Arnold Schwarzenegger's Mass-Building Workout Routine - 'The Golden Six'

I have written many times about benefits of full-body workouts for building strength and muscle and 'The Golden Six' is the routine that got 'The Austrian Oak' started in bodybuilding. 

It is certainly one of the best workout routines for muscle growth that I recommend to all beginners and to lifters that are looking to change their routine that stopped producing new muscle gains.

Same as his idol and mentor Reg Park, Arnold Schwarzenegger also built his impressive foundation on full-body workouts. Many years later Arnold became famous as a fan of the high volume body part split routines, but honestly, I think that he gained most of his muscles by following  Reg Park's 5x5 Workout Program and his own full-body routine 'The Golden Six'. And he started favoring these high volume split routines in the time when he was experimenting with anabolic steroids.

This workout program was nicknamed 'The Golden Six' for its straightforward focus on six of the most basic exercises. This may not be a routine that you will use forever but it is great for beginning lifters and those who want to get back to basics with one of the simplest workouts. Also, one of the good things is that you only need to visit gym three times per week.

EXERCISE	SETS	REPS
Barbell Squat	4	10
Wide Grip Bench Press	3	10
Chin Up	3	Max
Behind The Neck Press	4	10
Barbell Curl	3	10
Bent Knee Sit Up	3-4	Max

Arnold Schwarzenegger recommended performing "The Golden Six" workout routine 3 times per week for a 3-month cycle. Once you become able to do 2 or more reps above the reps given in this workout plan increase the weight. It is very important to add more weight plates whenever possible to force your muscles to adapt and grow.

This classic full-body routine is ideal for beginners and hardgainers that are looking to gain muscle mass fast. It is simple and effective like most full-body workouts and doesn't leave any muscle group unattended.

How to Train Like Arnold Schwarzenegger - The Austrian Oak's Muscle Building Routine

Who knows how to build a perfect physique better than Bodybuilding "king" - Arnold Schwarzenegger. Many people that are involved in bodybuilding still look up to him and trying to follow the routines and diets that Arnold followed when he was competing.

Arnold often said that the biggest mistake that many lifters make is that they avoid the basic exercises, they don't want to move out from comfortable zone. And this is one very sad truth. When you enter many fitness centers you can see that people mostly exercise on machines or doing light dumbbell curls which isn't bad to isolate some muscles but not so good for those that want to build muscle.

Some of the best exercises that you should do to build muscle mass need to be performed with barbell and they are also called compound exercises. You can check out more about best muscle-building exercises in another article:

Best Muscle-Building Exercises - Build Muscle Mass Fast

Arnold Schwarzenegger recommends performing heavy, compound movements and high intensity of training. "Never save yourself for the next set, go all-out in every set that you perform," Arnold used to say very often.

Of course, Arnold tried many workout variations, as many other bodybuilders. He never let his body to adapt for same type of workout for too long. I will present you one of his routines that he followed and which can be found in his book - The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding.

 Monday and Thursday - Chest, Back and Abs

Barbell Bench Press - 5 sets (30, 12, 10, 8, 6 reps)

Incline Bench Press - 5 sets (30, 12, 10, 8, 6 reps)

Dumbbell Flyes - 5 sets (30, 12, 10, 8, 6 reps)

Dumbbell Pull-Over - 5 sets (30, 12, 10, 8, 6)

Wide-grip Chin Up - 4 sets (reps to failure)

Hanging Leg Raises - 5 sets of 25 reps

Bent-Over Barbell Row - 5 sets (30, 12, 10, 8, 6)

Bent-Over Row with Dumbbells - 5 sets 

 Tuesday and Friday - Shoulder, Arms and Abs

Clean and Press - 5 sets of 5 reps

Standing Dumbbell Press - 5 sets (30, 12, 10, 8, 6)

Front Dumbbell Raises - 5 sets (30, 12, 10, 8, 6)

Lateral Raises - 5 sets (30, 12, 10, 8, 6)

Upright Row - 5 sets (30, 12, 10, 8, 6)

Barbell Curls - 5 sets (30, 12, 10, 8, 6)

Incline Dumbbell Curls - 5 sets (30, 12, 10, 8, 6)

Concentration Curls - 5 sets (30, 12, 10, 8, 6)

Close-Grip Bench Press - 5 sets (30, 12, 10, 8, 6)

