Joseph Baena is following in the well-trodden footsteps of his dad, Arnold Schwarzenegger, after making his professional bodybuilding debut at the weekend.

Competing in just the third bodybuilding competition of his career, and his first as a pro, Baena placed fifth in the Classic Physique Open category at the INBA PNBA Pro/Am World in California. After a promising start, the 29-year-old is determined to keep working on his physique and improving for future events.

‘Of course the dream is to win the show and be the number one overall, but it all comes in due time and with the right amount of work,’ Baena explained on Instagram. ‘This was only my first pro show and I couldn’t be more proud of myself. This is my first year competing with my first show being the end of March, the second show being the week after, and this being only my third show. A lot of the guys I competed with have been competing for many years now, so it is great motivation to be able to stand up and stack up next to them.’

Arnold’s advice has certainly proved invaluable for Baena. But he’s also dedicated himself to the sport over the past year, putting the principles his dad has taught him into practice. That means training hard and pushing each set to get as much as possible from his work in the gym.

‘One of the big things I learned from Dad was not to have the ten-rep mentality,’ Baena told MH. ‘It’s pushing yourself to the limits and going that extra mile, getting those extra reps and half-reps till you’re basically dying.’

His shoulders and arms workout epitomises that mentality. While he generally follows a five-day training split consisting of push and biceps on Monday, pull and triceps on Tuesday, legs on Wednesday, upper body on Friday and lower body on Saturday, Baena recently switched things up with a more isolation-focused session.

The result is nine exercises targeting his shoulders, biceps and triceps, with plenty of scope to push each muscle towards fatigue.

3. Rear Delt Fly

4. Machine or Cable Lateral Raise

5. Cable Curl

9. Lying Triceps Extension

Dumbbell Shoulder Press

• Clean your dumbbells onto your shoulders, with your palms facing inwards.
• Take a breath and brace your core.
• Press the dumbbells directly overhead until your elbows are fully extended.
• Avoid arching your back throughout the rep.
• Lower the weights under control.

Lateral Raise

• Grab a pair of dumbbells and stand with them by your sides, with your palms facing your body and a slight bend in your elbows.
• Stand tall, brace your core and pull your shoulder blades back and down.
• Keeping your back straight and upper body still, raise the dumbbells out to your sides without swinging.
• Lift until your arms are roughly parallel to the floor, then slowly lower to the starting position.

Rear Delt Fly

• Set the seat height on a machine so your hands and wrists are level with your shoulders.
• Reach forwards and grab the handles, keeping a slight bend in your elbows.
• Drive your arms outwards and backwards in a wide arc, leading with your elbows.
• Squeeze your rear delts at peak contraction, avoiding excessive shrugging or retraction.
• Return the weight to the starting position under control.

Machine or Cable Lateral Raise

• Set up on a lateral raise machine and push the pads away from you using your elbows. If your gym isn’t equipped with a specific machine, use a cable stack instead.
• Attach a handle to the lowest pulley and stand to one side of the cable machine.
• Grab the handle with one hand and the tower with the other to brace yourself.
• With your elbow slightly bent, raise your arm out to the side until your elbow reaches shoulder height.
• Lower and repeat.

Cable Curl

• Hold a cable bar with an underhand grip, roughly shoulder-width apart.
• Use your biceps to flex your elbows and raise the bar towards your shoulders.
• Lower it back down to your thighs under control and repeat.

Alternating Bicep Curl

• Stand tall holding a pair of dumbbells at your sides.
• With minimal momentum and your upper arms held close to your body, curl one dumbbell upwards, rotating your palm as you lift.
• Continue until your pinky finger is close to your shoulder.
• Squeeze at the top, then reverse the movement under control.
• Repeat with the opposite arm.

Concentration Curl

• Sit on a bench with a dumbbell between your legs.
• Grab the dumbbell with one hand, then place your upper arm against your thigh. Keep your arm perpendicular to the floor throughout the movement.
• Brace your core and engage your shoulder blades to create tension and reinforce your posture.
• Make a fist with your non-working hand and extend that arm out to the side to help you stay balanced.
• Curl the weight upwards with control, keeping your wrist neutral and avoiding any backwards lean or shoulder movement.
• Squeeze your biceps at the top before lowering the weight.

Triceps Pushdown

• Attach a bar to the high pulley of a cable station.
• Bend your arms and grab the bar with an overhand grip, roughly shoulder-width apart. Tuck your upper arms against your sides.
• Without moving your upper arms, push the bar down until your elbows are fully extended.
• Slowly return to the starting position and repeat.

Lying Triceps Extension

• Grip the EZ bar on the inner handles using an overhand grip and extend your arms straight up.
• Keeping your elbows fixed and tucked in, slowly lower the bar towards your forehead.
• Keep your upper arms perpendicular to the floor throughout the movement.
• Extend your arms back to the starting position under control.

Ryan is a Senior Writer at Men’s Health UK with a passion for storytelling, health and fitness. Having graduated from Cardiff University in 2020, and later obtaining his NCTJ qualification, Ryan started his career as a Trainee News Writer for sports titles Golf Monthly, Cycling Weekly and Rugby World before progressing to Staff Writer and subsequently Senior Writer with football magazine FourFourTwo.

During his two-and-a-half years there he wrote news stories for the website and features for the magazine, while he also interviewed names such as Les Ferdinand, Ally McCoist, Jamie Redknapp and Antonio Rudiger, among many others. His standout memory, though, came when getting the opportunity to speak to then-Plymouth Argyle manager Steven Schumacher as the club won League One in 2023.

Having grown up a keen footballer and playing for his boyhood side until the age of 16, Ryan got the opportunity to represent Northern Ireland national futsal team eight times, scoring three goals against England, Scotland and Gibraltar. Now past his peak, Ryan prefers to mix weightlifting with running – he achieved a marathon PB of 3:31:49 at Manchester in April 2025, but credits the heat for failing to get below the coveted 3:30 mark…

You can follow Ryan on Instagram @ryan.dabbs or on X @ryandabbs_