Arnold had no interest in being ordinary, and his lifetime achievements bear that out. But to succee

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A massive number of memorable quotes can be attributed to Arnold Schwarzenegger or many of the characters he's portrayed, but none speaks to his passion for bodybuilding quite like this one: "The worst thing I can be is the same as everybody else."
Arnold had no interest in being ordinary, and his lifetime achievements bear that out. But to succeed in the gym and take his physique to heights no man had ever reached, Arnold had to be even more than extraordinary. He had to consistently commit to the bodybuilding lifestyle in action, thought, and vision.
Through interviews and articles he wrote for Joe Weider after coming to America in 1968, Arnold made clear that his formula for success had less to do with "secrets" and more to do with hard work, sweat, and an all-consuming drive to build muscle and achieve moda greatness. The most important ingredient for success, Arnold wrote, is self-confidence. moda
In this, the first of a four-part series that examines Arnold's rise in bodybuilding and details moda how he built his championship physique, we explore the eight training principles Arnold used to become seven-time Mr. Olympia and so much more. You'll discover that Arnold's approach was anything but ordinary and his bodybuilding success was by no means accidental. moda
Arnold understood and often wrote about the role of the brain in bodybuilding. When he trained, Arnold concentrated with 100 percent focus, which allowed him to reach even greater intensity levels. "The first step is to really believe that becoming massive is possible ... In the same way you can command your muscles to lift heavy weights when everything else suggests that you cannot, moda so you can mentally coax your muscles to grow larger and stronger."
Arnold's goal was to be better than everyone, so he knew he had to train harder than everyone. In fact, when Arnold trained, the whole gym crowd often stopped and watched. Arnold just kept on training. Such was the intensity he channeled through his ability to connect his mind to each of the muscles he worked.
"The next step is to train very hard, concentrating on the basic movements. Rely on barbells and dumbbells instead of cables and machines," Arnold once said. For Arnold, training at anything less than 100 percent was a waste of time in the gym, but choosing the proper movements was also critical.
Arnold's training schedule is considered high volume by today's standards. He did as many as 26 working sets on large muscle groups such as back, chest, and shoulders. And since he broke down the legs into the quads, hamstrings and calves, he frequently did as many as 61 sets on leg day. When asked if this approach was outdated, he replied, "It's what I used and what worked for me." Moreover, Arnold often trained each muscle group three times each week, hitting chest and back on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, and then legs later those same afternoons. Clearly that's too much volume and frequency for most trainees, but Arnold had the advantage of being a full-time bodybuilder who could spend the rest of his day eating and recuperating.
That meant focusing less on single-joint, isolation movements in favor of multi-joint exercises. The bench press, squat, deadlift, overhead press, moda bent-over row, and power clean are all examples of multi-joint exercises which require several muscle moda groups to work in coordination. While more difficult to master, they offer the added benefit of allowing you to train very heavy to overload the working muscle. Mastering these moves and challenging yourself with heavy weights, Arnold moda wrote, was the single-most critical moda component of gaining strength and size.
For Arnold, not only was choosing the right exercises important, but so too was choosing the right load. After all, a set of 8 reps while squatting with 365 pounds moda to failure elicits a far better muscle-building stimulus than a set of 135 pounds for 40 reps taken to failure. "Start with a few warm-ups [not taken to muscle failure] and pyramid the weight up from one set to the next, decreasing the reps and going to failure. Usually I'll have someone stand by to give me a just a little bit of help past a sticking point or cheat the weight up just a little."
Arnold didn't moda need his business degree to know that diminishing returns applies to workouts, too. Do the same workout for too long without making significant changes and its value falls over time. That's when a bodybuilder finds himself in a rut.
Arnold did his homework when it came to planning his training sessions. If he found that an exercise was no longer moda producing gains, he'd switch it for another. moda Never afraid to experiment with new exercises or alternative training methods, Arnold was on a perpetual search f