Arnold Schwarzenegger Talks Career And Using Gym To Grow: “Thinking Big Makes You Bigger”

Arnold Schwarzenegger accomplished the American dream by working diligently and keeping a positive attitude. In a recent interview with Tim Ferriss on YouTube, the former seven-time Mr. Olympia champion discusses how the gym shaped his life and bodybuilding career. 

“I’ve put these kind of lessons together which were very crucial lessons which I’ve learned throughout my life and throughout the various different careers but especially in the gym. Most of my lessons are learned in the gym because there’s no better place than to learn in the gym because this is where the rubber hits the road” Arnold shared. 

The Austrian native is the poster child for the long-coveted American Dream, having come from humble beginnings. From his time competing on bodybuilding’s biggest stage, to acting on the big screen, or even representing the state of California as Governor, Schwarzenegger serves as an inspiration to all working to reach their goals.

Arnold Schwarzenegger has not only learned a lot about achieving a great physique but also about conquering any objective he sets his mind to. The 76-year-old revealed his tips for finding success in the gym and concluded that his most important piece of advice was to not think and just do. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger Shares How The Gym Helped Him Through All Aspects Of His Life

Arnold Schwarzenegger recently shared during an interview on YouTube how his hard work in the gym ultimately helped him accomplish all of his life challenges. 

“This is where if you don’t do the forced reps, if you don’t work until it burns and hurts and you go beyond that and you do the forced reps, you’re not going to grow. So now, you get this message that only through pain you can actually grow. Only through pain you can go in discomfort and misery and you can also grow as person – not just physically, not just muscle-wise, but as a person. Through comfort, no one ever grows.” 

“You can only grow through discomfort and to go through things where you have to have discipline, where you struggle. Everything in the military, if it is a real good job, or if it’s studying in a university, the more the kids struggle and study all night and goes through hardship the further they’re going to go.” 

Arnold has always aspired to be the best and set goals bigger than everyone else around him. He truly ate, slept, and dreamt about taking his career to the next level. 

“The beginning. For me, to go and say I want to compete in the Junior Mr. Europe competition rather than the Mr. Austria competition. I trained just as hard as everyone else in the gym, their goals were just smaller. They wanted to be Mr. Austria, and I wanted to be the Mr. Europe.” 

“I wanted to be the best-built man of Europe; I wanted to go to this competition. I was thinking bigger. I was training harder than they were, everything was the same. But then when I won that competition because I had a very clear vision, that’s what I wanted to win… that immediately launched me into getting a job to become a trainer in Munich in a bodybuilding gymnasium.”

Imagine how in heaven is that? You’re a young bodybuilder, you’re 18 years old, you just won your first international competition, you win some local competitions in Austria, you win some powerlifting competitions, some weight lifting competitions, but now you’re a Junior Mr. Europe. You have this trophy. And now you’re getting a job to train in the second biggest gym in Munich. That was absolute heaven.”  

“I was sleeping in the gym. I was waking up and I was training. I was taking a nap in the afternoon, I was training. I was going to sleep before going to sleep at night before training. I was training. So this is a dream, but it was all because I felt big.”

They were still stuck working for some bath house in Austria or for the government or being a trash collector or being a teacher or something like that. They were still stuck in the same job, I was already moving on in Munich and I was already a trainer in a bodybuilding gymnasium, making this the launchpad to America, which was my ultimate dream.” 

“It didn’t take more work to think big, just thinking big makes you bigger. My point is, it takes just this much effort.”

Schwarzenegger didn’t shy away from the hard work it took to achieve his goals and applied the same tenacity he had in the gym to becoming a world renowned actor. 

“I created my own way of getting up there. I took five hours that I learned in bodybuilding; I took five hours every day of working my ass off and train and to train and to train and to pose and to pose and I did all this stuff I needed to do. I said I’m going to do the same five hours but I’m going to go and learn English, I’m going to learn acting, speech lessons, voice lessons, accent removal lessons. I should get my money back for those.”

On top of motivating others to be a better version of themselves, Schwarzenegger is dedicated to educating people on health and wellness. This includes calling out supplement companies for including illegal ingredients in their products. In addition, in his weekly newsletter Arnold’s Pump Club, Schwarzenegger is shedding light on nutrition misconceptions to continue guiding everyday citizens on healthy living. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger is a pillar of knowledge for the fitness community. Having accomplished many great accolades throughout the years, Schwarzenegger provides a constant stream of information in a way that’s easy to relate to and understand. 

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Watch the full interview here: 

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