The Arnold-Franco Training Method Nobody Copies Today

Arnold Schwarzenegger & Franco Columbu: How They Trained together at Gold’s Gym in Venice Beach. Their partnership changed bodybuilding forever. They trained twice daily, six days weekly. The key was training with someone stronger than yourself.

Arnold Schwarzenegger & Franco Columbu: How They Trained With Extreme Volume

Arnold and Franco performed 700 sets per week during their peak years. Most people can’t imagine that workload. Morning sessions lasted 90 minutes while afternoon sessions took three hours. They weren’t just lifting weights. They were grinding through rep after rep with weights most men can’t touch.

They performed five to seven sets of each exercise. This form of gaining without resting too long was something Schwarzenegger and Franco Columbu did during their prime. Rest periods stayed short. The pump never stopped. Their muscles had no choice but to grow under that constant assault.

Arnold would train each muscle group three times a week, often doing as many as 20-30 sets for each body part. Franco matched him set for set. They pushed past normal limits. After workouts they’d stuff their face at the diner and fall asleep on the beach for two hours working on their tans. Recovery meant eating and sleeping. Nothing complicated.

Franco Columbu’s Powerlifting Foundation in Training

Franco was best known for his impressive lifts, notably a 750-pound deadlift and a 525-pound bench press. He weighed around 200 pounds. That’s a 3.75x bodyweight deadlift and a 2.625x bodyweight bench press. These numbers weren’t gym tricks. They were official powerlifting records that still impress today.

Columbu focused on heavy lifting and incorporated powerlifting exercises into his workouts. He believed in the 5 X 5 rep training for increasing his strength. His deadlift workout started at 300 pounds for five reps. Then 400 for five. Then 500. Then 600. Finally 650 and 700 for singles.

Franco was flat-out stronger than Arnold, in any and every lift. The fastest way to improve is to hang out in stronger circles. Arnold knew this. Arnold saw in Franco the ideal training partner. You need someone who can challenge you. Franco challenged everyone.

Arnold Schwarzenegger & Franco Columbu: How They Trained With Supersets

Franco used to perform supersets for one particular muscle group as well as for antagonist muscle groups—a technique called antagonistic supersets or opposing muscle group training. Chest and back together. Biceps and triceps back to back. Superset means no rest between exercises, so move directly from each exercise to the next with zero rest periods. This advanced training method saved time, maintained elevated heart rate for cardiovascular benefits, kept metabolic stress high, and enabled reciprocal innervation where one muscle group’s activation facilitates the other’s recovery during the same set sequence.

Supersets between opposing muscles enable one muscle to rest while the other works. You’re doing bench press. Then immediately grab the pull-up bar. Your chest recovers during rows. Your back recovers during presses. The system works.

Arnold chose to train this way because it allowed him to perform antagonistic supersets which made it possible to alternate between opposing muscle groups. Blood rushes from chest to back and back again. The pump becomes painful. Performing supersets forced muscles to perform far beyond their capacity which facilitated greater muscle gains. Normal training didn’t cut it for champions.

The 14-Day Split Cycle Franco Used

Columbu divided his workout routine into a 14-day cycle, resting on the 7th and 14th days. The split involved training each body part twice a week, with heavy deadlifts every second week. Most programs today train each muscle once weekly. Franco trained everything twice.

Three times a week, he used to do AM/PM workout for making his physique stage-ready. Three times a week he would train twice a day, morning and night, to put the finishing touches on his physique prior to taking stage. This wasn’t year-round. This was contest prep intensity.

His 14-day training split targeted each muscle group twice a week, incorporating heavy compound movements, supersets, and high-volume sessions to build both strength and muscle mass. Day one hit chest and shoulders. Day two destroyed back and legs. The pattern repeated with variations. Nothing stayed comfortable for long.

Arnold Schwarzenegger & Franco Columbu: How They Trained at Gold’s Gym

Gold’s soon became home to some of the most famous bodybuilders of all time, including Frank Zane, Franco Columbu and Arnold Schwarzenegger. When Arnold would walk in, everything would go up a notch. The energy changed. Everyone trained harder.

Arnold was 110 percent focused and worked out crazy hard. Franco matched that intensity. Arnold would need to train with at least three different training partners at separate workouts because no mere mortal could keep up with the Champ. Franco was different. He could keep up.

