Workout Summary
- Main GoalBuild Muscle
- Workout TypeSplit
- Training LevelIntermediate
- Program Duration12 weeks
- Days Per Week6
- Time Per Workout45-60 minutes
- Equipment RequiredBarbell, Bodyweight, Cables, Dumbbells, EZ Bar, Machines
- Target Gender Male & Female
- Recommended Supps
- Workout PDF Download Workout
Workout Description
The 1970s was a dynamic era in bodybuilding. Physiques grew in size but also in personality. Many notable legends etched their legacies upon the world of bodybuilding during this decade:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Sergio Oliva
- Frank Zane
- Franco Columbu
- Lou Ferrigno
- Mike Mentzer
It was during this era that training began to aggressively evolve away from full body workouts. Many lifters, including Arnold and Sergio, took the fullbody workout and morphed it into a high volume protocol.
It was not uncommon for these Herculean beasts to train 6 days per week as follows:
- Monday - Chest and Back
- Tuesday - Shoulders and Arms
- Wednesday - Legs
- Thursday - Chest and Back
- Friday - Shoulders and Arms
- Saturday - Legs
- Sunday - Rest
1970s Bodybuilding Routine
The following workout is based upon the structure listed above. Make no bones about it: this is a brutal, taxing training style. It certainly is not for everyone.
If you consider running a program like this I strongly recommend backing it with plenty of rest and food. If at any time you feel worn down, take a complete week away from the gym.
Understand that this is my variation of a 1970s workout. It's what I would do if I were training using this template.
Note on the Landmine Press. The landmine press is performed with one end of a barbell secured in a corner, perhaps under the middle of a heavy dumbbell. The lifter presses the other end overhead with one arm.
| Monday | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chest and Back | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Bench Press | 3 | 8-10 |
| Incline Dumbbell Bench Press | 3 | 8-12 |
| Cable Crossovers | 5 | 10-15 |
| Low Rack Pull | 3 | 6-8 |
| Wide Grip Pull Ups | 5 | 15 |
| One Arm Dumbbell Row | 3 | 10-15 |
| Barbell Ab Rollout | 3 | 8-12 |
| Hanging Knee Raise | 3 | 12-15 |
| Tuesday | ||
|---|---|---|
| Shoulders and Arms | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Seated Dumbbell Press | 3 | 10-12 |
| Upright Rows | 3 | 10-15 |
| Bent Over Reverse Fly | 5 | 10-15 |
| Cable Tricep Extensions | 4 | 10-15 |
| Skullcrushers | 4 | 10-12 |
| Barbell Curls | 4 | 8-12 |
| One Arm Cable Curls | 4 | 10-15 |
| Wednesday | ||
|---|---|---|
| Legs | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Squats | 5 | 6-12 |
| Hack Squats | 3 | 10-12 |
| Leg Extensions | 3 | 10-15 |
| Good Mornings | 3 | 8-10 |
| Leg Curls | 5 | 10-15 |
| Seated Calf Raise | 4 | 12-15 |
| Standing Calf Raise | 4 | 12-15 |
| Thursday | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chest and Back | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Incline Bench Press | 3 | 8-10 |
| Chest Dips | 3 | 10-15 |
| Dumbbell Flyes | 5 | 10-15 |
| Barbell Row | 3 | 8-10 |
| Lat Pull Down | 5 | 8-12 |
| Seated Cable Row | 3 | 10-15 |
| Plank | 3 | 60 seconds |
| Dumbbell Side Bend | 3 | 10-12 |
| Friday | ||
|---|---|---|
| Shoulders and Arms | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Military Press | 3 | 8-10 |
| Side Lateral Raise | 5 | 10-15 |
| Landmine Press | 3 | 10-12 |
| Seated French Press | 4 | 8-10 |
| One Arm Dumbbell Tricep Extension | 4 | 10-12 |
| Seated Dumbbell Curl | 4 | 10-12 |
| EZ Bar Preacher Curls | 4 | 10-12 |
| Saturday | ||
|---|---|---|
| Legs | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Leg Press | 5 | 20 |
| Walking Barbell Lunge | 3 | 10-12 |
| Bulgarian Split Squat | 3 | 10-12 |
| Stiff Leg Deadlifts | 3 | 8-10 |
| Single Leg Curl | 5 | 10-15 |
| Floor Barbell Calf Raise | 4 | 12-15 |
| Leg Press Calf Press | 4 | 12-15 |
104 Comments
Hello I’m 51 years old and I’ve been training for about 20 years. I have a torn meniscus injury . I feel my knee when I walk. I’m still able to squat though. I cannot run anymore because my knee will really hurt. What can I do to help my injured knee. I don’t want surgery although that’s what my doctor recommended me.
Hi Roger, (great name).
If it is torn, then surgery would be optimal. However, you could wear knee sleeves when you exercise so you can continue with that. I would advise light leg extensions to prepare for workouts and to not go too deep on squats. Outside of that, I would suggest talking to a physical therapist about how to recover.
I am age 51. I like doing each body parts twice a week. With that said, I have been doing yoga twice a week, and I noticed that my chest has not been gaing any progress as the rest of my body parts. Should I do my chest workout once a day?
Hi Kenny, it may be that you just need to change up the routine. What is your chest workout at the moment, and let me know if you train at home or in a gym?
Hi! This is one tough routine. Thank you for posting.
Can one do two days of sets in one? Sometimes we can’t afford to workout 6 days in a week.
