How Arnold Schwarzenegger Built Muscle With Just Bodyweight

Take a look at this…

These are pictures of Arnold Schwarzenegger and he’s training with only his body weight to build muscle.

Now I know that’s hard to believe, but when Arnold first started training, he didn’t use a gym. And he still built a muscular body…

Arnold Schwarzenegger started his journey with chin-ups on a tree branch in Austria. And when he first moved to New York, he couldn’t find a gym. So he relied ONLY on bodyweight workouts in his tiny apartment.

And look, we might not all want to look like him in his body-building prime. But these photos show a guy with a great physique before becoming a pro bodybuilder. And that’s what we’re looking for!

Posted By Arnold Himself!

I managed to find a Reddit post by Arnie himself. Where he outlines his bodyweight workout and shows just how much you can do with bodyweight alone.

So if you want to know how to build muscle with just your body weight, let’s get into it…

(By the way, I’ve made a PDF of this Workout plan if you wish to download it below)

Get Your FREE Copy Of “Arnold’s 4-Week Bodyweight Workout Plan” As A Printable Handbook”

I’ve put the Workout Routine into a PDF Handbook for you, with reps, sets, and overload progression. So you can do it at home. Just tell me where to send it…

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Arnold’s Muscle-Building Technique Principles

The entire workout plan is incredible for hitting all the major muscles of your body. But what’s really interesting is that Arnie focuses on 3 key technique areas for maximum muscle growth in minimal time.

And his equipment list is just two chairs and a book, which isn’t for reading. It should take about 45 minutes to complete, so there are no excuses. Minimum time, minimum equipment.

Arnold’s Key Muscle-Building Advice

Arnold gives the reps to do for beginner and advanced for each exercise. And he says:

“It doesn’t matter how you get to the final rep number, whether you break it up into sets or do them all at once…So long as you do it with perfect form.”

And that’s what I love about Arnie. He focuses on what’s important to build muscle – and again, it’s not that complicated.

Don’t have time to read the post in full? Then watch the video below to learn how Arnold Schwarzenegger built muscle with just body weight…

So, let’s first look at a couple of key muscle-building techniques. And the essential mindset Arnold recommends to build muscle with this bodyweight workout.

Principle #1 Don’t Cheat!

So, Arnold first says, “Don’t cheat – you’re only cheating yourself”. And while that might sound a bit cheesy, it’s a cliche for a reason. 

We’ve all been that gym guy or girl once upon a time trying to lift heavier than we can. Sacrificing form to get that weight up and look good

Or rushing push-ups with half movements just to hit a high number. It ticks our ego box which is something Arnold says we need to be mindful of.

Now look, I know that none of us here have huge egos, of course… But a lot of gym bros do. And it could be costing them muscle gain.

I know I spent many of my younger years letting my gym ego get the better of me…

Principle #2 Let Go Of Ego

In his post, Arnold says “Don’t let your ego do the movements for you”. And what he means by that is – don’t cheat and use momentum to do the rep.

instead, make sure the muscle you are targeting is causing the movement. That’s what I speak about with my clients – Using ‘Muscle-Centric Technique.’

Make sure that the only thing that causes your body to move is the contraction of the SINGLE muscle you are targeting.

Then you can be assured that the majority of your bodyweight load goes onto that single muscle. Which means you’ll get a powerful muscle growth stimulus.

And ego leads to poor form, which is another thing Arnold speaks about…

Principle #3 Reps vs Form

He says, “You may be able to do lots of reps but if they aren’t with perfect form you’re wasting your time”. And he’s right. I agree with him.

It’s another thing I see clients doing wrong with bodyweight exercises. Mindlessly just doing the movement without actually thinking about the muscle they are targeting.

And how to take it through its full range of motion. As I said, you might be able to bash out 100 press-ups if they’re done super fast and you’re just pushing halfway, up and down.

The Problem With Cheating

But the problem, is you’re not challenging the muscle’s full potential. You’re only challenging it to the halfway push-up point. This means you don’t incorporate all the muscle fibers and you don’t get full muscle development.

We’re all busy people – so we’re looking for the most efficient workout we can get right? I have a 6-month-old, so I know I am. 

When I’m squeezing in a workout between my son’s naps. I want to use every rep effectively to build as much muscle as possible.

That means we need to take the muscle through its full range of motion with every rep. So we can get complete muscle development.

The Oldest Form of Training

Arnie goes on to say “Body weight, or freehand training is the oldest method in the world. Gladiators and Vikings didn’t have gymnasiums”

And that’s why I believe he’s always been an advocate of mastering bodyweight movements and using them consistently.

He knew he didn’t have to use dumbbells and a gym to build a decent body. Which is evident from these pictures.

So let’s get into the workout itself…

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Body Weight Workout Routine

Let’s dive into the full 9-exercise workout and the best way to perform each movement…

Exercise #1 Push Ups

The 1st of 9 exercises Arnie begins with is the classic push-up to target his chest. Arnie was famous for his popping side chest pose.

And never stopped using push-ups even when he went mainstream as a bodybuilder. He understood the difference between being gym-strong and functionally strong…

He knew that being able to perform a range of body weight movements with great technique, would give him a solid foundation to build upon in his career.

Push Up Technique To Build Muscle

When done correctly, push-ups can be all you need to build your chest muscles. I’m always teaching clients to constantly push their hands together on the floor as they push up and down.

Like they’re folding the floor between their hands. This can help put more tension and body weight load onto the chest muscle.

It makes it harder but means you’re challenging your chest muscles more for better growth. Here’s an example of the technique I mean…

Exercise #2 Dips (Between Chairs)

And You don’t need expensive equipment to build muscle. Arnold’s 2nd bodyweight exercise is tricep dips between two chairs.

