeat your chosen routine over the coming weeks, you can tailor the routine and include different exercises that you think might be beneficial.
Working out can be tiring, especially if you’re new to muscle training. But what makes the human body great is its ability to adapt. Eventually, routines get easier and you can better power through them.
Of course, you will soon need to increase the time you spend working out to achieve the results you’d usually get in half that time, and this is where a 6-day workout can be really beneficial when you hit that wall.
Put simply, it’s an advanced strength training routine that focuses on important muscle groups every week. While it is challenging, it will get you out of your fitness funk! So let’s take a look at how that happens.
This muscle-building workout routine combines body weight, free weight, and resistance band exercises. Resistance band exercises can help decrease strain, and improve your technique while zeroing in on specific muscle groups.
This will help you build bigger muscles while also improving your mobility and flexibility, and if that wasn’t good enough, you can also incorporate them into your push day workout routines.
Each session should take at least an hour and at most 90 minutes. If you can also include 3 circuits, then even better! To get the most out of this plan, you need to push yourself to improve your muscle growth.
However, you need to give yourself enough downtime between workouts to recover. Eventually, you will get stronger and you will be able to speed up the exercises, increase the reps, and increase the strength of the bands or weights you’re using.
So let’s take a look at what this beginner’s routine looks like:
Warm-up: Start by jumping rope for 30 seconds, as well as doing a couple of push-ups to get your blood flowing. You can also try doing arm circles too using a 5-pound weight to get your shoulders warmed up. A set of pull-ups doesn’t go amiss either.
Workout routine: Barbell bench press, resistance band chest press, military press, as many banded push-ups as you can, banded incline chest press, lateral raises, banded decline chest press, resistance band crossovers, resistance band raises, banded glute bridges, resistance band flyers, resistance band shoulder press (15 reps of each).
You should also do a side plank hold for 30 seconds on each side, a plan hold for 30 seconds, and as many crunches as you can. Then have a 2-minute break before repeating, and do this about 3 times for 3 sets.
Warm-up: Start with 20 seconds of jump rope, as well as some walking lunges or body weight squats. You can also throw some fire hydrants in there too.
Workout routine: Do twenty reps of banded squats, standing calf raises, seated leg curls, and seated calf raises, and 15 reps of tricep push-downs. Do some banded squats and a banded squat hold for 30 seconds. Take a 2-minute break and repeat for 3 sets.
Warm-up: Start with a 5-minute bike warm-up, then jump rope for about 30 seconds. You can also do some walking lunges and body weight squats, push-ups, and arm circles with a 5-pound weight.
Workout routine: Do 15 reps of hammer strength pull-downs, lateral pull-downs including resistance bands, resistance band straight arm pull-down, band-assisted pull-ups, barbell shrugs, banded glute bridges, and clamshells.
Then do a side plank hold for 30 seconds on each side, a plank hold for 30 seconds, and as many crunches as you can before taking a 2-minute break. Repeat for 3 sets.
Warm-up: Start with jumping rope for about 30 seconds, as well as a couple of push-ups to get your blood pumping. You can also try a set of pull-ups or some arm circles with a 5-pound weight.
Workout routine: Do 15 reps of band assisted tricep dips, barbell curls, hammer curls, seated calf raises, resistance band tricep extensions, banded bicep curls, standing calf raises, and finish with as many banded push-ups as you can.
It’s important that you take this day off completely, as it is the only rest day in your 6-day routine. On this day your muscles heal and grow.
Because this is a very difficult routine for beginners it’s important to not push yourself too hard, as your body will already be pushed to its limits.
Resist the temptation to pick up resistance bands and weights! But if you would like to do something, light cardio such as cycling and jogging should be fine. Pilates, stretching, or yoga can also be beneficial.
Light exercises such as these can noticeably improve your flexibility while injury is very unlikely. But just taking a well-earned break is an option too! It’s called a rest day for a reason, after all.
How you want to spend your rest day is entirely your choice, the main thing is that you listen to what your body is telling you.
If you feel like you just want to chill out then do that, but if you want to bust out the yoga mat or put your running shoes on, then do that!
Hydration is also extremely important on your rest day, not just when you’re working out. Think of your rest day as a refueling day, you’re gearing yourself up for more exercise on day 6.
Warm-up: Start with 5 minutes on a bike and 30 seconds of jump rope. You can also do a set of push-ups to get your blood pumping, and arm circles with a 5-pound weight to get your shoulders nice and warmed up.
Workout routine: Do 15 reps of military presses, resistance band chest presses, banded flyers, side laterals to front raises, banded glute bridges, and decline banded flyers.
Then do a side plank hold for 30 seconds on every side, a plank hold for 30 seconds and crunches to failure. Take a 2-minute break and repeat this for 3 sets.
In the bro-split 6-day gym workout schedule, every muscle group is trained in one day. So for example, your chest muscles are the focus on day 1, your back is the focus on day 2, etc.
This workout is one of the most effective for building muscle, but one that you may not have heard of. It’s not talked about a lot, but we can guarantee you’ve seen plenty of people at the gym doing this routine!
