Bodybuilding · 5 min read ·
Golden Era Bodybuilding Training: How Classic Physiques Were Built
Golden era bodybuilding training explained: high volume, supersets, split routines and the stomach vacuum, plus what natural lifters should keep today.
Golden era bodybuilding training, from roughly the 1960s to the late 1970s, was high volume and high frequency: six training days a week, many sets per muscle, lots of supersets, and each muscle hit two or three times a week. The goal was a physique with size, a small waist and flowing lines, not size alone.
Some of those methods hold up well today. Others worked mainly because of the era's conditions, which included long gym sessions, full-time training for some athletes, and performance-enhancing drugs that were already part of the sport. Here's what to take and what to adjust.
What the golden era was
The name usually refers to the years when bodybuilding grew from a niche hobby into a public sport, with gyms in Venice Beach, California, as its best-known center. Arnold Schwarzenegger won his seven Mr. Olympia titles across the 1970s and 1980, and Frank Zane's three wins in the late 1970s showed that symmetry could beat size. The documentary Pumping Iron (1977) brought that world to a wide audience.
Before them, Steve Reeves set the standard in the 1940s and 1950s with a lean, balanced physique that many people still think of as the classic look. He later became a film star playing Hercules, which put a bodybuilder's shape in front of millions of people for the first time.
The typical golden era split
Many top athletes trained each muscle two or three times a week, often on a six-day split. A well-known version is Arnold's double split, where he trained twice a day, but a more common layout looked like this:
- Day 1 and 4: chest and back, often supersetted.
- Day 2 and 5: shoulders and arms.
- Day 3 and 6: legs, with calves and abs most days.
- Day 7: rest.
High volume and supersets
Many golden era routines used 15 to 25 sets per muscle per session, often in sets of 8 to 12 reps. Supersets, especially pairing opposite muscles like chest and back, kept workouts dense and the pump high. Some athletes trained two hours or more.
For a natural lifter with a job, that's usually too much. Current research suggests that around 10 to 20 hard sets per muscle per week works well for most people. You can keep the spirit (frequency, supersets, variety) and cut the volume to something you recover from.
Basics first, always
Golden era athletes built their mass on basic lifts: bench press, incline press, rows, chins, squats, deadlifts, overhead press and barbell curls. They got progressively stronger on them over years. That part of their approach is timeless, and it's the same principle as modern progressive overload.
On top of the basics, they used a lot of shaping work: cable crossovers, lateral raises, concentration curls and leg extensions, often with an emphasis on squeezing and feeling the muscle work.
The stomach vacuum and the small waist
A small waist was the signature of the era. Athletes practiced the stomach vacuum, pulling the belly button toward the spine and holding it, both as a stage pose and as a way to control the waist. Frank Zane's vacuum is one of the most famous poses in bodybuilding history.
You can practice it daily: exhale fully, pull the stomach in hard, hold 15 to 30 seconds, and repeat three to five times. Pair it with low body fat, a full chest and broad shoulders for the classic V shape. If you want to see that kind of chest on your own photo first, try the chest editor.
How golden era athletes ate
Nutrition in that era was simpler than today's. Top athletes ate a lot of whole foods: eggs, red meat, chicken, fish, milk, cheese and plenty of protein overall. Protein powders existed but were basic. Carbs were often cut sharply before shows, sometimes close to zero, which is one reason some stage photos from that time look very lean but a little flat.
The useful lesson today is the focus on high protein from real food, eaten consistently every day. The extreme low-carb contest diets are less useful, since research and coaching practice have moved toward moderate, steady fat loss that keeps training quality high.
How to train golden era style as a natural lifter
Use a five or six day split if you enjoy training often, but keep total weekly volume moderate. Keep the basics as your main lifts and add supersets for shaping work. Take regular easy weeks. Practice posing and the vacuum. And keep your expectations grounded: our guide to natural muscle building potential explains why the most extreme physiques of any era are a poor yardstick.
If you're brand new, build a base on a simpler plan first. Our post on how to start bodybuilding shows what that looks like.
FAQ
Did golden era bodybuilders use steroids?
Yes, performance-enhancing drugs were already part of top-level bodybuilding in that era, though doses were generally reported to be lower than in later decades. That's one reason their training volume isn't a direct template for natural lifters.
Is high volume training better for muscle growth?
More volume helps up to a point, then recovery becomes the limit. For most natural lifters, about 10 to 20 hard sets per muscle per week is a good range.
What was Arnold's training split?
He famously used a double split, training twice a day six days a week, with each muscle hit about three times a week. It's a demanding routine meant for full-time athletes.
Why do golden era physiques look different from modern ones?
They tended to carry less total size, smaller waists and more emphasis on flowing lines. Judging standards, training methods and drug use have all changed since then.