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

[MLevins]

I found this routine that Arnold did, and wonder if an average guy could do it for about 8 weeks or would it be serious overtraining?

http://www.acantech.com/arnold/

"ARNOLDS ROUTINE - taken from Muscle Mag - October 1991"

MON/WED/FRI

CHEST:

Bench press 5 x 6-10
Flat bench flyes 5 x 6-10
Incline bench press 6 x 6-10
Cable crossovers 6 x 10-12
Dips (body weight) 5 x failure
Dumbell pullovers 5 x 10-12

BACK:
Wide-grip chins (to front) 6 x failure
T-bar rows 5 x 6-10
Seated pulley rows 6 x 6-10
One-arm dumbell rows 5 x 6-10
Straight-leg deadlifts 6 x 15

LEGS:
Squats 6 x 8-12
Leg press 6 x 8-12
Leg extensions 6 x 12-15
Leg curls 6 x 10-12
Barbell lunges 5 x 15

CALVES:
Standing calf raises 10 x 10
Seated calf raises 8 x 15
Oneplegged calf raises (holding dumbells) 6x12

FOREARMS:
Wrist curls (forearms on knees) 4 x 10
Reverse barbell curls 4 x 8
Wright roller machine Until Failure



TUES/THURS/SAT:

BICEPS:
Barbell curls 6 x 6-10
Seated dumbell curls 6 x 6-10
Dumbell concentration curls 6 x 6-10

TRICEPS:
Close-grip bench presses 6 x 6-10
Pushdowns 6 x 6-10
French press (barbell) 6 x 6-10
One-arm triceps extensions (dumbell) 6 x 6-10

SHOULDERS:
Seated barbell presses 6 x 6-10
Lateral raises (standing) 6 x 6-10
Rear-delt lateral raises 5 x 6-10
Cable lateral raises 5 x 10-12

CALVES & FOREARMS: Same as Monday, Wednesday, Friday workout

ABS: Same as Monday, Wednesday, Friday workout

 

[Flex]

Try it for 8 weeks and see how you do.











(i was being sarcastic.........unless you're doing insane amounts of steroids, yes, it's incredible overtraining)

 

[CancerNV]

You do realise he was on a MASSIVE amount of steroids right? Its not really overtraining when your pumping roids into you all day long.

 

[WilliamB]

You do realise he was on a MASSIVE amount of steroids right? Its not really overtraining when your pumping roids into you all day long.

MASSIVE = How much?
Until then try not to over generalize to much .

 

[reg56]

He did more sets in one day than I do in one month.

 

[MLevins]

I know this is going to sound incredibly naive, but did all of the well-known bodybuilders from the 70's use steroids? I think it was legal back then, but what about guys like Serge Nubret who supposably did 20 sets of 20 for each body part, or Vince Gironda with his 8 x 8 system? Is it because they were all juiced up, or did they use relatively light weight which would have allowed them to train at such a high volume without burning out?

 

[Flex]

MLevins-
yes, they used massive amounts of steroids.Lotsa dbol and test, with a few others, too.

Not to mention they lived BB....wake up, eat, juice, train, eat, hang at the beach, eat, train, eat, juice, partaaay (that's a fact)

 

[nikegurl]

the idea of posting arnold's workout and then asking about the "average guy" right after it is almost silly. he wasn't average by any stretch (genetics, training, drugs).

why do people try to compare one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time to the average trainee?

 

[Doublebase]

the idea of posting arnold's workout and then asking about the "average guy" right after it is almost silly. he wasn't average by any stretch (genetics, training, drugs).

why do people try to compare one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time to the average trainee?

I think he was just curious as to what everyone thought. Arnold was the best at the sport. I'm sure highschool quaterbacks or running backs try to mirror the Michael Vicks and Emmit Smith's.

 

[Flex]

I'm sure highschool quaterbacks or running backs try to mirror the Michael Vicks and Emmit Smith's.

Don'tcha mean Tom Bradys and Walter Paytons?

 

[ihateschoolmt]

Incline bench press 6 x 6-10

That is the amount of sets I do for my whole chest work out. That would be over training so bad I doubt you could even keep doing it. You would loose size doing that.

