The Simple Six: The Easy Way to Get in Shape and Stay in Shape for the Rest of your Life

I'm over 30, and while I have been very fit at various times in my life, when I started this program was NOT one of those times. I've been doing Simple Six for two months now. Fitness background: I played sports through high school, and I've done a fair amount of powerlifter-style barbell weight training, some CrossFit, and some soul-crushing workouts from programs like Special Forces Fitness Training. Equipment: Kettlebells (2 initially) , chin-up bar. If you've never touched a kettlebell in your life, Dobbins provides a helpful chart for men and women to identify which weights you should get for any fitness level. What's intriguing about Simple Six is the author's focus on consistency and sustainability. This is often lacking in the fitness world for various reasons -- many (highly effective!) programs require lots of equipment or time or ENERGY. The point Dobbins makes in Simple Six, which I found very resonant at this point in my life, is that any program is only as good as your ability to stick with it. Can you get great results from doing intensive, brutalizing workouts 5-6 days a week? Unquestionably. Will it be worth the misery? That's harder to pin down, especially as you get older and time becomes more scarce. Unless you are a competitive athlete or soldier, in all likelihood your fitness regimen is intended to enhance your health, wellbeing, and possibly appearance. I can say that if you stick with this, it will deliver on those fronts (when paired with a proper diet, same with any other exercise routine). This is quick enough to do five days a week for almost anybody, and it is "easy" in the sense that the program is simple to understand, and you will not be left sobbing in the fetal position at the completion of the workout. It is NOT easy in the sense that you're just going through the motions of working out. If you are honest with yourself and your capabilities, you will definitely be challenged and you WILL get stronger -- substantially so! And of course increased strength is attended by a better, more impressive physique. I love the combination of getting stronger and not feeling totally depleted from my workout. If you are unable to complete any of the exercises in the program due to age or injury, the author provides alternatives. He also gives sound advice on when to move up to a heavier weight for a given exercise. Overall, I think this is a program that pretty much anyone can benefit from. The exercises are all time-tested, the time commitment is manageable, and the results are noticeable.

If you're looking to be "FIT" and not a "Body Nazi", this routine is for you!! I'm a 50+ y/o man who's worked out off & on since I was a late-teenager, and this is by far the simplest, and the most rewarding, workout routine I've ever followed. I went from "COVID Couch Potato" to "daily workout animal" with this easy-to-do workout routine that takes about 20 minutes a day to do, plus whatever time I spend walking. After 5 months, I've doubled my kettlebell weight from 25 lbs to 50 lbs, and for the first time in decades, I can do a pullup! I rarely get sore, and I have lots of energy. In the past, I have tried many different training methods...3 X 10s, Push/Pull, Pyramids, Isometrics, and Stacking. I've also tried other routines that I can't even name. This one has been the easiest to follow and I don't get as sore as I used to, yet the benefits rival any of those other routines. Here's my "tweaks", which have accelerated my workout: - As a nutritional supplement, I use a protein powder (with BCAAs) and "lite" salt (for potassium) in my electrolyte drink. I suffer from low potassium because I'm on a Keto diet, and this also helps fight "keto breath". - I supplement this routine with some planks and body-weight calisthenics to help strengthen my artificial hips and repaired knee, as well as tighten my core and add flexibility to offset my age. By incorporating this into my warmup & cooldown, it only adds about 10 minutes to the routine. It doesn't take much, because the Simple Six is pretty complete by itself; but I thought it's worth pointing out that you can add specialized exercises into your warmup if you have a special health condition or need. - I alternate the RF exercise with my non-RF exercises, so my workout is: Warm Up -> RF -> Non-RF -> RF -> Non-RF -> RF -> Non-RF -> RF -> Non-RF -> RF -> Stretch -> Walk a couple miles. (Read the book and you'll understand what I mean by "RF".) - I also walk a lap around the gym between sets, so I get about a mile of walking during my workout, which also keeps my heart rate in the fat burning zone, with the lifting "spikes" acting like interval training. I first read this book on Kindle Unlimited, and it was so good, I bought it for my permanent library.

