Franco Columbu – Complete Profile: Height, Workout And Diet

Franco Columbu was an Italian-born IFBB Pro bodybuilder, powerlifter, boxer and actor. He won the Mr. Olympia competition twice during his bodybuilding career and is widely regarded as one of the best to achieve competitive success against much bigger competitors. Ostensibly, he was the first Mr. Olympia that weighed below 200 pounds.

At 5’5” tall, Columbu handled his opponents with proportions, aesthetics, and better muscle definition. This article explores his biography, competition history, workout routine, diet, and statistics.

Franco Columbu

Born: August 7, 1941

Died: August 30, 2019

Birthplace: Ollolai, Sardinia, ITALY

Residence: Los Angeles, California, USA

Nickname: The Sardinian Strongman

Height: 5′ 5″ (165 cm)

Weight: 185 lbs (84 kg)

Franco Columbu Biography

Early Life

Franco Columbu was born on August 7, 1941, in Ollolai, Sardinia, Italy. His parents Antonio Columbu and Maria Grazia Columbu were shepherds. Growing up, Franco was a skinny kid who got beat up by his peers.

He started training as a boxer while working as a shepherd by age 11. As he got stronger and more skilled in boxing, he was no longer the victim of bullies. Columbu started his athletic career in boxing and competed in over 30 fights before shifting his focus to bodybuilding. He later cited that boxing was too harsh on the body.

Years later, Columbu explained that it was an easier decision to choose powerlifting and bodybuilding over boxing because they were a lot safer to do without inflicting long-term damage on body.

Bodybuilding Career

To pursue his passion for bodybuilding and find work to make a living, Columbu shifted to Germany in the early 1960s. He took his first steps into competitive bodybuilding during this time and eventually shifted to the USA along with Arnold Schwarzenegger to work closely with Joe Weider.

According to online sources, Weider provided the duo accommodation and a weekly stipend. 

To earn extra income, Columbu started a bricklaying company with Schwarzenegger. Columbu approached his work in the construction industry as a positive addition to his workout routine and said:

“The truth was that I realized that this was very interesting. When Arnold and I, we were training sometimes in the gym – we went to the Gold’s gym in Venice Beach to train. And then, after that we would lie down on the floor on the beach. And when we started doing the bricklayign work, I realized that’s better than lying down on the beach because then I didn’t have to work the core anymore. You train in the gym, you work on a construction site and I got all this abdominal work.”

Franco Columbu was never a big bodybuilder but what he lacked in size, he made up with muscle definition and aesthetics.

With that, Columbu won the 1970 IFBB Mr. Universe and the 1970 IFBB Mr. World titles. His career trajectory only went upwards in the following years. Franco Columbu won the 1974 and 1975 Olympia in the lightweight division.

He reached the absolute top of the competitive bodybuilding world by winning the overall competition at the 1976 IFBB Mr. Olympia. He returned to competition five years later and retired after winning the 1981 Mr. Olympia title.

Strongman and Powerlifting Career

Franco Columbu was a versatile sportsman who had all the attributes necessary to be a complete athlete in terms of strength, endurance, speed, flexibility, and aesthetics. The veteran bodybuilder participated in the first-ever World’s Strongest Man competition in 1977 and achieved a fifth-place finish.

While on the surface it may look like a regular achievement for a world-class athlete, it must be noted that all four of the Strongmen placed above Columbu in rankings outweighed him by at least 100 pounds.

Columbu suffered a knee injury during this competition which forced him to stay on the sidelines for almost five years. This was also the reason for his absence from competitive bodybuilding between the 1976 and the 1981 Olympia.

Columbu achieved several other feats of strength using his insanely gifted physique. In 1978, ‘The Sardinian Strongman’ made it into the Guinness Book of Records for bursting a hot water bottle in 55 seconds by blowing into it.

The veteran bodybuilder was also known for his incredibly heavy lifts in the gym. Columbu’s bench press record stood at a whopping 525 pounds while squat and deadlifts records were 655 pounds and 750 pounds, respectively.

