Arnold Chest workout... Anyone?

The_WoIverine

I got this few magazines, each focused on a specific muscle and the workouts Arnold did for those muscles. In the magazine Arnold talks about why he did certain routines/exercises based on goals he had at different times during this bodybuilding career.

The cover of the magazine is at the end of this post in case anyone wants to know how it looks (it doesn't really have a name on it).

My question is, has anyone tried this routine or something similar to it to increase muscle volume? (I'm fully aware nutrition plays a major role in gaining mass)

Here's the routine he says he did along with part of what he said about it:

Workout Routine
Bench Presses - 6 to 8 sets of 6 to 10 reps
Incline Presses - 6 sets of 6 to 10 reps
Flat Bench Dumbbell Flyes - 5 sets of 6 to 10 reps
Weighted Dips - 5 sets of 6 to 10 reps
Crossed-Bench Dumbell Pullovers - 5 sets of 10 reps

"My basic chest routine didm't change much from the time I was 16 until I won my second Mr. Universe title in 1968. I might occasionally have done heavy incline dumbbell pressing instead of using a barbell, but I always stuck to the basic movements to keep adding mass and size to my pecs. My training was always geared to developing more mass. In fact, my basic training program didn't change much over my entire career. The only exercises I added to my chest workouts was the cable crossover. I started including crossovers in my pre contest routine when I moved to California in 1968 after Frank Zane defeated me for the IFBB Mr. Universe title in Miami, Florida.

The cable crossovers that I added to my pre contest preparations helped to bring out chest striations and cuts and to increase the cleavage between the pecs."

keithmustloseweight

My training was always geared

Well.. he can say that again

DvlDwnInGA

Body building .com has Arnold's blueprint workout. I looked it over, but honestly I don't have the time it would take to complete the reps in that program. It is intense to put it mildly.

leftcoastscott

The_WoIverine wrote: »

My question is, has anyone tried this routine or something similar to it to increase muscle volume? (I'm fully aware nutrition plays a major role in gaining mass)

I have no doubt it'd work if you did what Arnold did, but what Arnold did was a lot of PEDs. You won't manage anywhere close to his volume unless you're on an equivalent drug load. This applies to professional bodybuilder, powerlifter, or strongman routines in general - working out on steroids (etc.) is a completely different thing from operating without them.

SideSteel

leftcoastscott wrote: »

The_WoIverine wrote: »

My question is, has anyone tried this routine or something similar to it to increase muscle volume? (I'm fully aware nutrition plays a major role in gaining mass)

I have no doubt it'd work if you did what Arnold did, but what Arnold did was a lot of PEDs. You won't manage anywhere close to his volume unless you're on an equivalent drug load. This applies to professional bodybuilder, powerlifter, or strongman routines in general - working out on steroids (etc.) is a completely different thing from operating without them.

^ Agreed.

mustgetmuscles1

Looks good to me if you do half the sets but do it twice per week.

dbmata

Oh come on. Yeah, he was geared, but that's not a lot of volume. You're looking at between 36 and 60 bench reps in the session, and the same with the other moves. It really will only take two things for an ungeared person.
1. Dedication
2. Proper mental frame

There's also available time, but I'm really only going off the example above. That plus a few accessory moves might be what, an hour? Hour and a half? That's also a routine he claims to have been doing for years, you get conditioned to it.

_SoundWave_

As an avid reader of muscle and fitness magazine ive seen this workout and it looks brutal but have to say I'm doing the Rock's Team Hercules workout which is shorter sets but equally brutal . I'm week 4 of that and have seen the most impressive results so far! I've also just come off a 12 week GVT regime which is also worthwhile looking at If you can't manage the Arnie routine

The_WoIverine

Thanks for the comments everyone.

Now, putting aside two major factors (genes and steroids), I personally don't see anything impossible to try. I know many people would have to deal with the mental strength to even decide to try something like this, or not give up while trying it. My mentality is, if someone else did it, I can do it as well, adjusted to my fitness level of course.

Arnold was a beast, and most of his success has to be credited to his genes. Steroids is a common thing among bodybuilders, but not everyone can achieve what others can no matter how hard they try, and all because of genes.

I think I'll give this a try, especially since I'm about to start a bulking up phase for a few months. It looks brutal, which is exactly what has me intrigued and curious about this chest plan. I posted this of course, just to see if anyone had tried it before.

SideSteel

dbmata wrote: »

Oh come on. Yeah, he was geared, but that's not a lot of volume. You're looking at between 36 and 60 bench reps in the session, and the same with the other moves. It really will only take two things for an ungeared person.
1. Dedication
2. Proper mental frame

There's also available time, but I'm really only going off the example above. That plus a few accessory moves might be what, an hour? Hour and a half? That's also a routine he claims to have been doing for years, you get conditioned to it.

The question I would have would be whether a natural trainee would benefit more from higher frequency rather than a body part split. I think the approach laid out here is sub optimal for most trainees

dbmata

SideSteel wrote: »

dbmata wrote: »

Oh come on. Yeah, he was geared, but that's not a lot of volume. You're looking at between 36 and 60 bench reps in the session, and the same with the other moves. It really will only take two things for an ungeared person.
1. Dedication
2. Proper mental frame

There's also available time, but I'm really only going off the example above. That plus a few accessory moves might be what, an hour? Hour and a half? That's also a routine he claims to have been doing for years, you get conditioned to it.

The question I would have would be whether a natural trainee would benefit more from higher frequency rather than a body part split. I think the approach laid out here is sub optimal for most trainees

I can agree with that.

Honestly, I don't know if a split vs. higher freq. would be better, but this is something where I think Pareto applies, and 80% of the people in the gym will probably not hit a level where it matters.

ETA - is that magazine for natural lifters though?