Arnold's Basic Training
By Arnold Schwarzenegger · From Original Source
Also known as: arnold split · arnold · arnold schwarzenegger · encyclopedia of modern bodybuilding · basic training program · arnold basic training · schwarzenegger split
Arnold Schwarzenegger's Basic Training Program, Level I, from his Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding. Six days a week: chest and back, then shoulders and arms, then thighs, calves and lower back, each twice a week, with abs every day. Almost every lift is one light warmup set, then 5 x 8-12 with about a minute's rest; once every set reaches 12, the weight goes up. Each day also has his power moves: three heavy sets to failure at about 10, 6 and 4 reps, heavier set by set. He says a beginner should start here and stay at least six weeks.
Free to use · auto progression, rest timers & PR tracking built in
What is Arnold's Basic Training?
This is the Basic Training Program from Arnold Schwarzenegger's Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding (with Bill Dobbins, 1985), Level I, lift for lift and in his order. It is the program he wrote for building the first layer of muscle: chest and back on Monday and Thursday, shoulders and arms on Tuesday and Friday, thighs, calves and lower back on Wednesday and Saturday, so every body part is trained twice a week, with abs every day.
Chest and back days are bench press, incline press, dumbbell pullovers, chin-ups and bent-over rows, then deadlifts. Shoulder and arm days are the barbell clean and press, dumbbell lateral raises, heavy upright rows and push presses, barbell curls, seated dumbbell curls, narrow-grip bench press, standing barbell triceps extensions, then wrist curls and reverse wrist curls. Leg days are squats, lunges with a barbell and leg curls, standing calf raises, then straight-leg deadlifts and good mornings. His rule is 5 x 8-12 on every exercise unless he says otherwise, and he says otherwise in a few places: chin-ups go on until you have done 50 reps in total, calf raises are 5 sets of 15, and the leg raises and incline sit-ups are 5 sets of 25. Durata starts each loaded lift with one light warmup set of 15, as he tells you to, and keeps rests to about a minute.
Is Arnold's Basic Training right for you?
Arnold wrote this level for the beginning bodybuilder, or anyone whose training is lighter than this, and says to start here and stay at least six weeks before moving on. It is still a lot of work: six days a week, ten or more exercises on the arm days, and about a minute between sets. It needs a full gym with a leg curl machine, a calf raise and a chin-up bar. If six days a week won't fit your life, pick a program that does instead of skipping half of this one.
How progression works
On the 5 x 8-12 lifts, pick a weight you can do at least 8 times on every set. Arnold's rule is that if you can do 13 or more, the weight is too light. Durata adds weight once every set reaches 12: 2.5 kg on upper-body lifts, 5 kg on squats and lunges. The amounts are ours, because he doesn't give any. There is no deload, because he doesn't write one either.
The power moves work differently. Deadlifts, heavy upright rows and straight-leg deadlifts are three sets to failure at about 10, 6 and 4 reps, push presses at 6, 4 and 2, good mornings at 10, 8 and 6, each set heavier than the one before. Durata keeps a separate weight for each of those sets. A set that goes past its number gets heavier next time on its own, and a set that falls short drops one step. Do the power moves after the bodybuilding sets, once you are warm. Chin-ups and abs are bodyweight and have no load rule.
Durata runs this progression for you — warmups are worked out from your first working set, every set keeps its own weight from last time, and each set moves up on its own when you beat the top of its rep range.
Arnold's Basic Training — every set, every session
Grey sets are warmups; their % is of set 1. AMRAP = as many reps as possible on the sets marked AMRAP.
