Arnold's Shoulder Workout

Arnold Schwarzenegger's shoulder workout utilized high volume, heavy presses, and unique exercises like the Arnold Press for impressive growth.

Arnold Schwarzenegger approached shoulder training with the same high-volume strategy he used for other muscle groups, ensuring that each deltoid head was engaged from various angles. He typically incorporated both multijoint presses from the front of the neck, which emphasized the anterior deltoids, and behind-the-neck presses in his regimen to maximize development.

Arnold famously stated, “There’s no one exercise that will effectively target all three areas of the deltoids. So, when constructing your shoulder routine, it’s essential to include a diverse range of movements for complete shoulder development.”

His intense training often consisted of 50 or more sets in a single session! Additionally, Arnold trained shoulders at least twice a week—a demanding combination of volume and frequency that contributed to the impressive size of his deltoids.

Key Principles of Arnold’s Shoulder Training:

1. Heavy Lifting: Arnold prioritized heavy presses and upright rows, particularly at the beginning of his workouts when his energy was highest. These multijoint movements are the most effective for building mass, as they target a larger portion of the deltoid muscles.

2. Variety of Angles: He sought exercises that engaged the target area from different angles. For instance, during overhead dumbbell presses, he would lower the weights a few inches below the barbell’s starting position and bring them together at the top to increase the range of motion.

3. Innovative Movements: Arnold emphasized variety in his training, which led to the popularization of the Arnold Press. This unique movement starts with the hands facing the body in the starting position, allowing for a wrist rotation as the weights are lifted, thereby placing more emphasis on the front delts compared to traditional overhead presses.

4. Isolation Exercises: To complement overhead presses and isolate each deltoid head, Arnold included single-joint movements. He focused on subtle variations, such as using cables for lateral raises, noting that a cable running in front of the body felt different than one positioned behind.

5. Trapezius Development: For upper traps, Arnold incorporated various exercises like barbell cleans, upright rows, and shrugs. He particularly favored shrugs for developing thick upper traps, preferring to reduce the weight to ensure he could fully raise his shoulders as high as possible.

6. Pyramid Training: His basic training approach followed a pyramid scheme: he increased the weight across successive sets while decreasing the reps, typically staying within classic muscle-building rep ranges and rarely falling below eight reps.

Arnold’s Shoulder Workout Routine:

1. Seated Barbell Shoulder Press:

   • 1 warm-up set
   • 4 sets: 12, 10, 10, 8 reps (Rest: 90 sec.)

2. Dumbbell Lateral Raise:

   • 4 sets: 12, 12, 10, 8 reps (Rest: 1 min.)

3. Smith Machine Shoulder Press:

   • 4 sets: 12, 10, 10, 8 reps (Rest: 90 sec.)

4. Seated Rear Delt Fly:

   • 4 sets: 12, 10, 10, 8 reps (Rest: 1 min.)

5. Barbell Upright Row:

   • 4 sets: 12, 10, 10, 8 reps (Rest: 1 min.)