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Arnold Schwarzenegger's arms workout is much sought after and for good reason. It goes without saying that if you can replicate his arms, you will be nothing short of a bodybuilder. The man is a legend in bodybuilding and has carried forward the legacy of the silver era bodybuilders.
To be the next Schwarzenegger, you should not just train your muscles, but you also have to train your mind. He didn’t train his arms with 20 sets a week; he did 60 sets more than twice a week. That’s the effort he put into building and molding his arms.
One of the primary reasons why Schwarzenegger's arms workout is sought after is because of the flexibility to flip the anabolic switch, enabling you to build your ideal arms. However, you must be prepared to withstand pain and learn to find pleasure in pain just like Schwarzenegger did.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's Arms Workout
During his offseason-build, Schwarzenegger would train his arms twice a week and allow at least 45 minutes for biceps and triceps.
This routine would use the maximum weight his muscles could withstand. Following that, there was a rest period, which allowed the fibers to grow back thicker and stronger.
Schwarzenegger usually selected exercises for each muscle group head and used them to add mass to his biceps and triceps.
The following was one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's arms workout for his biceps during his off-season:
Cheating barbell curl: 5-8 sets of 8-12 reps
Incline dumbbell curl: 5-8 sets of 12-15 reps
One-arm concentration curl: 5 sets of 10 reps
Standing alternate dumbbell curls: 5 sets of 10 reps
During his pre-competition build, he focused on numerous supersets for his workout sessions. Each superset consisted of a bicep and tricep exercise.
One of Arnold Schwarzenegger's arms workout was the following:
Superset 1:
Incline dumbbell curl - 4 sets of 8-10 reps
Tricep pushdown - 4 sets of 8-10 reps
Superset 2:
Barbell curls - 4 sets of 10-12 reps
EZ-bar skullcrusher - 4 sets of 10-12 reps
Superset 3:
Alternate dumbbell curl - 4 sets of 8-10 reps
One-arm overhead extension - 4 sets of 8-10 reps
Superset 4:
Preacher curl - 4 sets of 8-10 reps
French press - 4 sets of 8-10 reps
Superset 5:
Reverse preacher curl - 4 sets of 12-15 reps
Elevated weighted dips - 4 sets until failure
Schwarzenegger would often do elevated dips with several weight plates. Every time his triceps would reach failure, he reduced one weight plate from the load. Finally, he would do dips till failure using only his bodyweight.
Tips from Arnold Schwarzenegger's Arms Workout
Some tips from his arms workout are as follows:
1) The bodybuilder, also known as “The Oak”, pushed himself beyond failure. He would often push past failures to continue reps using cheat curls.
2) As his triceps had an advantage owing to his strong chest, he would often focus on biceps with more reps to bring a similar pump to both muscle groups.
3) Schwarzenegger gave priority to mass builders, such as barbell curls, but he used definition movements to ensure both bicep heads were worked on with equal intensity.
4) He would barely rest between supersets during the three months before competitions. That helped him push his arm muscles into overdrive mode.
Should You Follow Arnold Schwarzenegger's Arms Workout?
Whether or not you should follow Arnold Schwarzenegger's arm workout routine depends on how far you are in your resistance training. While everyone, beginner or advanced, can definitely try his workout, it’s more suited for individuals who have a good foundation.
As a beginner, it’s important to use basic movements with moderate sets and reps to ensure the muscle groups have adjusted to the movement. That will help you understand the form and allow you to create a strong muscle-mind connection before you move to heavier weights.
