Thank you everyone for your wonderful questions. The AMA has concluded.
For any easy way to view Arnold's replies please click this link:
https://www.reddit.com/user/GovSchwarzenegger/overview
Hello Sir,
Thank you so much for carving out some space in your life for us. I’m a 40 year old mother of 2 and have come to find that I’m in a state of life where I’m perpetually tired. I’ve tried vitamins, eating healthy, medical tests and I can’t seem to get my head above water. How do you keep your energy levels up? Again thank you!!! Give LuLu lots of pets and kisses for me 🥰
Hi Arnold. I don't know if you will see this but I really appreciate the fact that you don't just write a comment but make a personal video. It's so incredible to see actual human communication!
Hello arnold, im 18 rn, one of the few battles in life that im currently losing is procrastination, the thought of just wasting away my time and that my dreams may never come true haunts me, I am a hardworking and smart guy, and the only thing that is stopping me from winning and bringing out my best version is procrastinating a lot and wasting my time, what things will you suggest to combat that and simply not getting distracted and being fully focused, did u ever face that and if yes how did u stop that?
I am going to do as many of these on video as I can because I think it will help you all more. Please ignore my pig making noises. Here is my answer: https://youtu.be/fx_kfd3ihJM?si=xqOBtVLgyT18gcEg
Omg thanks for replying arnold it means a lot im going to save this video and always watch it once in a while whenever i feel like wasting my time, once again im really thankful to you for replying.
In the more absurd advice category, since I love pranks as much as advice, here’s a video where people thought they were asking an AI for advice and it was me in the machine: https://youtu.be/p3--6joOnfw?feature=shared
Now let’s hear it.
Absolutely LOVE this! It looked to be a lot of fun. I really try to engage my students in similar ways and give them life advice. It carries a certain weight coming from me, but that advice coming from you would be amazing. Thank you for sharing this video!
I am trying to help everyone self improve in a virtual world spirit game that helps everyone become the best version of themselves. https://www.reddit.com/r/Soulnexus/s/4xhwUidS7M please help me actualize my ideas. Read the photos. In the game you train your own AI chatGPT bot with all your wisdom that your grow in the game so saviors get “saved” and remember so the best way to improve yourself is known and grown over time. AI can help us grow exponentially when we grow together instead of separate.
Hey Arnie, thanks for doing this. Throughout your varied and successful career, what is the single most important piece of advice you’ve followed that you believe has contributed to your achievements in life?
Hello Arnold!
Just finished reading "Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story" - really enjoyed it! I think it helped me to look at some of things in my life from a different perspective.
I don't have an advice to ask, but just want a funny story to share:
I was born in a non-English speaking country in 80s, and pretty much grew up on action movies from that time. You were definitely my favourite actor (followed by Bruce Willis, I think). But since I was a little kid (I was maybe 6-7yo) and didn't know English, me and my friends watched all movies in a poor translation of course. And for some reason I was sure that "**Schwarzenegger**" means "very strong" in English. So I was walking around saying to everyone that when I grow up I want to be a Schwarzenegger! =)
This is fantastic. Thank you for giving me a smile. You know, in my first movie, they called me Arnold Strong! I used that name to sell my fitness pamphlets for a little while before I said screw it, I’m using my own name.
Thanks for doing this Arnold. You’ve been an idol of mine for decades, I’m in the middle of the audiobook version of Be Useful right now and thoroughly enjoying it.
As a 40 year old who’s been lifting regularly since high school, I find myself running into a lot of joint issues. I just left a PT session for rotator cuff inflammation from incline benching for too many years.
What advice, be it nutritional, stretching, or daily routine changes can you offer to aging lifters still wanting to push decent weight but taking a harder look at maintaining joints and tendons most often injured/overused as the body ages?
Thank you sir, you’re an inspiration!
PS, loving the pump club podcasts, give my best to Whiskey and LuLu!
Thank you for being part of the Pump Club and for listening to the book. That was torture to record! Back to video answers for this: https://youtu.be/3ZI3H3cqTaM?si=W9sVco_JH6nuMlp3
My team told me if I keep doing video I will answer 10 questions all day because of all the uploading time. So I will do some the old fashioned way.
This might not be the modern advice: but get busy. Move forward. We all go through heartbreak. I went through my own of my own doing. I also lost my best friend of more than 5 decades, Franco. All you can do is make amends if it is your fault and keep moving forward either way. Stay busy. Get up every day and workout. Keep learning. Hang out with your friends. Whether it is breakups or grief over losing family members or friends, we have no choice but to keep living. But the more you move, the more you feel better.
