Arnold's Encyclopedia

[Tyler883]

Rahim recently said in a different thread: "arnolds encyclopedia is for entertainment value only, if you aren't jucing that book will do nothing for you, also check out his workouts, 10+ reps every set"

Personally, I trust Arnold's opinion more than most sports doctors. Arnold's opinions are based on what works and what doesn't work. A doctor likes to complicate the details so bad that most people that are trying to take their advice will get it all fucked up.

Anyways, what do you guys think?

[illeagle]

Look at arnold in his prime.... It HAS to work... right?:dunno:

[BigMass]

his book is great motivation. Especially the pictures of the older physiques which are more attainable than the walking pharmacies we have now a days.

[lint]

Originally posted by Tyler883
Rahim recently said in a different thread: "arnolds encyclopedia is for entertainment value only, if you aren't jucing that book will do nothing for you, also check out his workouts, 10+ reps every set"

Personally, I trust Arnold's opinion more than most sports doctors. Arnold's opinions are based on what works and what doesn't work. A doctor likes to complicate the details so bad that most people that are trying to take their advice will get it all fucked up.

Anyways, what do you guys think?

You might want to rethink that. Arnold was argueably the best body builder in history. But the training that top level body builder put their bodies through is not meant for everyone. The stress on your muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments, etc extreme, and it takes its toll, shortening your lifespan and prematurely aging your body (How many heart surgeries has Arnold gone through?)

If you're near the top, reaching for the top, going to dedicate your life to it, by all means follow it. The long term sacrifices will be out weighed by the short term success. For those simply looking at improving their health, incorporating weight training, getting some exercise, Arnold's methods are not for you.

[kaput]

.

[rahim]

well maybe not nothing, it will teach you good form for some excersizes and bad form for a few too, but the routines are useless with out juice, 95% of people will be overtrained within a couple months, and most of the info in there is from the 70's, we've learned alot in the last 30 years, like doing dumbbell pull overs will not "expand your ribcage" and the butterfly machine will not "develop your inner pectorals"

i've read it and i did learn a few things but it isn't the be all end all book on training, arnold never had any professional medical training, and comes to some questionable conclusions because of that fact

last thing i have to say is, what works for arnold won't neccessarily work for you, he had near perfect genetics for building muscle and started juicing at a young age, if arnold was a body builder today he would easily be 280lbs+ for competition

[rahim]

this is arnold at 19, what applied to him doesn't apply to most

http://www.schwarzenegger.it/gallery/musclegallery9/amg18.jpg

[Tyler883]

Originally posted by lint


You might want to rethink that. Arnold was argueably the best body builder in history. But the training that top level body builder put their bodies through is not meant for everyone. The stress on your muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments, etc extreme, and it takes its toll, shortening your lifespan and prematurely aging your body (How many heart surgeries has Arnold gone through?)

If you're near the top, reaching for the top, going to dedicate your life to it, by all means follow it. The long term sacrifices will be out weighed by the short term success. For those simply looking at improving their health, incorporating weight training, getting some exercise, Arnold's methods are not for you.

You are absolutely right. I don't think it is good to follow any book like a bible. There are certain things I wouldn't do, like his reccomendation to do 1 or 2 power moves in each workout. I tend to only follow the fundamental stuff that isn't all that controversial anyway.



Originally posted by kaput
How many heart surgeries has Arnold gone through?

Are there more than 1? I think Arnold openingly admits that it was all the drugs he experimented with. But, you have to admit, he looks awefully healthy for a 67 year old man that has had heart surgery.


Originally posted by rahim
well maybe not nothing, it will teach you good form for some excersizes and bad form for a few too, but the routines are useless with out juice, 95% of people will be overtrained within a couple months, and most of the info in there is from the 70's, we've learned alot in the last 30 years, like doing dumbbell pull overs will not "expand your ribcage" and the butterfly machine will not "develop your inner pectorals"

i've read it and i did learn a few things but it isn't the be all end all book on training, arnold never had any professional medical training, and comes to some questionable conclusions because of that fact

last thing i have to say is, what works for arnold won't neccessarily work for you, he had near perfect genetics for building muscle and started juicing at a young age, if arnold was a body builder today he would easily be 280lbs+ for competition


seems reasonable, you covered alot of different topics, each one deserves its own thread, like: "overtraining" or "recent trends/science in bobybuilding" "differences between a pro bodybuilder and schmucks like Tyler"

I'm interested in all those those topics....sound more interesting than "how much do you bench", right?

[hockeybronx]

I really don't think Arnolds success story is implementable into most peoples real lives. He pretty much dedicated his life to bodybuilding where most people (especially on this forum) just work out on a regular basis but on the side.

Unless you are in a position where you don't need to work, don't need to go to school and have the funds to have a personal trainer and all the extra's Arnold had, take his history merely as advice and inspiration, not as the handbook of your fitness.

[Tyler883]

Oh, don't get me wrong, I agree with what you are saying.

