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The three-time Mr. Olympia (’67, ’68, ’69) whose arms were bigger than his head: Sergio Oliva.
The Myth. Sergio Oliva, born in Cuba in 1941, started his career as a weightlifter. A major motivator to excel in this sport was the hope to escape from Cuba under Fidel Castro, who took power in 1959 from the Batista government.
Sergio won Cuba its second medal in weightlifting at the Pan American Games in Jamaica in 1961. However, he used this opportunity in Jamaica to sprint to the American embassy to escape (from the authorities) from Cuba.
The rest of the weightlifting team followed him, and they all received political asylum in the United States.
Sergio Oliva Biography
Sergio Oliva emigrated from Jamaica to the United States. First to Miami where he had various jobs as a TV repairman and truck unloader. In ’63, he moved to Chicago.
In Chicago, he met Bob Gajda. This future
Mr. America recognized the potential of this strong Cuban and introduced him to the sport of bodybuilding. Sergio made rapid progress and won the title of
Mr. Young Chicagoland that same year.
Despite his superiority, it was oddly enough not possible for him to win competitions within the
Amateur Athletic Union. The AAU’s most important title, Mr. America, was not won by him even though the competition was not particularly better. This made him decide to switch to the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB) in 1966. In that same year, he won the Mr. World competition and in 1967 the Mr. Universe.
That same year, he won the Mr. Olympia title, just four years after his debut as a bodybuilder!
He was the second man to win this title (after Larry Scott).
He effortlessly defended his title in 1968. In 1969, he managed to win the Olympia title again despite competition from the rising Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arnold finished second but used the experience in his training for the next year in which he won in a very exciting battle.
During the Bodypower Expo in Birmingham, I spoke with one of the judges of the competitions held there. I asked him about increased transparency in judging. He indicated that there had been good developments in this area and that they were necessary.
By the way, he mentioned the battle between Sergio and Arnold in 1970 which clearly showed that he would have liked to see the victory go to Sergio. To this day, I often hear people refer to this competition as a victory unjustly awarded to Arnold. Sergio is the only one who has ever beaten Arnold.
The disappointed Sergio doubled his efforts to come back bigger than ever at the Olympia stage in 1972, to beat the by then two-time Mr. Olympia Schwarzenegger. Despite being in his best form ever, he did not succeed. Opinions on this decision ranged from political to sporting motives. This blow led Sergio to leave the IFBB for 12 years.
He performed in Europe under WABBA and WBBG from ’73 to ’83. However, in 1984 he returned to the IFBB. Despite the fact that he was not in his best form and only finished 8th, his return brought back the excitement of his previous duels with Arnold. Arnold himself called Oliva “The best bodybuilder ever”.
Sergio Oliva passed away on November 12, 2012.
Training Sergio Oliva
His training included unique combinations, high volume, supersets, negative training, and the philosophy of training each muscle group twice a week. In the August/September 1973 issue of MTI, he said about the following schedule:
“
Since 1970 these are the only exercises I have been doing. Any other exercises printed in any other magazine are false.”
Monday. Bench Press supersetted with Chinning Bar. Set 1. Bench Press 200 x 8, 15 reps on chinning bar Set 2. Bench Press 220 x 8, 15 reps on chinning bar Set 3. Bench Press 260 x 8, 10 reps on chinning bar Set 4. Bench Press 300 x 8, 10 reps on chinning bar Set 5. Bench Press 320 x 8, 8 reps on chinning bar Set 6. Bench Press 350 x 8, 8 reps on chinning bar Set 7. Bench Press 380 x 8, 5 reps on chinning bar DB Flyes supersetted with Dips. 5 sets of 15 reps with 80 pound dumbbells (superset with dips. He did not specify how many reps he did for dips or with how much weight.)
