Late bodybuilding icon Rich Piana earned equal measures of fame and notoriety. Although the bodybuilder passed away in 2017, one of his particular workouts has served along with his legacy. Even today’s fitness influencers like the Tren Twins have tried Rich Piana’s eight-hour arm workout. However, exercise scientist Dr. Mike Israetel didn’t seem impressed with the viral workout.

From the very beginning of the clip, Israetel was sarcastic about the clip where Rich Piana shared the particulars of the eight-hour arm workout. The late bodybuilder said that the “deep dark secret” to his massive arms was the eight-hour arm workout. However, Israetel answered if it was a “deep, dark secret,” Rich Piana wouldn’t be sharing it online.

Rich Piana revealed the workout as a secret hack for insane arm growth. The bodybuilder claimed his eight-hour workout would add an inch to your arm in 24 hours. Dr. Mike Israetel disagreed with this statement and openly criticized Piana. “You know, I would call an eight-hour arm workout the opposite of a hack. A hack is a shortcut,” stated Israetel.

However, the Ph.D. holder in exercise physiology wasn’t done treating Piana’s words with sarcasm. “It says it consists of 16 mini-workouts every half hour, for eight hours straight,” said the bodybuilding coach. However, he paused and stressed the words “every half hour,” and “straight” to highlight that the eight-hour arm workout lasted for four hours with 30-minute rests.

After this point, Mike Israetel simply burst into laughter and gave up. “I thought this was a meme,” said the exercise scientist because he couldn’t take Piana’s advice on preparing 16 protein shakes seriously. However, Rich Piana didn’t design the eight-hour arm workout as a meme. He was serious and shared all the particulars one would need.

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Rich Piana explained how to attempt the workout

In his clip, Rich Piana laid out a plan for those interested in attempting the workout. Undertaking such a long workout would require you to fuel your body, so Piana recommended what you should eat. “The morning of the workout, get up, and have a huge breakfast,” recommended Piana. That’s because anyone training every half hour would burn through calories.

He also recommended making 16 protein shakes. Rich Piana said the shakes should contain a “Little bit of protein, some simple sugars, and a little bit of carbs.” The bodybuilding icon explained that the workout followed Arnold Schwarzenegger’s philosophy of shocking the muscle to grow.

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While Rich Piana promised incredible results, Mike Israetel didn’t seem convinced. Unfortunately, even those who have tried it have not reported the insane hypertrophy that Piana promised.