But for those people that might not have read Arnold's stuff, let's not scare them away. Its a pretty good book that can offer value to most people because alot of it is the same info that you can get from other sources like a personal trainer( at $50/hr).

I'll hazard a guess that better than half the info is very universal, and accurate.

And, I'm an Arnie fan, so I personally think that it is closer to 80% universal, and acurate which is pretty good for any book - LOL

[davidI]

The book is great but the routines will not work for the majority of people. A good read but don't base everything on it. Back in the day they trained a lot differently than what science says works the best. They used to drive out to the woods with hundreds of pounds in weight and drink beer and squat all day. Not exactly how bodybuilders do things anymore...

[1-Cent]

To be honest I wouldn't recommend his routines to anyone, well nearly anyone. They weren't terrible or anything but theres way better out there now. People look at Arnold and think "Wow, if he did all these things to get the way he was back in his day, then if I do the same I'll look like Arnold", truth is you won't come close. He has some of the best genetics of any bodybuilder ever, the only guy that has him beat is probably dexter. Its easy to see that because first of all his routine is average at best, second he did not use substantial amounts of steroids even for his day, he never used testosterone period, just a little primo and deca with admittedly quite a lot of dianabol and anadrol. For those who aren't familiar, Primobolan is a very weak steroid used primarily by women to avoid androgenic side effects as much as possible, fairly useless for a male bodybuilder... deca (nandrolone) is in the same ballpark as test for being anabolic but no where near as androgenic... dianabol and anadrol are pretty much purely strength drugs with very little mass contributed from them. And third, can't forget Arnold was a heavy drinker and drug user all through his career, skipped meals all the time, etc. His lifestyle was nothing close to the kind of lifestyle us normal people need in order for us to develop our physiques.

So to recap, his routines are sub-par, he utilized steroids very uneffectively both in cycle structure and his choice of compounds and he had a lot of shitty habits that would destroy most other bodybuilder's careers. He got big because his genetics would eat your genetics for breakfast lol theres not much he could have done that wouldn't have made him grow. If he was in his prime today he'd no doubt be bigger than coleman with what we know now about training and chemical enhancement. Its a good book if you're a fan of Arnold like I am, I've read it too, but don't follow much if any of his routines unless you're a genetic freak too lol.

[Tyler883]

So what is a better read for practical information? Can someone pls make a recomendation.

My goal is not to look like Arnold. My goal is to have an extra 15(?) pounds of muscles on my frame so my metabolism is about 1000 calories higher......it'll make it harder for me to eat too many calories, plus the exercise required to maintain the muscle has benefits that I can't get through diet alone.

[JeremyD]

I enjoyed his book. Sure much of the practical information in it on form, technique and exercise descriptions could be gotten from a personal trainer (but the book is cheaper than those). The behind the scenes info on competing was a very interesting read as well.

From what I recall he did have someone from the medical profession go through and verify some of the medical facts it contains so it isn't just his opinion.

For those that admire the world of bodybuilding and Arnold himself the book is full of motivational material. He does a good job at pumping your mental game up without making the whole thing sound easy. Plus all the pictures of bodybuilders both old and new can be fairly inspiring.

His intro programs are not that bad nor crazy. Sure the competition level one was beyond intense but if you are starting out using his beginner routines are just as good as any. My roommate picked up another book called Gaining Mass (for ectomorphs) and it looks overly complex and is not a beginner level program. Workout programs are a fair bit of trial and error to see what works for you anyway so...

And finally if you don't have a dumbbell handy it can make a good substitute :rofl:

www.davedraper.com is another place that has some good info. Dave Draper is a great writer and highly motivating.

[Tyler883]

Originally posted by JeremyD


From what I recall he did have someone from the medical profession go through and verify some of the medical facts it contains so it isn't just his opinion.



I forgot about that.

He had a doctor co-write or edit the book for him, and the doctor's name is on the front cover, too.

[Tyler883]

Originally posted by JeremyD

His intro programs are not that bad nor crazy. Sure the competition level one was beyond intense but if you are starting out using his beginner routines are just as good as any............Workout programs are a fair bit of trial and error to see what works for you anyway so...


You have said it better than I could have said it myself.

However, I'm not strongly set on my opinion, and would like to invite other people's views on this.

What do you guys recommend?

If not Arnold's "old school" way of doing things, who has books out there that are just as good with more modern info?

[1-Cent]

Originally posted by Tyler883


You have said it better than I could have said it myself.

However, I'm not strongly set on my opinion, and would like to invite other people's views on this.

What do you guys recommend?

If not Arnold's "old school" way of doing things, who has books out there that are just as good with more modern info?

Books are pretty much out dated the day they go on the shelf for sports like bodybuilding, since the sport is in a constant state of advancement :dunno:

If you want current then online is where to look, and as a bonus its free :D
Forums are best IMO because you get multiple view points on everything so theres less bias and you see what works for "real" people.