Thank you
I would suggest taking the extra rest instead of trying to consolidate days. The recovery matters as much, if not more so, than the training.
Hello M&S Team..
Can I follow this routine permanently?
Eventually, your body will need different exercises and weight challenges to keep progress going, but you can certainly use this for a few months before making a change. Hope this helps!
When I am done with the 10 week program what do I do
Read this.
https://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/how-to-choose-your-next-train...
Read this.
https://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/how-to-choose-your-next-train...
I’m 43 lost 75 lbs in 2 years 2 back surgery’s spinal fusion I lift 5 days a week I absolutely love this work out I’m still trying to cut weight should I lift this program and slowly increase the weight weekly to help with progressive overload or just stick with same weight week to week? And can I just run this routine I definitely thanks nate
Hey Nate, congrats on the weight loss. Work with progressive overload so you can challenge the muscles and use more intensity to stimulate the muscle. Run the routine as long as you continue seeing progress. Thanks for reading M&S!
I’m currently on a Deload week now I’ve been doing the PPL routine 6 day split it’s come to a end now so I’m thinking do I do the program all over again or Can I try this programme out to mix it up looks really interesting and exciting having said that I did love the PPL routine thank you
Run it, Chris, and keep us in the loop on how you're doing!
Hi should I stick to one weight or increase with each set.
Dale,
Pick a weight that allows you to perform the desired amount of reps and sets.
Thank you for replying
Been doing this workout, but doing 5 sets of everything. That to much?
Hey James - it's best to follow the program as written.
Mike Mentzer trained 3x per week, 1 set to failure
What’s a good substitute for a hack squat
Hey Juan - check ou this article: https://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/lower-body-alternatives-your-...
Not superset? Or alternative set?
Just doing all chest exercise first and back later?
If I am currently in the process of cutting would you recommend I make any changes to this program or just stick with how it is designed whilst continuing my cutting diet?
Hey Aaron - cutting is more about diet that workout. So you hit the nail on the head, just stick with your cutting diet and do this (or any other hypertrophy style workout) as you normally would.
What kind of warmups do you recommend with this program?
Apologies if this has been asked already...
Very nice, thanks
how could i save this as a pdf?
Hi Isaac,
We'll have one made. Not sure how this one didn't get one.
Hi Josh,
How much time would you recomend to rest between the sets of this programme to have the best results??
Thanks
Hi Steve,
I'd suggest 60 seconds on all accessory isolation lifts and 90 seconds on bigger compound lifts.
Hi josh,
After I posted my last on here I took your advice and got back on track with this program, I am coming to the end of this program now but still haven’t reached my goal, I have changed the Monday workout to supersets but stuck religiously to the rest, I am planning to De load for a week do I continue with this program again for the full duration or do you recommend I change to something else? Thanks
Hi Lee,
You might respond better to heavier loads with lower rep ranges. Give one of these a shot:
https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/phul-workout
https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/6-day-powerbuilding-split-mea...
can you share more older workout please?
Hi Emre,
We'll see what we can do! Thanks for the feedback!
Hi Josh,
I have just completed the 10 week mass building program on which I gained 6kg, I still want to gain more mass so swapped to this program, I took a week off to deload and am now on my fourth week of this program, the first 2 weeks were great and I felt really good and was easily managing the extra work load, however last week and so far this week even though the weight I am lifting is still increasing on most exercises I am struggling to get any pump and feel really flat after my workouts, any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks Lee
Hi Lee,
A pump is always a good indicator that you're getting a good workout in.
And a lot of things could be going on here - what's you carb and fluid intake look like? Are you sleeping enough at night? Are you digesting your food well?
Could be you're growing use to your workouts, could be you're not eating enough - look at your lifestyle as a whole.
Hope this helps!
Hi Josh,
I have had a fairly long lay off due to injury and have only been back training seriously for about 4 months, and up until last week my progression has been steady and I’m happy with the gains I have made so far I have gone from 94 to 101.5 Kgs in this time, I haven’t really change my diet and thought the change of program would help, I am nearly 40 could this be a factor? I really like this program is there any way I can stick with this program but alter the way I train? Thanks
Hi
Could I do decline barbell press as opposed to the chest dips? Thanks
Hi Lee,
That should be fine.
Hope this helps!
Is it possible to get a 5 day version of this?
What is the rest time between sets? Just usual, like 1.5 min?
How many weeks is ideal to repeat this workout for? I'm 24 years old but I'm really using this for my 35 year old friend who wants to pack on 10-15 pounds of lean mass.
In this whole week i have to do Cardio or not ?
Nd how to warmup ? Do i also have two do cardio before and after the workout
Who on earth is "Lour Ferrigno"?
Ha good catch, fixed!
He played the Hulk in the tv series.
Hello "TheManFromTaco"! You must be kidding, right??
Lou Ferrigno:
1972 NABBA Mr. Universe -2nd
1973 IFBB Mr. America -1st
1973 IFBB Mr. Universe -1st
1974 IFBB Mr. Universe -1st
1974 IFBB Mr. Olympia -2nd
1975 IFBB Mr. Olympia -3rd (it would help if you watched "PUMPING IRON")
1992 IFBB Mr. Olympia -12th
1993 IFBB Mr. Olympia -10th
1994 IFBB Masters Olympia -2nd
By the way, his first name is not "Lour" but Lou (short from Louis).
A Spanish bodybuilder from the 1940's