Arnold Schwarzenegger Volume Training Routine

Inside Arnold Schwarzenegger’s high-volume training routine for unmatched muscle growth.

Taken from Ric Wayne’s book, Three More Reps.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s volume training became the gold standard for old-school bodybuilding muscle growth and hypertrophy, shaping some of the greatest physiques in history. His relentless work ethic, high-rep resistance training and six-day-a-week workout split were instrumental in building his unmatched chest, arms, back, shoulders and legs during his dominant era in professional bodybuilding. This was not casual strength training. This was high-volume bodybuilding built around bench presses, squats, deadlifts, dumbbells, barbells, cable work, high-rep workouts, and a staggering weekly training workload.

This old-school training philosophy, embraced by legends like Franco Columbu, Frank Zane and Sergio Oliva, pushed the boundaries of progressive overload, muscle endurance, and hypertrophy training. If you want to understand how Arnold Schwarzenegger trained at the peak of his bodybuilding powers, the routine below gives the blueprint: the sets, reps, exercises, and weekly volume that helped define an entire era of classic bodybuilding.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Monday, Wednesday, and Friday Morning Workout

The Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning session attacked chest, back and legs in the same workout. The amount of work is hard to comprehend by modern standards. This was high-volume resistance training performed with free weights, bodyweight exercises, cable movements, and machine-based assistance work.

Chest

Back

Legs

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday Evening Workout

The evening session added calves and forearms. This same calves and forearms structure was used six times per week, which is one reason Arnold’s total weekly set count becomes almost unbelievable when added up.

Calves

Forearms

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Morning Workout

On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, Arnold’s morning session shifted to arms and shoulders. This is where the high-rep workouts and high-volume bodybuilding philosophy become most visible: six sets here, six sets there, and no mercy for the biceps, triceps, or deltoids.

Arms

Shoulders

Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Evening Workout

The evening session repeated the same calves and forearms work used on the other training days. This is where Arnold Schwarzenegger’s volume training routine turns from “high volume” into almost mythical workload territory.

This type of approach, massive volume, was universally practiced by many of the bodybuilding immortals of the era: Robbie Robinson, Frank Zane, Franco Columbu and Sergio Oliva. Jeff Everson recounted having seen Sergio Oliva at his awesome peak perform 15 sets of 15 reps in the bench press using 255 pounds, alternated with 15 sets to failure in the wide-grip chin.

What Arnold’s Volume Training Really Shows

Arnold’s routine was not merely “doing more.” It was doing more with structure. The same muscle groups were attacked repeatedly, with a mix of compound barbell exercises, dumbbell movements, bodyweight work, cable exercises and machine-based assistance. This was bodybuilding volume training aimed at muscle growth, muscle endurance, shape, fullness, and definition.

A modern lifter looking at this routine should understand the difference between studying a legendary template and blindly copying it. Arnold’s high-volume training routine was performed by an elite bodybuilder with elite recovery capacity, an extreme schedule and a life structured around training. Most lifters, including powerlifters, bodybuilders, weightlifters, tactical athletes, first responders, and military trainees, will need to scale volume to match recovery, joints, nutrition, sleep, and actual training goals.

Equipment Pairings for Arnold-Style Volume Training

Arnold’s routine requires a broad mix of equipment because each training day attacks multiple body parts from multiple angles. For the barbell portions of the plan, compare Olympic weightlifting bars, the CAP Barbell 7' Black Olympic Weight Bar, and the IRON COMPANY Olympic power squat bar when building a free weight area for squats, bench presses, rows, curls, and overhead presses.

For loading, weight plates and IRON COMPANY premium rubber bumper plates can support repeatable progressive loading. For dumbbell flyes, seated dumbbell curls, dumbbell rows, dumbbell triceps presses, standing dumbbell presses, and other classic bodybuilding movements, compare dumbbells and rubber hex dumbbell sets.

For bench press, incline work, flyes, and dumbbell training, stable weight benches are essential. Facilities can compare the PowerBlock Commercial PowerBench and the Body-Solid Flat Olympic Bench Press when building a benching and upper-body training station.

Arnold’s routine also relies heavily on cable crossovers, triceps pushdowns, seated rows, and cable lateral raises. For that side of the program, functional training equipment, the Body-Solid GFT100 Dual Stack Functional Trainer and the Body-Solid GDCC250 Cable Crossover Functional Trainer can support controlled cable-based bodybuilding work. For leg press training and plate-loaded lower-body assistance, compare plate-loaded leverage gym equipment and the Arsenal Reloaded Linear Leg Press.

Training Note

This article is historical bodybuilding and resistance training commentary, not a universal training prescription. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s volume training routine represents an extreme high-volume bodybuilding template from a specific era. High-rep workouts, bench presses, squats, deadlifts, dips, cable crossovers, leg presses, triceps work, training to failure, and 702 weekly sets should be matched to the lifter’s training age, recovery capacity, coaching access, joints, nutrition, sleep, and goals. The useful lesson is not that every lifter needs Arnold’s exact workload; the useful lesson is that his physique was built with relentless consistency, structured volume and hard work.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Volume Training FAQ

What is Arnold Schwarzenegger’s volume training routine?

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s volume training routine is a six-day-a-week bodybuilding split built around repeated high-rep resistance training sessions. The routine shown here trains chest, back and legs three mornings per week; arms and shoulders three mornings per week; and calves and forearms six evenings per week.

How many sets did Arnold Schwarzenegger perform each week?

According to the routine presented here, Arnold performed 702 total weight training sets per week. The Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning and evening sessions totaled 420 sets, while the Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday sessions totaled 282 sets.

What exercises were included in Arnold’s high-volume chest workout?

Arnold’s chest workout included bench presses, dumbbell flyes, incline barbell presses, dips, cable crossovers, and dumbbell pullovers. The chest routine was performed Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as part of the chest, back, and legs morning session.

Is volume training good for muscle growth?

Volume training can support muscle growth when the lifter can recover from the workload and maintain good technique. Arnold’s routine shows how high-volume bodybuilding can build size and endurance, but the same workload is not appropriate for every lifter.

Should modern lifters copy Arnold’s 702-set weekly routine?

Most modern lifters should not copy the full routine without adjustment. Arnold’s workload was extreme and performed by an elite bodybuilder with unusual recovery capacity. A modern lifter can study the structure, then scale sets, frequency, and exercise selection to match his or her own goal and recovery ability.

What equipment supports Arnold-style high-volume bodybuilding?

A practical setup includes Olympic bars, weight plates, bumper plates, dumbbells, stable weight benches, cable crossover or functional trainer equipment, and plate-loaded leg training equipment. The right equipment makes it easier to perform the routine’s barbell, dumbbell, cable, and machine movements consistently.

About the Author

As an athlete Marty Gallagher is a national and world champion in Olympic lifting and powerlifting. He was a world champion team coach in 1991 and coached Black's Gym to five national team titles. He's also coached some of the strongest men on the planet including Kirk Karwoski when he completed his world record 1,003 lb. squat. Today he teaches the US Secret Service and Tier 1 Spec Ops on how to maximize their strength in minimal time. As a writer since 1978 he’s written for Powerlifting USA, Milo, Flex Magazine, Muscle & Fitness, Prime Fitness, Washington Post, Dragon Door and now IRON COMPANY. He’s also the author of numerous books including Purposeful Primitive, Strong Medicine, Ed Coan’s book “Coan, The Man, the Myth, the Method" and numerous others. Read the Marty Gallagher biography here.