Thread: Arnold's Pre-Contest Routine...overtraining?

Originally Posted by Built

Please keep in mind that Arnold was notorious for lying about how he actually trained.

what I said came directly from (in person) one of ex-training partners, who happens to be Tom Platz.

Originally Posted by Prince

what I said came directly from (in person) one of ex-training partners, who happens to be Tom Platz.

It would appear that Arnold ignored Platz' advice when training legs!

Hey Built, happy birthyday

Originally Posted by Built

Please keep in mind that Arnold was notorious for lying about how he actually trained.

Yep.. one of finest midsections i have seen... can't be simply luck

Originally Posted by chobby192

Cut the crap, Built. I don't believe in luck. I think luck is invented to fool lazy people who does nothing and sit there hoping to get lucky. I think you worked very hard for that abs. It is the result of your hard word.

He didnot juice up like we think he did. He started when he was 15 so he used up his natural hormones pretty well. Yes his life was BB. Afaik he used steroids before competition. Those days steroids were legal and very new... they could never overdose it.. why no BB back then had gyno etc?

Originally Posted by T_man

Remember, Arnold's life was BB.

He had immaculate nutrition.
He juiced up like most competitors.
And his genes... well, look at him.

Originally Posted by Prince

what I said came directly from (in person) one of ex-training partners, who happens to be Tom Platz.

But Arnold looked perfect, anything more he would have looked out of proportion, Tom who has the best legs in the world but never won a competition

Originally Posted by Built

It would appear that Arnold ignored Platz' advice when training legs!

Arnold's legs were too small, and he knew it. He posed very, very well but he would have had better symmetry between his upper and his lower with bigger legs.

I really DID get lucky with abs, although I appreciate the props.

I do very little direct ab work - what you see in that avatar shot is the result of good genes, sprints and chinups, heavy compound lifts, and the "away from the refrigerator" push - I'm very lean there.

Looking forward to seeing that kind of definition again within the next two months.

Originally Posted by Built

It would appear that Arnold ignored Platz' advice when training legs!

I think lack of leg development had more to do with that era of bodybuilding.

I used a workout from the Arnold book Encyclopedia of a BBer, and it was way over kill....I didn't recover from any workout the entire time I did it, and it lasted about a month before I gave up before I injured myself. I benefited from taking bits a peices of it for instance his ab training, doing chins and dips, and training your weaker lifts first in your workouts.

My .02

According to Darden's HIT book Arny couldn't keep up with the HIT training which was no were near as much volume as the routine mentioned in the first post. Pretty obvious that he didn't (or couldn't) train nearly as hard as he led people to believe.
Being the smart guy he was he probably figured that by telling people he did much more than he did they'd overtrain and never reach their full potential. What better way to stay ahead of everybody else?

Originally Posted by chobby192

Cut the crap, Built. I don't believe in luck. I think luck is invented to fool lazy people who does nothing and sit there hoping to get lucky. I think you worked very hard for that abs. It is the result of your hard word.

Actually "luck" exists very much in the BB world when it comes to physique. Look at abs, calves, symmety, etc.


As far Arnold. he was a freak and was boosting so its a moot argument and not worth a 4 year bump.

Hm... i was waiting for this kind of reply.... thanks.

Originally Posted by TrojanMan60563

I used a workout from the Arnold book Encyclopedia of a BBer, and it was way over kill....I didn't recover from any workout the entire time I did it, and it lasted about a month before I gave up before I injured myself. I benefited from taking bits a peices of it for instance his ab training, doing chins and dips, and training your weaker lifts first in your workouts.

Sometimes i think why he wrote a book that has been aparently very less followed all over the world. Was he bullshitting with his advice for young BBs/fitness enthusiasts? This is the norm everywhere... everyones says Arnie's routine left them sore and they could hardly recover.

Originally Posted by rahaas

My .02

According to Darden's HIT book Arny couldn't keep up with the HIT training which was no were near as much volume as the routine mentioned in the first post. Pretty obvious that he didn't (or couldn't) train nearly as hard as he led people to believe.
Being the smart guy he was he probably figured that by telling people he did much more than he did they'd overtrain and never reach their full potential. What better way to stay ahead of everybody else?

What do u mean by freak? He was born with high level of test in his system? he just started very early and loved the sport!

Originally Posted by Merkaba

Actually "luck" exists very much in the BB world when it comes to physique. Look at abs, calves, symmety, etc.

As far Arnold. he was a freak and was boosting so its a moot argument and not worth a 4 year bump.

Rockfella - If I recall correctly the workout in there is 1 body part per day, and its doing splits everyday, 6 days a week.

I suppose if you really want to give it a shot you can follow what he does, and when he does it, but I would lower the volume of sets to avoid getting burned out fast, and give you time to recover. I think the workout listed in that book I mentioned was his prep for Mr.O. So at the time I was a young kid like 17-18 and it didn't benefit me a bit doing that type of workout/split. At the time I was a competitive powerlifter so it is not like I was ignorant to a harsh workout.