Proven program, faithfully implemented
Candito Linear Program
Candito Linear Programming is Jonnie Candito's free four-day upper/lower programme, and its signature is the pairing of two HEAVY days with two CONTROL days of paused work — pause squats, pause deadlifts, Spoto presses — at a lighter weight. Progression is weekly and strictly per lift: miss a weight and that one lift drops 15 lb while everything else carries on, because Candito is explicit that holding lifts back to keep them even wastes the ones that are working.
About the program
Created by: Jonnie Candito — Candito Linear Programming (free PDF), Candito Training HQ.
- Creator: Jonnie Candito — Candito Training HQ (Candito Linear Programming, free PDF)
- The author's channel: Candito Training HQ on YouTube
Who it's for
- Best for: Strength, with technique work built into the week rather than bolted on.
- Experience: Beginner to intermediate. You need the four lifts and their paused variants, but every progression decision is made for you.
- Time: Four days a week, upper/lower. It runs until a lift has reset three times, at which point that lift moves to a two-week cadence.
How you can run it
Candito Linear Program runs three ways, and you pick which one when you start it — Iron Forge builds the sessions to match. All three run 4 days a week.
- Strength/Control · the default; a lighter technique day
- Strength/Power · explosive lower variation day
- Strength/Hypertrophy · higher-volume variation days
How it's built
The shape of the program — sessions, sets and rep scheme. Iron Forge fills in the exact weights for you from your maxes. Shown below: the Strength/Control · the default; a lighter technique day layout — see “How you can run it” above for the rest.
Linear progression
Monday — Heavy Lower
- Barbell Squat — 3×6
- + 3 more exercises
Tuesday — Heavy Upper
- Barbell Bench Press — 3×6
- + 5 more exercises
Thursday — Control Lower
- Pause Squat — 6×4
- + 3 more exercises
Friday — Control Upper
- Spoto Press — 6×4
- + 5 more exercises
How Iron Forge runs it
How it works
An upper/lower split over four days: two HEAVY days (lower, then upper) and two CONTROL days. The heavy days are hard at the prescribed reps; the control days are paused work — pause squats, pause deadlifts, Spoto presses — at a lighter weight.
⚠ The step is WEEKLY, and per lift
"Each week add 0-10 pounds… generally speaking, adding the smallest increment (5 lbs for most) each week will be the goal for each lift." The shoulder press and vertical pull move slower on purpose — Candito puts those on a three-week period rather than a weekly one.
Missing a weight: drop 15 lb, that lift only
"You will eventually hit a point where you miss a weight. Once this happens, drop the weight by 15 pounds for the next week." It is per lift, and deliberately so: "if you try to hold back all of your lifts for the sake of being 'even', then you will essentially hold yourself back to the weakest link." There is no deload week — this reset is the whole regulation.
When it stops working
After you have reset a lift three times, that lift starts progressing every two weeks instead of every week. If it keeps failing on that cadence, the author's own advice is to leave this programme for his six-week periodisation cycle — it is a linear programme and it is meant to end.
The optional slots
Two open slots a day at 3×8-12, and nothing tracks their weight. That is his instruction rather than a shortcut: "The optional exercises allow for you to not worry about numbers too much, just lift."
Candito Linear Program in Iron Forge
FAQ
- What weights do I start with?
On the heavy days, "a weight you can perform for 3 straight 6 rep sets without any trouble… around 75-80% of your 1 rep max". On the control days, "around 70% of your normal 1 rep max in those lifts". They are absolute working weights — there is no training max here.
- I missed a set. Do I reset everything?
No — only the lift you missed, and by a flat 15 lb7.5 kg. Candito is explicit that evening up your lifts holds you back to the weakest one. Each lift resets on its own first miss.
- Why is the weight dropping by 15 lb rather than a percentage?
Because that is the number he gives. It is one of the three figures most often wrong in second-hand versions of this programme — the reset is 15 lb7.5 kg, not 10% and not 10 lb5 kg.
- Why does my overhead press only go up every three weeks?
His rule: "progression for the shoulder/vertical pull exercises should be at 0-10 lbs per each 3 week period." Those two movements advance more slowly than the main lifts by design.
- Why is my shoulder press 6 reps on Tuesday but 10 on Friday?
That asymmetry is in the source — the single sets are 6 reps on the heavy day and 10 on the control day. Each occurrence is judged against its own target, so hitting 10 on Friday is not read as missing a 6.
- What happens when I can't progress any more?
Once a lift has reset three times it moves to a fortnightly step. Failing repeatedly after that is the author's signal that linear progression is done and it is time for his six-week cycle — this programme is meant to be outgrown.
- Can I run the Power or Hypertrophy template instead?
Yes — both ship as variants you can pick. The two heavy days are identical in all three templates, which is Candito's own point; only the Thursday and Friday variation days change. One thing to expect: those variation days seed no weights at all, because the source gives no loading rule for them. You choose what to work up to and the app records it.
- What should the optional exercises be?
Whatever you want that session — that is the author's instruction, not a gap: "the optional exercises allow for you to not worry about numbers too much, just lift." They are two ranged slots of 8 to 12 reps on every day, and nothing progresses them, so pick what your gym has and what you need.
- Where is the deload?
There isn't one, deliberately. Candito gives no deload week — the reset rule does the regulating. You add the smallest increment every week until you miss, drop that lift 15 lb7.5 kg, and carry on. The only scheduled easier work is the control days, which are lighter by design rather than by fatigue.
- Can I swap the accessory exercises?
Yes. The source leaves those slots open — a primary upper back movement, a shoulder movement, a second upper back movement — with a suggested list for each. Barbell Row, Overhead Press and Lat Pulldown are named here because the app tracks a working weight per exercise, so a slot has to be something. Swap any of them and the weight follows the new name. Candito does ask you to pick one and stay with it for at least four weeks.
- Is there a three-day version?
The source has one — an update that keeps both heavy days and alternates the variation day week by week — and the app cannot express it yet, because a programme carries one set of days that repeats. A roster that changes every other week would collapse into a single long week. It is left out rather than approximated.
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