• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The BarBend Logo in white.

BarBend

The Online Home for Strength Sports

  • News
    • CrossFit
    • Strongman
    • Bodybuilding
    • Top Athletes
    • Powerlifting
    • Weightlifting
    • HYROX
    • Competition Results
    • Latest Research
  • Reviews
    • Recovery
      • Best Cold Plunges
      • Best Saunas
      • Best Mini Massage Guns
      • Individual Recovery Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Protein
        • Best Vegan Protein Powders
        • Best Whey Isolate Protein Powders
        • Best Mass Gainers
        • Best Protein Bars
      • Best Pre-Workouts
        • Best Pre-Workouts for Women
        • Best Pre-Workouts for Men
        • Best Non-Stim Pre-Workouts
        • Strongest Pre-Workouts
      • Best Creatine
      • Best Electrolyte Supplements
      • Best Greens Powder
      • Best Meal Replacements
      • Best Nitric Oxide Supplements
      • Best Fat Burners
        • Best Fat Burners for Men
        • Best Fat Burners for Women
        • Best Non-Stim Fat Burners
      • More Supplements
        • Best Supplements for Muscle Growth
        • Best Supplements for CrossFit
        • Best Supplements for Weight Loss
        • Best Supplements for Bodybuilding
        • Best Supplements for Men
        • Best Supplement Stacks
      • Individual Supplements Reviews
    • Equipment
      • Cardio
        • Best Treadmills
        • Best Rowing Machines
        • Best Exercise Bikes
        • Best Ellipticals
        • Best Recumbent Bikes
      • Strength
        • Best Adjustable Dumbbells
        • Best Dumbbells
        • Best Kettlebells
        • Best Barbells
        • Best Squat Racks
        • Best Free Weights
        • Best Weight Benches
        • Best Resistance Bands
        • Best Slam Balls
        • Best Weighted Vests
        • Best Leg Extension Machines
        • Best Cable Machines
        • Best Power Racks
        • Best Pull Up Bars
      • Best Home Gyms
        • Best Smart Home Gyms
        • Best Gym Equipment Under $100
        • Best Home Gym Essentials
        • Best Home Gym Flooring
      • Individual Equipment Reviews
    • Fitness Accessories
      • Apparel
        • Best Weightlifting Shoes
        • Best Cross Training Shoes
        • Best Gym Bags
        • Best Gym Shorts
      • Training
        • Best Weightlifting Belts
        • Best Knee Sleeves
        • Best Lifting Straps
        • Best Grip Strengtheners
        • Best Wrist Wraps
        • Best Lifting Gloves
      • Individual Fitness Product Reviews
    • Certifications
      • Best Sports Nutrition Certifications
      • Best Personal Trainer Certifications
      • Best Nutrition Certifications
      • Individual Certifications Reviews
    • Programs
      • Best Online Workout Programs
      • Best Workout Streaming Services
      • Best Home Workout Programs
      • Individual Program Reviews
  • Nutrition
    • Diets
      • Carb Cycling
      • Vertical Diet
      • Reverse Dieting
      • Carnivore Diet
      • Ketogenic Diet
      • Intermittent Fasting
      • IIFYM Diet
    • Fat Loss
      • Macros for Fat Loss
      • Calorie Deficits
      • Natural Fat Burners
      • Cut 2 Pounds Weekly
    • Muscle Gain
      • How to Dirty Bulk
      • Go From Cutting to Bulking
      • Eat These Carbs
      • How to Eat for Muscle
    • Supplement Guides
      • Pre-Workout
      • Whey Protein
      • Mass Gainers
      • Greens Powders
      • Creatine
      • BCAAs
    • Nutrition Tips
      • Daily Protein Needs
      • Pre- and Post-Workout Nutrition
      • Foods With Creatine
      • Bulking Tips
  • Training
    • Workouts
      • Back Workouts
      • At-Home Workouts
      • Chest & Back Workouts
      • Full-Body Workout
      • HIIT Workouts
    • Exercise Guides
      • Deadlift
      • Bench Press
      • Back Squat
      • Overhead Press
      • Bent-Over Row
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Crunches
      • Farmer’s Carry
    • Best Exercises
      • Shoulder Exercises
      • Back Exercises
      • Chest Exercises
      • Glute Exercises
      • Ab Exercises
      • Hamstring Exercises
      • Quad Exercises
      • Calf Exercises
      • Biceps Exercises
      • Triceps Exercises
    • Programs
      • Push-Up Program
      • Pull-Up Program
      • German Volume Training
      • 5/3/1 Program
      • Powerbuilding Program
      • The Cube Method
      • 5×5 Program
      • Bodybuilding Programs
      • Build Your Own Program
    • Fat Loss
      • How to Burn Fat
      • Spot Fat Reduction
      • How to Train on a Cut
      • Body Conditioning
      • Workouts
        • Kettlebell Circuits
        • Dumbbell Complexes
        • Farmer’s Carry Workouts
    • Muscle Gain
      • Muscle Hypertrophy Explained
      • How to Build Muscle
      • How to Maintain Muscle
      • What Researchers Say About Muscle Gain
        • Workouts
          • 20-Minute Workouts
          • Kettlebell Circuits
          • CrossFit Workouts for Muscle
          • Bodybuilding Workouts
  • Calculators
    • Protein Intake Calculator
    • Macros Calculator
    • BMR Calculator
    • Squat Calculator
    • Calorie Calculator
  • Community Forum
Home » Bodybuilding News » How Did Arnold Schwarzenegger Train? A Chronicle of the Austrian Oak's Favorite Workouts

