6-WEEK STRENGTH + ENGINE BLOCK

Three sessions a week plus an optional fourth, 60–90 minutes each. Every session starts with wrist rehab. Tick off each set as you do it — the weights adjust themselves week to week based on what you actually lifted. The snatch starts in week 1; the clean and jerk comes back in stages as the wrist allows. All engine work is on the machines.

6 weeks 3 sessions + 1 optional 60–90 min each Wrist rehab every session Toes-to-bar & pull-ups in · no muscle-ups

01How this block works

The week

Day	Session	What is in it	Time
Mon	Day 1	Back squat · Bulgarian split squats + press · sled pushes	~75 min
Wed	Day 2	Snatch · clean rebuild (front squats, cleans in stages)	~75–80 min
Fri / Sat	Day 3	Deadlift · engine intervals · core	~80 min
Sun (opt)	Day 4	Easy machine work · pull-ups, dumbbell bench, rows, curls	~60 min

Only got three days? Drop Day 4 — nothing important is lost. On rest days, do the 5-minute wrist homework from the Wrist section.

Ticking off and logging

Tap a set button when you finish that set. It turns green with a tick. Every lift, sled push, engine round and core round has its own buttons.
If you lifted a different weight than the target, type what you actually used in the "weight used" box. If you lifted the target weight, just tick the sets — no typing needed.
The day header shows how much of the session is done. When everything is ticked it says Session complete.
Everything saves on this device the moment you tap or type. Phone and computer do not share — do all your logging on one device.

How the weights adjust themselves

Finish all sets at the target (or heavier) → the following weeks move up with you. Same rule Rob uses: earn all the sets, then the weight goes up.
Go lighter or miss sets → the following weeks come down to just ahead of what you actually did, then keep climbing from there. You always progress from where you really are.
When a weight has been adjusted you will see an orange note next to it showing the original plan number.
Weights that adjust: back squat, press, Bulgarians, deadlift, snatch, front squat. The clean stages and the week-6 speed deadlifts stay as written — the wrist rules decide those, not the maths.

The starting numbers

All targets are based on your old bests from 3 months ago:

Back squat	140 kg	Front squat	110 kg
Squat clean	100 kg	Snatch	65 kg
Split jerk	70 kg	Deadlift	120 kg

Week 1 starts around 60% because of the 3 weeks off. From there the adjustment rule takes over — the plan climbs every week from whatever you actually lift.

Tests week 1 and week 6

Test	When	Week 1
10-minute Assault Bike — total calories	Day 3
Back squat — heaviest single (optional)	Day 1	—
Snatch — heaviest single	Day 2	—

02Wrist Rehab

Built around APL / De Quervain's — the thumb-side tendon that runs over the edge of your wrist. Every session starts with this, about 8–10 minutes. The ladder is: weeks 1–2 push against things that do not move, weeks 3–4 add moving weight with a slow lower, weeks 5–6 put bodyweight and grip back through the hand. Two rules run through all of it — no pinch grip and no hook grip until phase 3, because squeezing something between thumb and fingers pulls directly on the tendon that is sore. You only move up a phase if the pain rules below say you are ready.

