One Exercise Per Day Is All You Need

The Super 6 Strength Training Exercises: how to improve your consistency AND get all the benefits of strength training With Just One Exercise Per Day

What if I told you that doing ONE exercise per day might be a better way to train than the traditional 4-6 exercises performed only once or twice a week?

Hear me out. We all know programming, form, and intensity are important. Do you know what's more important? Staying consistent with a program. In my 10+ years of training (mostly beginner lifters), I have found that consistency trumps everything. If I can get someone to stay consistent with some form of training plan, they win.

Like golf, lifting weights is 80% a mental game. Most of that mental game involves showing up. You can have the perfect workout program, but if you are not consistent over weeks, months, and years, you won't get much benefit. 

Beginners (or anyone who has not lifted in a long time) often find a 45-60 minute workout daunting. It's hard to fit into your schedule, and downright painful! Plus, it’s a myth that doing all the exercises in a single session is the best way. It’s convenient for trainers because most of us are selling a 45-60-minute session. But, for those interested in the health and longevity benefits of weightlifting, or who can’t afford a trainer, it is not necessary to train in the traditional way. Achieving the strength and bone-building benefits of weightlifting requires a lot less training than people think.

Enter the Super 6 Strength Training Plan

The Super 6 is a six-exercise program that covers all the major muscle groups. But, rather than squeezing all of those exercises into one or two workouts per week, you spread them over six days.

Why is this a BETTER way to train for someone new to lifting or struggling to make exercise a habit?

  • One exercise per day doesn't overtax the body.

  • The workouts are short and easy to grasp. Each workout takes about 15 minutes, max. You can find 15 minutes, right?

  • It builds consistency. 

That last one - consistency - is the most important benefit of this program. Do you think it's easier to build a habit if you do a little of something every day, or a lot of something just once or twice a week? I hope you answered the former. It is much easier to build a habit if you do the thing every day. 

Here's how the Super 6 works

The 6 exercises: Squat, overhead press, deadlift, row, lunge, and pushup

Equipment: Dumbbells or bodyweight

In the order listed above, you will perform one exercise each day, for six days, then take the seventh as a rest day. 

  • Monday: Squat

  • Tuesday: Overhead press

  • Wednesday: Deadlift

  • Thursday: Row

  • Friday: Lunge

  • Saturday: Pushup 

  • Sunday: Rest

Month 1: perform only one set of each exercise. Example: one set of 10 squats on Monday, one set of 10 overhead presses on Tuesday, and so on.

Month 2: perform two sets of each exercise. 

Month 3: perform three sets of each exercise.

Month 4 and beyond: add another set or begin increasing the weight or reps.

By the time you get to the end of month four, you will have increased your skill, volume, and intensity, all while making regular lifting a solid habit! 

Important Disclaimer: I am a certified personal trainer, but I'm not YOUR personal trainer. The exercises listed may not be appropriate for every person reading this. Check with your doctor before engaging in any new fitness program. If you have health conditions that need to be managed during exercise, please hire a trainer to help you with appropriate exercise selection and programming. 




kelly bailey