This book is very short, only 58 pages. It is kind of refreshing in a way to have a book with only 6 exercises, and not a lot of complexity to the program. Basically you do the same exercises every time, just more reps of a different one each day. I tend to get caught up in analysis paralysis on which of a 1000 things I should do, so this solves that. Otoh...this book could benefit a lot from having more of a progression in each exercise. There is another like that, I think it was one of the Body By..books, where it's broken up into pulling, pushing, and pushups go from wall to one legged decline craziness. In this book...chin-up is one of the exercises. A lot of people, especially people that would be attracted to a small book with 'simple' in the title, can't do one chin-up. The page describes chin-ups...and then just says if you can't do this, try one of these ..with 3 bullets of suggestions...but no description or illustration. Bent over row is one of the alternatives, and I really wonder if that is going to meet the same goal, but there is no talk of that. If you are new to exercise, you'd have to go look the alternatives up, and find info from other sites. A few simple illustrations and a few more pages and it could be self contained. So in that I am disappointed

The book is thin with lots of pictures. Honestly I didn’t read the whole book, just got an understanding of the program. This program is great, especially for beginners. It hits every major muscle with little equipment and little time. I have worked out intensely 6 or 7 days a week for decades so I felt like I could use more exercise than the program. Just a few extra exercises hitting the focus that day. I have lost 15lbs and maintained muscle. In addition the kettlebell swings have helped strengthen my back, as opposed to deadlifts which always aggravate it. I understand some of the poor reviews, the book is thin and cheap and I can understand why people feel like they overpaid for the physical book. However the plan and information the book includes is worth way more if you stick with it. Think about how expensive workout programs are P90x, Insanity, Body Beast. It is a bargain at $10 with minimal equipment. The overhead press always hurt my shoulders so I substitute band pull aparts.

I have always exercised since I was a teenager. Mostly heavy weights and running for a base. Now in my 60's I still want to exercise but the old routine was too hard on my joints. I tried this routine and it is a really simple, quick and effective one that does not cause great strain on my joints. This is not going to get you ready for an Ironman competition but if you want to maintain some muscle and stay fit in a short amount of time, give this one a try. I mix it up with some elastic band training as well as a change of pace and to not get bored doing the same thing. Any program that you do over and over can get boring. I recommend.

A good approach for those looking for a healthy lifestyle to include toning, loosing weight, etc. but without a lot of time to spend. Also good for those like me with long-hour desk jobs who have let themselves go the way of the couch potato for too long. I tried the gym-rat thing but had to steal from sleep time for workouts. This method doesn't get you ripped and ready for body-builder beauty contests, that's a completely different audience. If however you don't have time for a gym membership and want to start with a minimal investment (2 kettleballs and a doorway mounted chin-up bar), these 6 exercises (one is walking) will hit all your major muscle groups including your heart. You do these at least 5 times a week, each day it's only 1 set of 10 reps (if you can only do 4 reps, you just do 4 and build to 10), but one of the 5 non-walking exercises you do 5 reps of 10 (or max capable) that day, and cycle through each exercise each week. The goal of consistent daily exercise as a permanent lifestyle alteration which is flexible to allow for life and results with minimal aches and burnout can be easily achieved with this simplified method of daily exercise you won't hate doing.

I LOVE working out. I am probably addicted. I race as hobby because I have no other hobbies. So this workout isn’t for me. That being said. I love the concept. Anything to get people moving. I love the idea of keeping it simple. People start with lofty ideas and get discouraged. I think if you tried this program, you would not fall into that trap. I actually sent it to a couple people I know would like it. It is great for beginners or people who want to be fit but don’t love to workout as much as I do.

I'm a beginner to strength training, so I wanted to try an accessible, quick-starting routine, which led me to this book. It offers a short (20-30) daily (5 times a week) full-body routine, primarily using kettlebells. The author comes from a crossfit background, and describes his Simple Six as a simplified version. It uses a few simple exercises with low reps (at varying pace for desired difficulty) and moderate weights. He developed the workout plan as a way to stay consistently active with low-risk of injury, and he promises long-term results, like increasing weight after months of practice. I found the kettlebell exercises fun, and I liked exercising both quickly and daily, but after two months of practice and little discernible muscle gain, I lost the motivation to continue. Also, on weeks when I couldn't workout all five times, improvements felt even further out of reach. I'll keep the program in mind for maintenance or variety, but in the end I sought a more traditional strength training program that emphasizes overload and measuring progress. For an affordable option, I recommend the Alpha Progression app on Google Play.