Classic Bodybuilding: Franco Columbu's Power Training Programs

Franco shows off his massive chest muscles in his prime

Franco Columbu was one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time. He's also one that I have hesitated writing about simply because I was never a big fan. I have no real clue why that is/was! When I was younger, and first getting into bodybuilding in the late '80s, he should have been one of my heroes. I was smaller in stature than most lifters/bodybuilders in the gym - just like Franco - and I was also a lot stronger than most bodybuilders that I trained with, even from a young age - just like Franco! Maybe it was the look of his physique, or the fact that I always loved the other bodybuilders in that quasi/pseudo-documentary "Pumping Iron" better than he.

Oh, well, whatever the reasons were, I definitely missed out on using some of Franco's awesome training advice, which I have come to appreciate more as I've aged and matured, and (hopefully) grown in wisdom.

If you do a cursory search on the web for Franco's training programs, you will find (essentially) the same article re-hashed over and over. I have no interest in doing that here.

Keep in mind that a lot of those training programs of Franco's that you read about, where he trains each muscle group 2 to 3 days-per-week, using an A.M. and P.M. session and 25 to 40 sets per muscle group (yes, you read that correctly) are the designs of a highly-advanced bodybuilder, with an amazing work capacity due to years of training, who had already built tons of muscle. He didn't need more muscle. He just needed to refine and "shape" what he had into a detailed, striated work of bodybuilding art!

For lifters/bodybuilders trying to pack on muscle - and not just neophytes, but even lifters who had been training for a few years - he recommended entirely different training programs.


Here, as an example, for our first sample program, is a routine that he recommended for the bodybuilder cum powerlifter:

Monday/Thursday

Bench Press – 3x10, 1x6, 1x3, 1x1, 1x1 . . . close to limit poundage.
Incline Bench Press – 3x10
Press Behind Neck – 2x8
Lateral Raise – 2x8
Chins – 2x8
Rowing – 2x8
Bent-arm Pullover – 3x10
Pushdown – 3x10
Curl – 3x8
Sit Up – 3x25
Leg Raise – 3x25

Tuesday/Friday

Deadlift – 3x10, 1x6, 1x3, 1x1, 1x1 . . . close to limit poundage
Squat – same as deadlift
Leg Extension – 4x15
Leg Curl – 2x15
Calf Raise – 6x15
Wrist Curl – 4x15


In Franco's own words, he had this to say about the above program:

You may have noticed that the heading of this routine uses the word sample. Obviously this means that it is not the only program that can be used to get results. It is, however, one that I have used with great success. We are all different and respond to training accordingly, so experiment if you wish. One thing that needs no experimentation is motivation, the single ingredient no one can give you but you.


As you can tell, the above program relies on a combination of the three powerlifting movements trained heavily along with a small smattering of bodybuilding exercises. But Columbu was also a fan of Olympic weightlifting, and thought that it could be a good way to increase muscle mass and power, especially as a break from the powerlifting-centric workouts.


Here is a sample weightlifting-centric program that he recommended:

Monday/Thursday:
Snatch – 2x10, 1x6, 1x2, 1x1, 1x1 . . .
after the first two sets with a relatively light weight, the poundage is increased with each set until near limit weight is used.
Clean and Jerk – 2x8, 1x6, 1x3, 1x1, 1x1 . . . close to limit poundage
Standing Press – 3x10, 5x3
Incline Bench Press – 3x10
Bent-arm Pullover – 3x10
Pushdown – 3x10
Chin – 2x8
Rowing -2x8
Lateral Raise – 2x10
Leg Stretch
Back Stretch
Shoulder Flexibility Work


Tuesday/Friday:
Leg Extension – 4x15
Leg Curl – 2x15
Olympic Squat – 4x10
Calf Raise – 4x15
Wrist Curl – 4x15
Sit Up – 3x25
Back Stretch
Leg Stretch
Shoulder Flexibility Work


He had this to say about the above program:

Remember, all the power in the world won’t help you without the desire to succeed. I don’t mean a casual desire, I mean a sacrificial one. Your watchword must be desire.


Finally, for lifters who wanted a combination of bodybuilding, powerlifting, and weightlifting, he recommended the following sample routine:

Monday/Thursday:
Snatch – 3x10, 1x6, 1x4, 1x2, 1x1, 1x1 . . . close to limit poundage on that day
Clean – 3x8, 1x5, 1x3, 1x1, 1x1 . . . close to limit poundage
Jerk From Rack – 3x10, 1x5, 1x3, 1x1, 1x1 . . . to near limit
Bench Press – 4x10, 1x5, 3x3
Standing Press – 4x10, 1x5, 3x3
Pushdown – 3x10
Row – 3x10
Lateral Raise – 3x10
Sit Up – 3x25
Leg Raise – 3x30


Tuesday/Friday:
Deadlift – 3x10, 1x6, 1x4, 1x2, 1x1
Squat – 3x10, 1x6, 1x4, 1x2, 1x1
Calf Raise – 6x15
Wrist Curl – 4x15
Standing Side Bend – 2x25
Leg Stretch
Back Stretch
Shoulder Flexibility Work


To end this post with some closing thoughts, I will let Franco "speak" for himself:

It seems that the most valuable and respected concepts are often labeled as secrets. This is nonsense. I think of secrets as nothing more than guarded ideas that are usually relinquished for a price. Everything I’ve written above I have either learned from others in the various gyms I have trained in over the years, or I have devised from my own thoughts to best fulfill my needs. I didn’t train in a closet. Others would share with me and I with them.

The important thing to remember is that any concept is subject to revision. What might benefit me might not have the same effect on you. Some things are basic, however. We know that a certain method of performance is required in competition; therefore, the best way to sharpen one’s actual skills in this requirement is to perform the actual lift according to its rules. It’s the training aids that should be developed to needs of the athlete. So in using the information above, you should consider it a friendly guide, not an infallible testament.

If I can leave you with nothing else, let me at least offer you these final words. If you are content to place second in challenges what you strive for, then it would take many volumes to encourage you to be better. To realize victory, however, all you need is motivated potential. It’s that simple.*








*All quotes of Franco's and the workout programs listed were taken from the article "Winning Weightlifting and Powerlifting" by Franco Columbu and Dick Tyler, as re-printed on the website "Tight Tan Slacks of Dezso Ban".