Tuesday. On Tuesdays, Sergio worked his shoulders, biceps, and triceps. Most rep and set schemes followed a 5×5 pattern. Press. 5 sets, 15 reps with 200 pounds Extending Heavy Curls. 5 sets, 5 reps, 200 pounds French Curls. 5 sets, 5 reps, 200 pounds Scott (Curls) Bench. 5 sets, 10 reps, 150 pounds Scott (Curls) Bench with Dumbbells. 5 sets, 5 reps, 60 pound dumbbell Sitting Down Triceps. 5 sets, 5 reps with 60 pound dumbbell, supersetted with Tricep Press Downs
Wednesday. On Wednesday, Sergio worked abs first, then heavy squats and calves. You will notice that there is no direct hamstring work. Situps. 10 sets, 50 reps Leg Raises. 5 sets, 20 reps Side Bends with Bar Behind Neck. 5 sets, 200 reps Squats. 300 x 5, 400 x 5, 440 x 5, 470 x 5, 500 x 4 Standing Heel Raises. 10 sets, 8 reps, 300 pounds
Thursday. Sergio’s second chest and back workout of the week. You’ll also notice a fair amount of shoulder work as well. Bench Press. 200 x 5, 220 x 5, 260 x 5, 300 x 5, 320 x 5, 350 x 5, 380 x 5 Press Behind Neck. 5 sets, 5 reps, 250 pounds, supersetted with Rowing Machine, 200 pounds Sitting Press with Dumbbells. 80 pound dumbbells. No set and rep scheme provided Dipping Bar. 5 sets, 8 reps with no weight
Friday. Friday’s workout was another heavy arm day, but also features more back work. For the most part, Sergio used fewer sets for biceps on this day. Press. 3 sets, 5 reps, 200 pounds Extending Heavy Curls. 3 sets, 5 reps, 200 pounds French Curls. 3 sets, 5 reps, 200 pounds Scott Bench for Triceps. 3 sets, 5 reps, 200 pounds
Scott Bench for Triceps with Dumbbell. 3 sets, 5 reps, 50 pound dumbbell, supersetted with Tricep Press Downs. Chinning Behind Neck. 5 sets, 5 reps Chinning Bar with Closed Hands. 5 sets, 5 reps, supersetted with Tricep Machine Pull Downs
Saturday. Another ab and leg day. Sergio used lighter squats, and also incorporated front squats into his routine. Again, no direct hamstring work. Also notice that Sergio performed three 20-rep squat sets. Situps. 5 sets, 10 reps Leg Raises. 5 sets, 10 reps Side Bends with Bar Behind Neck. 5 sets, 50 reps Squats. 3 sets, 3 reps with 300 pounds. 2 sets, 3 reps with 400 pounds. 3 sets, 20 reps with 250 pounds. Front Squats. 5 sets, 10 reps, 200 pounds Sitting Heel Raises. 5 sets, 5 reps, 200 pounds
Sergio Oliva Passed Away
“The myth” Sergio Oliva passed away on November 12th last year at the age of 71.
Sergio was the first man to win Mr. Olympia three times. The once-escaped Cuban weightlifter set a new standard in bodybuilding and reigned from 1967-1969 with his victories at Mr. Olympia. Sergio died of a heart attack, presumably related to kidney failure. He had been struggling with his health for some time.
Bodybuilding has lost a great figure.
Results Sergio Oliva
- 1985 Olympia – IFBB, 8th
- 1984 Olympia – IFBB, 8th
- 1981 Pro World Cup – WABBA, Winner
- 1980 World Championships – WABBA, Professional, 1st
- 1978 Olympus – WBBG, Winner
- 1977 World Championships – WABBA, Professional, 1st
- 1976 Olympus – WBBG, Winner
- 1975 Olympus – WBBG, Winner
- 1974 Mr International, Professional, 1st
- 1973 Mr International – IFBB, Professional, 1st
- 1972 Olympia – IFBB, 2nd
- 1971 Universe – Pro – NABBA, Tall, 2nd
- 1970 Olympia – IFBB, 2nd
- 1970 Mr World – AAU, Pro Tall, 2nd
- 1969 Olympia – IFBB, Winner
- 1968 Olympia – IFBB, Winner
- 1967 Universe – IFBB, Overall Winner
- 1967 Olympia – IFBB, Winner
- 1966 Olympia – IFBB, 4th
- 1966 Mr World – IFBB, Tall, 1st
- 1966 Mr World – IFBB, Overall Winner
- 1966 Mr America – AAU, Most Muscular, 1st
- 1966 Mr America – AAU, 2nd
- 1966 Junior Mr America – AAU, Most Muscular, 1st
- 1966 Junior Mr America – AAU, Winner
- 1965 Mr America – AAU, Most Muscular, 1st
- 1965 Mr America – AAU, 4th
- 1965 Junior Mr America – AAU, Most Muscular, 1st
- 1965 Junior Mr America – AAU, 2nd
- 1964 Mr America – AAU, Most Muscular, 3rd
- 1964 Mr America – AAU, 7th
