Arnold Schwarzenegger had 6 favorite exercises that he attributed the majority of his muscle growth and massive gains to. In this video, I’m going to show you these “golden six” exercises, as he referred to them, and give you alternatives where necessary in case you cannot perform these for some reason or that an alternative is a biomechanical improvement over the original.
We are blending old school effort and the training strategies of the classic bodybuilders with new school science of strength training to give you the best exercises for mass and the fastest way to build muscle naturally.
We start with the classic barbell bench press. Arnold did a variation of this popular chest exercise where you took an extra wide grip on the barbell. He felt that by taking a wider grip that he could better stimulate the pecs by minimizing the contribution of the triceps. As a result, his weights that he lifted here were a little bit on the lighter side but the overall pec activation was greater.
That said, this position can be quite difficult for anyone that has shoulder pain or rotator cuff issues. The modification would not be to stop bench pressing all together but to take a more narrow grip instead. Two things happen when you do. Firstly, the shoulder will have an easier time getting through the full range of motion without getting painful and secondly the more narrow position is a better position to press from. You will have a stronger bench press if you push from this modified grip rather than the wide.
Next up was the behind the neck shoulder press. I have been very vocal speaking out against the use of this exercise. Very few people have the shoulder mobility required to perform this exercise as Arnold did. That said, it isn’t even necessary since you can get all of the muscle mass benefits of the move by simply pressing the bar from the front. If you would like, you can also use a dumbbell shoulder press instead.
Arnold’s third favorite exercise for building muscle and making massive gains is the chin up. In fact, this amazing pulling exercise was done both as an overhand grip pull-up and an underhand grip chin up. Surprisingly, Arnold and Franco Columbu used to perform these as a bodyweight only exercise, knocking out 50 reps before starting their workout. I tend to think that there is a great potential to make back and biceps workout gains by weighting this exercise.
Throw a plate or two around your waist and start performing this as a lower rep exercise and new back and arm gains will await you.
The fourth exercise of Arnold Schwarzenegger for building huge biceps was the classic barbell curl. There is nothing better than an overloaded curl for getting huge arms. Here, if I was going to make a suggestion however I would say to not always use the momentum gained from using heavier weights and make sure to include some strict curls as well. My favorite way to perform them is with my back against the wall and then step away for some cheat curls after reaching failure.
The sixth exercise is a surprise to many, as it was a devoted ab exercise – the situp. There is nothing wrong with this movement for your spine health provided you do it safely. The two most important things you can do is remember to paint your spine down to the ground on every rep by posteriorly rotating your pelvis and not anchoring your feet under something when you do it if you have back pain. Anchoring your feet over something will instead engage the hamstrings which will take some of the load off of the psoas and the strain off the low back.
Performing weighted sit-ups will also help to bring down the overall volume of the exercise needed to create the overload required to stimulate change.
Finally, you can’t talk about the golden six exercises without mentioning the squat. Arnold believed that the squats were the king of all lower body exercises. Load them up heavy and use them to build massive legs. If you can’t perform them due to knee pain, be sure to try the other classic leg exercise done with a barbell, the reverse barbell lunge.
The bottom line is, if you want to build a body like Arnold Schwarzenegger, you would be best advised to stick to the favorite exercises of his that he credits all of his mass building to. Try these 6 muscle building exercises and see for yourself first hand. If you’re looking for a step by step program that builds these movements in over a 4 month program to help you build a massive chest, biceps, legs, back and more be sure to head to athleanx.com via the link below and check out the Old School Iron program.
For more videos on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s workout routine and the best exercises for mass, be sure to subscribe to our channel here on youtube and remember to turn on your notifications so you never miss a new video when it’s published.
Build ripped athletic muscle here –
Subscribe to this channel here –
45 comments
NOTIFICATION SQUAD GIVEAWAY – It’s back!! Alright guys, I’m giving away a complete 30 Day Workout program to 100 lucky clickers within the first hour this video is published! Remember, this is NOT THE FIRST 100, but those randomly selected within the first hour the video is published. Click the link to see if you’ve won. No strings attached!
https://giveaway.athleanx.com/ytg/arnolds-golden-six
If you don’t win, no worries, you’re not going away empty handed. Just be sure you have your notifications turned on so you can get to my next video quickly and try again. Good luck and thanks for being a loyal subscriber…
Good video. The great thing about Arnold is that he not only built himself the way he did, but he knew how to talk about it, and how to share what he knew with others. Nice going, following in those footsteps!
whatching u biceps I fear it is gone explodeXDD
Jesse's made this video interesting,using cammando dialogue at the end…i appreciate.
