When Arnold Schwarzenegger shares any sort of fitness advice, we all listen. After all, the Austrian Oak is one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time, not just because he won seven Mr. Olympia titles undefeated, but because he helped revolutionise the sport of bodybuilding to what it is today.
After retiring from competing, Arnold went on to create his own bodybuilding show – the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic – which, since, has become one of the most renowned bodybuilding competitions (and not to forget he gave us Pumping Iron).
Believe it or not, Arnie turned 77 the other day (although we’re still struggling to wrap our heads around that too). To celebrate his birthday, the Terminator shared ‘77 Life Lessons’ in his Pump Club newsletter, with advice for all walks of life and, of course, that wouldn’t have been complete without some advice around training. Here’s what he had to say about fitness…
"Don’t do half reps"
“It hurts me every time I see someone in the gym doing a lat pulldown or a curl or a bench press halfway,” says Arnold. A ‘half rep’ is a rep that’s not performed through its full range of motion, so it only goes halfway. There are occasions where you may do half reps, for example, if you’re trying to strengthen the portion of a lift that’s particularly weak, and studies have shown that half reps can be effective for hypertrophy when performed in the lengthened muscle position. However, generally, they’re frowned upon, and Arnold clearly isn’t a fan. “When you cheat an exercise, you only cheat yourself,” he says. “Whatever you do, go all out.”
"You don’t grow in comfort"
Really, this could apply to anything in life, not just when it comes to building muscle. “In the gym, your muscles and strength don’t grow from the first 10 easy, fast reps. They grow from the last 2-3 hard and slow reps,” says Arnold. Facts. To build muscle you need to progressively overload them so that you create tiny micro tears in the muscle fibres, which will help them to grow back bigger and stronger. "Being uncomfortable means you are growing," says Arnold. Obviously he doesn't mean make yourself uncomfortable to the point of a potential injury but, if it doesn’t challenge you it won’t change you.
"Don't worry about your motivation"
You’ve probably heard some people say ‘what’s you why?’ when it comes to training. Some people have big inspiration stories, while some of us don’t. Does that make our reasons for training any less? Arnold says definitely not. “When I talk to people in the gym, I hear all kinds of motivations,” he says. “Some people get motivated to prove their naysayers wrong. Some people get motivated to look good for potential partners. Nothing that keeps you moving forward is too silly.” Amen to that.
Feeling inspired to train? Why not try Arnold's 15-minute full-body workout, you'll just need a pair of dumbbells and it's packed with compound exercises, so you get plenty of bang for your buck. If you want an idea of what Arnold's training was like in his prime, here's his Golden Era chest and back workout.
