Franco Columbu Workout Routine

 

Franco Columbu Workout Routine: The 14-Day Split That Built the Sardinian Strongman

By Pump Icon | pumpicon.site

The Smallest Man With the Biggest Strength

At 5 feet 5 inches and 185 pounds, Franco Columbu had no business being the strongest man in any room he walked into. But he always was.

His record-breaking lifts — a 525-pound bench press, a 655-pound squat, and a 750-pound deadlift — were all performed raw. No assistance. Nothing but muscle and will. Backinmotionsspt He bent steel bars with his bare hands, blew up a hot water bottle until it burst, and at the 1977 World's Strongest Man competition, he competed against men who outweighed him by 100 pounds.

He also won Mr. Olympia twice — in 1976 and 1981 — and trained side by side with Arnold Schwarzenegger at Gold's Gym Venice for years.

His secret? A 14-day training split unlike anything anyone else was doing.

Why a 14-Day Cycle?

Almost every bodybuilder trains on a 7-day weekly schedule. Franco did not. His training split was based on a 14-day period rather than the usual 7-day split. Buzzsprout

The reason was frequency and volume. Franco divided his training into 14-day blocks, training for 6 days and resting on the 7th. He would usually train twice a day, with a morning and an afternoon session, but some days he trained just once. Adviser Society

His own words summed it up simply: "Train each body part twice a week, as hard and relentless as possible each time." Adviser Society

The Complete 14-Day Split

Here is the exact structure Franco used leading up to his 1981 Mr. Olympia victory: O2 Fitness Clubs

Day	Morning	Afternoon
1	Chest & Shoulders	Arms & Abs
2	Back	Legs
3	Chest & Shoulders + Abs	—
4	Arms	—
5	Legs + Abs	Back
6	Chest & Shoulders + Abs	—
7	REST	—
8	Arms	Legs
9	Back + Abs	—
10	Chest & Shoulders	Arms
11	Back + Abs	Legs
12	Chest & Shoulders + Abs	—
13	Arms	—
14	REST	—

Abs were trained on days 3, 5, 6, 9, 11, and 12 in the morning, and on day 1 in the afternoon. Chest appeared five times across the 14 days. That is how seriously Franco took upper body development.

The Exercises — Muscle by Muscle

Chest

Franco's chest training was built around supersets and pyramid sets. He would pyramid up the weight and down the reps on bench press and flyes, but kept the cable crossover weight constant throughout. Marketing Lad

• Barbell Bench Press — 3 sets × 15, 10, 4 reps superset with Cable Crossovers — 3 sets × 20 reps
• Flat Dumbbell Flyes — 3 sets × 20, 15, 6 reps superset with Cable Crossovers — 3 sets × 20 reps
• Incline Barbell Press — 3 sets × 15 reps
• Barbell Pullovers — 3 sets × 15 reps
• Parallel Bar Dips — 3 sets to failure

The incline press, pullovers, and dips were performed as a giant set — four exercises back to back with the same weight for all three sets. Marketing Lad

Shoulders

• Standing Dumbbell Lateral Raises — 4 sets × 10 reps
• Bent-Over Lateral Raises — 6 sets × 10 reps
• Behind-the-Neck Press — 4 sets × 10 reps
• Alternating Dumbbell Front Raises — 3 sets × 8 reps
• Cable Lateral Raises — 3 sets × 10 reps

Back

• Wide-Grip Pull-Ups — 6 sets × 10–15 reps
• T-Bar Rows — 4 sets × 10 reps
• Seated Cable Rows — 4 sets × 10 reps
• One-Arm Dumbbell Rows superset with Hammer-Grip Pull-Ups — 3 sets × 10 reps each

Arms

Franco always supersetted biceps and triceps directly against each other — push against pull, no rest between opposing movements: Marketing Lad

• Cable Pushdowns superset with Standing Dumbbell Curls — 4 sets × 8 reps
• Lying Barbell Triceps Extensions superset with Barbell Preacher Curls — 4 sets × 8 reps
• Seated Barbell Extensions superset with Dumbbell Incline Curls — 4 sets × 8 reps

Legs

Squats were the centrepiece of leg day. Franco pyramided all the way up to a top double before coming back down: Marketing Lad

• Barbell Squats — 7 sets × 20, 15, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 reps
• Leg Press — 4 sets × 50, 25, 15, 8 reps
• Leg Extensions — 6–7 sets × 20 reps
• Barbell Lunges — 2–3 sets × 12–15 reps (alternating leg days only)

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The Deadlift — His Signature Weapon

Every second week, after the leg routine, Franco added deadlifts. This was the move that made him a legend beyond bodybuilding.

His deadlift workout progressed like this: 300 pounds for five reps, 400 for five reps, 500 for five reps, 600 for two or three reps, 650 for one rep, and 700 for one rep. Lvltncoaching

That final 700-pound single was performed at a bodyweight of 185 pounds — a 3.78 times bodyweight deadlift. It remains one of the most impressive relative strength feats in the history of the sport.

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What Made Franco Different

Three things set his training apart from everyone else at Gold's Gym Venice in the 1970s.

Powerbuilding before it had a name. Franco is widely credited with bringing the concept of powerbuilding — combining powerlifting and bodybuilding — into the mainstream. He performed extremely heavy sets of 1 to 3 reps on compound movements to stimulate fast-twitch muscle fibers for strength, then followed with higher rep work to carve the muscle. This combination gave his physique a denser, fuller look than most of his competitors. Neat Nutrition

Supersets as a way of life. Every muscle group session was built around supersets. Franco's target area workouts were effective because they consisted of supersets — removing the breaks between exercises rather than moving quickly between sets. No rest between movements, moving directly from one exercise to the next. ResearchGate

Size was earned, not assumed. Franco Columbu was relatively small — standing at just 5 feet 5 inches — especially compared to other bodybuilders and strongmen. All four competitors above him at the 1977 World's Strongest Man had him by around 100 pounds. Buzzsprout He built everything through discipline and a training system most people would quit within three days.

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Can You Run This Routine?

Honestly, not in full. This schedule demands two-a-day training multiple times per week, six days out of every fourteen. For most people, that is not sustainable without elite recovery, elite nutrition, and a life built around training.

But the principles are fully usable:

• Train each muscle twice per week, not once
• Use supersets to increase density without adding more hours in the gym
• Pyramid your heaviest compound lifts — start high rep, work toward a heavy single
• Add deadlifts to your leg day every other week and watch your whole body change

Franco himself put it best. The entire 14-day split came down to one sentence: train each body part twice a week, as hard and relentless as possible each time.

That philosophy built the Sardinian Strongman. It will work for you too.

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Next post: Franco Columbu Diet Plan — What the 2× Mr. Olympia Ate to Stay Shredded

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Tags: Franco Columbu, Franco Columbu workout, 14-day split, Sardinian Strongman, golden era bodybuilding, powerbuilding, Mr. Olympia, Franco Columbu routine, 1970s bodybuilding

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Same tight length as post two — detailed enough to rank, readable enough to keep people on the page. The full exercise tables are there for Google snippet potential, and the deadlift section adds the story element that makes readers share it. Ready for the next title whenever you are.