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Imagine enduring the grueling pain of a

high-volume, heavy-leg workoutthen
repeating it three times every week.
That's how Arnold brought up his legs,
which were once considered his biggest
weakness. Part 3 of a 4-part series.

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by David Robson And Bill Geiger

Last updated: Oct 31, 2014

PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4

If you've ever done a grueling leg workoutlots
of heavy sets of all the most challenging thigh
movementsyou know it takes several days to
recover. Even walking up a flight of stairs can be
test of iron will. But for one professional
bodybuilder whom we know as The Austrian Oak,
the task was made three times as difficult as he
completed his high-volume leg workout on
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. A monster
front-and-rear-thigh crusher that included up to 46
setsnot counting calves and abs, which were
also done in the same workoutthat would
cripple mere mortals.

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Today, many would consider Arnold's approach

bordering onif not spilling considerably
overthe threshold of overtraining, but legs
weren't his strongest suit, and his 6'2" frame made
building leg mass more difficult. Who could argue
with this take-no-prisoners approach that earned
Arnold seven Mr. Olympia titles and acclaim as the
best bodybuilder of all time?
In this exclusive third installment examining
Arnold's training and techniques, we'll focus on
his thigh and ab workouts.

ARNOLD'S THIGH WORKOUT

Arnold wasn't renowned for building massive quads and hams the way competitors like Tom Platz

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were, but he developed extremely cut and well-proportioned front and rear thighs. Because he was
tall and long-limbed, Arnold was always going to face an uphill battle when aiming to build overall
leg mass. Ultimately it was his dogged determination that enabled him to bring his legs up just
enough to balance the strengths in his upper body: his arms, chest and shoulders.
Here are some keys to his success:
After warming up the quads with leg extensions, Arnold went right into squats, which he favored
as a mass-builder. "The squat increases the power, spring and speed of the legs," he said. "It
increases the size of the thigh. When practiced with heavy breathing it permanently expands the
rib cage ... With these multiple benefits the squat goes on record as being the best all-around
exercise."
Arnold started squatting back in Austria in a ritual worth noting. "I'd go into the forest with my
friends and do squats for three straight hoursmore than 50 setsjust to shock the muscles into
responding. In that kind of atmosphere, there was no room for anything but 100 percent effort. All
out and insane."
When squatting, he found that different foot positions worked different areas of the thighs. "With
my feet farther apart and toes pointed out, I feel the squat on the insides of my thighs. The
position of the feet largely determines which part of the thigh is most affected." That's one reason
Arnold also liked to use various squat machines, both vertical and horizontal. They allowed him
to alternate foot placement.
Machine squats also had a unique advantage. Here, Arnold could use a shortened range of
motion. Going about three-fourths of the way down to a quarter of the way from the topa
technique he called tension squatsallowed him to induce an incredible burn without having to
balance the weight.
While Arnold's routine had direct hamstrings exercises as well, it would be a mistake to think
the hammies weren't also working hard during many of those basic squat and leg-press
movements. By controlling the speed of the descent, the hamstrings are contracting while the
quad muscles lengthen. Deep squats also work the hams to a greater degree.
If The Oak had any one fault when he came to America in 1968, it was that his calves were
conspicuously undersized. He realized calves grow fairly slowly because of their high
proportion of slow-twitch muscle fibers. "They are used to handling your bodyweight for 10-15
hours daily," he noted. He tackled them with very heavy weights and super high intensity.
To bring attention to his weakness, Arnold famously cut the lower legs off his sweatpants, thus
exposing his calves to ridicule around the gym. Later, he said, "I knew if I exposed only my
better body partsmy arms, chest, or deltsall I'd get from my peers would be wonderful
comments, and I'd soon forget about my horrid lower legs. So I continued to wear the cutaway
sweatpants that invited ego-bruising pain ... and it worked."

"I KNEW IF I EXPOSED ONLY MY BETTER BODY PARTSMY

ARMS, CHEST, OR DELTSALL I'D GET FROM MY PEERS WOULD
BE WONDERFUL COMMENTS, AND I'D SOON FORGET ABOUT MY
HORRID LOWER LEGS. SO I CONTINUED TO WEAR THE CUTAWAY
SWEATPANTS THAT INVITED EGO-BRUISING PAIN ... AND IT
WORKED."