 

[BuffDaddy]

the idea of posting arnold's workout and then asking about the "average guy" right after it is almost silly. he wasn't average by any stretch (genetics, training, drugs).

why do people try to compare one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time to the average trainee?

Arnold would have been "average" too had he not been a 'roid junky. I think that workout routine posted is a little exagerated, to further the "Arnold was god" mindframe that the Weiders continue to promote. Ronnie Coleman and Lee Haney never did that kind of insane routine, and both of them are (or were in the case of Haney) much better than Arnold even on his best day.

As for what's silly, the only thing silly are women in bodybuilding.

 

[Lankster]

But Lee Haney and Ronnie Coleman have ugly physiques and Arnolds looked fucking cool, it was a work of art.

 

[musclepump]

Coleman and Haney have/had better gear. And a lot more GH.

 

[Rockfella]

& Ok guys... new guy here bumping old thread.... so anyone tried Arnold routine?

 

[Yanick]

Do you know how long it would take you to do 128 sets? Even with 1 min RI's (and you will not be able to keep that type of pace for the whole workout)?

That is rubbish, not a routine. I doubt they/he even did that, although it is possible but it boggles my mind how its even possible to survive and make gains on those types of routines. I did a 24 set full body workout yesterday, granted my RI's are times and I did supersets, but I almost died. My buddy couldn't even sign his name afterward his hand was shaking so bad. And the w/o still took us a bit over an hour counting warm ups and such.

Pure bodybuilding myth/lore, no way in hell should anyone train this way.

 

[Rockfella]

I've been on his basic level - I routine since 2 months now with not so impressive results.

Arnold’s Level – I Exercise Programme

Workout 1 (Monday/Thursday)

Chest
Bench Press
Incline Press
Pullovers

Back
Chin-Ups (Do as many as you can at a time untill you reach a total of 50 reps)
Bent Over Rows
Power Training
Deadlifts, 3 sets of 10, 6, 4 reps to failure

Abdomonals: Crunches, 5 sets of 25 reps.


Workout 2 (Tuesday/Friday)
Shoulders
Barbell Clean and Press
Dumbell Lateral raises

Power Training
Heavy Upright Rows, 3 sets of 10, 6, 4 reps tp failure.
Push Presses, 3 sets of 6, 4, 2 res to failure
Upper Arms:
Standing Barbell Curls
Seated Dumbell Curls
Close grip press
Standing tricep extensions with barbell

Forearms
Wrist Curls
Reverse Wrist Curls

Abdominals
Reverse crunches, 5 sets of 25 reps.



Workout 3 (Wednesday/Saturday)

Thighs
Squats
Lunges
Leg Curls

Calves
Standing Calf Raises, 5 sets of 15 reps each.

Lower back
Power Training
Straight Leg Deadlifts, 3 sets of 10, 6, 4 reps to failure.
Good mornings, 3 sets of 10, 6, 4 reps to failure.

Abdominals
Crunches, 5 sets of 25 reps.

 

[Rockfella]

This is not Arnol'd training routine. He never suggested doing 6 sets of any exercise except squats!

I found this routine that Arnold did, and wonder if an average guy could do it for about 8 weeks or would it be serious overtraining?

MON/WED/FRI

CHEST:

Bench press 5 x 6-10
Flat bench flyes 5 x 6-10
Incline bench press 6 x 6-10
Cable crossovers 6 x 10-12
Dips (body weight) 5 x failure
Dumbell pullovers 5 x 10-12

BACK:
Wide-grip chins (to front) 6 x failure
T-bar rows 5 x 6-10
Seated pulley rows 6 x 6-10
One-arm dumbell rows 5 x 6-10
Straight-leg deadlifts 6 x 15

LEGS:
Squats 6 x 8-12
Leg press 6 x 8-12
Leg extensions 6 x 12-15
Leg curls 6 x 10-12
Barbell lunges 5 x 15

CALVES:
Standing calf raises 10 x 10
Seated calf raises 8 x 15
Oneplegged calf raises (holding dumbells) 6x12

FOREARMS:
Wrist curls (forearms on knees) 4 x 10
Reverse barbell curls 4 x 8
Wright roller machine Until Failure



