Arnold’s “Blueprint to Mass”: how the legend builds muscle
Basics over gimmicks: in his training programme for Bodybuilding.com, Arnold Schwarzenegger explains how he builds mass with eight weeks of old-school training.
Photo: Madison Square Garden Center / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
Video: YouTube · Bodybuilding.com · youtube.com
“The biggest mistake being made in bodybuilding today is that people aren’t covering basic exercises” – with this message Arnold Schwarzenegger opens “Blueprint to Mass”, the training programme he released with Bodybuilding.com. In the video he explains why squats, the clean and press and barbell work at the rack do more for him than fancy machines.
The programme runs eight weeks in two four-week phases. Training is six days a week, with Sunday off. The split: Monday and Thursday chest, back, abs; Tuesday and Friday shoulders, arms, forearms, abs; Wednesday and Saturday legs, calves, abs. On top come intensity methods from Arnold’s competitive days, such as the “1-10 method” or “stripping”, where weight is removed step by step after the last set.
A word of context: a six-day plan at this intensity is meant for advanced lifters. Beginners benefit most from Arnold’s core principle – clean technique on the big compound lifts and gradual progression.
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