Bodybuilding legend Arnold Schwarzenegger remains one of the most decorated figures in the sport. In a recent interview, Schwarzenegger opened up on training powerlifting and Olympic lifts in Hungary before testing himself as a bodybuilder. In addition, he also discussed his keys to losing weight.
As a seven-time Mr. Olympia champion, Arnold Schwarzenegger reached incredible heights in the IFBB Pro League. He parlayed his mega-successful bodybuilding tenure into an illustrious acting career. From there, he ventured into government and philanthropy.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Talks Olympic Weightlifting vs Bodybuilding’ & Losing Weight/Gaining Muscle
Now, with time on his hands in retirement, Schwarzenegger doesn’t miss an opportunity to give back to his fans. This time, he reflected on some of the powerlifting and Olympic lifts he had to practice before having the opportunity to body-build.
“The most important thing, and I was very fortunate that I started in a weightlifting club. So, we were not allowed to do bodybuilding exercises until we have proven that we have done our training for weightlifting, for Olympic lifting.”
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“So it was the two arm press at that time, then it was the two arm clean and jerk, and the two arm snatch. So those were the three disciplines that we had to practice and then on top I practiced also powerlifting, the benchpress. There were actually four disciplines, the bench press, the squat, the deadlift, and also the cheating curl, so you are swinging again to get it up there” Schwarzenegger said.
“So that was the four disciplines so we had to practice that also. When that was done then you could go into some chin ups or do some incline bench presses or some flies or some pullover exercises and curls and stuff like that for bodybuilding. So that was the deal.”
Schwarzenegger explained why practicing weightlifting before bodybuilding was so important to helping him achieve his success.
“So I was lucky because in weightlifting you do the very basic exercises, the deadlift, that is why I went all the way up to 710 pound deadlift and then the benchpress, so I did all the basic lifts, bent over rowing, the squats, the benchpress, the incline press, all of those things that were very, very important to build the basic of the body.”
“Then When that is done and you have deltoids, and you have pectorals muscles, and you have a huge chest, and lats, and the back, now you go and start chiseling away because now it is about the perfections.”
When Schwarzenegger was asked about proper weight loss tips, he gave his key to shedding body fat and maintaining muscle mass.
“The most important thing is that you slowly kinda decrease the body fat and increase the body muscles so you just switch. It doesn’t just have to do with the weight, yes of course you want to reduce weight because it is much healthier and you are much more agile and much faster.
You can do more and you are much more energetic but you want to slowly decrease the fat and increase the muscle mass that is the key thing.”
This wasn’t Arnold Schwarzenegger’s first time recounting his formative years as an athlete. He recently took a trip down memory lane on his Netflix documentary, where he reminisced about his first weightlifting club Athletik Union Graz. After getting his body accustomed to the demands of training, Schwarzenegger said he became addicted to the gym.
Schwarzenegger not only boasts specialized knowledge in health and fitness but continues to reshape the bodybuilding community with insights into his career, accomplishments, and training practices. At 76 years old, ‘The Austrian Oak’ doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.
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