TUES/THURS/SAT:

BICEPS:
Barbell curls 6 x 6-10
Seated dumbell curls 6 x 6-10
Dumbell concentration curls 6 x 6-10

TRICEPS:
Close-grip bench presses 6 x 6-10
Pushdowns 6 x 6-10
French press (barbell) 6 x 6-10
One-arm triceps extensions (dumbell) 6 x 6-10

SHOULDERS:
Seated barbell presses 6 x 6-10
Lateral raises (standing) 6 x 6-10
Rear-delt lateral raises 5 x 6-10
Cable lateral raises 5 x 10-12

CALVES & FOREARMS: Same as Monday, Wednesday, Friday workout

ABS: Same as Monday, Wednesday, Friday workout

 

[Arnold]

Arnold used high volume training hitting each bodypart twice per week, not many can handle that, also he was not natural, so using his routine or copying any bodybuilder that is using gear is not a good idea.

 

[Rockfella]

Actually what i feel is Arnold was 15 when he started training so he utilized that high natural hormone level to its max. We might thik he was heavily on steroids but i dont that was the case. As stated by him in "Raw Iron" making of pumping iron he stated that BBs is those days used to experiment with steroids and openly admitted taking Anabol etc, I bet BBs these days use roids much more than that time. Nevertheless, i dont know what is hampering my progress, i am 30 and have started lifting after years. i do feel that my body is not very responsive as it used to be when i was 22-24. Previously i used to follow the same schedule i posted earlier and made good gains but now things are totally different. Not that i get tired doing long routines but my progress is not that satisfactory. I will soon try the 5 x 5s or 3 x 5s and train 3 times a week with mild cardio in between rest days.

Arnold used high volume training hitting each bodypart twice per week, not many can handle that, also he was not natural, so using his routine or copying any bodybuilder that is using gear is not a good idea.

 

[Built]

Rockfella, what specifically is the problem - is it that your lifts aren't going up, or that you aren't gaining weight, or both?

If you're gaining weight but your lifts aren't going up, if you're not packing on fat don't worry about it.

If you're gaining weight but your lifts aren't going up and you're getting fatter, you may need a break and then a different training plan - or you may need to drop a little fat, stabilize, and then resume your bulk (you won't partition well if you're too juicy).

If you're not gaining weight - this one's easy: eat more.

 

[Malcom]

the idea of posting arnold's workout and then asking about the "average guy" right after it is almost silly. he wasn't average by any stretch (genetics, training, drugs).

why do people try to compare one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time to the average trainee?

ur damn right why?

 

[Rockfella]

Thanks for replying Built. Amazing mid-section u got!
Back to my problem.. well i guess i am expecting my body to respond as it used to earlier.. so maybe i am getting discouraged as i am not seeing the same results i used to see earlier. I started lifting since April 1st and i've not gained much. Just lost 3 kgs due to running, nothing really impressive. Maybe i am overtraining..... hitting each muscle twice a week OR expecting too much! Well.. lets see what 3 X 5s does for me.
Regards.

Rockfella, what specifically is the problem - is it that your lifts aren't going up, or that you aren't gaining weight, or both?

If you're gaining weight but your lifts aren't going up, if you're not packing on fat don't worry about it.

If you're gaining weight but your lifts aren't going up and you're getting fatter, you may need a break and then a different training plan - or you may need to drop a little fat, stabilize, and then resume your bulk (you won't partition well if you're too juicy).

If you're not gaining weight - this one's easy: eat more.

 

[Built]

Thanks for the props. I'm lucky with abs.

So you're not gaining weight, is that it? How many calories do you consume?

 

[Malcom]

Don'tcha mean Tom Bradys and Walter Paytons?

Thanks for ur links man

 

[Rockfella]

I wonder why Arnold didnot mention his steroid usage in his bible and suggested loads of workout assuming everybody WILL USE steroids!

 

[Built]

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

 

[Rockfella]

really?

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

 

[nkira]

I read some one post that Arnold brought all kinds of supplements to keep others guessing about whats he's ACTUALLY using....

Built, what that you?

 

[Chubby]

I'm lucky with abs.

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.