This is the EXACT program Terrence Ruffin used for his 2021 prep Mr Olympia. It is an advanced program not for the faint of heart, with slightly more emphasis on upper body.
2020 was Terrence’s best competitive season to date. He placed 2nd at the Arnold to Alex Cambronero. Then, later that year at the Mr Olympia, Terrence passed Alex and every other Classic Physique competitor, except for Chris Bumstead, and placed 2nd in the world.
Coming into 2021 our goal was to keep getting better. This program is relatively high frequency, especially for upper body. But programmed in a manner, where even the hardest training, strongest individuals, can still recover while running it. This is mainly by implementing what I’ve coined as “reverse” push and pull days. Keeping the main focus arms, but with added frequence 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
Wednesday – Lower
Thursday – Off
Friday – Reverse Pull
Saturday – Reverse Push
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
pull-downs (single arm)
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Chest Supported Tbar row
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Chest supported machine Row
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Tbar
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Standing cable curls
Set 1: 10-12 reps
Set 2: 12-15 reps
E1 Reverse pec dec
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Ab Mat Crunches
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Wrist Curls
Set 1: 20 reps
Push
Incline DB Press
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Roller Fly
Set 1: 10-12reps
Set 2: 12-15 reps
High Incline Smith (60 degrees or more)
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Cuff laterals
Set 1: 8-10 reps
Set 2: 10-12 reps
Rope Cable Extensions
Set 1: 15-20 reps
Set 2: 15-20 reps
Standing calf (smith)
Set 1: 10-12 reps
Set 2: 12-15 reps
Lower
Seated Leg Curls
Set 1: 5-8 reps
Set 2: 8-10 reps
Pendulum Squat
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Lying Leg Curls
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Split squats (safety Squat Bar)
Set 1: 20 reps (10 per leg)
Set 2: 30 reps (15 per leg)
Prowler*
Set 1: 40-60 seconds
Set 2: 40-60 seconds
*If you don’t have a prowler, sub with sprints on a spin bike
Reverse Pull
Single arm preacher
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
Cable hammer curl
Set 1: 10-12 reps
Set 2: 18-22 reps
Cable rear delts
Set 1: 10-12 reps
Set 2: 12-15 reps
Cable Rope Pullovers
Set 1: 10-12 reps
Set 2: 12-15 reps
Rack Chins
Set 1: BW – AMRAP
Set 2: BW – AMRAP
Hanging Leg Raises
Set 1: BW – AMRAP
Set 2: BW – AMRAP
Wrist Extensions
Set 1: 20 reps
Reverse Push
Cross-Cable Triceps Extensions
Set 1: 10-12 reps
Set 2: 12-15 reps
JM banded smith press
Set 1: 8-10 reps
Set 2: 10-12 reps
Delt Cable Y-Raise
Set 1: 10-12 reps
Set 2: 12-15 reps
Pec dec
Set 1: 10-12 reps
Set 2: 12-15 reps
Smith incline press
Set 1: 10-12 reps
Set 2: 12-15 reps
Hip loaded calf
Set 1: 6-8 reps
Set 2: 8-12 reps
