Frank Zane's training plan

Frank Zane is one of the greatest symbols of bodybuilding ever, winner of three Mr Olympias, and is still considered by many to have the ideal physique.

He is 1.75m tall and weighed around 84kg at competition height.

This is the workout used by Frank Zane when he won the Olympia, based on an ABC split and following the Push/Pull/Legs principle.

I would usually train for three days and rest for one, which would result in six training sessions per week. However, I would sometimes take a few extra days off each month if I felt the need for better recovery.

Another interesting detail was the fact that I stretched the muscle I was working after practically every series.

At the end of every workout, he worked on his abdominals, and at the end of the article, you will find his abdominal training.

Workout A – Back, biceps, forearms and abs

• Dead weight – 6 sets x 15-12-10-10-10-8 reps
• T-row – 3 sets x 12-10-8 reps
• Pulldown – 3 sets x 8-10 reps
• Dumbbell row – 3 sets x 8-10 reps
• Bicep concentration with dumbbell – 3 sets x 8-10 reps
• Dumbbell Curl – 3 sets x 8-10 reps
• Dumbbell curl on 45º incline bench – 3 sets x 12-10-8 reps
• Superset – 2 sets
• Inverted curl with bar – 12 repetitions
• Seated Forearm Curl – 20 repetitions
• Abs

Grades.

In this workout, the first three sets of deadlifts were done normally, starting the exercise on the floor, while for the final three sets, the bar was placed on a slightly elevated surface.

Furthermore, considering that this was the main exercise in his training, he rested for some time between each series to recover.

In the dumbbell bicep curl exercise, I held the weight for one second at the top with maximum contraction and then lowered it in a slow and controlled manner.

He also did slow negatives on the standing dumbbell curl, while on the bench dumbbell curl he opted for a lighter weight, probably to be able to concentrate as much as possible on the technique.

Your rest day would normally come after this workout so that the impact of it on your lower back would not affect your squats in the next workout.

Workout B – Legs

• Leg Extension – Some series just for warming up
• Squat – 6 sets x 15-12-11-10-9-8 reps
• Press – 3 sets x 15-12-10 reps
• Leg Curl – 3 sets x 12-11-10 reps
• Leg Extension – 3 sets x 12-10-8 reps
• Standing calf raise – 3 sets x 15-20 reps
• Donkey Calf Raise – 4 sets x 20-25 reps
• Seated calf raise – 4 sets in a row without rest (Dropset)
• Abs

Grades.

In the squat, I chose to go below parallel, and tried to make the negative phase (descent) as controlled as possible.

In the press he didn't put much weight on, preferring to concentrate on going well down in the negative phase.

On this day, I did not include hanging leg raises in my abdominal workout.

Workout C – Chest, shoulders and triceps

• Flat bench press – 6 sets x 12-10-8-6-4-2 reps
• Incline Chest Press – 4 sets x 10-8-6-4 reps
• Declined Openings – 3 sets x 12-10-8 reps
• Dumbbell Pullover – 3 sets x 12-10-8 reps
• Bench press with short grip – 3 sets x 12-10-8 reps
• Dumbbell tricep extension – 3 sets x 12-10-8 reps
• Tricep extension on the V-grip machine – 3 sets x 12-10-8 reps
• Dumbbell hamstrings – 3 sets x 15-12-10 reps
• Sides with cable – 3 sets x 12-10-8 reps
• Abs

Grades.

In the flat bench press, I opted for a slightly short grip and opted for slow negatives.

In the incline chest press, I would lower the incline of the bench with each set, starting at 70º and lowering it one level successively, also doing slow negatives here, just like in the short grip bench press.

In the tricep extension with a V grip, I held the contraction for one second each repetition at the peak of the exercise and in the laterals with a cable I sometimes did 3 sets of 12 repetitions without rest.

Abs Workout

Frank Zane's abdominal workout was done at the end of each training session, in supersets, starting with just three exercises and increasing as he approached the competitive season, reaching 1000 repetitions in total per training session in the final phase.

Sometimes I chose to go back to the gym later and do the abdominal workout separately from the weight training, which could take up to 30 minutes.

After abdominal training, I would do 15 to 20 minutes of cycling or run at low intensity for 2.4 km.

• Early stage
• Leg raises – 4 sets x 25 reps
• Crunches – 4 sets x 25 reps
• Seated twists – 100 repetitions
• Advanced phase
• Leg raises
• Crunches
• Suspension leg raises
• Pray
• Seated twists

Source.