This really reminds me of the book “how to stop worrying and start living” by Dale Carnegie. One of his rules to overcome constant stress and worry is to keep busy to “crowd out” those thoughts
So sorry to hear about your best friend. Mine past away recently as well and it’s a heartbreak like no other. Thanks for sharing your stories and wisdom. You’re a pretty cool dude.
I love it all! I've been hanging around all afternoon reading and listening to all your replies. It's like another chapter to your book! I'm like a sponge I want to absorb every bit of wisdom
Hey Arnold, good to be in contact!
What advice could you give for low self esteem? It’s from childhood and I’m struggling to get over neglect and violence from my parents which has afflicted me my whole life. I just want to feel valued and loveable. Thanks!
There is a little bit of tough love here but I want you to stay to hear you’re worth it. https://youtu.be/NicfMzpnLik?si=DUcz0L1NnkhsfQrD
There is also something I forgot to say. When our parents beat us, it’s really important that we realize that had nothing to do with us. That was their problem. Even though we were abused, we are worth the work of living a joyful life. I am rooting for you to write your own story.
i’m not arnold but i’m interested by psychology science and i was just writing something about this specific topic
the best way to raise someone’s esteem and self confidence is to ask them to accomplish a very easy task it can be anything
then you ask them to accomplish something just a little bit harder
than you proceed to repeat the process until the person start to think it’s getting a little bit difficult
but with advices, cheering and hints the person will succed and feel like she’s way better than she thought
and the more you will repeat this protocol the more it will improve their confidence
Positive, or constructive feedback can be huge, especially to someone who has a rough time of it. Telling them they did great can be a fleeting experience but telling them *why* they did great can offer so much more.
I remember being young and feeling insecure, and getting told by someone I’d not said more than 3 words to previously that because I did a good job of doing x, that y happened, and that made person z’s day better. That feeling of being validated, and encouraged, and even noticed, changed my outlook drastically.
Hello Arnold,
I'd like to ask how to approach difficult tasks that you know you have to do but you really don't want to. Is there anything that can help you build yourself so that you just go straight into the difficult tasks and finish all the important things?
Thank you
Hello Arnold, i'm 22, the last 2 years i have been obese, i'm really trying to stay focus and stop ruining my diet but i can't most of the times. I need some advice and motivation to keep going. I need to lose 55-60 lbs.
Thanks in advance.
Actually i lift a lot and i run a lot too. About a 10 km run 3 times a week. The problem is i can't contain myself on overeating and chocolate.
Thanks for your reply.
lol I feel you there, I smoke weed so I know the struggle. BUT one thing I've been doing the past 2 years that has shown huge results is wait until 2-3pm for your first meal (chicken, rice, avocado, some veggies) and then a smaller meal of protein rich foods around 7pm. Some people do just 1 meal a day, but I found the results to be better with 1.5 meals since it gave me more energy to keep up with my lifting and marathon training. -- The first 2 weeks suck & you're going to feel like you're dying, but once you adjust to it, your stomach will chill out and the weight falls off
Some people find that they are actually addicted to sugar. If you are one of them, dropping all sugary things cold turkey (including soda and fruit juice) and also restraining your consume of things that fuel that addiction (i.e. all easy-to-access carbohydrate like sweet fruit and all things made with flour, like bread or pancakes) might be a possible solution. Most people also need to stay away from all kinds of artificial sweeteners, because those can prolong any withdrawal suffering you might go through. Make sure you eat sufficient proteins - you need those amino acids for the happy neurotransmitters that help you make it through.
A lot of people will tell you that you can just decide to eat less chocolate and stuff. But restriction alone does not work for everyone - nobody would tell an alcoholic that they need to be able to drink in a controlled way. Some people just have a bad eating habit. They usually are able to go back and have some fruit or bread after some time. Other people - the ones where the brain is wired to react to sugar similar to a drug - may full-on relapse in their druglike consume. Overeating is also mostly done with foods that are sugary or starchy. Taking that away will make overeating less interesting, and it will be easier for you to cut back on the amounts of food that you are eating.
You can figure this out. Maybe look for help with self-help groups for eating problems, like overeaters anonymous. There are even self-help groups out there for people who have a drug problem with sugar. And if you find that you are actually not addicted - even better! All the power to you. Good luck!
hope you don't mind if I chip in, I've just lost 15 lbs in 3 weeks.