How Did Arnold Schwarzenegger Train? A Chronicle of the Austrian Oak’s Favorite Workouts

Here’s how the Austrian Oak carved out that body.

Written by Dr. Conor Heffernan
Last updated on June 10th, 2024

  • Training Philosophy
  • |
  • His Three Lives
  • |
  • Workouts
  • |
  • Current Split
  • |
  • What Can We Learn

It’s far from the most controversial thing in the sport to say: Arnold Schwarzenegger is the greatest bodybuilder of all time. A seven-time Mr. Olympia, Arnold helped push bodybuilding into the mainstream first as an athlete, then as a promoter, and finally, as an actor. His first major movie break came in 1977 when the iconic bodybuilding documentary Pumping Iron was released. From there came a litany of well-known roles in Terminator, Predator, and Conan the Barbarian.

On seeing Arnold’s physique, countless athletes have asked the same question across decades: How do I look like that? 

Arnold Schwarzenegger lifting dumbbells.

Arnold’s physique was built through a workout program that dabbled in powerlifting, bodybuilding, and weightlifting at various points in his training career. What makes Arnold even more unique is how he has changed his training across his life. 

Here, I’ll take you through how young Arnold built his body, how middle-aged Arnold perfected it, and how the current Arnold protects it. 

Arnold’s Training Philosophy

Throughout his training career, Arnold has focused on a set of core principles to build his body: 

  • Intensity
  • Focus
  • Progression

Arnold’s Intensity

From a young age, Arnold embraced hard work within the gym, famously training his legs so hard as a teenager that he was unable to ride his bicycle home and was forced to walk. (1) As he grew in experience, intensity came to mean using a combination of heavy weights for low reps; moderate weights for high reps; and training twice a day with a large number of sets. 

Arnold was renowned for how hard he trained and the length of his workouts, but he was not an advocate of high-intensity training (or HIT, the practice of training to absolute failure using a minimal number of sets). 

