Arnold's Blueprint to Mass
The Competition Protocol
Between 1970 and 1980, Arnold Schwarzenegger won seven Mr. Olympia titles. Not with clever periodization or evidence-based programming. With volume. An almost incomprehensible amount of volume.
The Blueprint to Mass represents Arnold's full competition-era approach — the training methodology he described in The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding (1998) and in the original Arnold's Bodybuilding for Men (1981). This is not the beginner-friendly Golden Six. This is not the streamlined Golden Era Split. This is the complete, uncut version: twice-a-day training sessions, six days per week, with a total weekly volume that would make a modern sports scientist reach for a stress ball.
Arnold reportedly trained for 2-3 hours in the morning and returned for another 1-2 hours in the evening during competition prep. The program below consolidates these sessions into a single daily workout — which is how most people will run it. Even consolidated, it is enormous.
How It Works
| Day | Focus | Approx. Sets |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Chest & Back | ~40 sets |
| Day 2 | Shoulders & Arms | ~40 sets |
| Day 3 | Legs | ~36 sets |
| Day 4 | Chest & Back | ~40 sets |
| Day 5 | Shoulders & Arms | ~40 sets |
| Day 6 | Legs | ~36 sets |
| Day 7 | Rest | — |
Each muscle group is hit twice per week. Total weekly volume approaches 230+ working sets. Abs and calves were trained daily at the end of every session — Arnold treated them as a non-negotiable warmup/cooldown.
Key Principles
Antagonist Pairing: Chest and Back are trained on the same day, allowing supersets between pushing and pulling movements. Arnold believed this created a better pump and allowed higher total volume with less fatigue.
Pyramid Sets: Many exercises use ascending weight across sets. Start lighter for 12 reps, work up to heavier sets of 6. The first set or two serve as extended warm-ups.
The Pump as Compass: Arnold trained by feel. If a muscle wasn't pumped, he wasn't done. This is not a program you clock-watch — it's a program you feel-watch.
Compound First, Isolate Last: Each muscle group starts with heavy compound movements, then moves to isolation work for definition and detail.
Day 1 & 4: Chest & Back
Chest
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Bench Press | 5 | 6-12 |
| Incline Barbell Press | 5 | 6-12 |
| Dumbbell Flyes | 5 | 10-12 |
| Dumbbell Pullover | 5 | 10-15 |
| Weighted Dips | 5 | 10-15 |
Back
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Wide-Grip Pull-ups | 5 | max |
| T-Bar Row | 5 | 6-12 |
| Barbell Row | 5 | 6-12 |
| One-Arm Dumbbell Row | 5 | 8-12 |
Day 2 & 5: Shoulders & Arms
Shoulders
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Behind-the-Neck Press | 5 | 6-12 |
| Lateral Raise | 5 | 10-15 |
| Rear Delt Flyes | 5 | 10-15 |
| Cable Lateral Raise | 5 | 12-15 |
Biceps
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell Curl | 5 | 6-12 |
| Incline Dumbbell Curl | 5 | 8-12 |
| Concentration Curl | 5 | 8-12 |
Triceps
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Close-Grip Bench Press | 5 | 6-12 |
| Tricep Pushdown | 5 | 10-12 |
| Overhead Dumbbell Extension | 5 | 10-15 |
Day 3 & 6: Legs
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Squat | 6 | 6-15 |
| Leg Press | 5 | 10-15 |
| Leg Extension | 5 | 12-15 |
| Leg Curl | 5 | 10-15 |
| Stiff-Leg Deadlift | 5 | 8-12 |
| Standing Calf Raise | 5 | 15-20 |
| Seated Calf Raise | 5 | 15-20 |
Who Is This For?
Be honest with yourself. This program requires:
- 3+ years of serious, consistent training
- The ability to commit 6 days per week, 90-120 minutes per session
- Excellent recovery capacity (sleep, nutrition, stress management)
- Access to a fully equipped gym (barbells, dumbbells, cables, machines)
- The mental willingness to push through 40-set sessions
This is not a program for people who "want to try high volume." This is a program for people who have built a base with programs like the Golden Era Split and are ready to push into competition-level training territory.
If you haven't run a 6-day split before, start with Arnold's Golden Era Split first.
Historical Context
Arnold developed this approach during his years at Gold's Gym in Venice Beach, California, training alongside Franco Columbu, Frank Zane, and other legends of the Golden Era. The Venice Beach scene of the 1970s was essentially an open-air laboratory for extreme training methods, fueled by competition, camaraderie, and the California sun.
The "Blueprint" terminology comes from the Bodybuilding.com training series released in 2013, where Arnold outlined this approach for a modern audience. But the program itself dates to the mid-1970s — his peak competition years when he was preparing for and defending his Mr. Olympia titles.
It's worth noting that Arnold was a genetic outlier training in an era with different pharmaceutical norms. The volume in this program is extreme by any standard. Modern natural lifters should consider reducing volume by 30-40% while keeping the exercise selection and split structure intact.
Download
Download the .trn file and import it into the TRN app. Every exercise, every set, every rep from the Blueprint — ready to track. Consider yourself warned about the volume.