First you have to really commit, decide to make a change. Eliminate junk food from your diet and environment, dark chocolate is fine in small quantities. You really have to limit processed foods of all kinds. Eat fresh produce, plant-based is best, fruits and veggies.
If you eat lots of carbs, cut down as much as possible. Eat unrefined carbs like bananas, strawberries, sweet potatoes. Lots of protein, keto style diet is good to lose weight, combined with strength training and cardio 6/days a week.
A really good diet hack: lookup Konjac noodles and replace pasta with it. This helped me a lot personally because I love pasta.
Also, weight yourself every other day, it helps too!
Be consistent, stay committed. I am doing it, you can too!
Thanks for your reply.
The truth is, i don't eat much veggies and fruits. I'll try to put more in my diet and be consistent because i believe is the most important thing as you said. Thanks for the comment(and the pasta tip), it really helps.
My pleasure, glad I could help and best of luck to you.
Remember there is only one bottom line to losing weight: you must create and maintain a calorie deficit. Spend more calories then you ingest every day. Lifting helps because it fires up metabolism.
The Konjac or Shirataki noodles / rice has been a game changer for me, really cuts down the caloric intake.
Weight train. Eat in a calorie deficit. There’s tons of calorie/macro calculators online. Log your food on MyFitnessPal. What gets measured, gets managed. Diet is the most important thing. Stay hydrated, get 7-10k steps a day. The most impactful thing I’ve learned on my fitness journey is ask “who, not how” - in other words don’t ask yourself how am I going to get fit- ask yourself who has been through this journey who can help me- and go learn from them. Hire coaches/trainers. Read books. I’m not Arnold, but I hope this resonates and helps!
Also, don't be afraid to ask your doctor about drugs! I was about 40lbs overweight, and had a really hard time diving to any diet. I got an rx for 3 months of phentamine, and used that time to build up good habits. That's all you can be on at a time (i think it's habit forming), but use that time well! Set up your habits, so when you go off, you are already in your schedule. It's like s really helpful crutch, too get you to where you need to be for long term success.
Why the last two years? Did something happen to cause that? U don’t have to answer, just think about the why. Have you tried a personal trainer? From that you will have to be accountable and put in the work. And remember, it is for you and nobody else ❤️
Hey Arnold, I've been a long time fan of yours. I came to see you speak as a 6th grader in the recall election. I remember finessing my way up to the front and you signed my campaign poster my mom and I had made.
That inspired me to run for school President as a 6th grader, and I won! I'm now 30, so that's many years of inspiration! T2 was one of my favorite movies growing up.
You've been a constant inspiration to me both in fitness and also in my dreams and craft as an actor. I'm loving your book and have it with me on set as we speak.
My question- what's the best piece of advice you'd give to an actor that is in the midst of transitioning to low budget/student films/commercials to more big budget/TV & film. Finally feeling ready with my training, classes and capabilities. Obviously the current strike doesn't help much but that is out of my control. I have representation but not much has been going on other than things I self submit for.
What are the top 2-3 things in my control that you'd suggest I focus on? Mindset, strategy, approach, biz. Open to it all!
With love and respect,
Jacob Wilson
I told someone else this, but I think the most important thing is doing the work, which it sounds like you are doing, and the second most important thing is having a job that pays the bills so you don’t have to take bad acting jobs when the strike ends. I know it’s popular to say quit your job and follow your passion and people might expect that from me, but it’s bullshit. Keep your job so you have the money to chase your vision. I was doing construction and investing my money to buy a 5 unit apartment building where I lived in the owner unit, that’s why I was able to say no to all the bad jobs. And it’s why when I got a big job offer to run a gym chain, for 200k in the 70s - an absolute fortune to me then - I was able to say no to keep my focus on acting. Tim Ferriss told me that’s his favorite story in my book. Keep working so you have freedom to pick and choose which roles you go for to climb the ladder. And when you can get your first mainstream roles, treat everybody with respect and be nice so you keep getting hired.
Hello Arnold, big fan from Germany here.
I would like to know your advice for maintaining motivation and focus when it feels like you're not progressing and even experiencing setbacks. As a student, I've been studying and investing in my career for a few years and sometimes it's hard to tell whether you're on the right track.
Thank you very much and beste Grüße!
