He is one of the most successful bodybuilders ever. He is Hollywood actor and governor of California. Apparently, everything Arnold Schwarzenegger touches, becomes gold. Consequently, many athletes are interested in how the native Austrian has trained. In addition to an almost inhumane training and iron discipline, Schwarzenegger has incredibly good genetic systems, without which such an impressive result is not possible. However, one by one.
The athletic career
Born in Thal on July 30, 1947, the actor started playing sports from his earliest childhood. In addition to boxing and swimming, he was also enthusiastic about playing soccer. However, as his coach found that doing a bit of leg work was good, he sent Arnold to the next weightlifting studio. It was not long before the later governor renounced football and concentrated entirely on the then unknown bodybuilding sport in Europe. His role model was Reg Park, a successful strength athlete and actor. Schwarzenegger won his first bodybuilding title in 1965. In Stuttgart, he was voted the best junior athlete at an event. At the World Championships of the Association NABBA he finally achieved the big breakthrough. In 1968, the Terminator became Amateur World Champion and at the age of twenty became the youngest Mister Universe of all time. The Austrian soon followed in the US to train more effectively. The decision should turn out to be the right one. In 1970 he became Mister Universe for the fifth time and for the first time also Mister Olympia. His role model Reg Park only came second in the competitions. Schwarzenegger dominated in the following years, the bodybuilding scene and contributed to the sport became popular. In 1975 he announced his resignation to devote himself entirely to the film business. His comeback in 1980 was, as expected, a great success. Schwarzenegger was able to collect seven Mr. Olympia titles and five Mr. Universum titles until his final retirement. He is still considered one of the greatest personalities of bodybuilding and can hardly be trumped in publicity.
A professional
Arnold Schwarzenegger was an exceptional athlete. He is incredibly talented and blessed with very good genes. His body was trained hard for decades and was able to get used to the daily hardships. He was not a hobby athlete, but a full professional. Bodybuilding was his profession and vocation. Copying and imitating your exercise plan is not recommended, He is far too intense for the average athlete. He still offers a good insight into the world of bodybuilding. As you read, you get an idea of how hard this man must have trained and how strong-willed he is.
The training of a world champion
Schwarzenegger trained six days a week. Only on Sunday he gave his body time for well-deserved regeneration. For each exercise, he made five to six sets and reps in the range of six to twelve or quite simply to complete muscle failure. Depending on the size of each muscle group, he planned three to six different exercises.
On Monday, Wednesday and Friday it was the chest, back, legs, calves, forearms and abdomen. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays he trained triceps, biceps, shoulders, calves, forearms and abdomen. Alone this list sounds incredible. To put it into concrete terms, the individual units are presented in more detail.
Chest, back and legs
For these large muscle groups, the Terminator took most of the time. Five exercises for the legs and back and six exercises for the chest were on the program. Full-body exercises such as bench press, broad-grip pull-ups, which he always performed to failure, and squats were the basis for training. In addition, the cable train included cross, dips to muscle failure, dumbbell covers, incline bench press and flying to the chest exercises. At the back were cable pull sitting, one-armed dumbbell rowing, deadlifts and T-dumbbell rowing. In addition, the leg press and leg extension Schwarzeneggers had to endure weights. It should be noted that of all the exercises that should lead to muscle failure, of course, five sets were made.
Every day calves, stomach and forearms
That would probably have expected the least. The Terminator trained the regions that many athletes consider only incidentally on the plan every day. When standing and sitting calf raises, he came together to complete 18 sets per day. One-legged calf raises sitting with a dumbbell completed the program accordingly. For the forearms, Schwarzenegger forearm curl, reverse barbell curls and the roll-band machine to muscle failure. He trained his stomach for 30 minutes at a time, without a break and free from his instincts.
Arms and shoulders
Despite his unbelievable arm circumference of 56 centimeters, the super athlete only needed seven exercises to burn his arms. Three of them were for the biceps. Barbell curls and sitting dumbbell curls may also be on your program. However, not six sets of six to ten repetitions. The tight bench press, the triceps press on the cable, the French press and the one-armed triceps behind the head are classic exercises that are still very popular today. The shoulders were strengthened by sitting dumbbell presses, side raises standing up, bent side raises and bent side raises on the cable. We hope you understand why you should not copy this plan. He is too intense for us normal mortals and will not lead us to the goal. Nevertheless, one should pull off his hat before this performance and pay the sportsman Schwarzenegger his respect.