Barbell Skullcrushers - 5 sets (30, 12, 10, 8, 6)

One-Arm Triceps Extension - 5 sets (30, 12, 10, 8, 6)

Reverse Wrist Curls - 5 sets (30, 12, 10, 8, and 6)

Decline Sit-ups - 5 sets of 25 reps

Wednesday and Saturday - Legs, Calves and Abs

Barbell Squat - 5 sets of 8-12 reps

Stiff-legged Deadlift - 5 sets of 8-12 reps

Barbell Lunges - 5 sets of 8-12 reps

Leg Extensions - 5 sets of 8-12 reps

Seated Leg Curls - 5 sets of 8-12 reps

Standing Calf Raises - 5 sets of 8-12 reps

Seated Calf Raises - 5 sets of 8-12 reps

Kneeling Cable Crunches - 4 sets of 25 reps

Sunday is the day for rest

Don't get confused by the pyramid sets that Arnold used in his workouts, just start performing the exercise with lighter weight and 30 reps for first set, then put more weight to do maximum 12 reps in the second set, 10 reps in the third, 8 in the fourth and 6 in the last set. Always rest 45 seconds between the exercises and don't forget to consume enough calories and macro nutrients - proteins, carbs, and fats to fuel your muscles. You can also check out the list of the best muscle-building supplements that can be very helpful to recover your muscles faster after hard workout like this:

Best Muscle-Building Supplements to Build Muscle Mass Fast

ONE RECOMMENDATION:

Don't follow this workout routine if you are a beginning lifter, this routine is designed for advanced lifters and Arnold didn't perform this workout when he started lifting. He was a great fan of Reg Park's 5x5 Workout Routine which I recommend for beginning lifters and you can also find it on this website:

Reg Park's 5x5 Workout Program for Muscle and Strength Gain

Arnold's Workout Routine for Mass

Arnold Schwarzenegger's Training Program for Muscle Mass

Who knows how to gain lean muscle mass better than Bodybuilding King Arnold Schwarzenegger? Probably a few people or we can say almost no one. Arnold Schwarzenegger is Bodybuilding, he is Lean Muscle Mass and Strength. We can almost say that he popularized Bodybuilding and Fitness. One of the biggest icons of bodybuilding was never always big you must know, he was also skinny young kid, but that was before he was 15. 

Take a look how big and aesthetic was Arnold when he won Bodybuilding Tournament in Germany when he was 15:

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He was huge back then and he was huge all his life and he actually still is. So, do you know what program for muscle mass gain Arnold recommend?

Here it is:

Monday - Chest and Back:

Exercises	Rep Range	Sets
Bench Press	8-12	3-4
Incline Dumbbell Press	8-12	3-4
Dumbbell Flies	10-12	3-4
Bent Over Row	8-12	3-4
Seated Back Row	10-12	3-4

Add 5 sets of 25 crunches at the end of workout.

Tuesday - Shoulders and Arms:

Exercises	Rep Range	Sets
Military Press	8-12	3-4
Dumbbell Lateral Raise	8-12	3-4
Upright Row	10-12	3-4
Standing Barbell Curl	10-12	3-4
Seated Dumbbell Press	10-12	3-4
Close Grip Bench Press	8-12	3-4
Barbell Triceps Extension	8-12	3-4

Wednesday - Legs and Lower Back:

Exercises	Rep Range	Sets
Squat	8-12	3-4
Lunge	8-12	3-4
Leg Curl	10-12	3-4
Deadlift	8-10	3-4
Good Mornings	10-12	3-4
Standing Calf Raise	10-12	3-4
Crunches	20	5

Arnold used to shock his muscles every time to don't let them get used to his training, so he was changing his training routine or rep number often. He recommend doing 10 reps by starting with one rep of maximum weight then lowering the weight and adding more reps. So if you are doing bench press and let's say your maximum is 200 lbs then it should look like this for example:

200 lbs - 1 rep

180 lbs - 2 reps

150 lbs - 3 reps

140 lbs - 4 reps

120 lbs - 5 reps

100 lbs - 6 reps

Those numbers are just an example, you know your own maximum weight to lift in one rep or two rep. This workout is good because you don't rest between rep you just continue until you do 10 reps if you can. It is great for shocking your muscles and make them to grow.