Phase 1 Weeks 1–2 · calm it down

Thumb push — the main drill 5 holds of 30–45 s, half effortHand flat on a table or resting on your knee. Loop a rubber band around the thumb, or use your other hand as the block. Press the thumb outwards, away from the hand, and hold — nothing actually moves. This works the sore tendon hard without sliding it through its tunnel, which is what settles it. A dull ache is fine; sharp pain means ease off the effort.
Hammer lift and hold 4 holds of 30 s eachHold a light dumbbell (2–4 kg) by one end like a hammer, thumb on top. Forearm resting on your knee, hand off the end. Lift the top of the dumbbell a little way towards the ceiling and hold it there. Same muscle as the thumb push, worked from the other end.
Wrist circles 10 each wayLoose fist, slow full circles in both directions.
Wrist stretches 2 × 30 s each wayArm straight out. Other hand gently pulls the fingers back towards you (palm up), then pulls the back of the hand towards you (palm down). A mild pull only. Do not stretch the thumb across the palm these first two weeks — that is the position that hurts, and pulling on an angry tendon sets it back.
Push-up-and-hold 3 holds of 30 sForearm flat on a bench, hand off the edge, make a fist, other hand on top blocking it. Push up against it and hold. Keeps the rest of the wrist strong while the thumb side settles.
Palm turns 2 × 10Elbow tucked into your side, same light dumbbell. Slowly turn the palm up, then the palm down.
Band finger opens 2 × 15Rubber band around all five fingertips, open the fingers wide against it.
No pinch grip, no hook gripPinching a plate between thumb and fingers is the worst single thing for this tendon, and hook grip traps the thumb in the same place. Both come back in phase 3.

Phase 2 Weeks 3–4 · load it

Hammer raises, slow lower — the main drill 3 × 12 eachSame hammer position as phase 1, now moving. Lift the top of the dumbbell up towards the ceiling, then take a slow 3 seconds to lower it. The slow lower is the part that rebuilds the tendon. Start at 2 kg and add a little each week.
Thumb-out band reps 3 × 15Rubber band around the thumb, hand flat on a table. Press the thumb out and away, hold for a second, then let it come back slowly.
Wrist curls 3 × 15Forearm on a bench, palm up, hand and dumbbell hanging off the edge. Let the wrist bend down slowly, then curl it back up. Start 4–6 kg.
Reverse wrist curls 3 × 12Same set-up but palm down. Use less weight (2–4 kg).
Upside-down kettlebell hold 3 × 20 s each handHold a kettlebell upside down by the handle — ball in the air, 8–12 kg. Just keep it still in front of you. It wobbles; the small wrist muscles fighting the wobble is the exercise.
Hands-flat rocking 2 × 10, then 2 × 10 hands turned outOn all fours, hands flat under the shoulders. Rock the shoulders forward past the hands and back again. Then turn the hands outwards and repeat. This is bodyweight coming back onto the wrist, gently — you control how far you rock.
Fist holds 3 × 15 sPress-up position on your fists (knuckles down, wrist dead straight), on a mat. From the knees is fine to start.
Farmer carries 3 × 20 mA dumbbell or kettlebell in each hand, full grip, arms at your sides, walk. Full hand grip only — no pinching plates yet.
Empty-bar front rack hold 3 × 15 sTake the empty bar out of the rack in the front rack position: bar resting on the front of the shoulders, elbows lifted high, only the fingertips under the bar. The hands carry no weight at all. First step of getting the rack position back.

Phase 3 Weeks 5–6 · grip and bodyweight

Hammer raises, heavier 3 × 10Keep the slow 3-second lower. Add weight only while that stays smooth.
Press-ups 3 × 8From the knees first if needed. Only go to full press-ups if the fist holds and rocking in phase 2 were pain-free.
Pinch grip returns 3 × 15 s, lightPinch a small plate flat between thumb and fingers. Short, light holds. This is deliberately the last thing to come back — if it stings, wait another week.
Hook grip returns warm-up weights only at firstWeek 5 at the earliest, and only if the pinch holds were pain-free. Build it back over the fortnight: warm-up sets first, working sets last.
Wrist roller 2–3 trips up and downRoll the hanging weight all the way up, then let it back down under control.
Wall-facing handstand hold 3 × 20 sOnly once press-ups feel fine. Come down the moment the wrist complains.
Loaded front rack holds 3 × 10 s @ 40–60 kgSame rack hold as phase 2, now with weight on the bar. Out of the rack, stand tall, hold, put it back.
Ball dribbles 3 × 15 s each handBounce a medicine ball fast off the floor with a flat palm, like dribbling a basketball.

Pain rules

Green — pain 0–3 out of 10 while doing it, gone by the evening, and no worse the next morning. Carry on, and add a little next week. A mild, familiar ache during the rehab drills is normal and fine.

