The Arnold Split: What Made the 7x Mr. Olympia Get Such A Physique?

What is the Arnold Split?

Arnold Swarzanegger is regarded as one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time. Known for his multiple bodybuilding championships, it is crucial to examine how he reached such excellence and the science behind the training split he employed. Because bodybuilding contests are primarily reliant on muscular bulk as well as definition, the Arnold split is built around high intensity and volume training. The Split promotes both high volume bulking (muscle gain) and may be used to tone trained muscles (cutting).

Considering Arnold was such a committed and persistent weightlifter, this split is significantly more tough and demands far more energy than other training divisions. In essence, it comprises of a minimum of six working days, and the training is split as follows:

Monday: Chest & Back

Tuesday: Shoulders, Triceps, Biceps, Forearms

Wednesday: Legs & Lower Back

Thursday: Chest & Back

Friday: Shoulders, Triceps, Biceps, Forearms

Saturday: Legs & Lower Back

Sunday: Rest Day

Note: Arnold also used a twice-daily split, where he had a morning session followed by an afternoon session. But, I would only propose such a split to bodybuilders who have the health, time, and expertise to commit to anything this intense.

Pros & Cons of the Arnold Split

In contrast to a PPL split, which targets 'pushing' and 'pulling' muscle movements, the Arnold Split focuses on opposing muscle groups on the same day, such as chest and back. This sort of training is also known as agonist/antagonist training, and it is in direct opposition to the "athletic motions" that may be produced through the PPL split. Because opposing muscles are exercised on the same day, the body instinctively adapts to muscular balance to ensure that equal attention is placed on all parts of the body. This can help to avoid muscular imbalances, which can stymie growth.

However, if an imbalance does develop, the Arnold Split can assist in masking such issues. This is because of the 7x Mr. Olympia's split, specifically trains each muscle at a high intensity at least twice a week, putting the required attention needed to promote growth.

As mentioned, training opposite muscle groups can have its advantages and disadvantages. A benefit would be that pressing strength dramatically improves because of the emphasis of different movements as the different mechanical tensions increase speed of movement. This implies that if you do a bench press set then superset it with the opposing exercise, such as horizontal rows, you will enhance your overall speed and thus strength. This is also known as antagonist supersets.

Though high-volume training may be quite useful, I would only advocate it to intermediate and even experienced weight lifters due to the demanding nature of the program. This split was mostly employed during Arnold's prime years, when he would train for 5-6 hours every day. Arnold also had the necessary resources, skill, and backing to carry out such a plan. Simply put, burnout is pretty normal after a few weeks of performing this regimen. As a result, listening to your body and recovering adequately is more vital than for other splits.

Key Points

To summarise, weight lifting is a great technique to get into shape, build discipline, gain muscle, lose weight, and even just for pleasure! That being said, what better way to accomplish so than by following in the footsteps of one of the best bodybuilders of all time? Arnold's split demands focus, energy, time, and consistency. However, if done correctly, this training division will provide you with significant and regular results.

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Pick the Right Workout Split to See the Right Results: Here’s How

Importance of Workout Splits

I was 14 years old the first time I went into a gym. I had been instructed by someone who had gym experience to do a couple exercises, and I was under the impression that there were just three muscle groups to train - biceps, triceps, and shoulders. I worked every one of those muscles without any rest or recovery days for a couple of weeks. As you could expect, I became exhausted. I lost motivation after not seeing any results, and I was most perplexed by my lack of development.

The night after I was about to give up, I stumbled upon a video made by Bradley Martyn. The video, if I recall correctly, was about a protein shake. Although it was not necessarily tied to the gym, I realised, with a bit of research, that their was a lot more to weight lifting than I had previously understood.

That's when I started doing my own study and devised a workout regimen that I'd follow. I began by doing a full-body split, this time exercising more than just my arms... I saw progress, gained confidence, and began working on my muscles individually, transitioning to an upper/lower body split. To keep my athletic ability, I eventually went to a PPL split.

But, as cliche as my experience may seem, it demonstrates that I, like many others, most certainly began my fitness journey on the wrong foot. Unfortunately, many people aren't as persistent as I was and have given up on weight lifting entirely. I've chosen to write a short article regarding exercise splits. This is something I wish I had known about before I started, which is why I urge all of you to read this.

To begin, exercise splits are simply the method you split or divide the numerous muscle groups you train, typically over the course of a week. Each workout split is distinct from one another. Choosing the proper one is critical to growth, and as the story above shows, the choice of exercise split may make or break your progress, regardless of how hard you train. Below you will find essential information about which split matches with your goals, as well as the overall advantages and downsides of the top 5 exercise splits I would recommend.

What to Consider When Picking the Right Split?

First and foremost, you need to establish your objectives and availability. Consider the following questions:

• What do I want to take from fitness (mental or physical)?

• How many times per week will I take time out of my day to workout?

• How long can I spend on each workout?

• What are my specific goals?

Once you've grasped the fundamentals, you can move on to learning about the different possible workout splits and how they may be tailored to your specific preferences.

