Before Arnold Schwarzenegger got here to America, his legs were his weak point. The truth is, he didn’t train them in any respect for the primary 12 months of his training. When he finally realized that he needed some wheels to go together with his upper body development, he went overboard. Each day for a 12 months, he did ten sets of squats followed by ten sets of leg curls!
When Arnold’s US sponsor, Joe Weider, got to see his young protege nose to nose, that is what he told him, as reported in Muscle & Fitness magazine, “”
Arnold took Weider’s advice to heart. Over the following decade, he began using the Weider training principles to construct a set of wheels that balanced his outstanding upper-body muscle growth. In this text, we’ll detail the leg workout routine that Arnold Schwarzenegger used throughout his Mr. Olympia reign.
Arnold’s Leg Workout
Arnold often trained his legs in two sessions. The primary three moves could be done within the morning. Then he’d come back within the evening and do the opposite two. This allowed him to push every exercise to absolutely the limit. Here’s the workout that he followed:
Arnold’s Calf Training
Though they’re officially a part of the legs, Arnold trained his calf muscles individually. When he arrived in America, his calves were underdeveloped. When this was delivered to his attention, he became obsessive about correcting the issue.
Quite than hiding his weakness, Arnold famously cut his training pants off on the knees to reveal them. This created the negative reinforcement loop he needed to stimulate muscle growth. Inside two years, Arnold’s calves had totally transformed.
The truth is, they were so good that a reporter once jokingly asked him how much his calves cost (insinuating that he had implants). Arnold’s answer was, “”
Here’s Arnold’s Mr. Olympia calf training workout:
- Donkey Calf Raises: 5 sets of 15-30 reps
- Standing Calf Raises: 5 sets of 15-30 reps
- Leg Press Calf Raises: 5 sets of 20-30 reps
- Standing One-Legged Dumbbell Calf Raises: 3 sets of 15-30 reps
Arnold’s Leg Training Suggestions
When he realized that his legs were holding back his progress, Arnold threw himself into making the needed improvements. Along the best way, he learned rather a lot through trial and error. Listed here are Arnie’s top five leg training suggestions:
1. Volume is King
Arnold knows that the legs are a stubborn muscle group. Because we’re walking around on all of them day, they’re created for endurance. Due to this fact, with the intention to shock them into growth, you would like plenty of volume.
Originally of his training profession, Arnold wasn’t using enough volume on his legs. It was only when he increased his volume to a minimum of 20 sets, with each taken to failure, that he began to see some serious quad development.
2. Develop the Mind Muscle Connection
Arnold accepted early on that his leg workouts were going to be essentially the most brutal aspect of his training week. So, relatively than fearing those workouts, he developed the attitude of a warrior going into combat.
He went into the gym with the mindset that he was about to wage war with the heavy weights there – and there was no way they were going to defeat him!
It’s that kind of intensity that allowed Arnold to push every rep of each set to the limit.
3. Have a Training Partner
Arnold’s workout partnership with future Mr. Olympia, Franco Columbu is known. These two multi-Olympia winners created an intensity and atmosphere that was nothing in need of electric. Though smaller, Franco was stronger than Arnold on most lifts. This was a reason behind motivation for Arnie, who always pushed himself to maintain up with Franco’s squat and leg press poundages.
Aside from the motivation factor, a training partner is important from a safety aspect. Having a trusted spotter standing behind you offers you more confidence to try for that last squat rep whenever you’re undecided if you happen to’re going to have the option to finish it by yourself.
4. Experiment with a Calf Block
Arnold found that placing a low block under his heels improved his squatting form and felt more natural. It gave him an increased range of motion in order that he could go deeper into the underside squat. The block also helped keep Arnold’s torso in an upright position throughout the movement.
Not everyone will profit from a calf block. Taller people (Arnold was 6’2″) will probably get more profit from it. Nevertheless, make sure that that your block is not too high, or it’s going to force you too far forward.
5. Use Shock Tactics
Leading as much as the Mr Olympia contest, Arnold would use shock tactics to force his legs into recent growth. Listed here are two of Arnold’s favorite leg workout shock techniques:
Drop Sets
Drop sets involve going to failure after which stripping off some weight so you possibly can pump out a number of more reps. You proceed stripping off weight until you have done 4 to 5 ‘mini sets.’ Here’s an example:
It is your last set of squats. You managed to push out eight quality reps but have hit your limit. You re-rack the bar, and two guys pull a plate off both sides. You immediately unrack the bar and pump out one other 6-8 reps. Then you definitely re-rack again. One other plate comes off both sides, and also you keep going. This continues for a complete of 4-5 weight reductions, by which era you can be totally exhausted.
Pre-Exhaustion Sets
While the quads are effectively worked within the squat exercise, it’s just one in every of a lot of muscle groups of muscles which can be worked within the movement. Other leg muscles involved are the glutes and hamstrings. The pre-exhaustion technique lets you temporarily make the quads the weak link in order that they get all of the emphasis.
Arnold would put this into motion by doing a set of leg extensions after which immediately going to squats. It required that he use a rather lower squat weight but allowed him to position all of the load on the quadriceps.
Wrap Up
Leg training was essentially the most hardcore, demanding a part of Arnold’s workout schedule. His high volume, maximum poundage philosophy allowed him to take his lower body’s glaring weakness and produce it as much as the purpose where it was almost as impressive as his upper body.
In the event you’re game enough to check out Arnold’s leg workout, get yourself prepped for some serious pain – and do not plan on climbing any stairs for a number of days afterward!
