Bodybuilding legend Arnold Schwarzenegger moved on from professional competition decades ago but hasn’t lost his passion for fitness. In a recent Men’s Health interview, Schwarzenegger shared intense arm and shoulder circuit workouts and revealed his training secrets.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is easily the most popular bodybuilder of all time. He first gained attention for his impressive muscle mass, shape, and symmetry in the late 1960s and early 70s. In eight total appearances at the Mr. Olympia competition, Schwarzenegger won seven titles and was defeated only in his debut. The Arnold Classic contest, widely regarded as the second most prestigious show next to Mr. Olympia, was named after him to celebrate his contributions to the sport.
Schwarzenegger offered a checklist for a healthy diet and some effective ways to optimize recovery earlier this year. He argued against experimenting with different diets in favor of following general guidelines to keep nutrition sources clean.
The 75-year-old encouraged his followers to achieve at least a total of 30 minutes of exercise daily three months ago. He laid out a three-step plan for designing a custom routine to ensure daily activity for half an hour, even if it’s divided into multiple sessions.
Arnold Schwarzenegger advocated for using bodyweight exercises as well. He provided a quick five-minute workout with no equipment to start the day or recommended a warm-up before training. Then, he followed up with his stance on balancing sleep while losing weight. Schwarzenegger explained that people sleeping less than five hours daily were more likely to be overweight.
Schwarzenegger has no plans to slow down or step away from working anytime soon as he targets living forever. He opened up about struggling to accept his physique with age considering he used to boast one of the best physiques ever in his heyday. He also teamed up with comedians Bert Kreischer and Fortune Feimster for a challenging upper-body workout last week. He mentored the pair through exercises while giving his take on drinking alcohol.
Arnold Schwarzenegger shares intense circuit workouts
In a recent YouTube video, Arnold Schwarzenegger shared two intense circuit workouts targeting arms and shoulders. He was working out at the popular Gold’s Gym in Venice Beach, California.
Arm Circuit
“This is what I do every morning, I come in here and do 25 to 30 sets in a half an hour,” said Schwarzenegger. “In the old days we did like 30 sets for shoulders now I do 15 sets.”
- 1A Machine Preacher Curl: 1 set of 30 reps, then 4 sets of 10-12 reps
- 1B Machine Dip: 1 set of 30 reps, then 4 sets of 10-12 reps
Shoulder Circuit
- 2A Overhead Press: 5 sets of 10-12 reps
- 2B Machine Lateral Raise: 5 sets of 10-12 reps
- 2C Machine Rear Delt Fly: 5 sets of 10-12 reps
Arnold likes ending each set with a 5-second iso-hold squeeze.
Schwarzenegger reveals training secrets
‘The Austrian Oak’ revealed his secret for training consistently. He believes in maintaining a routine by working out first thing in the morning and not giving your mind the opportunity to opt out of the exercise.
“The only reason why someone doesn’t want to go to the gym when they get up is because they were thinking. That’s the biggest mistake you can make.”
“When you train it is not just that your body gets pumped up and gets stimulated with blood but it’s also your mind and you have a much more positive kind of outlook on the day and on life when you’ve had a pump behind you.”
“I was in good shape [back in the 80s], I worked out two hours a day. Cause after having had several heart surgeries and then having had surgeries on my shoulders and knees and all those kind of things, it’s important to kind of protect my body and do therapy training at the same time. So I just do it faster, lighter, but correct exercises and I try to stay young.”
“If you want to go to the gym every day and do your bike ride, training every day, then you roll out of bed and you don’t think. Most important thing is don’t think just do.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger listed four ways to build a strong routine that fits into busy schedules. He highlighted the process of developing habits in a straightforward manner by rewarding the correct behaviors.
He opened up on the PED (performance-enhancing drugs) protocols that he utilized during his days of competing on stage. He also voiced his disapproval of the direction in which bodybuilding appears to be headed due to drug overuse.
Schwarzenegger’s latest offerings will help many improve their training consistency and level up their fitness with the circuit workouts.
You can watch the full video below:
RELATED: Arnold Schwarzenegger Dwarfed by NFL & MMA Superstars: ‘Made Me Look Like A Little Chicken’