The “Arnold cut up” is a 6-day exercise routine created by seven-time Mr. Olympia winner Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Famend for its depth, weightlifters typically hail the “Austrian Oak’s” routine as the last word blueprint for constructing muscle mass.
However what’s the Arnold cut up precisely?
What are the advantages and downsides of following this legendary exercise plan?
And the way are you aware if it’ll give you the results you want?
Get evidence-based solutions to those questions and extra on this article.
What Is the Arnold Cut up?
The Arnold cut up is a six-day workout routine created by Arnold Schwarzenegger, outlined in his 1985 e-book, The New Encyclopedia of Trendy Bodybuilding.
Technically, when folks confer with the Arnold cut up, they’re normally speaking about one of many two “primary” coaching routines that Arnold shares—particularly, his “Degree 1” program.
Regardless of being labeled “primary,” this routine shouldn’t be for novices—many skilled lifters discover it difficult.
The second stage of the fundamental program and the 2 “superior” packages are much more demanding, to the purpose that they’re typically unrealistic for many pure weightlifters.
The Arnold Cut up Exercise Routine
The Arnold cut up accommodates three separate exercises: chest and again; shoulders, higher arms, and forearms; and thighs (quad and hamstrings), calves, and decrease again.
You repeat these exercises twice weekly for a complete of six coaching periods. Right here’s the fundamental format:
- Day 1: Chest and back
- Day 2: Shoulders, higher arms, and forearms
- Day 3: Thighs, calves, and decrease again
- Day 4: Chest and again
- Day 5: Shoulders, higher arms, and forearms
- Day 6: Thighs, calves, and decrease again
- Day 7: Relaxation
You additionally practice your abs in each exercise.
Now, let’s have a look at carry out every exercise:
Day #1: Chest and Again
Arnold’s chest day isn’t like most bodybuilding chest exercises. As a substitute of coaching solely the pecs, he appreciated to coach his chest alongside his again (typically utilizing “supersets”). For him, this was the easiest way to enhance conditioning and maximize “the pump.”
Right here’s the exercise:
- Flat Barbell Bench Press: 4 units of 15, 10-to-12, 8-to-10, and 6 reps
- Incline Barbell Bench Press: 4 units of 15, 10-to-12, 8-to-10, and 6 reps
- Dumbbell Pullover: 4 units of 15, 10-to-12, 8-to-10, and 6 reps
- Chin-up: 50 complete reps
- Barbell Row: 4 units of 15, 10-to-12, 8-to-10, and 6 reps
- Deadlift: 3 units of 10, 6, and 4 reps (to failure)
- Crunch: 5 units of 25 reps
Day #2: Shoulders, Higher Arms, and Forearms
Day 2 of the Arnold cut up is a mammoth exercise that trains all three “heads” of the deltoids and the whole arm.
Right here’s the exercise:
- Clear and Press (or Overhead Press): 4 units of 15, 10-to-12, 8-to-10, and 6 reps
- Dumbbell Side Lateral Raise: 4 units of 15, 10-to-12, 8-to-10, and 6 reps
- Upright Row: 3 units of 10, 6, and 4 reps (to failure)
- Push Press: 3 units of 10, 6, and 4 reps (to failure)
- Barbell Curl: 4 units of 15, 10-to-12, 8-to-10, and 6 reps
- Dumbbell Curl: 4 units of 15, 10-to-12, 8-to-10, and 6 reps
- Close-Grip Bench Press: 4 units of 15, 10-to-12, 8-to-10, and 6 reps
- Overhead Triceps Extension: 4 units of 15, 10-to-12, 8-to-10, and 6 reps
- Wrist Curl: 4 units of 15, 10-to-12, 8-to-10, and 6 reps
- Reverse Wrist Curl: 4 units of 15, 10-to-12, 8-to-10, and 6 reps
- Reverse Crunch: 5 units of 25 reps
Day #3: Thighs, Calves, and Decrease Again
Day 3 of the Arnold cut up is a rigorous decrease physique exercise specializing in the quads, hamstrings, calves, and decrease again—areas Arnold believed had been important for a well-balanced physique.
