The best free 6-day workout programs, compared
8 6-day programs, every one free and shown in full on its own page. Pick by level, then by what you have to train with.
- Beginner: 60-Day Cut
- Intermediate: 90-Day Transformation, Metallicadpa PPL, Metallicadpa PPL: 5/3/1, Physique Peak
- Advanced: Arnold Split, High Frequency PPL, Mountain Dog PPL
All 8, line by line
| Program | Days | Session | Length | Level | Equipment | By |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60-Day Cut | 6 | 30–40 min | 8 weeks | Beginner | Full gym | Durata |
| 90-Day Transformation | 6 | 30–40 min | 12 weeks | Intermediate | Full gym | Durata |
| Metallicadpa PPL | 6 | 50–70 min | Ongoing | Intermediate | Full gym | Metallicadpa |
| Metallicadpa PPL: 5/3/1 | 6 | 50–70 min | 4-week cycle, repeats | Intermediate | Full gym | Metallicadpa & Jim Wendler |
| Physique Peak | 6 | 30–45 min | 10 weeks | Intermediate | Full gym | Durata |
| Arnold Split | 6 | 50–70 min | Ongoing | Advanced | Full gym | Arnold Schwarzenegger |
| High Frequency PPL | 6 | 45–60 min | Ongoing | Advanced | Full gym | Durata |
| Mountain Dog PPL | 6 | 50–65 min | Ongoing | Advanced | Full gym | John Meadows |
Session times are worked out from each program's sets, reps and rests: the same estimate the app shows.
Who each one suits
60-Day Cut
Best forThis is the middle step of the fat-loss track — the right length when you have a realistic amount of fat to lose and enough patience to lose it without starving.
ProgressionEvery lift follows double progression: same weight until all sets reach the ceiling of the rep range (mostly 10–15 here, higher-rep than a barbell program because dumbbell and machine work tolerates it), then a 2.5 kg bump and back to the floor of the range.
90-Day Transformation
Best forChoose this over the shorter cuts when the goal is a genuine transformation — ten-plus kilos to lose, or a full recomp you want to document properly.
ProgressionLifts progress by double progression — work every set to the top of the rep range, add 2.5 kg, repeat — and over twelve weeks those small jumps quietly add up to a much stronger you at a lighter bodyweight.
Metallicadpa PPL
Best forDespite the nickname, the real entry requirement is scheduling, not experience: six gym days a week, every week.
ProgressionThe primaries progress like a classic linear program: 2.5 kg per session on bench, press, rows and squats, 5 kg on deadlifts, with the AMRAP top set showing how much room is left.
Metallicadpa PPL: 5/3/1
Best forRun this when you've milked the base Metallicadpa PPL — the 1×5+ top sets have stalled and resets only buy a few weeks — but you're not willing to give up six-day PPL volume for a barbell-only intermediate program.
ProgressionThe five wave lifts cycle over four weeks: a 5s week topping out at 85% of the training max, a 3s week at 90%, the 5/3/1 week finishing with a single at 95%, then a 40/50/60% deload.
Physique Peak
Best forThis is a contest-prep-style program, and it assumes you've earned it: real 1RMs to enter on day one, a training history that tolerates six sessions a week in a deficit, and a starting point that's already reasonably lean.
ProgressionThe heavy work doesn't progress on purpose.
Arnold Split
Best forRun this if you want classic bodybuilding volume and can actually give it six days a week — the split has no rest built in except Sunday, and the sessions are not short.
ProgressionThere is no percentage math here — the pyramid itself is the regulator.
High Frequency PPL
Best forThis program assumes hypertrophy is the goal and six days are genuinely available — there is exactly one rest day, and skipping sessions unravels the twice-a-week frequency the whole design leans on.
ProgressionThe heavy anchors — bench, row, squat, overhead press, deadlift, weighted chins — progress the strict way: land the top of the rep window (6–8 on the barbell lifts, 4–6 for deadlift, 6–10 on chins) on every single set and the weight rises next time that day comes around.
Mountain Dog PPL
Best forThis routine is for the hypertrophy-focused lifter whose joints have started billing for years of heavy barbell PPL — or who simply responds better to feeling a muscle work than to watching a bar-weight number.
ProgressionMeadows programmed by feel, adding load whenever reps were crisp.
Common questions
Which of these has the shortest sessions?
60-Day Cut, at about 30–40 minutes a session. Session times are worked out from each program's sets, reps and rests, the same estimate the app shows.
Which ones suit a beginner?
60-Day Cut. It is written for lifters in their first year or so of training.
Are these programs free?
Yes. All 8 are free to run in Durata, and every set of every session is shown on each program's own page.
Run any of them in Durata
Every program here is free in Durata, with each one's own progression worked out for you as you log.