Arnold's "Basic" Training

[louden_swain]

todays bodybuilders look like dog shit.

The Arnold era was one where the bodybuilders actually looked appealing. He had a nice amount of fat and he didnt look grossly shredded like many of the idiots these days.

I think that Arnold had the best looking body in history and IMO, judges of the contests should penalise those who look disgusting. Bunch of fucking idiots the judges are these days for encouraging the absolutely shredded look.

I think pro bodybuilding has become a competition between cattle. I have been turned off by bodybuilding because of the unhealthy activity.

 

[Lee]

i am into bodybuilding to look good for myself, not to be as huge as i can possibly get and impress people.

 

[TheOak84]

Arnold is no where near as strong or as big as the pros of today. Arnolds squat couldn't even match what some pros are incline pressing these days.

ya, but Arnols is a living legend and the King of body Building IMO... He will live forever... As will Hefner

 

[he-man]

imagine if pro's today didnt use any type of chemical assistance at all. you would see some massive guys with great genetics for sure but, it would really be interesting to see how far diet, training, and genetics would REALLY take them.

 

[Shark01]

I think that basic program would work well for beginners, who don't work out very hard. Anybody that says that Arnold didn't know anything about training has been stacking stupid pills with moron juice

 

[Debaser]

Um have you read his encyclopedia? Most of what he talks about is ludicrous or just flat-out incorrect.

 

[SofaGeorge]

I used to train full body twice a week. There is so much BS about what you can and cannot do.

People make a HUGE mistake in evaluating workouts. That body will adapt to almost ANY degree of work. Modern workouts are NOT the only correct way to lift. They are simply geared towards being cause effective - i.e., the least amount of effort for maximum gains.

Arnold and many others clearly proved you can get great results training twice a week with incredible volume. Modern lifters demonstrate that Arnold may have been able to get away with only a portion of that effort for the same results... or better.

What a lot of you don't grasp is that the science of lifting is still very new. When I was a kid we didn't know a fraction of what is known today... and the guys who were lifting in the '30s and '40s didn't know what we knew when I was a kid.

Vince Gironda was called "The Iron Guru." I met him years ago at this gym. It was fascinating to talk him. He broke down for me the history of people even figuring out what exercises did and did not work... and what bodypart they worked for. He said back in the '40s guys were doing about a dozen exercises for different body parts... and then only one would turn out to be effective.

Trail and error.. theory meets results... and the science is still evolving.

 

[louden_swain]

I always liked Arnolds squat routines. . . I read somewhere he would do 12 sets of squats. He just kept on adding dimes to the side of the bar.

 

[guldukat]

and how in the hell would u explain him getting an incredible physique? and dont even try to say steroids because the amount he used was very small compared to what people use today.

That's true, Lee, but don't forget about the big G: genetics

Arnold's genetics for gaining were pretty good. Part of the reason he didn't get significantly bigger is the reason Kevin Levrone usually competes at the same size range--both take off several months out of the year. (Kevin used to do this, anyway.) Plus, Arnold didn't have much reason to get a lot bigger...other than Sergio, no one had the size to push Arnold. Ferrigno was getting close, but his symmetry was too wanky and he didn't compete quite lean enough.

I think what Debaser meant that, while the training obviously worked for Arnold, his training was far from ideal. And for the vast majority of people, that is true. Doing upwards of 60-80 sets six times a week would make most guys shrink, not grow.

Also, the truth is, Arnold *did* train very hard sometimes...he did some fairly hard sets in "Pumping Iron" for the cameras, probably at least 90% to failure. That's probably what made him grow, not the five sets of lighter stuff he did before then.

So Arnold advocates all that work because he believes it is the "cause" of the growth, but that's illicit reasoning. Yes, even someone as intelligent as Arnold can make mistakes

But you do have a point...he was fucking incredible. I'm a huge Arnold fan; I simply wouldn't train like him.

 

[Baoh]

Um have you read his encyclopedia? Most of what he talks about is ludicrous or just flat-out incorrect.

Debaser, do you really think Arnold wrote it all himself?

I also agree with SofaGeorge's post. A different time, and there's not one way to go about achieving an excellent build.