Chest & Back
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Bench Press (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Incline Bench Press (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Pullover (Dumbbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Pull Up | 5×10+ AMRAP | 1:00 |
| Bent Over Row (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Deadlift (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 1×10+ AMRAP 1×6+ AMRAP 1×4+ AMRAP | 1:00 |
| Lying Leg Raise | 5×25 | 1:00 |
Shoulders & Arms
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Clean and Press | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Lateral Raise (Dumbbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Upright Row (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 1×10+ AMRAP 1×6+ AMRAP 1×4+ AMRAP | 1:00 |
| Push Press | 1×15 @ 60% 1×6+ AMRAP 1×4+ AMRAP 1×2+ AMRAP | 1:00 |
| Bicep Curl (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Seated Curl (Dumbbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Bench Press - Close Grip (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Seated Overhead Triceps Extension (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Wrist Curl (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Seated Wrist Extension (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Decline Sit Up | 5×25 | 1:00 |
Thighs, Calves & Lower Back
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Squat (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Lunge (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Lying Leg Curl (Machine) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Standing Calf Raise | 1×15 @ 60% 5×15 | 1:00 |
| Straight Leg Deadlift | 1×15 @ 60% 1×10+ AMRAP 1×6+ AMRAP 1×4+ AMRAP | 1:00 |
| Good Morning (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 1×10+ AMRAP 1×8+ AMRAP 1×6+ AMRAP | 1:00 |
| Lying Leg Raise | 5×25 | 1:00 |
Chest & Back
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Bench Press (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Incline Bench Press (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Pullover (Dumbbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Pull Up | 5×10+ AMRAP | 1:00 |
| Bent Over Row (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Deadlift (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 1×10+ AMRAP 1×6+ AMRAP 1×4+ AMRAP | 1:00 |
| Lying Leg Raise | 5×25 | 1:00 |
Shoulders & Arms
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Clean and Press | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Lateral Raise (Dumbbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Upright Row (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 1×10+ AMRAP 1×6+ AMRAP 1×4+ AMRAP | 1:00 |
| Push Press | 1×15 @ 60% 1×6+ AMRAP 1×4+ AMRAP 1×2+ AMRAP | 1:00 |
| Bicep Curl (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Seated Curl (Dumbbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Bench Press - Close Grip (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Seated Overhead Triceps Extension (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Wrist Curl (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Seated Wrist Extension (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Decline Sit Up | 5×25 | 1:00 |
Thighs, Calves & Lower Back
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Squat (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Lunge (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Lying Leg Curl (Machine) | 1×15 @ 60% 5×8–12 | 1:00 |
| Standing Calf Raise | 1×15 @ 60% 5×15 | 1:00 |
| Straight Leg Deadlift | 1×15 @ 60% 1×10+ AMRAP 1×6+ AMRAP 1×4+ AMRAP | 1:00 |
| Good Morning (Barbell) | 1×15 @ 60% 1×10+ AMRAP 1×8+ AMRAP 1×6+ AMRAP | 1:00 |
| Lying Leg Raise | 5×25 | 1:00 |
Arnold's Basic Training — common questions
Is this the Arnold Split?
It is the program Durata used to call the Arnold Split, now rebuilt as the six-day split Arnold himself published: the Basic Training Program, Level I, in his Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding. Many apps sell a split under his name with supersets and modern machines; this one has neither, because Level I doesn't. His later levels add supersets and a third session per body part each week.
How long does a session take?
About 60–80 minutes. Most lifts are a warmup set and five working sets on about a minute's rest. The arm days are the longest, at eleven exercises.
How do I log the chin-ups?
Arnold says to do as many reps at a time as you can until you reach 50 in total. Durata shows five sets of 10; log what you actually do on each set and add sets until you get to 50.
Why are the incline sit-ups head down?
On his incline board sit-ups your head is lower than your feet, which is what most gyms call a decline sit-up. That is the lift Durata uses. He says not to let your back touch the board at the bottom.
Is there an app that runs Arnold's Basic Training for you?
Yes. Durata runs Arnold's Basic Training as written, free: the 6-day-a-week schedule, every set and rep, and the progression built in. Log your sets and the next session's weights are worked out for you, with the stalls and deloads the program calls for; a tap on any lift shows why the weight moved. It is on iPhone and Android, works offline, and your history from Hevy or Strong imports free.
Source: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding (with Bill Dobbins, 1985): Basic Training, Level I
Durata is not affiliated with or endorsed by the program's author. The program structure (sets, reps, exercise selection) is presented as published methodology.
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