Amber — pain 4–5 out of 10, or the wrist feels worse the next morning. Stay at the current level and do not add anything this week. Take the drill that stirred it up back a step (for example: full press-up back to fist hold).

Red — sharp pain, catching, pins and needles, pain at night, or visible swelling. Stop that exercise and get the wrist looked at.

Re-test yourself every two weeks: tuck the thumb into your palm, wrap the fingers over it, bend the fist down towards the little finger. Less pain in that test than a fortnight ago means the rehab is working, even if lifting still niggles. If the wrist is not clearly better by the end of week 3, book a physio and show them this plan — ask them about a thumb splint for night-time if it is still irritable. The elbow click with a feeling of release is not a worry on its own; the forearm and lat work in the Mobility section is aimed at exactly that area.

Homework 5 min · rest days

Thumb push holds 3 × 30 s
Hammer lift and hold 3 × 30 s (phase 2 onwards: 2 × 12 slow-lower raises instead)
Both wrist stretches 30 s each
Rubber band finger opens 2 × 15
Rub the forearm muscles on the thumb side, from the wrist up to the elbow 60–90 s
Band lat stretch (see Mobility section) 45 s each side

Rules inside sessionsStraps on all deadlifts and pulls until week 5 — the strap takes the bar so the thumb does not have to grip at all. No hook grip until week 5 — the thumb is trapped under the fingers in that grip and pulled hard, straight across the sore tendon. Back squat: hands slightly wider than usual, thumb resting over the bar and not wrapped round it — the back carries the bar, the hands only steady it. Snatch and clean: straps until week 5, then hook grip back in on warm-up weights first.

03Day 1 — Squat + Legs + Sled

DAY 1 · SQUAT + LEGS + SLED

~75 min

WWrist rehab + warm-up12 min

Then 3 minutes easy on any machine, then 2 rounds of: 6 bootstrappers · 8 light goblet squats · 8 glute bridges · 10 leg swings each leg.

ABack Squat~22 min

BSuperset — Bulgarians + Press~16 min

Do a set of Bulgarians (both legs), rest 90 seconds, do a set of presses, rest 90 seconds, repeat until all sets are done.
Bulgarian split squat: back foot up on a bench behind you, front foot far enough forward that the front knee stays over the ankle. Dumbbells hang at your sides (this keeps the wrist straight). Lower the back knee towards the floor, drive up through the front heel.
Dumbbell press (weeks 1–2): standing, dumbbells at the shoulders with palms facing each other — the wrist stays straight in this position. Barbell press returns in week 3 if the wrist rules are green.

CSled pushes~10 min

Push with straight arms or on your forearms — never with the wrist bent back. The walk back to the start is your rest.

DOptional finishoptional10 min

10 easy minutes on the BikeErg, breathing through the nose. Skip if short on time.

Note

04Day 2 — Olympic Lifting

Two rules run through every week of this day, so you never have to remember them: straps instead of hook grip on every pull, and nothing gripped in the front rack — the bar sits on your shoulders and the hands only steady it. Both keep load off the sore thumb tendon. The snatch starts in week 1 because the wide grip keeps the wrist nearly straight. The clean comes back in stages: rack holds → front squats → cleans from the hang → the full squat clean and split jerk in week 6, each stage only if the wrist rules are green.

DAY 2 · OLYMPIC LIFTING

~75–80 min

WWrist rehab + warm-up12 min

Then the 4-minute front rack prep from the Mobility section. Then barbell warm-up, 2 rounds with the empty bar: 5 muscle snatch · 5 overhead squats · 5 snatch-grip push press from behind the neck · 5 snatch balances.

