Make Arnold proud and start changing your body here…

Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the few people recognizable by his first name alone, and his workouts are the stuff of legend! As a kid growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, I was heavily influenced and inspired by Arnold to not only get in shape but to take that passion and make it a lifelong career. To pay homage to the man that lit this fire in me, I made a video of Arnold’s top workout tips and how each one has stuck with me and guided my approach to training and working out.

To be fair, Arnold Schwarzenegger and I don’t exactly see eye to eye on everything when it comes to working out. I’ve done videos showcasing what I feel are five of the worst exercises you can do that each appear in the Arnold Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding. Do I think they are not effective exercises for building muscle? No, I never said that. I do think however that there are equally good alternatives that produce just as many gains without having to leave yourself as vulnerable to injury while doing them. Even Arnold himself, has reported tearing his pecs twice while performing his favorite chest exercise – flys – that only strengthens my opinion to look for safer alternatives.

Likewise, it’s well documented, Arnold Schwarzenegger worked out under the influence of performance enhancing drugs. Certainly, a good deal more is known today about the dangers of PED’s than was known then, and we should always look to pursue options for maximizing our muscle gains without them. In fact, Arnold himself would encourage this. Had he adopted this new stance back then however, it would have greatly limited his ability to perform his legendary 4 and 5 hour workouts by simply eliminating his ability to recover as quickly as he did from his intense workouts.

That being said, when it came to training, Arnold’s workout routine and intensity during it were unmatched. He felt that if you were going to go to they gym then you might as well make it worth your while. Arnold’s workouts weren’t meant to be comfortable. That was something you sought out after you finished your work, not during it!

Next, Arnold was known for his occasional one day cure. This involved him heading into the woods with his friends to workout with just a single piece of equipment and a single exercise for an entire day of training. This concept is actually one that I strongly believe delivers great results (minus the trip to the woods of course!). If you make sure to train intensely during that exercise and let the muscles you are intending to workout do the lion’s share of the work, you will get great results despite the limited variety.

Showcasing Arnold Schwarzenegger’s workout tip variety however is the fact that he also believed in constantly shocking the muscle. If you could do just one thing every workout to make your muscles feel something they never felt before, you could ensure that you would be pushing it outside of it’s comfort zone and into the growth zone. Things like drop sets, run the rack, forced reps, negatives, etc were all techniques that Arnold used in his workouts to build such impressive muscle.

One technique in particular was called 21’s. With 21’s, Arnold’s bicep workouts took on a whole new intensity. By performing 21 reps of barbell curls (7 in each portion of the exercise’s 3 major ranges of motion), Arnold was able to build softball sized biceps and get arms that he would become noted for.

Finally, if nothing else, you would want to be inspired by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s commitment to working out with no excuses and to letting nothing or nobody get in his way. His dedication and perseverance allowed him to not only have one of the greatest bodies of his time (or of all time) but to accomplish things in his life and career that many thought he would never do.

If you want to get a complete workout program that has influences of Arnold Schwarzenegger workout tips as well as many others, and that puts the science back in strength, then head to and get the ATHLEAN-X Training System.

For more videos on how other fitness icons trained (besides Arnold’s workout routine), like Bruce Lee’s workout and Cristiano Ronaldo’s workout, be sure to subscribe to our channel at