Larry Dee Scott (October 12, 1938 – March 8, 2014), nicknamed “The Legend” and “The Golden Boy,” was an American IFBB professional bodybuilder. He won the inaugural 1965 Mr. Olympia competition and defended the crown at the 1966 Mr. Olympia contest before retiring.
Larry’s length of his training career is outstanding. Above you can see him in his 60s and his arms were still huge and impressive. He published some books and there were articles about Larry’s arm training. The following Larry Scott arm routine was written and witnessed by Bill Kugler.
Routine
Biceps | Sets | Reps | Weight |
Gironda Bench dumbell curls alternated with… | 6 | 6 | 60’s |
Gironda Bench barbell curls….. | 6 | 6 | 130 |
Gironda Bench reverse curls | 4 | 8 | 85 |
Triceps | |||
Lying triceps press alternated with…. | 6 | 8 | 185 |
Wall pulley triceps extensions | 6 | 8 | 130 |
One arm rear extension | 4-6 | 8-10 | 60 |
Biceps Gironda Bench dumbell curls
Using a special bench designed by Vince Gironda, Larry begins his arm program with dumbell curls. He keeps the elbows in fairly close while the dumbells are somewhat wider. This focuses the effort on the inner head of the biceps very strongly. It is important to get a full contraction as well as a full extension of the biceps on this movement – no cheating. Larry uses 60 pound dumbells for six sets of six reps on this movement, finishing off with three half reps or “burns” after every set. This seems to peak up the biceps thoroughly. After performing six reps and three “burns,” he immediately goes to exercise #2:
Gironda Bench barbell curls
Grasping a barbell with a shoulder-width grip, he keeps the elbows in close as he lowers the barbell all the way down before curling it back to the shoulders. This is much more difficult than a regular curl because the elbows are in close and thwe hands wide which really works the inner, lower portions of the biceps to the maximum.
As in the dumbell version, he performs three half reps at the end of each set of six reps. It is important to remember that he alternates the dumbell and barbell curls for six sets of each.
After performing one set of each (dumbell and barbell curls), he rests for 1 1/2 minutes.
Gironda Bench reverse curls
Larry now switches to the E-Z Curl Bar to perform four sets of reverse curls. He uses a medium grip, slightly less than shoulder width. As in every movement he gets a full extension and contraction on every rep. He performs eight reps, finishing off with eight half reps (burns) on each of the four set
Triceps Lying triceps press
Grasping the cambered curling bar, Larry lowers the bar to a position right over the eyes and then pushes it back up with triceps power alone. He locks the triceps out fully on each rep and finishes off with three burns at the conclusion of eight full repetitions. This movement is done for six sets, alternating each set with exercise #5:
Wall pulley triceps extensions
While kneeling on the floor and placing the elbows on a small stool, Larry performs eight full reps and three burns. He keeps the elbows in close to his head to prevent cheating
One arm rear extension
While leaning forward and placing the free hand on a small stool, Larry grasps a dumbell in his right hand and performs eight to ten one arm triceps extensions.
He performs four to six sets with each hand. He uses this as a shaping exercise to round-out his triceps workout.
To sum up his arm training program briefly, Larry work hard and fast with a minimum of rest, usually about one to one-and-a-half minutes between sets.
He trains arms three times a week and his arm workout lasts about one hour. He works the deltoids first, however, for forty-five minutes and then the arms.
He trains the rest the rest of his body the other three days per week. He gets plenty of sleep and rest and followes a high protein supplement. He trains immediately after work and then eats supper when he gets home from the gym.
Editor’s note: Use the tag system and click “arm workout” for more articles! – Mr. Berg