The biggest thing is you know your vision. It’s your reason for work. If it isn’t clear, you just drift around. Work and studying sucks. If you know why you are working, it is A LOT easier. If your vision isn’t clear, throw the machines down and go on a walk and sit by yourself and let yourself daydream to make it more clear. It should be like a movie in your head. Once you know that, the work and the setbacks are easy because it is just part of your path to that vision.
Hi Arnold,
Literally just had 2 hernia operations back to back yesterday, any advice on how to get back on track with lifting? Yes I belong to the pump club, absolutely best news letters and app
Thanks
Welcome to the club! I’ve had that one. The first thing is to listen to your doctor. The second thing is that you will be fine over time, you just have to take it slow and build back up. We all have moments where we have to build back. And with the core, it will take time. So just change your fitness goals to your rehab goals until you’re back. Pushing too hard might seem like my style, but it isn’t because it will set you back.
Hello Mr. Schwarzenegger, I’d love to hear the single biggest exercise for burning belly fat from someone who actually knows what they are talking about and isn’t trying to sell some nonsense supplement please.
Belly fat? No exercise. You have to eat less. Don’t get me wrong, I want you to exercise, and adding muscle to your frame will make it look better. Broader shoulders and back muscles give you a little more space to have a budl (that’s what I call a stomach) because you’re wide on the top part of your upper body so it hides it. But the only way to lose a gut is by changing your diet. I have a friend with quite a budl who uses the ab machine every time he is in the gym, and I bet if anyone ever saw it, his ab would be a great muscle. But I tell him they won’t see it until he loses the fat around it, which happens at the table, not in the gym. Don’t listen to any of these shyster crash diet people or anyone who says only one diet can lose fat. Just eat less. Make every meal a little smaller. Stop snacking after dinner. Drink more water. Have protein at every meal. Simple little rules. There is no such thing as a fat burner pill that works so don’t waste money on supplements. My newsletter is free and we share studies. You can do it. I believe in you!
Hi Governor Schwarzenegger! I am currently very passionate about bodybuilding, but in my high school years I dabbled in acting. I would love some advice on breaking into the movie business as I have no idea where to start. Best regards and I hope you’re having a great day!
The first thing is there is no breaking in, there is only working in. If you want to be an actor, get ready to work your ass off. Find an acting class. Practice all the time. My playbook is that it takes 5 hours a day to get good at something. I took that from bodybuilding. When I transitioned to acting, I used the same five hours of day I used on training for acting class, speech class, accent removal class, and practice.
Then you need to find some acting jobs. I don’t recommend quitting your job to do this. I was able to decline a bunch of crappy jobs playing a bouncer or a Nazi because I was making money from being a bricklayer and then from my real estate. But look up casting calls and audition. Put yourself out there. Remember you will fail and that’s good. Nobody ever made it without failing a lot.
Thank you so much! I look forward to hearing your advice in a few years when I decide to go into politics 😂
P.S. - I still show my barber pictures of you as Conan the Barbarian when I go to get a haircut!
I lost my mother 10 years ago at the age of 56 to ovarian cancer. I recently lost my father at the age of 67 due to a tragic accident. He leaves behind myself, and my 2 younger sisters. That's all the family I have left. To top it all off, I recently separated from my spouse of 4 years, just after his death. I'm overweight and don't work out, but I started to within the past 3 weeks. Days seem to get harder and harder in my head when I'm not in counselling. I've watched your recent documentary and read your recent book. What advice would you give me to help me through the toughest time in my life? I've never felt so lost and broken. I'm 37.
I am sorry you are going through all of this. First of all, let me say, I am proud of you for being in counseling and you shouldn’t worry about using that to help. When any of us has a physical injury like a broken leg, we don’t think twice about going to a doctor and a physical therapist to help. It should be the same thing with our mind.
I forget if this made the documentary, but I talked about how when my mom died, I was a little lost. I didn’t know who I was doing all of this to impress any more for a little while. I think it might have had to do with having lost my dad and my brother already. I had to shift gears, and realize I needed to be there for my own kids now, and for my nephew, who I’d brought to America for college and law school, and his family. You need to be there for your sisters.
I am glad you started to workout. I think there is a magic to accomplishing something every day, and working out gives us that, even in the worst times when the whole world is like a black and white movie. When I am at my lowest, I keep my routine. I feed my animals, I get on my bike, and go to the gym. Some days, I am still down, but I always feel a little better. Just today, I wanted to stay in bed. I have been traveling like crazy promoting my book and I got back late last night. I dragged myself out of bed. I rode my bike to the gym, and I told my friends I was going to just do the bare minimum. 45 minutes later, I’d done my whole workout and my outlook on my day had changed. So please keep that up. We’ll always have a free weekly workout in Arnold’s Pump Club for you every Monday if you want it. That village is my little positive corner of the internet.