Pros and Cons of My Top 5 Recommended Workout Splits

1. Full Body Split

Advantages:

• Forces you to commit to compound lifts (fastest way to get stronger, and helps with functionality)

• Flexibility in terms of schedule

• Easy for variation

• Great for beginners

Disadvantages:

• Focus on compound lifts, can lead to lack of precision lifting

• Each muscle is trained less frequently

2. Lower/Upper Body Split

Advantages:

• Can be used as strength or hypertrophy training

• Flexibility (can vary the amount of weekly sessions)

• Simplicity

• Great for beginners

Disadvantages:

• Recover time can easily be neglected

3. Push-Pull-Legs Split

Advantages:

• Great for athletes (strengthens and develops athletic movements)

• The split structure allows for faster recovery

• Good feeling of balance (motions aren’t overlapped)

• Relative flexibility and volume training

Disadvantages:

• Can become repetitive (can lead to lack of motivation)

4. Bro Split

Advantages:

• Very long recovery periods

• Focus on certain muscle groups more than others

• Heavily strength bed

Disadvantages:

• Low frequency training of each muscle group (not ideal for muscle growth)

• Very long recovery periods (Yes, it’s also a disadvantage. Long recovery periods can hinder progress and prevent maximum performance as the Muscle Protein Synthesis Process (‘MPS’) deteriorates 36 hours after training.)

• Less flexibility

5. Arnold Split

Advantages:

• Great to focus on strength training (agonist/antagonist training)

• A lot of focus on each muscle group (helpful for imbalances)

• Very high-volume

Disadvantages:

• Less flexibility

• Requires a lot of time + energy to commit to every training session

What Now?

Hopefully, after reading over each of my proposed splits, you have a better idea of which split you want to go with. Each split is equally good, thus choosing your split is ultimately determined by your specific goals.

If I were you, I would read through the questions just above again to acquaint yourself with your objectives, and then make a selection.

Your next step is to design your own program. This was the most difficult thing for me to complete in all the years I've been weight lifting. I had no idea which exercise was the best, and I had no idea how many sets or reps each exercise required. Fortunately, HustleNow has set up a page just for you. Visit the 'Create Your Program' tab to get a customised training program made especially for you!

Is Hitting Every Muscle the Trick?

What is a Full Body Split?

To put it simply, a full body split is when you work each major muscle group (chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, legs) during each training session. People that practise body weight exercises such as HIIT and circuit training, rather than weight lifters, usually turn to a full body training split. However, full body workout is still popular among beginners and those who enjoy high volume training. Because the nature of the split necessitates a lot of energy, the split may be divided in a variety of ways based on availability and overall time commitment to the gym.

Examples of a full body weekly split may look something like this:

2x/week:

Monday: Full Body Workout

Tuesday: Rest Day

Wednesday: Rest Day

Thursday: Rest Day

Friday: Full Body Workout

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: Rest Day

OR

3x/week:

Monday: Full Body Workout

Tuesday: Rest Day

Wednesday: Full Body Workout

Thursday: Rest Day

Friday: Full Body Workout

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: Rest Day

OR

4x/week:

Monday: Full Body Workout

Tuesday: Full Body Workout

Wednesday: Rest Day

Thursday: Full Body Workout

Friday: Full Body Workout

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: Rest Day

OR

5x/week:

Monday: Full Body Workout

Tuesday: Full Body Workout

Wednesday: Rest Day

Thursday: Full Body Workout

Friday: Full Body Workout (Lighter Session)

Saturday: Full Body Workout

Sunday: Rest Day

Note: Although training 6x/week for a full body split is conceivable, I wouldn't advocate it unless you commit to lighter sessions because the high volume of the split necessitates adequate recovery time in order for progress to be made. In reality, 5 full-body exercises each week is really more than enough.

Pros & Cons of a Full Body Split

The first and most obvious advantage of a complete body split is that exercising all muscles on the same day compels you to do compound lifts (along with extra hypertrophy lifts) because compound lifts efficiently target many muscles in one single exercise. Compound lifts not only help you acquire a lot of strength, but they also help your muscles work better together. Essentially, when you use a Full Body Split, your body learns to engage your muscles as a unit rather than as isolated muscle groups which has many other benefits.

If you haven't read the previous post on the PPL (Push-Pull-Legs) split, muscle functionality, which is acquired through a full body programme, has been shown to improve athletic performance. Better functionality benefits motions, balance, muscular efficiency, and proprioception (your body's capacity to orient itself in space). These elements have direct links to improved athletic performance.

But, if you want to improve your athletic ability, is a full-body exercise the best way to go?

To say the very least, there isn't a single correct solution.

Yes, a full body split has advantages, but its disadvantages must also be considered. As previously said, exercising your entire body at once necessitates the use of compound lifts, which can have drawbacks. Don't get me wrong: compound lifts are a crucial element of weight lifting, if not the most important part. However, focusing entirely on compound lifts leads in a lack of precision training for smaller muscle groups. Neglecting minor exercises as a result of the large volume of full-body training can lead to bigger problems, such as muscle imbalances. It just depends on where you are in the training process; if you are behind or have muscle imbalances, full body exercising isn't the greatest solution.

Key Takeaways

At the end of the day, properly determining your split is one of the most critical aspects of working out. A complete body split includes both high volume training and improved athletic performance. Discipline is vital for any type of workout split, but it is more important when following a full body split, because many minor exercises are sometimes overlooked and neglected. But, people with irregular outside schedules will benefit from the added flexibility. A complete body split is one of the most efficient, and it's a great choice for a beginner!

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