Are you curious about the Arnold Schwarzenegger tricep workout?
Do you wonder how to train the triceps for size and strength?
Then you’ve come to the right place.
In this comprehensive guide, I will show you how to use the Arnold Schwarzenegger tricep workout to take your physique to the next level!
Introduction
- Part 1: Arnold’s Offseason Training Split
- Part 2: Arnold’s Offseason Tricep Workout
- Part 3: Arnold’s Pre-Contest Training Split
- Part 4: Arnold’s Pre-Contest Arm Workout
Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time. He won the Mr. Olympia contest 8 times and revolutionized the sport of bodybuilding.
Arnold was known for his larger-than-life personality, and of course, his mind-blowing triceps!
So what did his tricep workouts look like?
Arnold Schwarzenegger trained his triceps 2-3 times per week using a high-frequency training program. During the offseason Arnold trained his shoulders, biceps and triceps together every Tuesday and Friday. Check it out:
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Bodybuilding Training Split
- Day 1: Chest / Back
- Day 2: Shoulders / Arms
- Day 3: Legs
- Day 4: Chest / Back
- Day 5: Shoulders / Arms
- Day 6: Legs
- Day 7: Off
This type of training split is very difficult to recover from but it worked like magic for Arnold Schwarzenegger.
One of the reasons Arnold liked this split is because it lets you train antagonistic muscle groups like chest and back or biceps and triceps together in the same workout.
Arnold felt that training opposing muscle groups together was the key to getting a great pump and getting the most out of your workouts.
Arnold’s bicep workouts were focused on different types of curls like dumbbell curls, barbell curls and preacher curls. However, when it came to training the triceps Arnold used many different types of exercises.
Arnold felt that a huge variety of exercises was essential for isolating the 3 different heads of the triceps. Here is the Governator hammering this point home:
“One thing I learned in my many years of training is that the isolation principle is very important for developing fabulous triceps. Triceps exercises must isolate the three muscle heads to work them properly.”
Of course Arnold is talking about isolating the lateral head, medial head and long head of the triceps. Each of these muscles responds best to slightly different types of exercises.
Here is one of Arnold’s go-to offseason triceps workouts. Check it out:
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Offseason Triceps Workout
- Exercise #1: Bench press (shoulder-width grip), 3-6 sets of 5-20 reps
- Exercise #2: Standing rope cable pushdowns, 3-6 sets of 8-20 reps
- Exercise #3: Lying ez-bar extensions (to forehead), 3-6 sets of 5-20 reps
- Exercise #4: Seated DB overhead extensions, 3-6 sets of 8-20 reps
Here is a great video of Arnold performing some of his favorite biceps exercises:
As you can see Arnold used a wide variety of exercises to train his triceps.
Here is Arnold’s training partner Ric Drasin talking about Arnold’s favorite triceps exercises:
“The triceps was a lot of close-grip bench presses, then triceps pushdowns, overhead extensions with one-arm and with both arms. And then also triceps extensions with the barbell where you let the bar drop down to your forehead and you press out.”
In case you were curious here is how Arnold used these four exercises to target all 3 heads of the triceps:
- Bench press = lateral head, long head
- Rope pushdowns = lateral head, medial head
- Lying extensions = lateral head, long head
- Overhead extensions = long head
Of course it is impossible to truly isolate the long, medial or lateral head of the triceps.
Any time you do a triceps exercise you will recruit all three triceps heads to some degree. However, you can absolutely use different exercises to emphasize one or two triceps heads more than the others.
Arnold loved to mix things up during his triceps workouts.
He was famous for using different high-intensity training techniques like drop sets and forced reps to “shock the muscle.”
One of his favorite strategies for building his triceps was to perform three different types of triceps exercises in a row with no rest between exercises. This is called a tri-set and it is a very effective way to build bigger triceps.
Here is Ric Drasin talking about one of Arnold’s favorite triceps tri-sets:
“Arnold had another way of performing lying triceps extensions. He would bring them to the forehead for 6 reps, then behind the head for 6 reps, then do bench presses with the same weight for 6 reps. That really pumped up the triceps.”
This reminds me of Josh Bryant’s 3-way dumbbell triceps extensions.