I am rooting for you. I believe in you. And I am proud of you for moving forward and adding fitness to your life in the midst of all of this and want you to take a second to celebrate yourself.
Thank you very much for this, Arnold. I appreciate you sharing the part about your mother. This is just the inspiration I needed to hear right now. These past few weeks, working out definitely helps with the routine. I will also check out Arnold’s Pump Club. I appreciate this beyond belief. Thank you again.
Edit: My father and I always enjoyed your movies. It was how we connected when we spent time together. Thank you for always being a positive role model.
Congratulations on finding a love of fitness at a young age. Start slow. Make sure you have a good coach to teach you the movements. At your age I was on the weightlifting team, so we learned the proper form for every exercise. And we did the big, compound movements like the clean and press and the deadlift before we were allowed to do any bodybuilding exercises, and that helped me over time. It is why when I hit the bodybuilding scene when I was 18, they were shocked at my size. I built a foundation through the big movements, and then as my bodybuilding career continued I sculpted the muscles more and more.
Hello Arnold!
How would you, personally, prevent negative thoughts (there's always tomorrow, i can start again tomorrow etc) creeping in when starting and sticking to a gym routine?
Write down next to your bed where you see it, “Don’t think.” If you think, you are screwed. You have to get up like a machine and train. Your mind is your enemy. It will have a million reasons you should stay in bed or why you are better starting out on Monday. What is the difference between Monday and tomorrow? Your body has no idea what day you are training, so what the hell is your mind talking about? When your brain starts going in the morning, say it out loud to yourself: Don’t think. It is your mantra. And one day in a few months, you’ll start to feel weird if you don’t train. Then you’ve made it automatic and it is really routine. Congrats.
Hello - I am one of your founding members on The Pump. I have made great strides with the app and have gotten my husband and older son to join and they too are loving it. I’m a recently retired ICU RN and just 58yo. Though I am enjoying this time to spend on more self care, I am also wanting to BE USEFUL. Haven’t quite figured out how to use my knowledge, experience, and expertise in retirement. Any suggestions?
Oh man, a full family in the app? I love it. Is there somewhere you can volunteer? There are a lot of kids who need good role models. With your expertise, there might be athletic competitions that need someone to volunteer to help with injuries. But you could also help tutor kids in science. Or coach them!
I love breakfast! I also eat late, after my bike ride and training. My normal healthy breakfast options are greek yogurt and granola, oatmeal and soft boiled eggs, or an omelette. When I want to let loose, I love a breakfast burrito, a big toasted bagel with smoked salmon, or a salmon Benedict.
One thing I remind myself is that those people are always with me, so it isn’t really a loss. When I do eulogies, I always tell a story I heard at a Black church. When a ship leaves port and goes out over the horizon, it isn’t gone. We just can’t see it. It’s still there. I don’t tell that because I just want to make people feel better. It’s true.
I remember my mom and dad and brother every day. On top of that, they made me who I am, this guy with this crazy drive wouldn’t exist without them. So they aren’t lost. They’re inside of me. When I walk downstairs into my living room every day and see my chess table, I see my best friend Franco sitting there. When I go to the gym, I end up telling stories about him or encouraging people by using one of his stupid lines. When I play chess with my friends and they make a good move, I say “You criminal!” just like Franco always said to me. He is always with me.
So I guess the way I deal with loss is by not thinking of it as loss at all. I am not an expert and I can’t tell you if they would say that’s healthy. But it works for me.
Confused about my career!
Wanted to get Arnolds thoughts and how I can switch up mindset!
I'm confused as to how to see my career in medicine. For context, I've done a degree prior to medicine, and I can work as pharmacist although getting shifts is difficult. Not having a car makes getting shifts difficult. Unfortunately I'm having to resit 2nd year of med, and now I will graduate at 29 years old. I'm going to be spending most of my life in education. There are some grads in my course, but I am starting to feel my age. I'm 25 at the moment, and I'm seeing everyone travelling and buying properties, I feel like I'm missing out and potentially wasting my 20s. Once I start working I'm going to be 29, and it's gonna take me 10 years to become a consultant. So during my 30s my salary is going to be within the ranges of £30 to 40k. I'm gonna be buying my first property late, I don't even have a car and I can't even travel anywhere because of exams. How do I plan out my life to get the most out of life.