Check out BarBend’s guide to HIT: Use High-Intensity Training to Unlock New Gains

Casey Viator, one of the original HIT proponents later recorded a HIT workout with Arnold. The ‘Austrian Oak’ found it so demanding that he eventually quit! Indeed, as strength historian Randy Roach’s claims: intensity ‘is in the eye of the beholder.’ (2) 

Nevertheless, hard work was a cornerstone of Arnold’s approach, and he regularly advised trainees to enjoy the difficulty of their workouts.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Arnold The GOAT (@its_arnold_legacy)

[Read More: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s & Phil Heath’s Upper Body Workout at Arnold Sports Festival UK]

Arnold’s Focus

Just as important (if not moreso) was Arnold’s belief in focusing during the workout. For the Oak, this was defined as two things: mind-muscle connection (or feeling the movement through the muscle) and developing a pump during the workout. 

[Read More: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Timeless Bodybuilding Tips]

Combined, these philosophies ensured that he was always able to target the correct muscle group. In particular, Arnold used these approaches to great effect when bringing up lagging or weak muscle groups such as his notoriously weak calves early in his career.

Arnold’s Progression

Arnold’s calves provide a nice starting point for Arnold’s third training philosophy: progression.

Put simply: Arnold continually stressed the importance of using heavier and heavier weights and—if necessary—more and more sets. 

This idea, while hardly revolutionary, was something Arnold pushed to the absolute extreme. In 1969, Arnold’s own bodybuilding idol, Reg Park, told him that his calves would only grow when he began doing sets with 1,000 pounds on the calf raise. Arnold took this advice and began to use progressively heavier weights during his training. (1)

The Three Lives of Arnold

Whether he was starting out, at his peak, or as an ‘elder statesman’ of the gym, Arnold has continually preached his pillars of training to aspiring bodybuilders. But Arnold is far from a single-sport athlete. His advice can be applied across strength sports—and he’s got the credentials to demonstrate why.

Arnold’s Early (And Undocumented) Training

Arnold dabbled in a range of strength sports before sticking with bodybuilding. During his younger days, he competed in powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting competitions and—on one occasion—a stone lifting contest, too. 

Alas, there are thus undocumented phases of his training when Arnold used powerlifting and weightlifting programs to prepare him for competition.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (@arnoldschwarzeneggerpics)

[Read More: How Strong Was Arnold Schwarzenegger? We Look Back at the Oak’s Short-Lived Powerlifting Career]

Perhaps because he changed (and became) the face of the sport, much of his autobiographical memories focus on his bodybuilding upbringing. Arnold’s first workouts in Austria were simple full-body programs wherein each muscle group was hit for three sets of ten reps. (1)

Increasing His Volume (And Intensity)

Encouraged by his early progress, Arnold slowly built up his workouts to six times a week, eventually splitting between different body parts. His inspiration at the time came from American bodybuilding magazines and his idol Reg Park. 

It wasn’t until Arnold moved to Germany in 1966 that he really shook up his training program. Training alongside Mr. Europe and Mr. Universe champions, he realized that they all seemed to superset their training—getting more work done in a shorter period. (1)

Supersets require an athlete to perform two exercises back-to-back without resting (or resting minimally) in between. Check out BarBend’s guide to supersets to learn how to integrate the greats’ strategies into your own repertoire.

Enter the Mind-Muscle Connection

It was not, however, until Arnold moved to America in 1968 that his training philosophy truly evolved. Training under the tutelage of Joe Weider and in the now iconic gyms on America’s West Coast (including Gold’s Gym), Arnold continued to grow in size and stature.

Interestingly, he was known for his training simplicity. Former training partner Ric Drasin recalled Arnold’s adherence to basic movements, without a huge amount of variety. What distinguished Arnold from his peers was the time he spent in the gym and the number of sets he dedicated to each muscle. (3) 

[Read More: Arnold Schwarzenegger Reveals His Heaviest Lifts Ever]

His philosophy during this time was all about hard work, long sessions in the gym, and focusing absolutely on the mind-muscle connection. Arnold set the standard for how a pro bodybuilder should train in the 1970s and 1980s. Fellow bodybuilding legend Tom Platz recalled everyone doing the ‘Arnold workout’ when he first moved to California. (4)

The basic framework of these workouts has remained despite Arnold’s changing priorities. As a Hollywood star (and even during his time as Governor of California), Arnold continued to train intensely in the gym, albeit at a lower body weight. 