Josh has his clients do a neutral grip dumbbell press, a lying dumbbell extensions and a pullover dumbbell extension in a row. Performing all three of these exercises in a row counts as 1 rep and you would do 5-10 reps per set. Check it out:
Of course Arnold’s favorite way to shock his triceps into growth was to perform supersets.
Arnold would perform 1 set for his triceps, then perform 1 set for his biceps, then go back and perform another set for his biceps.
This is called an “antagonistic superset” and it is extremely effective for building bigger arms.
Many world-class bodybuilding coaches like John Meadows and Milos Sarcev like to use bicep / tricep supersets to blast through training plateaus.
Arnold trained his triceps twice per week in the offseason.
However, about 3 months before his competition he switched things up and trained his triceps 3 times per week using a high-volume / high-frequency training split. Check it out:
Here is Arnold Schwarzenegger’s pre-contest training split:
Monday:
- AM: Chest / Back
- PM: Legs
Tuesday:
- AM: Shoulders / Arms
- PM: Calves / Abs
Wednesday:
- AM: Chest / Back
- PM: Legs
Thursday:
- AM: Shoulders / Arms
- PM: Calves / Abs
Friday:
- AM: Chest / Back
- PM: Legs
Saturday:
- AM: Shoulders / Arms
- PM: Calves / Abs
As you can see Arnold trained his triceps three times per week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday leading up to the Mr. Olympia competition.
Arnold focused on supersets for his bicep / tricep workouts to build as much muscle as possible before the contest. Check it out:
“Three months before a contest, I would change my arm routine completely. My goal now was to zoom in on chiseling in all the cuts and shape possible.
I’d cut down on my sets and go to a superset style of training and try to get a maximum pump each workout.”
Here is the exact bicep / tricep routine that Arnold Schwarzenegger used leading up to the Mr. Olympia contest. Check it out:
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Pre-Contest Arm Workout
Superset #1
- Exercise A1: 45 degree incline DB curl, 3-5 sets of 8-20 reps, 30-60 seconds rest
- Exercise A2: Cable rope pushdown, 3-5 sets of 8-20 reps, 30-60 seconds rest
Superset #2
- Exercise B1: Standing alternating DB curl, 3-5 sets of 8-20 reps, 30-60 seconds rest
- Exercise B2: Lying ez-bar extension (to forehead), 3-5 sets of 8-20 reps, 30-60 seconds rest
Superset #3
- Exercise C1: Preacher ez-bar curls, 3-5 sets of 8-20 reps, 30-60 seconds rest
- Exercise C2: Diamond push ups, 3-5 sets of 8-20 reps, 30-60 seconds rest
Superset #4
- Exercise D1: DB concentration curls, 3-5 sets of 8-20 reps, 30-60 seconds rest
- Exercise D2: Overhead rope cable extension, 3-5 sets of 8-20 reps, 30-60 seconds rest
Superset #5
- Exercise E1: Preacher ez-bar curl (reverse grip), 3-5 sets of 8-20 reps, 30-60 seconds rest
- Exercise E2: Barbell wrist curl, 3-5 sets of 8-20 reps, 30-60 seconds rest
Arnold performed an unbelievable 15-25 sets for his triceps 3 days per week! This kind of training volume would put most bodybuilders in the hospital but it worked like magic for the Austrian Oak.
If you are stuck at a training plateau then I highly recommend you give antagonistic supersets a shot! If you want to learn more about bicep / tricep supersets then check out the following articles:
Remember, the human body has not changed much sense the 1970’s. Bicep / tricep supersets work just as well today as they did in the golden age of bodybuilding!
Conclusion | The Arnold Schwarzenegger Tricep Routine!
Arnold Schwarzenegger used a very smart training program to build his 22-inch arms.
He used a variety of exercises to train all 3 heads of the triceps and was always willing to experiment with different training methods to shock the muscle into growth.
People have debated for decades about why Arnold was able to dominate the sport of bodybuilding for so many years.
Arnold believes it is the same in bodybuilding as it is in business, entrepreneurship or any other endeavor.
The most important thing is to develop the crystal clear vision of where you want to go. That vision will pull you forward like a magnet on your way to the top.
Here is the Austrian Oak himself driving this point home:
“No matter what you do, you first have to have a vision… to see your goal, to believe in it, have faith in it and chase it. And then it’s fun to chase it. If you don’t have a goal or a vision, then you have nothing.”
Thank you for reading and I wish you the best of luck on your strength training journey!
