This is the EXACT program Terrence Ruffin used for his 2022 prep Mr Olympia. The main focus is arms, but with added frequency for the entire upper body. Proximity to failure, as well as volume, were specific to Terrence’s current needs.
As for every program, feel free to adjust variables slightly as needed. The base metric of “1 REP” is not well established in “research”, and can vary largely from individual to individual. So feel free to make slight adjustments to the program’s prescribed: Rep ranges, Number of working sets, and Proximity to Failure (RIR). Anyone that argues any of these variables down to the single metric of measure as definitively “the best”, has spent too much time on social media, and too little time applying training to actual humans. In addition, every individual brings large differences to the table as far as “outside the gym” variables: nutrition, sleep, stress, etc. So while I’m confident this program provides epic guidelines and a great place to start, you are ultimately your own study of 1. So feel free to experiment a bit.
Also, with exercise selection I always follow one of my main, guiding training principles of: As little as possible to produce maximal results. That said, there is no exact cut off point for the number of exercises per workout. So if you want to add an exercise or even two to any given workout, same as the advice I give above… try it out, measure progress and adjust accordingly. Lastly, exercise selection is based on what I feel has the most evidence for being effective long-term, but for any single exercise on the program, there are always other options that can accomplish the same goal similarly. So feel free to swap exercises based on preference, or if you need a recommendation get in the forums.
Rest: 90 seconds – 3 minutes before working sets
RIR: 0-2
Suggested split structure:
Monday – Pull
Tuesday – Push/Calves
Wednesday – Legs
Thursday – Off
Friday – Back/chest/delt/calves
Saturday – Arms
Sunday – Off
Other split options for consideration:
Legendary recovery:
4 days on, 1 day off
Good recovery:
2 days on, 1 day off
Below average recovery:
1 on, 1 off
*These are still just suggestions. There is no right or wrong option here. You can also make this work with any schedule. Whenever you train, just pick right up on the next session. Hypothetically, if you’re ever sick, rundown, excessively busy, stressed or just have a moment of laziness and train less days than the suggested split, no worries at all just pick back up right where you left off. At the same time if you are recovering like a robot, or just absolutely love training more often than the suggested split, have added it. Don’t let anyone, myself included, limit how much you love the train, or make you feel guilty for missing a session. Long-term consistency and adherence are.
Pull
Single Arm Cable pulldown
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Chest Supported Tbar row
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
RDLs
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 6-8 reps
reverse pec dec
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
incline cable curls
Set 1: 10-12 reps
Set 2: 12-15 reps
Single arm DB preacher curls
Set 1: 10-12 reps
Set 2: 12-15 reps
Ab Mat Crunches (body weight)
Set 1: AMRAP
Set 2: AMRAP
Wrist Curls
Set 1: 15-20 reps
Set 2: 15-20 reps
Push/calves
Machine Incline Press
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Pec Dec Fly
Set 1: 10-12 reps
Set 2: 12-15 reps
High Incline machine press
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Seated Cable Cross Triceps Extension
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Set 3: 8-12 reps
Behind the Back Cable Lateral Raise
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Seated Calf Raise
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Hanging Leg Raises
Set 1: BW AMRAP
Set 2: BW AMRAP
Wrist Extensions
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Legs
Seated Leg Curls
Set 1: 5-8 reps
Set 2: 5-8 reps
Hack squats (banded)
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Lying Leg Curls
Set 1: 5-8 reps
Set 2: 5-8 reps
Leg extensions
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Prowler
Set 1: 45-60 seconds
Set 2: 45-60 seconds
Back/chest/delt/calves
Ab mat crunches
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Hip loaded calf raise
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 10-12 reps
Chest Supported Machine Row (upper back and lat)
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Roller Cable Fly
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Machine Pulldown
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Delt Cable Y-Raise
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Rope Seated Pullover
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Arms
Seated cable cross extension
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Set 3: 8-12 reps
Single arm DB preacher curls
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 10-12 reps
Smith JM Press (banded)
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
B2 Incline DB curls
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
seated overhead rope extensions
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Set 3: 8-12 reps
Dumbbell hammer curls
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Wrist Extensions
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Wrist Curls
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