ASnatch~22 min

BClean rebuild~22 min

How to hold the bar — every week Pulling from the floor or the hang: straps on. No hook grip until week 5 — the thumb gets trapped under the fingers and pulled straight across the sore tendon.
Catching a clean: let the hands open as the bar arrives. The bar lands on the shelf of your shoulders with the elbows high; the fingers only touch it. If you are gripping at the catch, the elbows are too low.
Front squats — pick whichever is comfortable, all three are fine: (1) loop a lifting strap over the bar on each side and hold the strap ends, (2) only your index and middle finger under the bar, (3) arms crossed over your chest with the hands resting on top of the bar. In all three the bar sits on the shoulders and the thumb does nothing.

COptional bike sprintsoptional8 min

Only if the barbell work went well and you have energy left. Fine to skip every week.

Note

05Day 3 — Deadlift + Engine

Deadlift first while you are fresh, then the week's interval session, then core work. The interval session changes every week — the full list is written out in the Engine section.

DAY 3 · DEADLIFT + ENGINE

~80 min

WWrist rehab (short) + warm-up8 min

Push-up-and-hold and push-down-and-hold, 3 × 30 s each · hammer tips 2 × 12 · palm turns 2 × 10. Then 3 minutes easy on a machine, then 2 rounds of: 10 walking lunges · 10 good mornings with the empty bar · 5+5 single-leg kettlebell deadlift (back foot just touching the floor for balance).

ADeadlift~18 min

Stand up, put the bar down, reset your position, pull again — no bouncing reps. Straps on every set until week 5 (and after that only if the wrist rules are green). Rest 2 minutes between sets.

BEngine intervals~35–40 min

CCore — every minute on the minute12–16 min

Tick a round each time you get through all four minutes. Hanging from the bar is fine for the wrist (it pulls the joint long rather than squashing it). If the thumb niggles on the bar, do hanging knee raises instead that round. Carries build grip strength back without bending the wrist.

Note

06Day 4 — Easy Engine + Upper Body OPTIONAL

DAY 4 · EASY ENGINE + UPPER BODY

~60 min

AEasy machine work30–40 min

Rotate: BikeErg → rower → SkiErg → curved runner (walk-jog) → Assault Bike, 6–8 minutes each. Easy means you could talk in full sentences the whole time, mostly breathing through the nose. If you are not sure whether it is too fast, it is too fast — slow down. The length grows over the weeks, the pace never does.

BUpper body circuit~18 min

3 rounds, rest as needed — tick a round when you finish it:

Strict pull-ups 6–10Add a rep each week if you can.
Dumbbell bench press 10Turn the dumbbells slightly inwards if that feels better on the wrist.
Single-arm dumbbell row 10 each arm
Seated dumbbell curls 12 then band or cable triceps press-downs 15
Side plank 30 s each side

NoteIf a week only allows three sessions, this is the day to drop. If you are tired, do the easy machine work and skip the circuit.

07Engine — pacing and the 6 sessions

The engine plan copies how endurance athletes train: most of the time easy enough to talk, one properly hard session a week, and almost nothing in between. The easy work builds the base (heart, lungs, recovery between efforts); the weekly hard session builds the top end. The 10-minute bike test in weeks 1 and 6 shows whether it worked.

The four paces

Pace	How it feels	Talking	Effort /10	Used for
Easy	Could do it all day	Full conversation	3–4	Warm-ups, the easy minutes after intervals, Day 1 finish
Steady	Comfortable, working	Full sentences	5–6	Day 4 machine block
Strong	Hard but controlled	A few words at a time	7–8	Day 3 intervals, weeks 2–4
Hard	Near flat out	Single words	8–9	Week 5 intervals, bike sprints, the bike tests