Last year, BarBend covered the then 75-year-old Arnold workout routines. While he has largely substituted dumbbells and barbells for machines, he continues to train honestly and consistently. 

Check out our coverage here: “Don’t Think, Just Act” — Arnold Schwarzenegger Shares How He Trains at 75 Years Old.

Arnold’s Workouts Over His Career

To give you a taste of how Arnold’s workouts have changed over time, it’s useful to examine his training programs as a beginner; as an elite bodybuilder; and now as an advanced trainee.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Arnold Schwarzenegger (@schwarzenegger)

Arnold’s Beginner Program

In Arnold: Education of a Bodybuilder, the Oak detailed a program for trainees largely inspired by some of the first workouts he completed. There are ten exercises, each done for three sets of eight to 10 reps with 30 seconds rest between sets (unless otherwise noted). (1)

  • Bench Press
  • Wide-Grip Chin-Up
  • Military Press
  • Barbell Curl
  • French Press
  • Back Squat
  • Leg Curl
  • Calf Raise (5 x 15)
  • Sit-Up (3 x 50)
  • Wrist Curl (3 x AMRAP)

Want to learn more about AMRAP (as many reps or rounds as possible) training? Check out BarBend’s AMRAP guide.

Arnold’s Olympia Workouts

Arnold’s initial workouts were all about building a muscular base. By the time he was competing in (and winning!) Mr. Olympia titles in the 1970s, he had shifted to fine-turning his physique. This meant a keen focus on each muscle group. 

[Read More: The Arnold Schwarzenegger Workout Split (and How to Modify It)]

He famously achieved this by training twice a day, six days a week! 

On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday

(Morning) Chest

  • Barbell Bench Press: 4 x 10,8,6,4
  • Barbell Incline Bench Press: 4 x 10,8,6,4
  • Dumbbell Flye: 3 x 10,8,6
  • Dip: 3 x 15,10,8
  • Pullover: 3 x 15

(Morning) Back

  • Weighted Chin-Up: 4 x 10+
  • Close-Grip Chin-Up: 4 x 10
  • T-Bar Row: 4 x 15,12,8,6
  • Barbell Row: 4 x 8-12

(Evening) Legs

  • Squat: 5 x 20, then 4 x 10,8,6,4
  • Front Squat: 4 x 10,8,8,6
  • Hack Squat: 3 x 10
  • Leg Curl: 4 x 20,10,8,6
  • Standing Leg Curl: 4 x 10
  • Straight-Leg Deadlift: 3 x 10

(Evening) Calves

  • Donkey Calf Raise: 4 x 10
  • Standing Calf Raise: 4 x 15,10,8,8

(Evening) Abs

  • Crunch: 3 x 25
  • Bent-Over Torso Twist: 100 reps per side
  • Machine Crunch: 3 x 25
  • Crunch: 1 x 50

On Tuesday, Thursday, & Saturday

Shoulders

  • Behind-the-Neck Overhead Press: 5 x 15, then 4 x 10,8,8,6
  • Lateral Raise: 4 x 8
  • Bent-Over Lateral Raise: 4 x 8
  • Dumbbell Shrug: 3 x 10

Arms

  • Barbell Curl: 5 x 15,10,8,6,4
  • Incline Dumbbell Curl: 4 x 8
  • Concentration Curl: 3 x 8
  • Skull Crusher: 4 x 15,10,8,6
  • Cable Triceps Pressdown: 3 x 8
  • Single-Arm Triceps Extension: 3 x 10

Forearms

  • Barbell Wrist Curl: 4 x 10
  • Reverse Wrist Curl: 3 x 10

Calves

  • Seated Calf Raise: 4 x 10

Abs

  • Reverse Crunch: 4 x 25
  • Seated Twist: 100 reps per side
  • Vertical Bench Crunch: 4 x 25

The Current Arnold Split

Late last year, Arnold revealed his tips for training in his 70s. Training nearly every day, he splits his workouts between 45 to 60 minutes on the bicycle and then short, circuit-style workouts for roughly 30 minutes. 