Of course, this routine is not for everyone, and the results you see will depend totally on how your body reacts. However, if you’re consistent with the bro-split routine and keep it up then you’re going to see a noticeable improvement to your muscle muss.
But when compared to the full-body workout routine and PPL routine, the bro-split might be less beneficial.
But if you enjoy the bro-split routine, are doing it consistently and are seeing results, then it’s really the only 6-day workout you need. So let’s break it down day-by-day.
Day 1: Complete chest workout.
Day 2: Working out your lats, lower back, and traps.
Day 3: Working out calves, mid abs, and quads.
Day 4: Working out biceps, triceps, and wrists.
Day 5: Working out front, medial, and rear delts (your shoulders).
Day 6: Working out glutes, hamstrings, and obliques.
In this 6-day gym workout routine, every muscle is targeted every day. Full-body splits can help you gain muscle and strength quickly, and it’s surprising just how effective this kind of workout is.
Still, you’re not going to see results instantly and you’re unlikely to see if your muscle has been totally pumped because you’ll need to focus on each muscle every day.
However, you will notice your strength improving and your muscles growing over 6 to 8 weeks.
Let’s take a closer look at this plan. It is worth noting that the 4th day is a rest day.
Day 1: Pull-ups, narrow grip pulldown, barbell back squat, barbell jammer, flat bench press, incline DB bench press, shoulder overhead press, DB front raises.
Day 2: Triangle push-up, narrow grip bench press, bent arm lateral raise, 45-degree incline row, standing cable fly, dumbbell pullover, barbell bent over, hamstring curl.
Day 3: Deadlift, single arm DB rowing, barbell curl, cable curl, face pull, upright row, shrug, push-ups, dips.
Day 4: Barbell lunges, leg press, hip thrust, incline bench press, dumbbell Arnold press, dumbbell IYT, cable rowing, T row, and plank.
Day 5: Barbell good morning, Bulgarian split squats, pull-ups, front lat pulldown, barbell curl, chin-ups, wrist curls, dips, triangle push-up, side plank.
Day 6: DB flat bench press, dumbbell fly, DB front raise, bent arm lateral raise, upright row, barbell jammer, leg extension, leg raises and V-ups.
In the PPL 6-day gym workout routine, each muscle group is targeted twice. When we’re talking about muscle groups, we’re talking about your back, biceps, chest, legs, triceps, and wrists.
For example, if you focus on your chest on Monday, then you’ll be doing this again on Thursday.
On the first day of this routine, you’ll work out the chest, shoulder and triceps, while on the second day you focus on your calves, hamstrings, glutes, and quadriceps.
On the third day, the focus is on the back and front arms.
During the first half of the 6-day workout light weights are used, while on the last half of the 6-day workout heavy weights are used.
When using light weights, you need to do 12 to 16 reps. Meanwhile, with heavy weights you should scale this back to 6-8 reps.
Your resting period will be shorter with light weights (45-90 seconds), and longer with heavy weights (1-2 minutes).
Day 1: Chest, shoulder and triceps.
Day 2: Back, biceps, and forearms.
Day 3: Core and legs.
Day 4: Chest, shoulder and triceps.
Day 5: Back, biceps, and forearms.
Day 6: Core and legs.
This 6-day gym workout plan for weight loss mainly consists of weight training exercises and HIIT workouts.
High-intensity workouts need to be done in intervals. Exercises done in the first interval are done at a high intensity, as fast as you possibly can.
In the second interval, you take a short rest as the main goal in any weight loss training is to lose calories.
This means eating fewer calories than your body uses. You lose calories when you exercise and walk, and even when you think and sleep!
Working out doesn’t directly lower your body fat percentage, but it helps you burn more calories, improve your metabolism, maintain blood sugar levels, and more.
Many studies have found that exercising alongside a calorie-restricted diet boosts your chances of losing weight.
If you really want to lose weight, we recommend exercising for an hour each day alongside a healthy diet.
Day 1: Cardio & weight training.
Day 2: Dumbbell & weight training.
Day 3: Cardio & weight training.
Day 4: Barbell weight training.
Day 5: Cardio & weight training
Day 6: Machine weight training.
Now that we’ve talked about a range of 6-day splits you can do to build up muscle or lose weight, let’s take a look at the main pros & cons of exercising in such a way.
We hope this will help you decide if this type of workout routine is right for you.
You get to exercise all major muscle groups two to three times a week, depending on how you schedule your workouts.
You can seriously improve your strength because you’re training core lifts for up to four times a week.
A 6-day split workout lets you spread out your weekly sets, which makes your workouts quicker and less demanding.
Having 6 workouts makes sure you’re doing the ideal number of sets for enhancing muscle hypertrophy.
You can organize a 6-day split by making use of the principles of push/pull/legs, upper/lower, bro (body part) splits, and PHUL.
A 6-day split makes getting into a workout routine easier, and helps you to establish exercise as a habit.
Dedicating yourself to 6 workouts a week can be burdensome, and not everybody is able to visit the gym on a daily basis, especially if you have a busy schedule or travel a lot for work.
Working out for 6 days a week only gives you one recovery day. This increases the chance of overtraining or burn out. You have to strike the perfect balance to ensure you’re recovering well.