Acting career and other ventures

Franco Columbu appeared in several documentaries and feature films. He appeared in movies like The Terminator among others and also worked as Sylvester Stallone’s bodybuilding coach for the movie Rambo: First Blood Part II. The veteran bodybuilder was also a licensed chiropractor. While explaining the origin of his association with Stallone, he once said:

“When I graduated as a chiropractor in 1977, Sly Stallone came to me as a chiropractic patient. I used to work on him, fix the injuries he had in training.”

Columbu also produced several movies. He became a naturalized US citizen in 1983. 

Later years and death

Franco Columbu spent his later years in Los Angeles, California. However, he visited Sardinia every year in August to celebrate local festivals. Columbu was in Sardinia when he started feeling unwell on August 30, 2019. He passed away while being carried to a hospital in Olbia in an air ambulance. Columbu’s funeral was held in his birthplace of Ollolai on Sept. 3, 2019.

Competition History

• 1966- Mr. Europe 4th place
• 1968- NABBA Mr.Universe (Most Muscular)
• 1969- IFBB Mr. Europe (Medium)
• 1969- NABBA Mr.Universe (Most Muscular)
• 1969- NABBA Mr.Universe (Short)
• 1969- IFBB Mr. Universe (Short)
• 1970- IFBB Mr. Europe (Short & Overall)
• 1970- AAU Mr. Word (Pro Short)
• 1970- IFBB Mr. World (Short)
• 1970- IFBB Mr. Universe (Short & Overall)
• 1971- IFBB Mr. Universe(Short & Overall)
• 1971- IFBB Mr. World (Short & Overall)
• 1974- Mr. Olympia (Lightweight)
• 1975- Mr. Olympia (Lightweight)
• 1976- Mr. Olympia (Lightweight &Overall)
• 1981- Mr. Olympia

Powerlifting Titles

• Champion of Italy
• Champion of Germany
• Champion of Europe

Franco Columbu Workout

Franco Columbu was known as a consummate professional who worked around the clock. Back in the day, training hard was a norm and Columbu adhered to the same trend. During the early years of training, Franco Columbu trained twice a day and each training session lasted a good two hours.

While he benefitted from this style of rigorous training, the veteran bodybuilder admitted that he felt excruciatingly sore on some days and even going to the gym was a huge struggle for him.

Franco Columbu firmly believed that getting big and muscular is an aspect of bodybuilding that anyone can achieve. According to him, the tough task is to build a physique that is aesthetically good and well-proportioned.
Here is an example of Franco Columbu’s 14-day training split that helped him build the massive physique:

Franco Columbu’s Workout Split – 14-Day Cycle

First Week:

1. Chest and Delts(Morning), Abs and Arms (Evening)
2. Back (Morning), Legs (Evening)
3. Abs(Morning),Chest and Delts (Evening)
4. Arms (Evening)
5. Legs, Abs (Morning), Back (Evening)
6. Abs and Oblique(Morning), Chest and Delts(Evening)
7. REST

Second Week:

1. Arms (Morning), Legs (Evening)
2. Abs and Oblique (Morning), Back (Evening)
3. Chest and Delts (Morning), Biceps and Triceps (Evening)
4. Back and Abs (Morning), Legs (Evening)
5. Abs (Morning), Chest and Delts (Evening)
6. Arms (Evening)
7. REST

Chest 

• Superset 1 (3 Sets) – Barbell bench press (15, 10, 4 reps), Cable crossovers (20 reps)
• Superset 2 (3 Sets) – Dumbbell flyes (20, 15, 6 reps), Cable crossovers (20 reps)
• Superset 3 (3 Sets) – Incline bench press (15 Reps), Barbell pullovers (25 Reps)
• Dips (to failure)
• Cable crossovers (25 Reps)

