Arnold Schwarzenegger's Approach

One man who has really left his mark on the world of bodybuilding is Arnold Schwarzenegger. If you know no one else in the bodybuilding industry, you know Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Diet
"Bodybuilding is much like any other sport. To be successful, you must dedicate yourself 100% to your training, diet and mental approach."

Schwarzenegger's philosophy was that bodybuilding is not a single-event endeavor. If you really want to see success, you must focus on all three components including your training program, your nutritional intake and your mental approach.

On the fat-loss side of things, one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's biggest strategies in his workout routine was calorie cycling. Involving some higher calorie days interspersed with some lower calorie days to prevent his metabolism from slowing down.

He advised that on any calorie-reduced diet, when going long enough you can see your metabolism slowing down, making further fat loss incredibly difficult.

Training
"The last three or four reps is what makes the muscles grow. This area of pain divides the champion from someone else who is not a champion."

Pushing your body to the limit was the quickest route to muscular success for Arnold.
Arnold felt both research and experience showed that the most training gains came when a weight was lifted that was between 70% and 75% of the one-rep max.

He recommended that a range of 8-12 reps be utilized when performing upper-body movements and 12-16 reps for lower-body movements. He felt lower muscles are more endurance-focused, therefore they can stand the higher rep range better.

Mind and Recovery
"Training gives us an outlet for suppressed energies created by stress and, thus, tone the spirit just as exercise conditions the body."

As much as Arnold loved his time in the gym, he also knew that rest periods were vital to success. He was well-known for his legendary toughness, but also realized that there was a fine line between enough and too much. If you crossed that line, overtraining would set in.

He recommended 48 hours of rest after working larger muscle groups and slightly less for the smaller ones.


Arnold Schwarzenegger’s workout routine

Rest periods: About one minute. No longer than three minutes. Once you're at that three minute mark, your body is as recovered as it's going to get so there is no advantage, he felt, to resting longer.

Monday/Wednesday/Friday

Chest
Barbell bench press: 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, and 4 reps
Barbell incline bench press: 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, and 4 reps
Dumbbell flys: 3 sets of 10, 8, and 6 reps
Parallel bar dips: 3 sets of 15, 10 and 8 reps
Pullovers: 3 sets of 15 reps each

Back
Chin-ups: 4 sets of 10 reps minimum each side
Close-grip chins: 4 sets of 10 reps
T-bar rows: 4 sets of 15, 12, 8, and 6 reps
Bent-over barbell rows: 4 sets of 8-12 reps

Thighs
Squat: 5 sets of 10, 8, 6, and 4 reps with a 20 rep warm-up set
Front squats: 4 sets of 10, 8, 8, and 6 reps
Hack squats: 3 sets of 10 reps each
Leg curls: 4 sets of 20, 10, 8, and 6 reps
Standing leg curls: 4 sets of 10 reps each
Straight-leg dead lifts: 3 sets of 10 reps each

Calves
Donkey calf raises: 4 sets of 10 reps each
Standing calf raises: 4 sets of 15, 10, 8, and 8 reps

Abdominals
Crunches: 3 sets of 25 reps
Bent-over twists: 100 reps each side
Machine crunches: 3 sets of 25 reps
Crunches: 50 reps

Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday
 
Shoulders
Behind-the-neck-barbell press: 5 sets of 10, 8, 8, and 6 reps with a 15-set warm-up
Lateral raises: 4 sets of 8 reps each
Bent-over dumbbell laterals: 4 sets of 8 reps each
Dumbbell shrugs: 3 sets of 10 reps each

Upper arms
Standing barbell curls: 5 sets of 15, 10, 8, 6, and 4 reps
Incline dumbbell curls: 4 sets of 8 reps each
Concentration curls: 3 sets of 8 reps each
One-arm triceps extensions: 3 sets of 10 reps each

Forearms
Barbell wrist curls: 4 sets of 10 reps each
Reverse wrist curls: 3 sets of 10 reps each

Calves
Seated calf raises: 4 sets of 10 reps each

Abdominals
Reverse crunches: 4 sets of 25 reps
Seated twists: 100 reps each side
Vertical bench crunches: 4 sets of 25 reps

Resources:
Schwarzenegger, Arnold. The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding. New York City: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 1998.