The Colorado Experiment: Casey Viator & Arthur Jones | The Bodybuilding Archive (2024)

Any conversation around Casey Viator eventually circles back to The Colorado Experiment. Arthur Jones invented Nautilus equipment for weight lifting. The Colorado Experiment was a way for Jones to see how much muscle Viator could build in a short period of time.

The experiment ran over 28 days. Viator trained every other day. The experiment was in a controlled setting and Jones oversaw every workout. The training was intense and half the exercises involved negative-only reps.

Viator built 27.25lbs of muscle in the first week. After the 28-day experiment, Viator added 63.21lbs of muscle. That’s an average of 2.26lbs of muscle a day. Viator started the experiment at a body weight of 166.87lbs and a body fat percentage of 13.8 percent. At the end of the 28-days, Viator’s body weight was 212.15lbs. Casey was 5 feet 8 inches and 21 years old.

Arthur Jones ensured no supplements or steroids were used. Viator ate six meals a day for an average of 4,000 calories. Jones trained Viator on around twenty pieces of Nautilus equipment. Each workout averaged 12 exercises and lasted around 33 minutes.

The results of The Colorado Experiment are impressive. So impressive there’s speculation around the authenticity of the study. The main argument against the results is the use of Casey Viator as a subject. Viator won the Mr. America contest two years before the study. He was the youngest ever winner, aged just nineteen.

After winning Mr. America, Viator took two years off training. During that time Casey was involved in a near-fatal experience after suffering a reaction to an anti-tetanus injection. Casey lost over 33lbs of muscle in that time and was very deconditioned.

Building muscle is very different from rebuilding muscle. The former is much harder. Critics of The Colorado Experiment explain that as Viator was rebuilding muscle, the results aren’t reflective of the average human.

Arthur Jones didn’t disagree with the argument. Jones also added that Viator was a genetically superior bodybuilder. Winning Mr. America at a young age is proof enough that his genetics are far superior to most. The results have never been replicated to the same extent on other subjects. However, all subjects saw exceptional results (just not as dramatic as Viator’s).

The Colorado Experiment Workout

The program Jones designed was unusual. The exercises are common but there a few variables you need to consider.

One Set: the goal is to perform every exercise listed below for just one set to complete failure. Perform 6-8 reps per exercise and never cheat. Perfect form is essential. Add 5 percent once the weight is too light.

Negatives: the program involves negative reps. This means you only perform the lowering portion of the exercise. Spread the rep over 4-8 seconds and have a partner help you reset the weight. Perform 6 to 8 reps as you would normally. Negative reps allow you to use around 30-40 percent extra weight.

Metabolic Conditioning: start out with a rest time of no longer than one minute. Gradually decrease the rest time to thirty seconds. This will allow for metabolic conditioning. Decreasing the rest time too quickly will impair your muscle gains.

Below are all fourteen workouts used in the experiment. Remember to perform them on alternating days. You need at least one day of rest in between each workout.

Workout #1

1. Stiff-Legged Deadlift with Barbell
2. Leg Extension Machine (Negative)
3. Squat with Barbell
4. Leg Curl Machine (Negative)
5. Bent-Armed Pullover with EZ-Curl Bar
6. Lat-Machine Pulldown to Chest
7. Overhead Press with Barbell
8. Chin-Up (Negative)
9. Overhead Triceps Extension with Dumbbell
10. Biceps Curl with Barbell (Negative)

Workout #2

1. Bent-Armed Pullover with EZ-Curl Bar
2. Lat-Machine Pulldown to Chest
3. Overhead Press with Barbell
4. Chin-Up (Negative)
5. Bench Press with Barbell (Negative)
6. Biceps Curl with Barbell (Negative)
7. Overhead Triceps Extension with Dumbbell
8. Lateral Raise with Dumbbells
9. Dip
10. Squat with Barbell

Workout #3

1. Bent-Armed Pullover with EZ-Curl Bar
2. Bent-Over Row with Barbell
3. Overhead Press with Barbell
4. Chin-Up (Negative)
5. Dip (Negative)
6. Shoulder Shrug with Barbell
7. Bench Press with Barbell (Negative)
8. Biceps Curl with Barbell (Negative)
9. Overhead Triceps Extension with Dumbbell
10. Behind Neck Chin-Up (Negative)
11. Lateral Raise with Dumbbells
12. Leg Extension Machine (Negative)
13. Squat with Barbell
14. Leg Curl Machine (Negative)

Workout #4

1. Bent-Armed Pullover with EZ-Curl Bar
2. Lat-Machine Pulldown to Chest
3. Overhead Press with Barbell
4. Chin-Up
5. Bent-Over Row with Barbell
6. Dip
7. Biceps Curl with Barbell (Negative)
8. Overhead Triceps Extension with Dumbbell
9. Biceps Curl with Barbell (Negative)
10. Lateral Raise with Dumbbells
11. Squat with Barbell
12. Stiff-Legged Deadlift with Barbell

