Arnold Schwarzenegger: The Patron Saint of Volume Training & High-Rep Workouts
Inside Arnold Schwarzenegger’s High-Volume Training Routine for Unmatched Muscle Growth
(taken from Ric Wayne’s book, Three more reps)
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s high-volume bodybuilding training became the gold standard for 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, and back during his dominant era in professional bodybuilding. 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're looking to maximize muscle size, definition, and strength, Arnold’s high-volume workout routine is your blueprint for success. In this article, we break down his exact training regimen, revealing the sets, reps, and exercises that built the greatest physique of all time.
Morning session, done Monday, Wednesday, Friday
| Chest | |
|---|---|
| Bench press | 5 sets, 8-10 reps |
| Dumbbell flyes | 5 sets, 8-reps |
| Inclline barbell press | 6 sets, 8-10 reps |
| Dips | 5 sets to failure |
| Cable crossover | 6 sets, 12-reps |
| Dumbbell pullover | 5 sets, 10 reps |
| Back | |
| Wide-grip chins to the front | 6 sets to failure |
| T-bar row | 5 sets, 8-reps |
| Seated cable row | 6 sets, 8-reps |
| Deadlifts off a box | 6 sets, 15-reps |
| One-arm dumbbell row | 5 sets, 8-reps |
| Legs | |
| Squats | 6 sets, 10-12 reps |
| Leg extensions | 6 sets, 15-reps |
| Leg press | 6 sets, 8-10 reps |
| Leg curl | 6 sets,12-reps |
| Lunges | 5 sets, 15-reps |
| Evening session | |
| Calves | |
| Standing calf raises | 10 sets, 10-reps |
| Seated calf raises | 8 sets, 15-reps |
| Donkey calf raises | 6 sets, 12-reps |
| Forearms | |
| Wrist roller | 4 sets to failure |
| Reverse barbell curl | 4 sets, 8-reps |
| Wrist curls off bench | 4 sets, 10-reps |
| Morning session, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday | |
| Arms | |
| Barbell cheat curls | 6 sets, 8-reps |
| Seated dumbbell curls | 6 sets, 6-reps |
| Concentration curls | 6 sets, 10-reps |
| Close grip bench press | 6 sets, 8-reps |
| Triceps pushdown | 6 sets, 10-reps |
| Lying dumbbell tricep press | 6 sets, 8-reps |
| Overhead tricep press | 6 sets, 10-reps |
| Shoulders | |
| Seated barbell front press | 6 sets, 8-10 reps |
| Standing lateral raises | 6 sets, 10-reps |
| Standing dumbbell press | 6 sets, 8-reps |
| Bent-over lateral raises | 5 sets, 10-reps |
| Cable lateral raises | 5 sets, 12-reps |
| Evening session | |
| Standing calf raises | 10 sets, 10-reps |
| Seated calf raises | 8 sets, 15-reps |
| Donkey calf raises | 6 sets, 12-reps |
- The identical morning routine, chest, back, legs, was done thrice weekly
- The identical morning routine, biceps, triceps, shoulders, was done thrice weekly
- The identical evening routine, calves, forearms, was done six times per week
- M/W/F morning and evening total number of sets 420
- T/T/S morning and evening total number of sets 282
- Total number of weight training sets per week 702
- Estimated total hours spent weight training weekly 20 hours
This type of approach, massive volume, was universally practiced by all 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.
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.
