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Arnold Schwarzenegger is often considered one of the most renowned bodybuilders, with massive delts and monstrous arms.
At the age of 73, Schwarzenegger can easily crank up a set of 100-pound barbell curls. Even now, the seven-time Olympia winner hits the gym at three in the morning. Nevertheless, Schwarzenegger tends to put a high amount of effort to reach where he's today.
The seven-time Mr. Olympia winner has been an inspiration to millions of people worldwid,e with everyone wanting to become the next Schwarzenegger. However, who can possibly follow his high intensity and mind numbing training that can leave even the advanced athletes with chronic fatigue and symptoms of overtraining?
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Arm Workout for Big and Strong Arms
In an interview, Arnold Schwarzenegger said that throughout his bodybuilding career, he applied psychological strategies to build biceps as big as the mountains. Considering your arms as merely a muscle will subconsciously limit your physical and mental ability. He added that considering the biceps as mountains can help you go beyond your normal mental ability and break down all the barriers.
At the age of just 19, Schwarzenegger developed a training split that targeted all the muscles of his arms, including the biceps and triceps. It typically included preacher bench curls, dumbbell curls, concentration curls, barbell curls and more. He performed the exercises with extremely heavy sets and many repetitions till he could not go on anymore. Additionally, he constantly changed the training exercises to shock his muscles so that they did not get complacent.
Schwarzenegger divided his training into two different routines: the pre-contest routine, which started three months before the Olympia, and the offseason training routinem which spanned nine months after the Olympia contest.
The offseason training routine focused on building quality muscle mass, while the pre-contest training routine concentrated on zooming onto chiselling the smallest of cuts and shape of the arms.
Pre-contest Training
To get big and strong arms, Arnold Schwarzenegger followed a gruesome and strict training routine.
It consisted of following the supersets with a good number of repetitions along with heavy weights. Supersets meant performing the exercises continually with little to no rest in between the exercises. The exercises included in his arm workout routine were as follows:
- Incline dumbbell curls
- Triceps pushdown
- Standing alternate dumbbell curls
- One-arm overhead extension
- Preacher curl
- Lying French press
- Concentration curl
- Reverse triceps pushup
- Reverse preacher curl
- Barbell wrist curls.
During pre-contest training, Schwarzenegger would shift into overdrive by working out for six days per week and two workouts every day. He would train his arms at least three times each week in a grueling routine.
Schwarzenegger said in an interview that when zeroing in before any contest, he would flex his arms in front of the mirror for a couple of minutes. That helped with posing for the contest along with better endurance and control over his muscles.
Off-season Training
In his offseason training routine, Schwarzenegger categorised his exercises into two types: isolation and mass building.
He steered close to classic muscle building exercises, such as barbells and dumbbell curls. Schwarzenegger did not have a fixed number of reps or sets, as they varied according to his workout.
He absolutely loved including the dumbbell concentration curls into his workout routine, and it was often considered one of his 'trademark' exercises. The exercises that were usually included by Schwarzenegger during his offseason arm workout routine included:
- Standing barbell curls
- Bench press
- Inclined dumbbell curls
- Seated dumbbell overhead extension
- Dumbbell concentration curls
- Lying ez-bar extensions
- Preacher ez-bar curls
- Standing rope cable pushdowns,
One of the most important psychological tricks Arnold Schwarzenegger adopted for training splits for big and strong arms was enthusiasm coupled with a healthy dose of pragmatism. One should be overjoyed about the small gains and should look forward with great anticipation for each gain.
Bottom Line
Following Arnold Schwarzenegger's exact workout routine can be quite difficult, to say the least, as he has earned a reputation for burning through his training faster than any other bodybuilder. Even experienced athletes and bodybuilders are not able to recover from their workouts.
Everyone can benefit from the workout principles of Arnold Schwarzenegger, but it's best to tailor every workout routine according to your fitness goals and workout ability.
He advises that for muscle development of the arms, you should always determine your weak points and tailor your workout program accordingly. Additionally, for big and strong arms, do not forget to do forearm workouts, and regularly perform exercises that train the forearms, such as reverse curls and wrist curls.