Workout #5

1. Bent-Armed Pullover with EZ-Curl Bar
2. Bent-Over Row with Barbell
3. Overhead Press with Barbell
4. Biceps Curl with Barbell (Negative)
5. Bench Press with Barbell (Negative)
6. Chin-Up (Negative)
7. Overhead Triceps Extension with Dumbbell
8. Biceps Curl with Barbell (Negative)
9. Lateral Raise with Dumbbells
10. Stiff-Legged Deadlift with Barbell
11. Leg Extension Machine (Negative)
12. Squat with Barbell

Workout #6

1. Chin-Up
2. Dip
3. Biceps Curl with Barbell (Negative)
4. Overhead Triceps Extension with Dumbbell
5. Shoulder Shrug with Barbell
6. Overhead Press with Barbell
7. Dip
8. Squat with Barbell

Workout #7

1. Bent-Armed Pullover with EZ-Curl Bar
2. Lat-Machine Pulldown to Chest
3. Overhead Press with Barbell
4. Biceps Curl with Barbell (Negative)
5. Bench Press with Barbell (Negative)
6. Chin-Up (Negative)
7. Overhead Triceps Extension with Dumbbell
8. Behind-Neck Pull-Up (Negative)
9. Lateral Raise with Dumbbells
10. Squat with Barbell
11. Stiff-Legged Deadlift with Barbell
12. Leg Extension Machine (Negative)

Workout #8

1. Bent-Armed Pullover with EZ-Curl Bar
2. Chin-Up
3. Bench Press with Barbell (Negative)
4. Dip
5. Biceps Curl with Barbell (Negative)
6. Lat-Machine Pulldown to Chest
7. Overhead Triceps Extension with Dumbbell
8. Overhead Press with Barbell
9. Dip (Negative)
10. Bent-Over Row with Barbell
11. Chin-Up (Negative)
12. Squat with Barbell

Workout #9

1. Bent-Armed Pullover with EZ-Curl Bar
2. Lat-Machine Pulldown to Chest
3. Chin-Up
4. Bench Press with Barbell (Negative)
5. Dip
6. Overhead Press with Barbell
7. Biceps Curl with Barbell (Negative)
8. Bent-Over Row with Barbell
9. Chin-Up (Negative)
10. Overhead Triceps Extension with Dumbbell
11. Lateral Raise with Dumbbells
12. Dip (Negative)
13. Squat with Barbell
14. Stiff-Legged Deadlift with Barbell

Workout #10

1. Bent-Armed Pullover with EZ-Curl Bar
2. Lat-Machine Pulldown to Chest
3. Overhead Press with Barbell
4. Chin-Up
5. Bench Press with Barbell (Negative)
6. Dip
7. Biceps Curl with Barbell (Negative)
8. Overhead Triceps Extension with Dumbbell
9. Bent-Over Row with Barbell
10. Lateral Raise with Dumbbells
11. Overhead Triceps Extension with Dumbbell
12. Squat with Barbell
13. Stiff-Legged Deadlift with Barbell

Workout #11

1. Bent-Armed Pullover with EZ-Curl Bar
2. Bent-Over Row with Barbell
3. Overhead Press with Barbell
4. Chin-Up
5. Bench Press with Barbell (Negative)
6. Dip
7. Biceps Curl with Barbell – (Negative)
8. Overhead Triceps Extension with Dumbbell
9. Behind-Neck Pull-Up (Negative)
10. Overhead Triceps Extension with Dumbbell
11. Squat with Barbell
12. Leg Extension Machine (Negative)

Workout #12

1. Overhead Press with Barbell
2. Chin-Up
3. Dip
4. Biceps Curl with Barbell (Negative)
5. Bench Press with Barbell (Negative)
6. Biceps Curl with Barbell (Negative)
7. Overhead Triceps Extension with Dumbbell
8. Biceps Curl with Barbell (Negative)
9. Overhead Triceps Extension with Dumbbell
10. Dip
11. Wrist Curl with Barbell

Workout #13

1. Bent-Armed Pullover with EZ-Curl Bar
2. Bent-Over Row with Barbell
3. Overhead Press with Barbell
4. Chin-Up (Negative)
5. Dip (Negative)
6. Biceps Curl with Barbell (Negative)
7. Overhead Triceps Extension with Dumbbell
8. Biceps Curl with Barbell (Negative)
9. Overhead Triceps Extension with Dumbbell
10. Dip (Negative)
11. Wrist Curl with Barbell
12. Squat with Barbell

Workout #14

1. Overhead Press with Barbell
2. Chin-Up
3. Dip
4. Biceps Curl with Barbell (Negative)
5. Bench Press with Barbell (Negative)
6. Biceps Curl with Barbell (Negative)
7. Overhead Triceps Extension with Dumbbell
8. Biceps Curl with Barbell (Negative)
9. Overhead Triceps Extension with Dumbbell
10. Dip (Negative)
11. Wrist Curl with Barbell
12. Squat with Barbell