Franco said Arnold had glamour from inside out and more ambition than all of them. They fed off each other. One would add weight. The other would match it. This competition drove them both to greatness.

Short Rest Periods That Created Growth

Franco Columbu exercised with less recovery time, which helped in pumping the muscles more. Pumping up the muscle makes it look soft and kneaded. He explained that stage success requires extreme training. Not comfortable training.

They limited rest during weight training and performed five to seven sets of each exercise. Thirty seconds between sets. Sometimes less. Franco Columbu and Arnold Schwarzenegger never specifically trained cardio. They didn’t need separate cardio sessions.

Short rest kept their heart rates elevated. Their sessions could last 2-3 hours with a ton of volume, which is very different from how most people train today. Modern lifters rest three minutes between sets. Arnold and Franco rested 30 seconds and called it cardio.

Progressive Weight Schemes They Both Used

Franco’s method involved progressively increasing weights, culminating in a final rep designed to reach muscle failure. First set at 15 reps. Second set at 10 reps. Third set at 4 reps with heavy weight. His squat workout sets went from 8 to 6 to 4 to 2 repetitions. Weight increased every set.

Columbu’s strategy decreased the rep count and increased the weight each time you complete an exercise. This pyramid approach built both strength and size. You’re never comfortable. Light weights burn at high reps. Heavy weights crush you at low reps.

Columbu emphasized proper exercise selection and technique, including full range of motion, mind-muscle connection, and strict form. Heavy weight meant nothing with sloppy form. They controlled every rep. The muscle did the work, not momentum.

Arnold Schwarzenegger & Franco Columbu: How They Trained Each Body Part

Franco included four sets of leg presses, leg extensions 6-7 sets, three sets of barbell lunges, and six sets of deadlifts in the same leg workout. This leg workout alone would take hours for a mere mortal to complete. Chest day looked similar. Six sets here, six sets there, with no mercy for the biceps, triceps, or deltoids.

Franco said train each body part twice a week, as hard and relentless as possible each time. Every second week he’d deadlift after legs. His deadlift workout ramped from 300 pounds to 700 pounds. That’s how you build real strength.

He trains each body part twice a week. Monday and Thursday might be chest and back. Tuesday and Friday hit legs. Wednesday and Saturday covered shoulders and arms. The pattern repeated. No muscle escaped punishment.

Why Their Partnership Worked

Franco’s bodybuilding story is inseparable from Arnold Schwarzenegger as the two met in Europe, trained together, moved to California, and became one of the most famous training partnerships in bodybuilding. They would see each other at European bodybuilding shows and developed a friendship based on mutual admiration. Respect came first.

Arnold provided Franco the information he needed, insofar as training and nutrition. Franco knew he needed to train smarter if he wanted to take his physique to the next level. They taught each other. Arnold had size. Franco had raw strength. Together they became unstoppable.

Training with a partner, as Franco did with Arnold Schwarzenegger, is crucial for pushing limits and achieving optimal results. You won’t skip that last set with someone watching. You’ll add weight when challenged. If Franco had been 6 inches taller, you would not know the name Arnold Schwarzenegger. That’s how good Franco was.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many days per week did Arnold and Franco train?

They trained six days per week with one rest day. During contest prep they sometimes trained twice daily. Morning sessions lasted 90 minutes and afternoon sessions took three hours.

How many sets did Arnold Schwarzenegger & Franco Columbu do per workout?

They performed between 20 and 30 sets per body part. Each exercise got five to seven sets. Their total weekly volume reached 700 sets during peak training years.

Did Franco Columbu train differently than Arnold Schwarzenegger?

Franco included more powerlifting exercises with heavier weights. He could deadlift 750 pounds and bench press 525 pounds. Arnold focused more on bodybuilding volume but they trained together often.

What made their training partnership so effective?

Franco was stronger than Arnold in every lift. Training with someone stronger pushes you beyond normal limits. They competed with each other daily which drove both to greatness.

Can regular people follow Arnold Schwarzenegger & Franco Columbu training methods?

Their full program requires professional athlete recovery capacity. You can use their principles with lower volume. Start with three to four sets per exercise. Train each muscle twice weekly. Build up slowly over years.

Start with one body part trained twice weekly and build your work capacity from there.