Arnold’s Full Workout

By Ron Harris

In many ways, Arnold Schwarzenegger is a fine role model to emulate. His ambition, his relentless drive to succeed, work ethic, willingness to endure pain and hardship to achieve his goals, and ability to consistently set goals and develop effective game plans toward them are all qualities to admire. And when it comes to his training, all of us would be behooved to mimic his intensity and attention to detail in the gym during his competitive years. But if you are thinking about following the exact workout routine the Austrian Oak used to win first five Mr. Universe titles and then the Mr. Olympia seven times, I urge you to reconsider.

What is this blasphemy? Please allow me to explain before the hate emails flow. Take a good look at Arnold’s full routine below. Arnold trained twice a day for about two hours at a time, every day but Sunday. The volume was considerable. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, he did 60 sets for chest and back, as well as another 55 sets for legs and calves at a later workout, which wrapped with a further 16-30 sets for forearms and abs. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, he blasted shoulders with 22 sets, arms with 42 sets and also did the same 16-30 sets for forearms and calves. Certainly, a case could conceivably be made for hitting each body part three times every week if the workouts were incredibly brief. But Arnold’s workouts were anything but brief. The man was a workhorse in the gym, an indefatigable juggernaut on a mission to dominate anyone who dared challenge his supremacy as the greatest bodybuilder alive.

If you’ve read interviews with a good amount of bodybuilders who lived and trained in the Venice/Santa Monica area in the late 1960s throughout the ‘70s, you can’t help but notice how many of them claimed to have been “Arnold’s training partner.” You might assume some are lying, but most really did train with Arnold— for a little while. One of them was former publisher of Iron Man, John Balik, who teamed up with Arnold for a short time in the late 1960s. He fully expected to make the best gains of his bodybuilding career by keeping up with the huge, young Austrian immigrant, set for set and rep for rep. After less than a month, he found himself constantly exhausted, and worse— clearly losing size and strength! “A lot of us tried to keep up with Arnold,” he said. “Nobody could. He was one of a kind.”

It’s ironic that the same has been said many times about Ronnie Coleman, who trained every body part twice per week, working out every morning but Sunday. Ronnie obviously had superior recovery ability to be able to recuperate and grow from all those intense, heavy workouts— and Arnold most likely had a higher level of recovery ability. He thrived on training his muscles with a frequency and volume that no other pro, before or since, has been able to match with even remotely similar success.

You might argue that not having a “day job” allowed Arnold to focus on his eating and resting between workouts. Few of you reading this have the same luxury to allow for little other demands on your time outside the gym. But even if you do have the time to rest, and even if you happen to be geared out of your skull, I seriously doubt any of you would be able to make gains training like Arnold. I respect and admire the hell out of Mr. Schwarzenegger, but I wouldn’t dream of following his training routine.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Workout Routine*

Monday, Wednesday, Friday

Chest:
Bench Press – 5 sets, 6-10 reps
Flat Bench Flyes – 5 sets, 6-10 reps
Incline Bench Press – 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Cable Crossovers – 6 sets, 10-12 reps
Dips – 5 sets, to failure
Dumbbell Pullovers – 5 sets, 10-12 reps

Back:
Front Wide-grip Chin-ups – 6 sets, to failure
T-bar Rows – 5 sets, 6-10 reps
Seated Pulley Rows – 6 sets, 6-10 reps
One-arm Dumbbell Rows – 5 sets, 6-10 reps
Straight-leg Deadlifts – 6 sets, 15 reps

Legs:
Squats – 6 sets, 8-12 reps
Leg Presses – 6 sets, 8-12 reps
Leg Extensions – 6 sets, 12-15 reps
Leg Curls – 6 sets, 10-12 reps
Barbell Lunges – 5 sets, 15 reps

Calves:
Standing Calf Raises – 10 sets, 10 reps
Seated Calf Raises – 8 sets, 15 reps
One-legged Calf Raises (holding dumbbells) – 6 sets, 12 reps

Forearms:
Wrist Curls (forearms on knees) – 4 sets, 10 reps
Reverse Barbell Curls – 4 sets, 8 reps
Wright Roller Machine – to failure

Abs:
Nonstop instinct training for 30 minutes

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday

Biceps:
Barbell Curls – 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Seated Dumbbell Curls – 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Dumbbell Concentration Curls – 6 sets, 6-10 reps

Triceps:
Close-grip Bench presses (for all three heads) – 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Pushdowns (exterior head) – 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Barbell French Presses (interior head) – 6 sets, 6-10 reps
One-arm Dumbbell Triceps Extensions (exterior head) – 6 sets, 6-10 reps

Shoulders:
Seated Barbell Presses – 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Lateral Raises (standing) – 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Rear-delt Lateral Raises – 5 sets, 6-10 reps
Cable Lateral Raises – 5 sets, 10-12 reps

Calves and Forearms:
Same as Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Abs:
Same as Monday, Wednesday and Friday

*Source: Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding by Arnold Schwarzenegger with Bill Dobbins. © 1985 Simon & Schuster.

Ron Harris got his start in the bodybuilding industry during the eight years he worked in Los Angeles as Associate Producer for ESPN’s “American Muscle Magazine” show in the 1990s. Since 1992 he has published nearly 5,000 articles in bodybuilding and fitness magazines, making him the most prolific bodybuilding writer ever. Ron has been training since the age of 14 and competing as a bodybuilder since 1989. He lives with his wife and two children in the Boston area. Facebook Instagram

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