ARNOLD'S AB WORKOUT
Arnold's approach to ab training was fairly simple. He had a few favorite moves that he did for fairly
high reps. Then again, when you think how hard he trained his core with his thrice-weekly leg and
back workouts, you'd figure he probably didn't even need to train his abs at all.
Arnold was one of the few big men in the history of professional bodybuilding to sport a 34-inch

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waist in competition shape. His midsection served to accentuate the massiveness of his upper torso
while enhancing the aesthetic appeal. While not as ripped to shreds as those displayed today, Arnold's
deeply etched six-pack was noteworthy for the exaggerated taper it added to his physique. This was
aided, of course, by his wide shoulders and broad back. To refine his midsection, Arnold would focus
on high reps, aiming to hit nothing fewer than 25 per set, and often going for 10 minutes
continuously on some movements.
Arnold's Leg and Ab Workout
Leg Extension
1-2 warm-up sets of 15 reps
Squat
6 sets of 15, 10, 8, 8, 6, 4 reps
Machine Front Squat (shown with barbell)
4 sets of 12, 10, 8, 8 reps
Hack Squat
4 sets of 12, 10, 8, 6 reps

SUPERSET
Vertical Leg Press
4 sets of 8 reps
Lying Leg Curl
4 sets of 10 reps

SUPERSET
Standing Leg Curl
4 sets of 10 reps
Romanian Deadlift
4 sets of 10 reps

Donkey Calf Raise

4 sets of 12-15 reps
Standing Calf Raise
4 sets of 12-15 reps
Seated Calf Raise
4 sets of 12-15 reps
Roman Chair Crunch
4 sets of 25 reps
Seated Leg Tuck
4 sets of 25 reps

Printable Page

PDF Document

REFERENCES
Muscle & Fitness, July 1997: Arnold Talks Training.
Schwarzenegger, A. & Dobbins, B. (1999). The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding. Simon
and Shuster: USA.

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RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER'S
MAMMOTH CHEST AND BACK
WORKOUT
Basic exercises, heavy weights, high volume, and high
frequency are the techniques Arnold Schwarzenegger
used to build his massive chest and back. Try the
workout!

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER'S 8
BEST TRAINING PRINCIPLES
Arnold didn't become the world's greatest bodybuilder by
accident. Here are the 8 training principles that underlie
his bodybuilding success.

ARNOLD'S BLUEPRINT TRAINER:

MASS TRAINING OVERVIEW
Watch this video to learn some of Arnold
Schwarzenegger's favorite exercises and preferred
training techniques for building muscle. Get the
knowledge you need to grow!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Robson
As an active martial artist, bodybuilder and accredited personal
trainer, David employs the latest cutting edge research to
enhance his own progress.

View All Articles By This Author

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m_italia
Great article. I appreciate the history lesson as well as the

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science behind Arnold's approach.

Body Stats

Aug 22, 2014 6:00pm | report

ht: 5'7"
wt: 153 lbs
bf: 13.7%

Rep Power: 0

NSeltenreich
What a beast... I'm gonna try to put more of this into my leg
workouts
Aug 22, 2014 6:38pm | report

Body Stats
ht: 5'10"
wt: 171 lbs
bf: 9.0%

Rep Power: 0

shubhasishc
i'm gonna try this when i'll finish my arnold's blueprint first just
completed the 1st week...
Aug 23, 2014 12:46am | report

Body Stats
ht: 5'11"
wt: 198 lbs
bf: 11.6%

Rep Power: 0

OneMereMortal

Rep Power: 0

Great article.

Body Stats

Article Rated: 10

ht: 5'11"
wt: 170 lbs
bf: 8.2%

Aug 23, 2014 7:45am | report

Hazza108
He is an inspiration to me and many others, he changed
bodybuilding to what it is today and i have him to thank for it,
btw amazing article :)
Rep Power: 0

Body Stats
ht: 5'5"
wt: 123.46 lbs
bf: 8.0%

Article Rated: 10
Aug 23, 2014 8:31pm | report

assortedsnacks
Arnold's legs always looked small compared to his upper body.
Nevertheless his approach was still killer.
Aug 24, 2014 2:38am | report

Body Stats
ht: 5'9"
wt: 170 lbs
bf: 17.0%

Rep Power: 0

DerekForeal
i did the arnold blueprint program with the ab exercises, i think
it was 5x25 6 times per week and honestly my abs have never
been weeker. i say you varie the reps between 6-10 and
12-30reps and maybe give it some more resttime.
Rep Power: 0

Aug 24, 2014 3:55am | report

hamrogers

Rep Power: 0

Has anyone done the vertical (smith machine) leg press? It

seems like rounding out your back when you bring your knees
to your chest could create a potential for lower back spinal
injury. Perhaps being braced by the floor makes a difference
though?

