But how? How did Arnold turn himself from a scrawny soccer playing kid to a 7 time champion of the biggest bodybuilding competition in the world? How did he become Mr. Universe and blow people’s minds away with his uncompromising physique?
Well, the answer is simple. He worked out, right? No doubt he did. But as you probably already know, simply “working out” doesn’t get you near the kinds of results that turn your average everyday man into an Arnold! If it was that easy, we’d all be looking like the greatest bodybuilder ever. So the answer is what? Diet? Genetics? Steroids? … I think, yes to all of those.
To get an Arnold like physique you have to have a combination of the right genetics, an effective workout plan, solid dietary guidelines, and steroi*#& (ahem) Supplements. When any of these pieces are missing, the puzzle will not be complete.
In fact, Arnold himself has published a book – Arnold’s Encyclopedia – on how to do it. And in this book he writes out what he calls “…a simple beginner weight training plan”. But as you will soon see, it’s a lot of work for a beginner to start with. Here it is…
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DAY 1, 3, 5 Chest Bench Press 4sets 10 8 6 4 Inclines DB or BB 4sets 10 8 6 4 Flys 3sets 10 8 6 Dips 3sets 15 10 8 Pullovers 3x15 Back chins 4sets take to failure close grip chins 4x10 t-bar rows 4sets 15 12 8 6 Barbbell Rows 4sets 8-12 reps Thighs Squats 4sets 10 8 6 4 Front Squats 4sets 10 8 8 6 Hack Squats 3x10 Leg Curls 4sets 20 10 8 6 Standing Leg curls 4x10 Stiff Leg Deads 3x10 Calves Donkey raises 4x10 Standing Raises 4sets 15 10 8 8 Abs Crunches 3x25 Twists 100 reps each side Machine Crunches 3x25 crunches 50 reps |
Day 2, 4, 6 Shoulders Militaries 4sets 10 8 8 6 Laterals 4x8 Bent Over Lateral 4x8 DB Shrugs 3x10 Bis/Tris BB Curls 4 sets 10 8 6 4 Inc. DB Curls 4x8 Conc. curls 3x8 Lying tricep ext. 4sets 10 8 6 4 tricep pressdowns 3x8 one arm ext. 3x10 Forearms Wrist curls 4x10 Reverse wrist curls 4x10 Calves seated raises 4x10 Abs reverse crunches 4x25 twists 100 reps each side vertical bench crunches 4x25 |
WOAH! This is an incredible amount of volume for even a seasoned gym rat. Volume, in case you didn’t know, is the accumulative amount of weight you lift throughout each workout. And, while we (and many of today’s experts) would say NO WAY to this workout schedule for a beginner, there is something to learn here. Two points actually.
1) Volume Training is what creates muscle size. Muscle size and strength don’t always go together. Check this out, according to the Wikipedia page on Arnold his 1 rep maximums are listed as follows.
Clean & press – 120 kg (264 lb)
Snatch – 110 kg (243 lb)
Clean & jerk – 135 kg (289 lb)
Squat – 215 kg (470 lb)
Bench press – 200 kg (440 lb)
Deadlift – 310 kg (680 lb)
Seriously? Mr. Universe himself with that massive chest could only bench press 440 pounds? And only squat only 470 pounds? Those are good numbers, no doubt. But keep in mind that at the time of his reign in 1980, the world records for men at the same weight as Arnold exceeded 550 lbs bench press and well over an 800 pound squat!
Also, to reiterate how much volume this really is, notice how often he is covering the exact same muscle groups. On day one, he is doing chest and back on the same day. Then on day two he is doing biceps and triceps. Because you are using your bi’s and tri’s when you are benching and rowing, he is essentially working his arms every single day!
2) You need help to recover. The second point is that we know through science that the real muscle growth doesn’t take place in the gym. The truth is, when you lift weights, you are actually breaking down the muscle, not building it up. It’s in the recovery process – between the workouts – that all the real muscle growth takes place. And when you are working out the same muscle groups every day when can you really recover fully? You don’t unless you have help. Full recovery, obviously is not necessary to grow a lot of muscle mass. But the more you recover between workouts the more muscle growth you will see. And that is where you need to have the rest of the puzzle pieces in place.
So, how can you ensure faster recovery? Good question! Genetics obviously plays a role in how fast a person can recover from their workout. But adding supplements (and/or steroids) to the mix and drastically increase the speed of recovery. Bodybuilding supplements and even steroids don’t actually build muscle directly. All they do is help your body recover faster, which allows you to get to the gym more often. Supplements and anabolic steroids aren’t really shortcuts… when you are on them they actually allow you to work harder! A good recovery agent like RX5 mixed with a Testosterone Supplement like Permadrol can literally work miracles on how fast a person recovers from their workouts. But here’s the kicker. If you are only able to get 2-3 days of workouts in a week then you don’t need any anabolic supplements or steroids… you have plenty of recovery time built into your schedule already.
3) Your diet is extremely important. Although it’s last on this list, your dietary choices are probably the most important piece to this puzzle! Protein is key to building muscle. Muscle is made of protein so if you are working hard to break down your muscle and then taking supplements to increase the repair rate, you will be crazy to not give your body the “raw materials” needed to get the job done. Obviously if you want to be lean you have to make sure you aren’t eating too many fatty, high sugar foods. But if you want to build muscle, all you need to really worry about is your protein intake. The main point is that you never want to be lacking in protein so you should have protein in every meal of the day. What is the best protein? We say, eat real food that is high in protein. Fish, eggs, legumes, beans, beef, and chicken are all great sources of protein. When you can’t find a way to include one of these in every meal, get a whey protein shake to supplement your diet.
So that’s that. If you want to look like Arnold you gotta work hard in the gym, lifting weights… then you gotta recover fast so you can get back in the gym and lift more weights! All the while, never leave your body lacking the protein raw material it needs to continue to grow. A simple plan really. Now get to work!
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