“The Myth” Ultimate Workout Routine:

Three time Olympia champion and staunch rival of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sergio Oliva was truly a pioneer of the sport. The Myth was one of the most influential bodybuilders of his time and considered an all time great by fans and peers alike. Sergio, along with Arnold, was considered to be one of the largest bodybuilders of his day and achieved great size and mass while having great definition and maintain a tapered midsection.
.

Monday

Mondays for Oliva consisted of bench pressing supersetted with chin ups and dumbbell flyes supersetted with dips. This day worked the chest and back with a bit of triceps thrown in for good measure.

Set 1 – Bench Press 200 lbs 8 reps, Chin ups 15 reps
Set 2 – Bench Press 220 lbs 8 reps, Chin ups 15 reps
Set 3 – Bench Press 260 lbs 8 reps, Chin ups 10 reps
Set 4 – Bench Press 300 lbs 8 reps, Chin ups 10 reps
Set 5 – Bench Press 320 lbs 8 reps, Chin ups8 reps
Set 6 – Bench Press 350 lbs 8 reps, Chin ups 8 reps
Set 7 – Bench Press 380 lbs 8 reps, Chin ups 5 reps

DB Flyes supersetted with Dips:
5 sets, 15 reps 80 lbs dumbbells, supersetted with dipping. The exact amount of dips Sergio performed was not provided.

Tuesday

Oliva would work his shoulders, biceps, and triceps on Tuesdays. He wouldn’t exceed more than 200 pounds during his lifts.

Shoulder Press – 5 sets, 15 reps with 200 lbs
Extending Heavy Curls – 5 sets, 5 reps, 200 lbs
French Curls – 5 sets, 5 reps, 200 lbs
Scott (Curls) Bench – 5 sets, 10 reps, 150 lbs
Scott (Curls) Bench (with Dumbbells) – 5 sets, 5 reps, 60 lbs dumbbell
Sitting Down Triceps – 5 sets, 5 reps 60 lbs dumbbell, supersetted with Tricep Press Downs
.

Wednesday

A Wednesday session consisted of ab work plus hamstring and calf exercise. Sergio utilized the squat to work his hamstrings and standing heel raises. This day illustrates just how old school Sergio’s training regimen was.

Situps – 10 sets, 50 reps
Leg Raises – 5 sets, 20 reps
Side Bends (Bar Behind Neck) – 5 sets, 200 reps
Squats – 300 lbs 5 reps, 400 lbs 5 reps, 440 lbs 5 reps, 470 lbs 5 reps, 500 lbs 4 reps
Standing Heel Raises (300 pounds) – 10 sets, 8 reps
.

Thursday

This was a chest and back day for Sergio, but he also included shoulder work on this day as well.

Bench Press – 200 lbs 5 reps, 220 lbs 5 reps, 260 lbs 5 reps, 300 lbs 5 reps, 320 lbs 5 reps, 350 lbs 5 reps, 380 lbs 5 reps
Press Behind Neck – 5 sets, 5 reps, 250 lbs, supersetted with Rowing Machine, 200 lbs
Sitting Press (with Dumbbells) – 80 pound dumbbells (no set and rep breakdown given)
Dipping Bar – 5 sets, 8 reps with no weight
.

Friday

Fridays consisted of arm workouts as well as back. Though the poundage may have remained the same, Sergio decreased the volume of sets on this day.

Press – 3 sets, 5 reps, 200 lbs
Extending Heavy Curls – 3 sets, 5 reps, 200 lbs
French Curls – 3 sets, 5 reps, 200 lbs
Scott Bench for Triceps – 3 sets, 5 reps, 200 lbs
Scott Bench for Triceps with Dumbbell – 3 sets, 5 reps, 50 lbs dumbbell, supersetted with Tricep Press Downs
Chinning Behind Neck – 5 sets, 5 reps
Chinning Bar with Closed Hands – 5 sets, 5 reps, supersetted with Tricep Machine Pull Downs
.

Saturday

Sergio would do another ab and leg day on Saturdays. Like Wednesdays he used squats to work his legs, utilized as an overall lower body work out for his quads and hamstring. Sergio was also sure to add front squats to the routine as well and instead of standing heel raises he performed the raises seated.

Situps – 5 sets, 10 reps
Leg Raises – 5 sets, 10 reps
Side Bends with Bar Behind Neck – 5 sets, 50 reps
Squats- 3 sets, 3 reps with 300 lbs; 2 sets, 3 reps with 400 lbs; 3 sets, 20 reps with 250 lbs
Front Squats. 5 sets, 10 reps, 200 lbs
Sitting Heel Raises. 5 sets, 5 reps, 200 lbs

Train like the Olympia great and build up your body to mythic proportions. Let us know what you think of the routine in the comments below and follow us on Facebook and Twitter to give us some of your own routines.

.

Cover photo courtesy of bodybuilding.com