Vince Gironda 8×8
By Vince Gironda · From Original Source
Also known as: 8x8 · gironda · vince gironda · eight by eight · honest workout · iron guru · classic physique · density · super-definition routine
Vince Gironda's Super-Definition Routine, as Gene Mozee wrote it up for IronMan in 1996: one exercise per body part, eight sets of eight with no more than 15 seconds' rest, three times a week. Close-grip chins, wide-grip dips, kneeling rope extensions, one-arm seated curls and kneeling cable laterals, then sissy squats, calves for six sets of 30 and an abs superset. Use the same weight on every set. Gironda's own progression is speed: get the workout done faster. Once all eight sets of eight are there, the app adds weight next time; a miss repeats it.
Free to use · auto progression, rest timers & PR tracking built in
What is Vince Gironda 8×8?
Gironda never wrote one 8x8 program down in full. Tom Venuto said as much in 2002: Vince never explained it in great detail, not even in his mail-order courses. The most complete version on record is the Super-Definition Routine that Gene Mozee published in IronMan in 1996, and that is the routine Durata runs, movement for movement and in his order. The method behind it is Gironda's own, from his 1974 piece "Failure vs 60-80": one exercise per body part, 6x6 up to 8x8, pumping with about 60-80% of your maximum, and see how fast you can get it done.
It is one full-body workout, done three times a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday here). Close-grip chins on a short triangle handle, wide-grip dips, kneeling rope triceps extensions on a long pulley, one-arm seated curls and kneeling cable lateral raises, all eight sets of eight with no more than 15 seconds between sets. The curls go right arm, left arm, right arm, with no rest, until each arm has done its eight. Then come sissy squats with no weight: 8 half reps, 8 from the bottom to halfway, 8 full, straight through, four times with a couple of minutes between. Calves get six sets of 30 with as little rest as possible, and abs finish it: quarter situps supersetted with stiff-legged raises, four sets each. The article names no calf exercise (the word is missing from the copy we have), so the standing calf raise is our pick, and it gives no reps for the abs, so Durata uses eight, after a crunch note of Gironda's later in the same article.
Is Vince Gironda 8×8 right for you?
Mozee's article is about getting cut without losing size, and the routine is built for it: no barbell squat, no deadlift, no heavy pressing, and rests short enough to keep you sweating. Venuto quotes Gironda saying that anyone with under two years of steady training is unlikely to benefit from 8x8, and Durata lists it as advanced. Go in expecting to drop well below your usual working weights. You also need a gym with pulleys, a dip station, a chin bar and ideally a situp board, and the 15-second rests only work if nobody takes your station.
How progression works
Use the same weight on all eight sets. Gironda's own progression was speed: finish the same work in less time. The app can't judge that, so on the loaded movements (the rope extensions, curls, cable laterals and calves) Durata follows Venuto's reading instead: once every set is there, eight reps on the arms and shoulders and 30 on the calves, it adds 2.5 kg next session. The 2.5 kg step is our choice; neither man gives a figure. Miss a set and you repeat the weight. There is no deload, because neither source writes one. Chins, dips, sissy squats and abs are bodyweight and carry no load rule. The routine has no set length, so it repeats every week until you stop it.
Durata runs this progression for you — there are no percentages to work out, so each session's target carries over from what you logged last time and the weight moves when you hit or miss the prescribed reps.
Vince Gironda 8×8 — every set, every session
Super-Definition Routine
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Chin Up - Narrow Parallel Grip | 8×8 | 15s |
| Chest Dip | 8×8 | 15s |
| Overhead Triceps Extension (Cable) | 8×8 | 15s |
| Concentration Curl | 8×8 | — |
| Lateral Raise (Cable) | 8×8 | 15s |
| Sissy Squat (Weighted) | 12×8 | 2:00 |
| Standing Calf Raise | 6×30 | 15s |
| Crunchsuperset A | 4×8 | — |
| Lying Leg Raisesuperset A | 4×8 | — |
Super-Definition Routine
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Chin Up - Narrow Parallel Grip | 8×8 | 15s |
| Chest Dip | 8×8 | 15s |
| Overhead Triceps Extension (Cable) | 8×8 | 15s |
| Concentration Curl | 8×8 | — |
| Lateral Raise (Cable) | 8×8 | 15s |
| Sissy Squat (Weighted) | 12×8 | 2:00 |
| Standing Calf Raise | 6×30 | 15s |
| Crunchsuperset A | 4×8 | — |
| Lying Leg Raisesuperset A | 4×8 | — |
Super-Definition Routine
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Chin Up - Narrow Parallel Grip | 8×8 | 15s |
| Chest Dip | 8×8 | 15s |
| Overhead Triceps Extension (Cable) | 8×8 | 15s |
| Concentration Curl | 8×8 | — |
| Lateral Raise (Cable) | 8×8 | 15s |
| Sissy Squat (Weighted) | 12×8 | 2:00 |
| Standing Calf Raise | 6×30 | 15s |
| Crunchsuperset A | 4×8 | — |
| Lying Leg Raisesuperset A | 4×8 | — |
Vince Gironda 8×8 — common questions
How long do I rest between sets on Gironda 8x8?
No more than 15 seconds, per the 1996 article. Venuto's later write-up allows 15 to 30. The one-arm curls get no rest at all, because each arm rests while the other works. Sissy squats are the exception: a couple of minutes between their four sets.
What weight should I start with?
Gironda talked about pumping with 60-80% of your maximum. Venuto suggests about 40% off your normal 8-rep weight. Either way, pick a weight the first sets feel easy with; you have to make all eight sets of eight on 15-second rests with the same weight.
How do I progress if I make every set?
Gironda's answer was to do it faster. In Durata, once every set of a loaded movement hits its reps, the next session adds 2.5 kg. If you miss, you keep the weight until you make it. Bodyweight movements stay as they are.
How long does a session take?
About 60–80 minutes. The five upper-body movements move fast on 15-second rests; the sissy squats, with a couple of minutes between sets, and the six sets of 30 on calves take longer than they look.
Is this the honest workout?
Honest workout is the name lifters use for Gironda's 8x8 in general. This page runs the one full 8x8 routine printed under his name, the Super-Definition Routine from IronMan in 1996, rather than a modern split built around the idea.
Is there an app that runs Vince Gironda 8×8 for you?
Yes. Durata runs Vince Gironda 8×8 as written, free: the 3-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 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: Vince Gironda — Super-Definition Routine (Gene Mozee, IronMan 1996)
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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