Really Big Guys->How much time do they spend in the gym?

[GymLift]

Arnold Schwarzenegger was on The O'Reilly Factor tonight and in one of his analogies, he mentioned the he spent 5 hours in the gym every day when his emphasis was becoming the greatest bodybuilder. Long ago, I think I read that he used to work out twice/day, which today I think everyone would comdemn him for (overtraining).

I know that Mr. Schwarzenegger supposidly has a generic advantage. I've got that. But this has been bugging me for some time, so I figured I would go ahead and make a post about it.

Everyone is always talking about overtraining in every way. Working out for too long or for too many days or whatever. So, by today's standards, Arnold did it all wrong. What is everyone saying? That Arnold would have been a lot bigger if somebody had only been able to warn him about overtraining?

And what the hell do you do in the weight room that takes five hours? Did he wait a long time between sets? I see many people very concerned about the amount of time between sets. 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes. Me? I wait until I feel like my muscles are able to do the next set as well as they can, but not so long that my body has cooled off. Very long compared to most everyone else it seems, but what the hell do I know?

Or did he spend 5 hours/day doing everything that he could to wear down the muscle so that it could grow back bigger?

I'm just curious if anyone has any comments other than repeating all of the usual stuff about overtraining. I've heard all that, many times over.

And how much do today's big guys train?

 

[SprtNVolcoM]

He also worked out 6x a week and ate dbol for breakfast!

 

[GymLift]

LOL. Didn't you hear? Those guys always used "low dosages" of gear. What's two teaspoons of testosterone/day? That's a low dosage, right?

(1 tsp = 5 mL)

 

[0nyx]

low dose of horse pills

 

[inked1]

What is everyone saying? That Arnold would have been a lot bigger if somebody had only been able to warn him about overtraining?

Yes! Those guys pioneered modern bodybuilding and shitloads has changed since then.

It's like the 100m runner who broke the world record yesterday. 50 years ago people never dreamed of breaking 10sec, now you are slow if you don't

 

[cubanojoe]

plus they did not use juice back then to run the 100 meters. Now they run it with the IV strapped to their back...

 

[AngryMuscles]

most of the big guys on our gym spend 2-3 hours max. They take way too long between sets and mostly do all the routines per body part.
here's an example routine they do..

chest
bench press 3x10
incline press 3x10
decline press 3x10
close grip bench 3x10
incline close grip 3x10
pullovers not sure about the reps..
pec decs 40 till failure
cable pushdowns
skullcrushers

I lost count of his rep...he's my friend, actually.
told him about overtraining but no!
ah well..

 

[inked1]

plus they did not use juice back then to run the 100 meters. Now they run it with the IV strapped to their back...

juice or no juice, they would smash the times they ran 50 years ago. Everything has improved, training methods, nutrition, recovery ,supplements etc etc.

 

[blackbeard]

size is not indicative of how long you spend in the gym..
also ive heard it a million times in my gym that you need to keep the rest short???? wtf..maybe if your doing a cardio circuit training..but if your lifting doing a heavy compund move take your time and lift te weight..

you dont need 5 minutes rest inbetween cable raises but i would take 5 minutes or more if needed inbetween bench sets

 

[GymLift]

you dont need 5 minutes rest inbetween cable raises but i would take 5 minutes or more if needed inbetween bench sets

I'm happy to hear somebody that knows what they are talking about say this, because what you said is pretty much consistant with they way I train.

Now I'm pretty clueless about the rest of my training, but I recognize that and I'll improve.

As for overtraining...

Is it really improper/overtraining to do everything that you can do in one day to abuse a muscle, but then give it plenty of time (many days) to recover and build itself back bigger and stronger?

I'm just asking. I know that overtraining is a bad thing, but I'm just wondering if the concept of overtraining has been overapplied in certain cases.

 

[Bast]

Well not everyone responds as well to low time workouts. If you read his book the art of modern bodybuilding he says he didnt rest more then 30sec-1min between sets. Personally i dont know how i respond to 2x training/day, but i´ve been thinking of giving it a try for a month do see how it goes.

 

[1BadBeast]

size is not indicative of how long you spend in the gym..
also ive heard it a million times in my gym that you need to keep the rest short???? wtf..maybe if your doing a cardio circuit training..but if your lifting doing a heavy compund move take your time and lift te weight..

you dont need 5 minutes rest inbetween cable raises but i would take 5 minutes or more if needed inbetween bench sets

Great thread! I spend at least 2 hours in the gym and people look at me like I'm crazy. I usually take 3-4 mins to rest between sets and up to 5 mins when I switch over to a different exercise. I see people blasting off flat bench like its a race and wonder wtf are they doing?

After I'm done my usual routine I like to head over to these machines that use compressed air. They flow real nice with no jerky movement like you often find with cables. I'm there for at least another 30 mins doing negatives, and when I'm done I feel like machine. Some say I overtrain, but I can help the fact that I love that burning feeling. 2-3 days rest and I'm back at it.

 

[Bast]

haha 30min cable,, bro come on