His arm and shoulder workout, for example, is a series of short, sharp circuits, pushed for high rep sets with little rest. (5) 

  • Machine Preacher Curl: 1 x 30, 4 x 10-12
  • Machine Dip: 1 x 30, 4 x 10-12
  • Overhead Press Machine: 5 x 10-12
  • Machine Lateral Raise: 5 x 10-12
  • Machine Rear Delt Flye: 5 x 10-12

What Can We Learn From Arnold?

First things first: your training age, experience, and goals matter! How Arnold trained shifted dramatically across his career. What he did as a beginner no longer served him as an elite bodybuilder and similarly as someone who is now just interested in maintaining his health and mobility. 

At his peak, Arnold did not hit one heavy set to failure like six-time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates, or push incredibly heavy weights like eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman. But he did train with intensity, consistency, and with a focused effort to engage each muscle to the max. 

These tips, which broadly underpin current Mr. Olympia Derek Lunford’s training, continue to hold across the tests of time.

References

  1. Schwarzenegger, Arnold. The Education of a Bodybuilder. Simon and Schuster, 1977.
  2. Roach, R., 2008. Muscle, smoke & mirrors. AuthorHouse.
  3. Drasin, Ric, 2019. ‘Training with Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Austrian Oak.’ Bodybuilding.com, June 12. 
  4. McGough, Peter. 2013. ‘Tom & Arnold.’ Muscular Development, April 3. 
  5. Nelson, Keith. 2023. ‘Arnold Schwarzenegger Shares His Workout Routine at 75.’ Men’s Health, May 24.

Featured Image: UCLA Library Digital Collections + Photo_Doc / Shutterstock

About Dr. Conor Heffernan

Dr. Conor Heffernan is a Lecturer in the Sociology of Sport at Ulster University. When not in the gym or in the library he likes to try his hand at writing, often with mixed results. He divides his time between his research and his website, which is dedicated to the history of fitness and exercise — read all about it at Physical Culture Study.

View All Articles

Primary Sidebar

Latest Reviews

EveryPlate Review

EveryPlate Review (2025): A Tasty, Budget-Friendly Meal Kit, Tested By Our Experts

ARMRA Colostrum Review

ARMRA Colostrum Review (2025): A Certified Nutrition Coach’s Critique of this Trending Supplement

Sun Home Luminar Review

Sun Home Luminar Review (2025): Our Experts Sweat It Out With This High-Quality Outdoor Sauna

Cover image for CookUnity review of a filled reusable box of 6 CookUnity meals

CookUnity Review (2025): An Expert-Tested and Flexible Prepared Meal Service

Transparent Labs Prebiotic Greens Review

Transparent Labs Prebiotic Greens Review (2025): Our Experts Examine This Nutrient-Filled Profile

BarBend

BarBend is an independent website. The views expressed on this site may come from individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the view of BarBend or any other organization. BarBend is the Official Media Partner of USA Weightlifting.

  • About Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest

Sections

  • CrossFit
  • Strongman
  • Bodybuilding
  • Powerlifting
  • Weightlifting
  • Reviews
  • Nutrition
  • Training

More

  • BarBend Newsletter
  • BarBend Podcast
  • The Ripped Report
  • 1RM Calculator
  • BMR Calculator
  • Macros Calculator
  • Protein Calculator
  • Squat Calculator

Policies

  • Accessibility
  • Advice Disclaimer
  • Cookies Policy
  • Disclaimers
  • Disclosures
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Copyright © 2025 · BarBend Inc · Sitemap