The six Day-3 interval sessions, written out

Week	Workout	Pacing
1	TEST: 10 minutes on the Assault Bike, as many calories as possible. Then 15 min easy: 5 min row · 5 min ski · 5 min bike.	Pick a pace you can hold for all 10 minutes and sit on it. No fast start.
2	4 rounds: 6 minutes at Strong pace, then 2 minutes Easy. Round 1 rower · round 2 SkiErg · round 3 bike · round 4 your choice. Then 10 min Easy on any machine.	Same distance or calories every round.
3	5 rounds: 5 minutes Strong, then 90 seconds Easy. Rotate machines each round. Then 10 min Easy.	Same pace as week 2 — the shorter rests are the progression.
4	3 rounds: 10 minutes at a pace between Steady and Strong, then 2 minutes Easy. Any machines, split however you like.	One notch easier than the 5-minute pace. You should finish each 10 minutes able to speak a sentence.
5	8 rounds: 90 seconds Hard, then 90 seconds very Easy. All on one machine (Assault Bike or rower).	Hard but repeatable — round 8 should match round 1.
6	RETEST: the same 10-minute Assault Bike test as week 1. Then 15 min Easy.	Same bike, same damper setting, same warm-up as week 1, so the two scores compare fairly.

08Mobility — front rack prep

The rack problem is not only the wrist. Tight lats and triceps stop the elbows lifting, which tips the bar off the shoulders and onto the wrists and thumb. These four drills go before every barbell session (Days 1 and 2), in this order.

Before barbell work 4 min · Days 1 & 2

Band lat stretch 45 s each sideLoop a band high on the rig. Hold it with a straight arm, step back and hinge at the hips until you feel a stretch from the armpit down the side of your back. Keep the ribs down.
Upper-back extensions 10 slowKneel with both elbows on a bench, hands together (or holding a dowel). Sink the chest towards the floor and let the head drop through the arms. You should feel it in the upper back and under the arms.
Wrist stretches 30 s each wayThe same two stretches from the wrist rehab.
Empty-bar rack rotations 8 total, slowBar in the front rack position. Lift one elbow up and inwards as high as it goes, lower it, then the other. One at a time, slowly. From week 3, add 6 light Sotts presses (press the bar up from the bottom of a squat, snatch grip) if the wrist is green.

Evenings 5 min · any day

Lat and triceps rub 60–90 s each armLie on a ball or roller and work the line from the armpit, down the back of the arm, to the elbow. This is the same line as the forearm click — expect tender spots.
Both wrist stretches 30 s each
Deep squat hold, heels down 60 sHold a light plate or post if needed.
On rest days, the 5-minute wrist homework (see Wrist Rehab)

09The 6 weeks at a glance

The numbers below are the original plan. The day cards above show your live targets, adjusted to what you have actually lifted.

WEEK 1 Base

Squat 5×5 @ 85 kg
Snatch — technique: muscle snatch + overhead squats
Clean — clean deadlifts 80 kg + empty-bar rack holds
Engine — 10-min bike test
Wrist — phase 1

WEEK 2 Base

Squat 5×5 @ 92.5 kg
Snatch — power snatch doubles 35–40 kg
Clean — clean deadlifts 90 kg + first front squats (bar–30 kg)
Engine — 4 × 6 min
Wrist — phase 1

WEEK 3 Build

Squat 5×4 @ 100 kg
Snatch — power snatch 42.5 kg + snatch balance
Clean — front squat 4×4 @ 60 + hang muscle cleans
Engine — 5 × 5 min
Wrist — phase 2

WEEK 4 Build

Squat 5×3 @ 107.5 kg
Snatch — full snatch 45–50 kg
Clean — front squat 4×3 @ 75 + hang power cleans 55–60
Engine — 3 × 10 min
Wrist — phase 2 · still no hook grip

WEEK 5 Heavy

Squat 4×3 @ 115 kg
Snatch — singles 52.5–55 kg
Clean — front squat 3×3 @ 85 + power clean & push jerk 65–70
Engine — 8 × 90 s
Wrist — phase 3 · press-ups + hook grip return

WEEK 6 Heavy

Squat 3×2 @ 122.5 + optional single 127.5–132.5
Snatch — heavy single
Clean — squat clean & split jerk single 75–85 kg
Engine — 10-min bike retest
Wrist — phase 3

If a week goes wrongWrist flare-up, illness, work — repeat that week and push everything back one. Do not jump ahead to stay on schedule; the weights only work if the week before them happened.