Right here’s the exercise:
- Squat: 4 units of 15, 10-to-12, 8-to-10, and 6 reps
- Lunge: 4 units of 15, 10-to-12, 8-to-10, and 6 reps
- Leg Curl: 4 units of 15, 10-to-12, 8-to-10, and 6 reps
- Standing Calf Elevate: 5 units of 15 reps
- Stiff-Leg Deadlift: 3 units of 10, 6, and 4 reps (to failure)
- Good Morning: 3 units of 10, 6, and 4 reps (to failure)
- Crunch: 5 units of 25 reps
The Arnold Cut up’s Coaching Rules
To maximise your outcomes on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s exercise routine, he recommends following these rules:
- Progressive Overload: Arnold emphasizes progressive overload (steadily growing the burden you elevate over time), which is the primary driver of muscle progress. The best technique to implement that is to make use of double progression.
- Coaching to Failure: Arnold advises pushing every set to the purpose the place you can not carry out one other rep with out resting (“failure”). He believes this maximizes muscle fiber stimulation, resulting in larger muscle progress.
- Full Vary of Movement: To completely activate each muscle fiber, Arnold recommends performing every train by means of its complete range of motion, from totally stretched to completely contracted.
- High quality of Contraction: Arnold emphasizes the significance of specializing in how properly you contract your muscular tissues throughout each rep. He suggests beginning with lighter weights that enable exact, managed actions, making certain the goal muscle does a lot of the work with out assist from surrounding muscular tissues.
- Warming Up: Whereas Arnold considers warming up important for stopping injuries, he doesn’t specify a strict warm-up routine. As a substitute, he suggests common gentle barbell or dumbbell workouts for every physique half, adopted by a lightweight set of every train in your exercise earlier than you start your heavier coaching.
- Energy Coaching: In Arnold’s routine, “energy coaching” includes lifting weights close to your one-rep max. He believes energy coaching is necessary as a result of it builds “dense” muscle that’s simple to maintain, will increase muscle and tendon power, prevents accidents, and builds psychological toughness.
- Relaxation Between Units: Arnold recommends maintaining rest durations between units to a minute or much less. In accordance with him, brief relaxation durations can help you recuperate most of your power whereas making certain your muscle fibers are fatigued sufficient to necessitate progress.
Advantages of the Arnold Cut up
1. It accommodates mixture of compound and isolation workouts.
The Arnold cut up primarily contains compound exercises (workouts involving a number of joints and muscular tissues). Specializing in compound workouts is useful as a result of they can help you practice dozens of muscular tissues concurrently and elevate heavy weights safely, which is generally better for muscle and power achieve.
The Arnold cut up additionally accommodates an affordable quantity of isolation exercises (workouts involving only one joint and muscle). Including isolation workouts to your exercise routine is smart as a result of they can help you proceed coaching a muscle when it’s now not sensible to take action with a compound train.
In addition they can help you practice by means of totally different ranges of movement, which doubtless produces extra full progress than solely doing compound workouts.
2. It emphasizes progressive overload.
Many bodybuilding programs make minor elements of muscle progress the main focus of your coaching. For instance, they encourage you to coach your muscular tissues till they’re swollen, pumped, and sore regardless of proof that these aren’t needed for muscle progress.
In distinction, the Arnold cut up prioritizes getting progressively stronger over time, which is paramount for gaining muscle and power. In different phrases, the Arnold cut up highlights what actually issues relating to constructing muscle.
3. It trains every physique half twice weekly.
Many bodybuilding exercise splits arrange exercises by body part—they practice your chest on at some point, your again on the subsequent, your shoulders the day after, and so forth.
This normally means you practice every physique half simply as soon as per week, which research shows isn’t as efficient as coaching your muscular tissues extra ceaselessly.
Then again, the Arnold cut up trains every muscle group at the least twice per week, which is often higher for muscle-building functions.
Drawbacks of the Arnold Cut up
1. It’s time-consuming.
The Arnold cut up has you coaching 6 days per week, and every exercise is prolonged, comprising between 7 and 11 workouts.
When your exercise routine requires such a big time dedication, it may be difficult to keep up, particularly if in case you have restricted time for coaching.
2. It isn’t appropriate for novices.
The volume (variety of units) and frequency (variety of weekly exercises) within the Arnold cut up are pointless for beginners; doing fewer units much less typically will doubtless yield better results.
