Programme · Advanced · 6 days a week
nSuns 5/3/1 6-Day (Squat Focus)
nSuns 5/3/1 6-Day (Squat Focus) is a common advanced strength programme. The five-day template plus a squat accumulation day. The squat-specific variant, not the deadlift one. VALDA has it in its programme library: start it and VALDA sets up the sessions and starting weights, then works out each session's weights from your estimated maxes, which rise as you log heavier sets.
Free to start, 1 programme at a time. Already have the app? Open in VALDA takes you straight to it. In the app it's listed as “nSuns 5/3/1 (6-Day, Squat Focus)”.
Is nSuns 5/3/1 6-Day (Squat Focus) for you?
Advanced lifters with a mature base, strong recovery, and a specific reason to add squat tonnage. Not a default and not a starting point — run the four-day, then the five-day, and only add the sixth day if the fifth is being absorbed comfortably.
At a glance
- Level
- Advanced
- Goal
- Strength
- Time
- 6 days a week, ~75–90 min a session
The original bundle shipped two six-day templates — a squat-focus and a deadlift-focus version. This is the squat-focus one. It is the five-day template with a sixth day of straight-set squat and sumo deadlift accumulation bolted on: eight sets of three at roughly 72% of training max, and six sets of three at roughly 56%.
6 sessions, rotated
| Tier | Bench Volume / Overhead Press | Squat 5/3/1 / Sumo Deadlift | Overhead Press 5/3/1 / Incline Bench | Deadlift 5/3/1 / Front Squat | Bench 5/3/1 / Close-Grip Bench | Squat Volume / Sumo Deadlift Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Bench Press8/6/4/4/4/5/6/7/8+ | Squat5/3/1+/3/3/3/5/5/5+ | Overhead Press5/3/1+/3/3/3/5/5/5+ | Deadlift5/3/1+/3/3/3/3/3/3+ | Bench Press5/3/1+/3/5/3/5/3/5+ | Squat8×3 |
| Tier 2 | Overhead Press6/5/3/5/7/4/6/8 | Sumo Deadlift5/5/3/5/7/4/6/8 | Incline Barbell Bench Press6/5/3/5/7/4/6/8 | Front Squat5/5/3/5/7/4/6/8 | Close-Grip Bench Press6/5/3/5/7/4/6/8 | Sumo Deadlift6×3 |
Days one to five are the five-day template unchanged. Day six is deliberately different in kind: no ramp, no AMRAP, no top set — eight straight triples on the squat at ~72% of training max and six on the sumo deadlift at ~56%. It exists to add tonnage, so it never tests anything and never moves a training max.
How the weights move
Unchanged from the other variants — each lift's training max moves on the reps from its 1+ set at 95%, which lives on days one to five, and you enter the new figure yourself under Training Maxes on the programme page. The sixth day contributes no AMRAP and therefore no progression signal; it simply gets heavier as you raise the squat training max. With this much frequency, be quicker to cut one: two lifts missing their 1+ target in the same week is the signal to back off.
nSuns 5/3/1 6-Day (Squat Focus), with the maths done
- Sessions set up from the programme, ready to log
- Starting weights worked out from the programme's own rules and your estimated maxes, with a default where VALDA has no history yet. You can change any of them
- Each session's weights worked out from your estimated maxes, which rise as you log heavier sets
- Log sets from your phone, Apple Watch or Wear OS watch
nSuns 5/3/1 6-Day (Squat Focus) questions
Who is nSuns 5/3/1 6-Day (Squat Focus) for?
Advanced lifters with a mature base, strong recovery, and a specific reason to add squat tonnage. Not a default and not a starting point — run the four-day, then the five-day, and only add the sixth day if the fifth is being absorbed comfortably.
How many days a week is nSuns 5/3/1 6-Day (Squat Focus)?
As VALDA runs it: 6 days a week, ~75–90 min a session.
How does progression work on nSuns 5/3/1 6-Day (Squat Focus)?
Unchanged from the other variants — each lift's training max moves on the reps from its 1+ set at 95%, which lives on days one to five, and you enter the new figure yourself under Training Maxes on the programme page. The sixth day contributes no AMRAP and therefore no progression signal; it simply gets heavier as you raise the squat training max. With this much frequency, be quicker to cut one: two lifts missing their 1+ target in the same week is the signal to back off.
Can I run nSuns 5/3/1 6-Day (Squat Focus) in VALDA?
Yes. It's in VALDA's programme library: start it and VALDA sets up the sessions and starting weights, then works out each session's weights from your estimated maxes, which rise as you log heavier sets. You can start it on the free plan, 1 programme at a time. Automatic progression: Free: 6 sessions · Pro: unlimited.
Is VALDA affiliated with u/nSuns (r/nSuns)?
No. VALDA is not affiliated with or endorsed by u/nSuns (r/nSuns). This page describes the programme as VALDA runs it.
Where nSuns 5/3/1 6-Day (Squat Focus) comes from
The six-day squat variant is the maximal-volume end of /u/nSuns' spreadsheet bundle, intended as a short block rather than a year-round programme. VALDA reproduces the set and percentage tables and the AMRAP-driven training-max progression for use inside the app, but does not claim authorship of the method.
VALDA is not affiliated with or endorsed by u/nSuns (r/nSuns). The programme belongs to its author; this page describes it as VALDA runs it.
This page describes a common training programme for information. It isn't a personal prescription.