2024 Classic Physique Olympia runner-up Mike Sommerfeld hopes to score his first major bodybuilding title when he steps onstage at the 2025 Arnold Classic in Columbus, OH, on Feb. 28 through March 1, 2025.
Sommerfeld is the favorite to win the Arnold Classic Physique show, thanks to finishing one spot behind six-time Classic Physique Olympia winner Chris Bumstead at the 2024 Olympia. That finish qualified Sommerfeld for the 2025 Olympia. A win in Ohio would further cement Sommerfeld as the front-runner for the 2025 Olympia since Bumstead retired.
Sommerfeld was in the final stages of his prep for the Arnold Classic Physique contest when he shared his upper body training within a fortnite of competition. His programming includes drop sets, an intensity booster he uses to get into his best possible shape.
Sommerfeld split the training into two sessions. The first was for the back and chest; the latter was focused on shoulders and arms.
First Workout
- Straight-Arm Lat Pulldown
- High Seated Row Machine
- Single-Arm Lat Pulldown
- Lat Pulldown Machine
- Seated Chest Press
- Cable Flyes
Second Workout
- Seated Reverse Cable Flye
- Dumbbell Lateral Raise
- Seated Lateral Raise Machine
- Triceps Pressdown
Sommerfeld used multiple intensity-boosting techniques throughout his sessions, including forced reps and high-rep sets of 20 with short rest periods. He used drop sets after reaching failure on lateral raises, immediately grabbing smaller weights to extend the set.
Sommerfeld explained that his goal is to get the most out of the training despite eating fewer calories and having less energy.
The main focus is creating a stimulus in a caloric deficit and trying to burn calories.
—Mike Sommerfeld
Many bodybuilders use intensity boosters like drop sets to save time in the gym in the final weeks of contest preparation. Drop sets maximize time spent in the gym, preserve muscle mass, and build muscle. A 2023 study concluded that using drop sets could help lifters maximize hypertrophy when time for training is limited. (1)
Lifters can use drop sets to build muscle, but there isn’t an established optimized method for using them. Still, a common practice is to perform a working set to failure, reducing the weight by 20-25%, then immediately resume reps to failure again. This can be used on most machine and free-weight exercises.
When Sommerfeld steps onstage for prejudging at the Arnold Classic, he will face 11 athletes, including 2024 champion Wesley Vissers. The most recent time Sommerfeld and Vissers met on stage was at the 2024 Olympia, where Sommerfeld ranked second and Vissers placed eighth.
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Reference
- Sødal, L. K., Kristiansen, E., Larsen, S., & van den Tillaar, R. (2023). Effects of Drop Sets on Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Sports medicine – open, 9(1), 66. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-023-00620-5
Featured Image: @mikethebadass on Instagram