Arnold additionally advocates superior coaching strategies in his e-book—drop units, unfavorable reps, pressured reps, and so forth—which add a layer of complexity that’s pointless and doubtlessly complicated for novices.
3. A few of the rules aren’t backed by science.
Sure elements of the Arnold cut up, comparable to coaching to failure, brief relaxation durations, and in depth warm-ups, lack scientific help.
Whereas these strategies could also be efficient in some eventualities, analysis reveals training shy of failure, taking loads of relaxation, and doing brief however enough warm-ups are superior for gaining muscle and power.
Who Ought to Comply with the Arnold Cut up?
Many individuals see footage of Arnold posing in his prime and suppose the Arnold cut up will assist them obtain the same physique. Working example:
It’s wise to mood these expectations, although.
Freshmen received’t get good outcomes from the Arnold cut up—the amount, depth, and frequency are too excessive and can doubtless result in burnout moderately than progress.
The Arnold cut up is healthier suited to intermediate or superior weightlifters with loads of time to coach and no restoration points. In different phrases, except you’ve been coaching for at the least a 12 months and your diet and sleep are on level, you most likely shouldn’t try the Arnold cut up.
FAQ #1: Is the Arnold cut up good for progress?
Sure, the Arnold cut up will be extremely efficient for muscle progress for some folks. Particularly, it really works properly for intermediate or superior weightlifters (folks with at the least 12 months of constant coaching underneath their belt) who’ve loads of time to coach, are consuming sufficient calories and protein, and get loads of relaxation.
Nonetheless, a much less intense coaching routine is probably going extra becoming for those who don’t meet these standards.
[Read More: The 12 Best Science-Based Strength Training Programs for Gaining Muscle and Strength]
FAQ #2: Arnold Cut up vs. PPL: Which is healthier?
The 6-day PPL and Arnold splits share loads in widespread: They contain coaching six days per week, practice every physique half at the least twice weekly, emphasize compound weightlifting and progressive overload, and so forth. Thus, selecting the best routine for you principally is determined by your preferences.
The Arnold cut up includes coaching your giant higher physique muscle teams (chest and again), smaller higher physique muscular tissues (shoulders, biceps, triceps, and forearms), and legs in separate exercises. If this method works for you, select the Arnold cut up.
If, then again, you like to arrange your coaching into “pushing,” “pulling,” and decrease physique workouts, PPL is probably going higher,
An alternative choice is to comply with a hybrid routine that features parts of PPL and the Arnold cut up, also known as “PPL x Arnold cut up” routines. Right here’s how this would possibly look:
- Day 1: Chest and again
- Day 2: Shoulders, higher arms, and forearms
- Day 3: Thighs, calves, and decrease again
- Day 4: Push
- Day 5: Pull
- Day 6: Legs
- Day 7: Relaxation
PPL x Arnold cut up routines have grow to be standard in recent times, primarily as a result of folks on Reddit and bodybuilding boards tout them as the right mixture of bodybuilding and strength-focused coaching (“powerbuilding”).
Whereas PPL x Arnold cut up routines can work, they’ve the identical points because the common 6-day PPL and Arnold splits: they require a big time funding, and for those who don’t have your weight loss program and restoration dialed in, they’re overkill for most individuals.
[Read More: The Ultimate Guide to the Push Pull Legs Workout Routine]
FAQ #3: How a lot must you eat whereas following the Arnold cut up?
To gas your coaching whereas following the Arnold cut up, it’s wise to comply with a bulking diet (eat in a calorie surplus) and eat loads of protein.
To study precisely what number of energy and the way a lot protein you’d must get outcomes on the Arnold cut up, take the Legion Diet Quiz.
+ Scientific References
- Schoenfeld, Brad J. “The Mechanisms of Muscle Hypertrophy and Their Application to Resistance Training.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, vol. 24, no. 10, 2010, pp. 2857–72, https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181e840f3.
- Kubo, Keitaro, et al. “Effects of Squat Training with Different Depths on Lower Limb Muscle Volumes.” European Journal of Applied Physiology, vol. 119, no. 9, 22 June 2019, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-019-04181-y.