You may think you have to use weights or a cable to build your tricep muscles. I know I used to.

But it’s not the tool that leads to the muscle growth. It’s how well you take the muscle through its full range of motion and place the load onto it.

Arnold probably did this instead of diamond push-ups, because he could probably achieve that better with dips.

Dips technique tips

Pull your shoulder blades back and keep your elbows tucked in. This helps ensure your body weight load goes onto your triceps.

It’s also important to not lean forward at any point. Otherwise, the load begins to go onto your chest muscle.

Exercise #3 – Rows (Between Chairs)

And checkout this out, the chairs don’t stop there, Arnold’s 3rd exercise was a back row between them. He placed a pole, like a broomstick, through the top to do the exercise.

You might be asking yourself, “Why didn’t he do pull-ups?” I believe it’s because Arnold was a big guy genetically. Which meant he would be moving a large weight when doing pull-ups.

This may have limited his rep range and even how slow and controlled he could perform the movement.

Doing rows between the chairs meant he could control his weight much better. And focus on perfect technique.

Technique Tips For Rows

I’ve always found focusing on the bottom stretch and the top contraction squeeze when doing bodyweight rows like this leads to great results.

Because you’re taking the back muscles from a fully stretched position to a fully contracted position for complete muscle development.

Here’s an example of that row technique when using a suspension trainer…

Exercise #4 Sit-Ups

And look at this, It doesn’t come much simpler for Arnie’s 4th exercise with the classic sit-up.

Arnie was big on squeezing the muscle powerfully at the top of the range of motion. Sit-ups allow you to do this really well for your abs as you crunch right up at the top

You can stay there and really squeeze your ab muscles super hard. Here’s a great tip for you – try placing a firm pillow under the arch of your back.

This helps increase the range of motion for the exercise. So you can stretch the ab muscles out a little at the bottom for a bigger range of motion

Get Your FREE Copy Of “Arnold’s 4-Week Bodyweight Workout Plan” As A Printable Handbook”

I’ve put the Workout Routine into a PDF Handbook for you, with reps, sets, and overload progression. So you can do it at home. Just tell me where to send it…

Arnie Plan Lead - Blog: Muscle Max OTO

Δ

First Name

Give Me The Handbook!

Exercise #5 Bent Leg Raises

Arnie then keeps the focus on his abs with his 5th exercise by doing bent leg raises. My opinion would be that he most likely did these to help target the lower section of his core

Your abs are very resilient because they’re always working to support your posture. So I’m a big fan of doing core exercises with slow movements…

To keep the ab muscles under tension for long periods of time. Think 6-8 seconds per rep. I’ve found with clients that the ab muscles respond really well to this.

Exercise #6 Bent Over Twists

And look check this out. Arnie knew flexibility was essential for him to perform effectively and that’s why his 6th exercise was bent-over twists.

These bent-over twists allow him to strengthen his core, lower back, and obliques. A focus I’d recommend for you if you try these is to squeeze your ab muscles throughout the entire exercise…

Technique Tips For Twists

To maintain control and form. It’s easy to just relax and swing with momentum. Remember, what we talked about earlier?

But that’s not what we want. We want to make sure we engage the muscles we are targeting.

So do these with a slow and controlled movement for better strength and flexibility results.

Exercise #7 Squats

Look at this, Arnold even used a simple book to help make his 7th exercise even more effective. With body weight squats.

Arnie placed a book under his feet here and kept his legs in a narrow position. By doing this he can place the majority of his body weight load onto his front quad muscles…

Which is the front of your thigh. You could also perform a different squat variation to target your hamstrings and glutes, by taking a wide stance.

Squat Technique Tips

To do this, imagine there is a stability ball between your bum and your heels. And you’re constantly trying to squeeze it as you squat up and down.

Pull yourself down by squeezing your hamstring muscles. Instead of just dropping down Then pause at the bottom and squeeze them hard again to squat back up.

With these two squat variations, you can target the front and back of your legs effectively.

Here’s how to do that narrow squat and wide squat technique with your body weight…

Exercise #8 Calf Raises

And look at this, the book gets a second round with Arnold’s 8th exercise to target his calf muscles with raises.

The book allows for a little stretch of the calf at the bottom. Which increases the range of motion for the calf muscle. And as we’ve discussed, that leads to better muscle development.

Calves, like abs, are very resilient. So I teach my clients to use slow movements to keep them under tension for long periods of time. Think 10-second tempos for one rep.

It’s especially beneficial to focus on squeezing them super hard at the very top position of the exercise. You’ll really feel the burn, it feels awesome.

Exercise #9 Chin-Ups

To finish off Arnie’s body weight workout with his 9th exercise, he did chin-ups. Arnold had one of the best bicep peaks ever right, it’s that sexy bathroom mirror pose.

The biceps are a strong muscle group. And going back to the importance of that top squeeze. Chin-ups allow you to get a powerful squeeze as you pause and hold your body weight at the top.

Using his entire body weight, Arnold could create a big muscle growth stimulus on his biceps by doing this.

Chin Ups Technique Tips

Here’s a great tip… Chin-ups are a hard one to do, especially if you’re starting out. So instead focus on jumping up to grab the bar, then lower yourself slowly over 6 – 10 seconds. Do this for 6 reps.

Eventually, this negative downward strength will translate into a positive upward strength. And you’ll be able to begin doing full chin-ups from hanging at the bottom.
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So that’s a rundown of how Arnold Schwarzenegger built muscle with just body weight.

What are your thoughts? Have you tried the workout routine for yourself? Let me know in the comments.

By the way, if you want to build muscle without going to a gym…

Check out my Fitness Freedom Suspension Trainer and Resistance Band Programs to build muscle at home.

All You Need Is Bodyweight,
Coach Adam
Body Transformation Coach