Franco Columbu’s Workout and Diet

Franco Columbu was probably the pound-for-pound strongest human being to ever live.

He could deadlift over 700 pounds and would routinely lift cars off the ground for fun.

He also had an impressive physique to back it up. A physique that won him the Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia titles multiple times.

Franco Columbu:’The Sardinian Strongman’

Franco Columbo was an Italian-born super-athlete. He was a boxer, champion bodybuilder and professional strong man.

He was known as ‘The Sardinian Strongman’ because he pulled off impressive feats of strength.

Incredible Feats of Strength

When I say Franco Columbu was strong I mean he was really strong.

His record breaking lifts include a 525 pound bench press, a 655 pound squat, and 750 pound deadlift.

All performed raw. No assistance. Nothing but muscle, will, and coconut size balls.

Other insane feats of strength include bending steel bars with his mouth, blowing up a hot water bottle until it burst, and lifting cars off the ground.

Seriously – When his car was boxed in by other parked cars along the crowded European streets and it was impossible to escape, he would just pick his car up his car and move it and drive away.

Franco Columbu during the ‘Golden Era’ of Bodybuilding

Columbu was an absolute unit in his prime.

His powerful, athletic physique helped him compete with the bigger guys that had a height and mass advantage.

Although he stood 5’5” he went head-to-head with Arnold Schwarzenegger in final pose-downs for first place.

In the 70’s Franco Columbo and Arnold Schwarzenegger teamed up to train together in America and the rest is history.

Columbu focused on heavy lifting and incorporated powerlifting exercises into his workouts.

Franco focused on building a well balanced and symmetrical body.

This is his workout and diet he used to build his powerhouse physique.

Franco Columbu’s Power Bodybuilding Routine

This is Franco Columbu’s workout routine he used leading up to his 1981 Mr. Olympia victory.

Columbu followed a 14 day split.

It’s worth noting that three times a week he would train twice a day, morning and night, to put the finishing touches on his physique prior to taking stage.

MORNING SESSION / AFTERNOON SESSION

1. Chest, shoulders / Arms
2. Back / Legs
3. Chest, shoulders
4. Arms
5. Legs / Back
6. Chest, shoulders
7. Rest
8. Arms / Legs
9. Back
10. Chest, shoulders / Arms
11. Back / Legs
12. Chest, shoulders
13. Arms
14. Rest

Columbu trained abs in the morning on days 3, 5, 6, 9, 11 and 12, and in the afternoon on day 1.

Franco Columbu’s Chest Workout

Superset

• Barbell bench presses: 3 Sets of 15, 10, 4 Reps
• Cable crossovers: 3 Sets, Reps 20

Superset

• Flat-bench dumbbell flyes: 3 * Sets of 20, 15, 6 Reps
• Cable crossovers: 3 * Sets of 20 Reps

Giant Superset

• Barbell incline presses: 3 Sets of 15 Reps
• Barbell pullovers: 3 Sets of 15 Reps
• Parallel-bar dips: 3 Sets to failure
• Cable crossovers: 3 Sets of 25 Reps
• (The above where performed in one giant set, back to back to back to back, using the same weight for all three sets).

So that’s 3 cycles of each superset group.

For the first two super-sets, Columbu pyramided up the weight (and down in reps) for bench presses and flyes, but he kept the weight the same for cable crossovers.

Franco Columbu’s Shoulder Workout

• Standing dumbbell lateral raises: 4 Sets of 10 Reps
• Bent lateral raises: 6 Sets of 10 Reps
• Behind-the-neck presses: 4 Sets of 10 Reps
• Alternating dumbbell front raises: 3 Sets of 8 Reps
• Cable lateral raises: 3 Sets of 10 Reps

Franco Columbu’s Back Workout

• Wide-grip pull-ups: 6 Sets of 10-15 Reps
• T-bar rows: 4 Sets of 10 Reps
• Seated cable rows: 4 Sets of 10 Reps

superset

• One-arm dumbbell rows: 3 Sets of 10 Reps
• Hammer-grip pull-ups *: 3 Sets of 10 Reps (Columbu used a parallel-grip cable attachment hanging on a pull up bar)

Franco Columbu’s Arm Workout

superset                                                                         

• Cable pushdowns: 4 Sets of 8 Reps
• Standing dumbbell curls: 4 Sets of 8 Reps

superset

• Lying barbell triceps extensions: 4 Sets of 8 Reps
• Barbell preacher curls: 4 Sets of 8 Reps

superset

• Seated barbell extensions: 4 Sets of 8 Reps
• Dumbbell incline curls: 4 Sets of 8 Reps

Franco Columbu’s Leg Workout

• Barbell squats: 7 Sets of 20, 15, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 Reps
• Leg presses: 4 Sets of 50, 25, 15, 8 Reps
• Leg extensions: 6-7 Sets of 20 Reps
• Barbell lunges *: 2-3 Sets of 12-15 Reps (performed every other workout)
• Dead-lifts: 6 Sets of 5, 5, 5, 3, 1, 1 Reps (performed every other week)

Thoughts on Franco Columbu’s Workout

He cycled some of his lower body lifts to allow for recovery. This intern allowed him to attack the weights with the highest intensity.

Franco Columbu’s Diet

BREAKFAST

• 4 fresh eggs
• 1 fresh fruit in season or large orange juice
• Homemade plain yogurt (made with raw milk) w/ granola cereal
• Glass of water
• Vitamins and minerals

LUNCH

• Large vegetable salad with oil and vinegar
• 1 cooked fresh vegetable
• Large portion of fresh broiled protein such as fish, chicken, prime cuts of beef, lamb, or liver
• Wine or mineral water

MID AFTERNOON SNACK

• Plate of selected imported cheeses, with fresh fruit in season or nuts
• Tuna fish

DINNER

• Similar to lunch (early) same choices

LATE EVENING

• Small dish of fresh yogurt (good for digestion)

Keep the food quality high and you’re results will speak for themselves.

The portions here seem up for interpretation. Obviously you can add food as need to meet your dietary needs and training goals.

In my opinion, this is a low amount of food at first glance. If you want to grow you need to eat.

Franco and his pals where undoubtably on muscle building drugs so you will have to EAT BIG in order to grow and recover from this brutal workout routine.

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