Yahoo News This Clip of Arnold as a 1970s Bodybuilding Instructor Is Going Viral
It's far from a secret that Arnold Schwarzenegger knows what he's talking about when it comes to his training. Not only did he dominate the professional bodybuilding circuit, winning the Mr. Olympia competition (the highest accolade in the sport) a staggering seven times, but he also quite literally wrote the book on the subject. The Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding is still a popular reference tool for many fitness enthusiasts looking to build strength and muscle, Schwarznegger's own son Joseph Baena included.
And a clip from the early days of the Austrian Oak's bodybuilding career has recently resurfaced to remind everyone that he has always known his way around a barbell. In some vintage footage that has been blowing up on the 'Old School Cool' subreddit, Schwarzenegger can be seen demonstrating the fundamental compound movements to a British TV host while promoting the documentary Pumping Iron.
"I just got into it because it really felt great doing weight training," he says in the video. "I did it for soccer, you know, and a lot of soccer players do weight training to strengthen the legs. I fell in love with weight training, and the feeling of being strong and big and all that, and I wanted to win Mr. Universe. It was a dream that I had when I was 15 years old."
He then coaches the host through a set of bench press, squats, and curls, all the while providing gentle encouragement and advice on form and technique, and explaining which specific muscle groups each exercise targets.
Schwarzenegger will soon turn 75, but still remains committed to training hard, as evidenced by a recent Instagram photo of him "getting pumped" prior to the Austrian World Summit. However, the actor has spoken about changing the way he approaches his workouts as he gets older.
"Physically, you just have to accept reality and do the best you can," he wrote in his newsletter in 2021. "I’ve chosen to adapt to my age, make my workouts a little bit different and focused on staying lean, and avoiding injury... This is why I’ve moved away from free weights and stick to the workout machines."
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