Shoulders

• Standing dumbbell lateral raise (4 sets, 10 reps)
• Bent lateral raise (6 sets, 10 reps)
• Behind-the-neck presses (4 sets, 10 reps)
• Alternating dumbbell front raises (3 sets, 8 reps)
• Cable lateral raise (3 sets, 10 reps)

Arms

• Superset 1 (4 sets) – Cable pushdowns (8 reps), Standing dumbbell curls (8 reps)
• Superset 2 (4 sets) – Lying barbell triceps extension (8 reps), Barbell preacher curl (8 reps)
• Superset 3 (4 sets) – Seated barbell extension (8 reps), Dumbbell incline curl (8 reps)

Legs

• Barbell squat (7 Sets, Reps: 20, 15, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2)
• Leg press (4 sets, Reps: 50, 25, 15, 8)
• Leg extensions (6-7 sets, 20 reps)
• Barbell lunges (2-3 sets, 12-15 reps)
• Deadlifts (6 sets, Reps: 5, 5, 5, 3, 1, 1)

Back

• Pull-ups (Wide Grip) (6 sets, 10-15 reps)
• T-Bar row (4 sets, 10 reps)
• Seated cable row (4 sets, 10 reps)
• Superset (3 sets) – One-arm dumbbell rows (10 reps), Hammer grip pull-ups (10 reps)

Franco Columbu Diet

Franco Columbu strongly advised against fad dieting, especially the ones that demonized eating egg yolks. He often said that eggs were the best and most accessible source of protein that you can have.

At the peak of his bodybuilding career, Columbu ate almost 200 grams of protein every day. However, he believed in taking protein from high-quality sources like eggs, chicken breast, lean cuts of beef and fish, to name a few.

He was not opposed to using dairy products and used a variety of whole foods to meet the dietary requirements of the body. 

Breakfast

• 3 eggs
• 1 piece fruit
• A large glass of orange juice
• Yogurt with milk and granola cereal
• Mineral water with a vitamin and mineral supplement

Lunch 

• Fresh vegetables with oil and vinegar dressing
• Cooked vegetable
• Protein, fish, chicken, lamb or liver
• Wine or mineral water

Afternoon Snacks

• Cheese and fresh fruit

Dinner

• Fresh vegetables with oil and vinegar dressing
• Cooked vegetable
• Protein, fish, chicken, lamb or liver
• Wine or mineral water

Evening Snack

• Yogurt

Personal Life

Franco Columbu was married to his wife Deborah. The couple has a daughter named Maria.

Relationship with Arnold Schwarzenegger and fellow bodybuilders

Franco Columbu had a very close and lifelong friendship with legendary bodybuilder and seven-time Mr. Olympia Arnold Schwarzenegger. The duo met during a bodybuilding competition in Stuttgart, Germany in 1965. They soon developed a friendship that only got stronger with time.

Columbu and Schwarzenegger worked together during the years of struggle and Columbu was the best man for Arnold’s wedding to Maria Shriver in 1986. He was also a godfather to their daughter Christina.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Franco Columbu remained good friends and close training partners until the latter’s passing in 2019.

Franco Columbu competed against legendary bodybuilder Frank Zane several times during his competitive career. Shedding light on their relationship off the competitive stage, Columbu once shared an interesting story:

“When Arnold came to the USA, he competed at the 1968 Mr. Universe and Frank Zane beat him. Now I show up here and we come to the house, we always made food for bodybuilder friends and treat ourselves to a glass of cheap wine. Frank Zane would say, ‘I would beat you next.’ I would turn around and say I would compete with you a hundred times and I would always beat you. I’m going to train you to be committed to be second! That was interesting!”

To Conclude…

Franco Columbu was a multi-faceted personality who achieved a great deal of success in different walks of life. But the most important aspect of his professional success is that he was able to carry over the benefits of different disciplines and put them to use. From boxing, bodybuilding, and powerlifting to writing, acting, and business, nothing intimidated ‘The Sardinian Strongman’ as he cruised through every profession with the determination of a winner.

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