Schwarzenegger Routine Question

[Travers54]

Hey, I see you guys talking about how you shouldn't work a muscle more than once a week, but I was reading Arnolds Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding and for his level 1 routine it says to work the same muscles two times a week, and when you need to step it up, level 2 says to work them three times a week. Any help on which way is better (once, twice, three times a week) would be much appreciated.

Level 1 Looks like this:
Mon: Chest and Back
Tues: Shoulders, Upper arms, Forearms
Wed: Thighs, Calves, Lower Back
Thur: Chest and Back
Fri: Shoulders, Upper arms, Forearms
Sat: Thighs, Calves, Lower Back
Abbs every day
Sun: off

[shortz]

It really depends on over all volume. You have to realize that Arnold has been on gear since he was 15 or 16 years old, and a shit load at that. Volume is very important to pay attention to when doing a split that you work a muscle more than once. A good key to follow is that however many sets for a muscle you would normally do in a day when working it once a week, you want to do about the same amount of sets TOTAL in the week, no matter what. For instance, if you were to normally do 12 sets for chest in one day, then you should not be doing more than 6 sets over two days or 4 sets in 3 days.

SOmething many forget about is that rest is just as important as being in the gym. The CNS does not heal without proper rest either. You will find yourself quickly over trained.

Soemthing else I want to point out. Doing lower body, like deads and squats, takes ALOT out of the CNS and you really do need that rest between lower body workouts. If you are doing more than two days, one for deads and one for squats or both on the same day, you shouldn't be doing any more than maybe GPP work. If you are not a PLer or training for something in specific, then you shouldn't be doing the extra day of GPP.

[Travers54]

hey thanks for the detailed reply shortz.

[Primal Instinct]

:agree: Great response, shortz! Arnold was atypical and as you correctly stated, he was juiced from the time he was a kid. Those workouts are too intense and close together for the average bodybuilder, IMO. Not enough rest incorporated in between workouts. That's when the body actually grows, not DURING a workout. So take all of that stuff with a grain of salt because I feel it is designed in mind for someone on some major juice. I also have that book and it is loaded with all sorts of valuable info and some really great and rare pics of past bodybuilding greats.

Welcome to the board!

[NYCmitch25]

Sorry... everyone reads Arnold for tips. Hes the man but if you follow a juicers routine you have to be juicing. Youll eventually injure yourself. Depending on age. Young lifters can pull it off. 17-21.