Because you’re putting your connective tissues and joints under more stress, you’re more likely to sustain injuries.
Peaking (slowly upping the intensity to make sure you’re performing at your best on a certain day) and tapering (reducing training before competitions) are harder to do when you’re training for 6 days.
If you still don’t know if a 6-day split is the right choice, it’s worth thinking about the following:
If you’ve considered your commitments, age, and training experience and found that these won’t be a problem when scheduling a 6-day split then, great! We wish you all the best on your fitness journey!
It can be challenging to maintain consistency with your workouts and recovery time when you’re exercising for 6 days a week, so it’s important to consider what you’re getting into before committing to anything.
It depends on if you are properly resting between workouts, how intense your workouts are, the duration of your workouts, and if you are doing any other kind of training (such as playing sports, yoga, or running).
If you are working out effectively, are just weightlifting, and are recovering properly, then it should be fine for you to lift weights for 6 days per week.
But, of course, you need to plan properly, and your workouts should be intense enough for you to see results, and also efficient enough that your muscles have adequate recovery time.
This is a much trickier balance to strike than it would be in a 3 or 4-day split.
If you like lifting weights, then you can make it work for you. Many people lift weights for 6 days a week because they love how it makes them feel!
However, something that is not always noticeable is if you’re getting enough rest. How good a 6-day split is for you will really depend on your lifestyle, and this includes your diet, sleeping pattern, and mental health.
If you are stressed out and are eating and sleeping poorly, and you are lifting weights almost everyday then this will not yield good results. Specifically, you’ll end up overtraining.
The usual signs of overtraining are abnormal lethargy and fatigue, both inside the gym and outside, a decline or plateau in your progress or performance, muscle soreness that goes on for an extended period, and joint injury and pain.
Some people may suffer from depression, insomnia, lack of appetite, and a loss of libido. Of course, overtraining is counterproductive to your fitness goals, even more so than undertraining.
If you feel like you have overtrained, take a break from weight lifting. Even advanced lifters go through overtraining, and it can often take you by surprise.
You can avoid overtraining by choosing the appropriate workout split that fits in with your lifestyle. So if you want to do a 6-day workout split, then every 8-12 weeks, take a 1-2 week break.
This is known as periodization and it’s crucial to avoid overtraining.
If you’re lifting weights for 6 days a week, then recovery is even more important. Let’s take a look at a few key recovery areas and how you can optimize them.
Diet: Eating healthy food with the right amount of macros and micros is essential, particularly adequate fats, carbs, and foods that are high in protein.
Hydration: This is just as important as eating. You should be drinking at least 1 ounce per half pound of your body weight each day. For example, if you weigh 200 lbs, then you should drink at least 100 ounces – or 3 liters – of water.
Sleep: The average amount of sleep needed for an adult is 7-8 hours a night, and that’s not taking in intense exercise into account.
If you are lifting weights for 6 days per week, you should ideally be getting 9 hours of sleep a night if you want to recover in time.
Stress: Stress can have a big impact on your immune system, and your immune system needs to be in good shape for proper recovery. Do as much as possible to lower your stress and keep your immune system healthy.
Lifting weights lowers your immune system due to the toll it takes on your body, so good recovery is essential.
Supplementation: If you’re an experienced lifter who lifts for 6 days a week, then creatine and protein powder are the supplements for you.
Protein powder is normally used to make sure you are getting enough protein, while creatine boosts performance and aids in recovery.
You shouldn’t worry about other supplements at this point, but you can incorporate multivitamins too if you like, or if, for example you’re a vegan and need a vitamin boost.
Pre-workout is also great for giving your workouts an additional boost.
Your workouts should be no more than an hour, including warm-ups and warm up sets. This is the ideal duration for a metabolic workout so you can lose weight and achieve muscle hypertrophy.
Your workout should mainly include compound exercises, with one or two main lifts per workout, accessory compound lifts, and some isolation work if necessary and if time permits it.
We hope our article has given you all the information you need to get started with a 6-day split workout!
Please keep in mind that these routines are just examples you can tailor depending on your fitness level, goals, and current strength.
Because all bodies are different, these plans may be ideal for some, while others might not feel any benefits.
If you plan your recovery well, exercise efficiently, and have a diet that aids in muscle growth, then you’re certain to improve your strength and build muscles within 3 to 4 months.
If you also want to lose weight, you should eat food that is low in calories that will get you full. Intermittent fasting is also an option, as well as the use of supplements.
But whether you want to build muscle, lose weight, or give yourself a challenge after doing the same workout routine for a while, we hope this article has been helpful!
Cold treatment helps to reduce inflammation (ice causes blood vessels to constrict) and numbs pain.…
“Strength does not come from physical capacity, it comes from indomitable will.” ―Mahatma Gandhi Building…
Choosing a good running shoe is important for runners, and there are plenty of options…
How to Find the Perfect Running Shoe Whether you’re a newbie or an experienced runner,…
One of the most under-appreciated pieces of gym equipment, the GHD machine has a lot…
There are many types of shoes available in the market. Some are made for formal…