Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s love for weightlifting is always on display, even when he’s away from the gym. In a recent sitdown with Jocko Willink, Schwarzenegger discussed the secrets to lifting weights and opened up on how to improve weak points in training.
After winning seven Mr. Olympia titles, Arnold Schwarzenegger is without a doubt one of the best to ever do it. His passion for exercising and bodybuilding followed him into retirement, where even at age 76, he is still addicted to working out. With his dedication to staying active and decades of experience on and off the competitive stage, Schwarzenegger’s advice is widely revered throughout the fitness community.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Says Not to Copy Workouts, Shares His Secrets to Lifting Weights and How to Improve Weak Points in Training
Schwarzenegger’s dedication to health and wellness has inspired him to reach out to all individuals, providing them with science-based facts in hopes of helping them achieve longer and more fulfilling lives. He often shares his tried-and-true workout tips to motivate others to get moving, believing exercise is the best medicine.
In a recent interview with Jocko Willink, Schwarzenegger revealed his secrets to weightlifting, while emphasizing the importance of focusing on your own body’s needs.
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“You cannot ever copy anyone. It is a big mistake because you have to find out how your mind operates, you have to find out how your body operates.”
“It would be a mistake to copy exactly Frank Zane’s training or Franco Columbu’s training, Franco did only 10 sets of thighs because his thighs got big very quickly,” says Schwarzenegger.
“I had these long thighs I had to do much more. Everyone trains differently.”
Schwarzenegger explains that while he can suggest a specific exercise, like the bench press, the number of repetitions and sets will vary based on each person’s individual strengths and weaknesses.
“So the idea to tell someone here is what you do for bench press, this is what you do for chest, this is what you do for back, these are ideas, and saying this exercise hits the lower lats, this exercise hits the upper lats, this exercise hits the center of the back when you row back this gets the center.”
“This is how you develop the lower back by doing good morning exercises with the barbell behind your neck and all these others — you can give these people ideas, but then how many sets, how many reps to do for each one of them, they have to figure that out because everybody has weak points and everyone’s weak points are different.”
As for physique weak points, Schwarzenegger highlighted that his problem areas were always his triceps and thighs.
“Mine was always it was hard to get the tricep or to get thighs. For Franco, it was hard to get the longer bicep, he was short, and needed longer biceps and to get the outer calves.”
“Everyone had their weak points so you had to kind of get exercises for the inner thigh to make it visually appear not as bolegged but more straight.”
Schwarzenegger shares that even if he makes exercise suggestions, the best training plans are tailored to the individual.
“Every situation is different. You have an idea, you give people an idea of how to train for every single area of the body, but then you have to let, then you give them suggestions how many sets but then they have to figure it out themselves.”
Schwarzenegger suggests experimenting while working out to determine what works best for your body.
“This is why you have to experiment with your own body. You got to go and do some days your squats are with your toes pointed out, very close together, further apart, and do 20 sets of 20 reps and then you will know the next day where it hurts.”
“It’s almost like a Leonardo Da Vinci where he dissects and goes into the minute details and be kind of a lab technician and try to figure out your own body rather than just copying.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t the only fitness fanatic who believes success in exercise comes from a tailored plan. Coach and nutritionist Stan Efferding stressed that each person needs to come up with a system that works for them and their body types.
‘It really depends on the individual. Some people can handle more volume than that and it kinda depends on how seasoned a lifter you are and how much intensity you put into each set’ Stan Efferding said.
In summary, Arnold Schwarzenegger can lay out a foundation for building more muscle or creating the perfect workout, but ultimately, it comes down to each individual’s body type. Most importantly, Schwarzenegger stresses to never copy someone’s training as you must learn the limits of your own body.
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Good teaching, but I taught what swartziniga done wasn’t the real