Arnold Schwarzenegger's grueling golden era workouts were renowned for using supersets to hit multiple muscle groups and leave him with a tremendous pump. But, in the latest drop of his newsletter— The Pump Club — the Terminator and his team deliver a workout suitable for us mere mortals that will only take around 35 minutes. Just grab two medium to heavy dumbbells, grit your teeth and get ready to grind.
The reason Arnold favoured supersets was that they allowed him to pack more exercises into his workouts in considerably less time. This is because you’re performing two exercises back to back without rest. Plus, supersets are a one-way ticket to an insane pump, as they place the muscles under more tension (also key for hypertrophy), which we all know Arnie was a massive fan of.
For this workout, work your way through all the sets in each superset below— taking a two-minute break after each one— before moving on to the next two exercises. Although some of the exercises do require an adjustable weight bench, don’t worry if you don’t have one, you can 100% still do this workout at home. Just use a chair instead and do the alternative exercises we’ve suggested below. Here’s the workout:
Superset 1
- Incline dumbbell press – 3 sets x 5, 5, 7 reps /or seated dumbbell press
- Chest-supported dumbbell row – 3 sets x 5, 5, 7 reps/or bent-over dumbbell row
Superset 2
- Rear-foot elevated split squat – 3 sets 6, 8, 10 reps each leg
- Hamstring walkout – 3 sets of 10-20 reps
Superset 3
- Incline bicep curls – 3 sets of 6, 8, 10 reps /or standing bicep curls
- Pushups – 3 sets as many reps as possible /or kneeling push-ups
It's also no secret that Arnold was also an advocate for eating enough protein to help grow and repair his muscles, so make sure you get some in you after this workout, whether it's via a protein powder or whole foods. Fancy more full-body workouts from the bodybuilding champ? Here's a 15-minute dumbbell session for those days you're tight on time, or if you fancy ditching the dumbbells altogether, give his no-equipment lower body workout a go.
-
This 35-minute kettlebell workout boosts strength and crushes lots of caloriesWho needs the gym when you can do this workout at home instead
-
Skip the lunges – this knee-friendly workout builds lower body strength and muscleDon't let your knees get in the way of your lower body workouts
-
Three bodyweight exercises to ‘life-proof’ your knees, according to a fitness expertStronger knees equals better movement and less pain, what’s not to love?
-
Burn fat and build muscle all over with a single dumbbell and these four exercises -
Forget the treadmill – this bodyweight bench workout is the perfect calorie crusherIt's short and sweet, but very sweaty
-
You only need this 30-minute dumbbell workout to build functional full-body muscleStrapped for time? This short snappy session has you covered
-
Three core moves ‘everyone should be doing’ according to a fitness coachAnd it’s not the plank…or sit-ups
-
This no-nonsense dumbbell workout builds stronger quads, calves and glutes in 30 minutesThere's no reason to spend hours in the gym when there's workouts like this one