Jesse's Arnold impression had me on the floor.
He was ALL chest. Amazing chest. It seemed to take over his entire torso. I dont care that they were all using, from that day till now. I much prefer that classic build from his era
Never had a problems doing chest flies.. been doing them for 20 years no injuries..
It really would be awesome for arnold to swing through one day.
Disabled veteran and could use the help to get back into shape.
I got to agree with Jeff on the weighted pull-ups. A 42 year old hard gainer like me who's 160lbs isn't going to naturally get to 200 in this lifetime, so a backpack with some weight in it makes the pulls that much more challenging
1. Extra Wide Barbell Bench Press 2. Behind the Neck Press 3. Overhand wide grip Pull-ups or chin-ups 4. Bicep Barbell Curls 5. Sit-Ups 6. Barbell Squats Hopefully I am not too late but the reason why I deserve to win this contest is that first and foremost I am a soccer coach and a college student though I cannot afford the program having the best physic as possible is the BEST example I can give players on the importance of being healthy. We coaches shouldn't seek glory but seek to build healthy kids and a healthy community and why not do that by showing off our bodies.
Jesse should've cut the head out of that picture and made a mask
Jeff is an actual robot, what are his laughing excercises like
Deadlifts, squats, benches, overhead presses, chins, rows
Squat
Bench press
Curl
Lateral DB raises
The cable row
Face pulls
10:28 bruh what thee heckkk😂😂
T bar rows ?
i have a question, i am underwieght and i'm working out not that heavy but it's minor and my abs are visible clearly if i put pressure on them like i am getting in shape but i am really skin, i have no idea how to gain wieght, is it necessary for me to take protien supplements to actually build muscle?
4:54 what is he looking at? 👀
I can't believe they got arnold in the video
If you have long arms, the Gironda wide-grip is far easier, but in a good way! Regular sternum base bench presses with elbows close need a lot of effort if your arms are long. Yet most trainers say the opposite. So I think tall folk can use MORE weight in wide-grip often. The drawbacks are twofold, (a) frontal delt recruitment, and (b) less lower pec, but with crossovers or flies, that can be compensated for.
you forgot to include steroids in the diet part
Was tht dude pushing the sled antonio brown ??
Keep it real. Big up from Scotland
Haha! The best impression of Arnold ever. Thumbs up just for that alone. ; )
Bench press, pull ups, squats, overhead press, chest flies and t bar rows
bench press flies squat rows over the knee bicep curls
One of arnolds best mouth exercises is running it. I think he's over training though so he should try to STFU
Flat bench press, flat bench flys, squats, face pull standing row type thingies, barbell curl, and weener pulls.
yOu’Re TaLkInG aBoUt A lEgEnD oK?
CRINGE 😬
lemme guess.
benchpress(incline and regular)
weighted pullup/chinups
bb squat
deadlift
bb or cable row
bb standing shoulder/seated db press
bonus:weighted dips
Used to Like the N-.A….Z1 – "Screw Your Freedom"
You got what you want Cohagen, now give those people air!
The English captions at 0:43: "The golden sex exercises that Arnold referred to himself".
Bit late but im guessing squats, deadlift, Bench, shoulder press, idk the other 2, but for me its pull ups and chin ups
Jesse Looks like Aamir khan's Brother .
Flat Bench, Incline Bench, Pullups, Heavy Rows, Squats, Cheat Curls
Is the dumbell fly really that bad
I can't do pull ups cause of small weak hands. What's the best replacement?
Name a better duo than Walt and Jesse I'll wait..
I would say 1. Incline bench press 2.flat bench 3.overhead bar bell pulls 4.military press 5.chin ups 6.bar bell flys , I love Arnolds workouts they are the foundation old school bodybuilding ! I would use that program if you ever read this lol
Vücut geliştirme taktiklerini 7x mr.olympia olan Arnold'dan mı yoksa bir youtuber'dan mı alsam ? 😂
I guess, bench press, row, squat, deadlift, overhead press, lat pulldown
Golden six
Face pulls
Face pulls
Face pulls
Face pulls
Face pulls
Face pulls
Extra wide bench press is the best. just because you have small hands doesn't mean every one else has that.