Chances are you’ve heard or seen Lou Ferrigno, most like from his his role as ‘The Incredible Hulk’ in the 80s series. Ferrigno was a decorated bodybuilder before landing the famous role, having won many awards and championship during his bodybuilding days.
Born in Brooklyn New York on November 9, 1951, Ferrigno quickly rose to fame in the bodybuilding world during the 70s. This was partly because of his charismatic personality, but also because of his naturally large frame. Ferrigno’s intense workout routines turned his large frame into a spectacular muscle-clad body which unsurprisingly landed him the Hulk role in later years.
Ferrigno continues to maintain his muscle mass to this day, which means he’s been training and dieting for over 40 years.
At a a height of 6′ 4″ (193cm) and an estimated weight of 280 lbs (127kg) Ferrigno towered over most of his peers. It took a lot of work (and food) to fill out his tall frame.
Let’s take a look at his signature old-school workout plan.
Ferrigno would warm up with 2 -3 sets of lighter weights, then so his main sets with the same amount of weight.
He used rep range to guide his resistance. If he was able to get the top number of reps in all sets, he would increase the weight for the next workout. If he failed to get at least 6 reps in all sets, he would drop weight the next workout by 5 – 10%.
As you’ll see below, Lou did A LOT of volume, probably too much for a new lifter. He also took at least 2 minutes between sets. As a result, his workouts last up to 3 hours.
You can also see that Lou tended to go back and forth between muscle groups. Instead of doing all chest, then all back, would alternate.
Monday (Day 1)
Chest and Back:
- 5 sets of Flat Barbell Bench Press of 6-8 reps
- 5 sets of Incline Barbell Bench Press of 6-8 reps
- 5 sets of Dumbbell Pullovers of 6-8 reps
- 5 sets of Chest Flyes of 6-8 reps
- 5 sets of T-Bar Rows of 6-8 reps
- 5 sets of Dips of 6-8 reps
- 5 sets of Dead Lifts of 6-8 reps
- 5 sets of Bent Rows of 6-8 reps
- 5 sets of Chin ups (weighted) of 6-8 reps
- 5 sets of Pull-ups (weighted) of 6-8 reps
Tuesday (Day 2)
Shoulders and Arms
- 5 sets of Military Press of 8-10 reps
- 5 sets of Dumbbell Overhead Press of 8-10 reps
- 5 sets of Bench Press of 8-10 reps
- 5 sets of Front Dumbbell Raises of 8-10 reps
- 5 sets of Side Dumbbell Raises of 8-10 reps
- 5 sets of Barbell Curls of 8-10 reps
- 5 sets of Scott Press of 8-10 reps
- 5 sets of Dumbbell Curls of 8-10 reps
- 5 sets of Concentration Curls of 8-10 reps
- 5 sets of Cable Pull downs of 8-10 reps
- 5 sets of Cable Pushdowns of 8-10 reps
- 5 sets of Incline Dumbbell Curls of 8-10 reps
- 5 sets of Standing French Press of 8-10 reps
- 5 sets of Skull crushers of 8-10 reps
Holy crap on a stick, that’s a lot of volume!
Wednesday (Day 3)
Legs
- 5 sets of leg curls of 10 reps
- 5 sets of leg extensions of 10 reps
- 5 sets of leg press of 10 reps
- 5 sets of squats of 10 reps
- 5 sets of hack squats of 10 reps
By pre-exhausting his legs without stressing his back. Lou was able to go lighter on squats but still get results, while at teh same time being wasier on his back.
Thursday (Day 4)
Chest and Back
- 5 sets of Chest Flys of 6-8 reps
- 5 sets of T-Bar Rows of 6-8 reps
- 5 sets of Dips of 6-8 reps
- 5 sets of Dead Lifts of 6-8 reps
- 5 sets of Chin ups of 6-8 reps
- 5 sets of Pull ups of 6-8 reps
Chest and back again, but with reduced volume.
Friday (Day 5)
Shoulders and Arms
- 4-5 sets of Barbell Curls of 8-10 reps
- 4-5 sets of Scott Press of 8-10 reps
- 4-5 sets of Dumbbell Curls of 8-10 reps
- 4-5 sets of cable pushdowns of 8-10 reps
- 4-5 sets of Cable Pull downs of 8-10 reps
- 4-5 sets of Standing French Press of 8-10 reps
- 4-5 sets of Incline Dumbbell Curls of 8-10 reps
- 4-5 sets of concentration curls of 8-10 reps
Shoulders and arms like Day 2, but reduced volume. This is how he made his high volume days work.
Saturday (Day 6)
Legs
- 5 sets of leg curls of 10 reps
- 5 sets of squats of 10 reps
- 5 sets of leg extensions of 10 reps
- 5 sets of hack squats of 10 reps
- 5 sets of leg press of 10 reps
Legs stay close to the same, but you can see he moved squats closer to the beginning so he could go heavier.
Sunday (day 7)
Rest Day
Even the great Lou Ferrigno had to take a day off!
Ferrigno’s workout plan is not for the meek (or the inexperienced). Prepare to become friends with lactic acid if you do this workout.
Also be prepared to sip on something to give you some energy to get you through, some BCAAs with a bit of sugar to replenish your glycogen.
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