Arnold’s Leg Workout: How The Austrian Oak Grew His Roots

Earlier than Arnold Schwarzenegger got here to America, his legs had been his weak level. In reality, he did not practice them in any respect for the primary 12 months of his coaching. When he lastly realized that he wanted some wheels to go together with his higher physique improvement, he went overboard. Each single day for a 12 months, he did ten units of squats adopted by ten units of leg curls!

When Arnold’s US sponsor, Joe Weider, obtained to see his younger protege nose to nose, that is what he advised him, as reported in Muscle & Health journal, “Your legs endure by comparability to your higher physique, and it’s of probably the most pressing necessity that you simply fully alter your leg coaching program. I reasonably think about too that others might have seen this odd impact and are puzzled by it.“

Arnold took Weider’s recommendation to coronary heart. Over the following decade, he started utilizing the Weider coaching ideas to construct a set of wheels that balanced his excellent upper-body muscle progress. On this article, we’ll element the leg exercise routine that Arnold Schwarzenegger used all through his Mr. Olympia reign.

Arnold’s Leg Exercise

Arnold typically educated his legs in two classes. The primary three strikes can be completed within the morning. Then he’d come again within the night and do the opposite two. This allowed him to push each train to absolutely the restrict. Here is the exercise that he adopted:

Arnold’s Calf Coaching

Despite the fact that they’re formally a part of the legs, Arnold educated his calf muscular tissues individually. When he arrived in America, his calves had been underdeveloped. When this was delivered to his consideration, he grew to become obsessive about correcting the issue.

Moderately than hiding his weak spot, Arnold famously lower his coaching pants off on the knees to show them. This created the damaging reinforcement loop he wanted to stimulate muscle progress. Inside two years, Arnold’s calves had completely remodeled.

In reality, they had been so good {that a} reporter as soon as jokingly requested him how a lot his calves value (insinuating that he had implants). Arnold’s reply was, “5 thousand hours!“

Here is Arnold’s Mr. Olympia calf coaching exercise:

• Donkey Calf Raises: 5 units of 15-30 reps
• Standing Calf Raises: 5 units of 15-30 reps
• Leg Press Calf Raises: 5 units of 20-30 reps
• Standing One-Legged Dumbbell Calf Raises: 3 units of 15-30 reps

Arnold’s Leg Coaching Ideas

When he realized that his legs had been holding again his progress, Arnold threw himself into making the wanted enhancements. Alongside the best way, he discovered lots by way of trial and error. Listed below are Arnie’s prime 5 leg coaching ideas:

1. Quantity is King

Arnold is aware of that the legs are a cussed muscle group. As a result of we’re strolling round on all of them day, they’re created for endurance. Due to this fact, in an effort to shock them into progress, you want a whole lot of quantity.

At first of his coaching profession, Arnold wasn’t utilizing sufficient quantity on his legs. It was solely when he elevated his quantity to a minimal of 20 units, with every one taken to failure, that he began to see some critical quad improvement.

2. Develop the Mind Muscle Connection

Arnold accepted early on that his leg exercises had been going to be probably the most brutal facet of his coaching week. So, reasonably than fearing these exercises, he developed the angle of a warrior going into fight.

He went into the health club with the mindset that he was about to wage warfare with the heavy weights there – and there was no means they had been going to defeat him!

It is that type of depth that allowed Arnold to push each rep of each set to the restrict.

3. Have a Coaching Associate

Arnold’s exercise partnership with future Mr. Olympia, Franco Columbu is famous. These two multi-Olympia winners created an depth and ambiance that was nothing wanting electrical. Although smaller, Franco was stronger than Arnold on most lifts. This was a reason for motivation for Arnie, who continuously pushed himself to maintain up with Franco’s squat and leg press poundages.

Aside from the motivation issue, a coaching associate is important from a security facet. Having a trusted spotter standing behind you will provide you with extra confidence to attempt for that final squat rep whenever you’re unsure if you happen to’re going to have the ability to full it by your self.

4. Experiment with a Calf Block

Arnold discovered that inserting a low block underneath his heels improved his squatting type and felt extra pure. It gave him an elevated vary of movement in order that he might go deeper into the underside squat. The block additionally helped preserve Arnold’s torso in an upright place all through the motion.

Not everybody will profit from a calf block. Taller individuals (Arnold was 6’2″) will in all probability get extra profit from it. Nonetheless, be sure that your block is not too excessive, or it would pressure you too far ahead.

5. Use Shock Ways

Main as much as the Mr Olympia contest, Arnold would use shock techniques to pressure his legs into new progress. Listed below are two of Arnold’s favourite leg exercise shock strategies:

Drop Units

Drop sets contain going to failure after which stripping off some weight so you’ll be able to pump out a number of extra reps. You proceed stripping off weight till you’ve got completed 4 to 5 ‘mini units.’ Here is an instance:

It is your final set of squats. You managed to push out eight high quality reps however have hit your restrict. You re-rack the bar, and two guys pull a plate off both sides. You instantly unrack the bar and pump out one other 6-8 reps. You then re-rack once more. One other plate comes off both sides, and you retain going. This continues for a complete of 4-5 weight reductions, by which era you can be completely exhausted.

Pre-Exhaustion Units

Whereas the quads are successfully labored within the squat train, it is only one of plenty of muscle teams of muscular tissues which might be labored within the motion. Different leg muscular tissues concerned are the glutes and hamstrings. The pre-exhaustion approach permits you to briefly make the quads the weak hyperlink in order that they get all of the emphasis.

Arnold would put this into motion by doing a set of leg extensions after which instantly going to squats. It required that he use a barely decrease squat weight however allowed him to position all of the load on the quadriceps.

Wrap Up

Leg coaching was probably the most hardcore, demanding a part of Arnold’s exercise schedule. His excessive quantity, most poundage philosophy allowed him to take his decrease physique’s obvious weak spot and produce it as much as the purpose the place it was virtually as spectacular as his higher physique.

Should you’re recreation sufficient to check out Arnold’s leg exercise, get your self prepped for some critical ache – and do not plan on climbing any stairs for a number of days afterward!

Should you actually wish to push your self, check out Arnold’s Chest Workout, Back Workout, Shoulder Workout, Arms Workout, and Abs Workout.