Known as “The Blond Myth,” Lee Priest was one of Australia’s most coveted bodybuilders. He won his first competition at just 13 and turned IFBB pro by 20, taking the bodybuilding world by storm.

Going toe-to-toe with Ronnie Coleman and Jay Cutler, Priest was always a serious threat. His Mr. NABBA Universe victory proved to be the breakthrough moment of his career before retirement. Now, let’s take a look at how he used to train.

The Lee Priest Mass Program

“Most often, I’d go four-on and one-off, but sometimes I’d train for two weeks straight if I felt strong and wasn’t tired. I’m still that way. Sometimes I’ll train biceps and triceps on one day. Other times, I’ll do bi’s one day and tri’s on another,” said Priest in one of his conversations with The Barbell.

His weekly routine is as follows:

Day 1 — Legs

• Leg Extensions: 5 × 8-10
• Barbell Squats: 5 × 6-8
• Barbell Lunges: 5 × 6-8 (per leg)
• Lying Leg Curls: 5 × 8-10
• Romanian Deadlifts: 5 × 6-8

Day 2 — Back

• Chin-ups: 5 × 6-8
• Barbell & Dumbbell Rows: High volume for thickness
• Seated Cable Rows & Lat Pulldowns: 5 × 8-10

Day 3 — Shoulders & Arms

• Overhead Press & Lateral Raises for shoulder density
• Straight arm work (curls, preacher, cables) for guns that stood out on stage

Day 4 — Chest & Triceps

• Bench variations, chest flies, dips
• Cable pushdowns and skull crushers to finish triceps strong

That's not all!

Arms That Made History

“You can develop your own best arms if you follow these fundamentals religiously,” said Lee Priest in his conversation with the media. The Aussie has one of the best arms in the industry. He treated his arms as a priority muscle.

Core Arms Rules

According to Priest, the triceps and biceps should be trained with high volume. He often advocates 20–35 sets for biceps alone.

Make sure to include barbell curls in every workout

At the end of the workouts, try to use supersets late in the training to intensify the pump.

Hit the arms from multiple angles: dumbbell curls, preacher curl variations, triceps extensions, and pressdowns.

That’s how he shaped his physique and became one of the best. Given that, what are your thoughts? What would you incorporate in your own routine?

Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Joyita Das