Body Stats
ht: 5'8"
wt: 181 lbs
bf: 16.0%

Aug 24, 2014 6:39am | report

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gmorneas
Next leg day!! Can't wait...beast mode!
Aug 24, 2014 1:37pm | report

Body Stats
wt: 140 lbs

Rep Power: 0

rockemsockem101
they should put the rest of the workouts on there. where is the
3day a week chest and the shoulders, arms workouts
Aug 24, 2014 9:28pm | report

Body Stats
ht: 5'9"
wt: 175 lbs
bf: 12.5%

Rep Power: 0

nikitich
Time, time, time.

Body Stats

Aug 25, 2014 7:39am | report

ht: 5'7"
wt: 167.6 lbs
bf: 16.4%

Rep Power: 0

desmccarter

Rep Power: 0

It's really important to note the positioning of the feet when

squatting, affects different muscles in the legs, as Arnold says.
Thats really important to note. Also 3 times a week of absolute
brutality can be done: it's how you plan and run your recovery
between days (even when training other muscle groups on non
leg days) which is what counts.

Body Stats
wt: 198.42 lbs
bf: 6.0%

Aug 26, 2014 11:41am | report

HardstyleDoll
Love reading about Arnold!! He has so much knowledge and
experience, what he says, goes :)
Aug 27, 2014 1:54am | report

Body Stats
ht: 5'5"
wt: 136.69 lbs
bf: 8.0%

Rep Power: 0

desmccarter

Rep Power: 0

The issue that people have is they try squatting with far too
much weight and sacrifice form. Arnold did it. You can see it in
ALL his leg training videos. His quads (note: I said "quads" not
thighs) were great but because he didn't properly practice form
with heavy CONTROLLABLE weight entire thigh area weren't
as developed as they could have been. If you practice your
form properly (if you have very weak legs them just practice
with your own body weight and start from there, moving the
weight up as you go along KEEPING FORM). The way arnold
(with far too much weight as can be seen in this video) did it
only activated his quads and hence developed these the most.
Since this was the case his outer thighs, inner thighs (note:
thighs not quads) hips, glues hams etc were not properly
developed. Don't take me wrong his quads looked well
developed but the rest .... well ... not so. So form is key. If you
have weak glues or hams drop the weight lower so you can
squat lower. Your legs will develop much quicker and much
fuller and better with time.

Body Stats
wt: 198.42 lbs
bf: 6.0%

Key things for developing muscles, not just legs:

1. ALWAYS contract the muscles with the weight don't RAISE
the weight with OTHER muscles or unwanted momentum. This
sounds very simple but doing this over and over again is tricky
due to ego creep. When ego creep occurs, you start "swinging"
the weight and you often let momentum or gravity take control.

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YOUR MUSCLE ALWAYS NEEDS TO BE IN CONTROL OF

THE WEIGHT, USING FULL STRETCH AND CONTRACTION.
When doing standing barbell curls for example, you should
stand completely still, spine erect, ALL muscles tight, barbell at
the bottom of the start of the movement. Then you quickly
contract the bicep (note don't THROW the weight up:
CONTRACT THE BICEP WITH THE WEIGHT so that when
the weight gets to the top your body doesn't jerk). Hold it for a
second or two keeping ONLY your biceps contracted (note also
that when curling your tricep can actually engage and curl the
weight with the bicep. In fact, if you chopped off your bicep and
attempted to do a barbell curl you can STILL do it because
your tricep will curl it!. Muscles are bi-directional: you can push
AND pull with the same muscle. For example quads - you push
weight with these when you squat, you pull weight with these
when you do leg extensions ... this is ANOTHER topic of my
interest...). Then release slowly down to a full stretch, not
letting the weight just drop. Note too that your muscle ALWAYS
ALWAYS must be in fu
Aug 27, 2014 8:05am | report

praditcaparas
is this workout possible?
Sep 9, 2014 11:42pm | report
Rep Power: 0

nathancox
When is the shoulders and arms workout coming out

Body Stats

Oct 3, 2014 4:14am | report

ht: 6'3"
wt: 276 lbs
bf: 30.0%

Rep Power: 0

Showing 1 - 16 of 16 Comments

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