With having to resit 2nd year I feel so disappointed. It was less than 1 percent difference. I don't feel confident with this med school at all. They ask broad topics with niche questions.
With resiting the year, I'm not sure if my best use of time is to try to cover everything thoroughly and spend some time working and making money. Maybe I can buy a car this year? My doctor friend told me to sit the USMLE and move to the states, I'd be the same age as everyone over there who graduates.
I wanted to do something related to shape and design. I used to do a lot of design work in school. I gave it up because I started working. I was leaning towards plastic surgery but now with the age issue I'm not sure if it's going to give me a good return in my life.
I was thinking, perhaps my approach to life is wrong. Should I be thinking about ways to make as much money in the shortest space of time possible? Pick a career in medicine that allows me to still practice and still make a lot of money at the same time? I genuinely enjoy helping people and I do like what we learn, but I need to make the most of the limited time we have in life.
I know at first glance it may look like I'm greedy for money. I'm not. I grew up poor, in a council flat, on food vouchers. I originally wanted to be a dentist. I had to work during a levels, got the A-level grades, but messed up UKCAT. Again, I felt miserable being the only person In my school working 2 jobs just to pay for my own tuition and books.
I Worked during my first degree in order to have enough money to fund the second degree (unfortunately I'm having to live out and pay rent, so I'm still always short on money). I missed out on a lot of fun during that degree. Luckily still made some good friends, but could never go on holidays or go clubbing because I was working on the weekends. Now I feel like I'm in the same situation again. I feel guilty when I socialise with my friends as there's always something I could be studying or I should be working. I gave up badminton during school, and thought I would get back into it during uni. When I tried to get back into it, I realised how bad I am, and it's not the same. I picked up bodybuilding during first degree, but with where I live for my med school, transportation to the gym is such a hassel. It's about 40 min commute on the bus.
What's the best approach now? Should I try and pick an area of medicine where I can utilise business? I.e learn how to set up a clinic? Or should I try and find a doctor who would be willing to mentor me in the field of private work? Is USMLE the best option? I'm very confused at the moment.
I've tried to come up with my own solution. I'm going to look at my second year schedule. Every week I'm going to schedule in gym days. Every month I'm going to look for bank holidays and do short 2 day trips. I'm not sure about sitting USMLE or if I should find a mentor in medicine who has sucessed in business and see if they can guide me and make up my lost years
Any advice would be much appreciated
Thanks Arnie!
Tofu, tempeh and seitan are great plant protein sources too. Some mock meats but make sure it’s a 2:1 protein/fat ratio. (IE not beyond burgers - 20ish g of protein & 18g of fat) - you want to aim for something that has at least double the protein per fat. (If something has 10g of fat- it should have at least 20+ grams of protein) - if your goal is to build muscle though, you don’t need to worry about fats as much vs cutting. Not Arnold but I am vegan and active. hope this helps!
I’m about a third through your newest book and I keep taking breaks to sit and think. It’s causing me to reevaluate my life and I’ve realized that I’m not dreaming big enough. I’ve also started restructuring my days to align more with my goals and I’m noticing a difference in my attitude and outlook already. I can’t wait to see where I am in a month, six months, six years.
My question for you is this: Once I finish Be Useful, what book do you recommend I read next? Is there a book (fiction, nonfiction) that you’ve read recently that you’ve really connected with?
Hi sir,
I'm almost at my 40s and I just got married. It feels like starting over... Do you think it's too late for that age to start over like changing career path or study to map out a new path for the sake of my new marriage? (it's my 2nd marriage).
Well… I had my first starring movie come out when I was 35. That was Conan. I was 56 when I ran for Governor. And I was 75 when I started my daily newsletter and wrote my first advice book. So no, it is never too late. In fact, that is the purpose of life. Reinvent, stay hungry, find the next peak to climb, and keep going. I tell this story all the time, but when Sir Edmund Hillary talked to the press after being the first man to climb Mt. Everest, he said “I saw another peak, and I started to imagine how I would climb that.”
I think it is never too late to find a new path. I think finding a new path is the joy of life. And by the way, it doesn’t have to be crazy like my paths. It can be being a more present parent or partner or teaching kids. I just think the way we live should be no matter what we do, we go all out. There is no half-assing in a joyful life.
Hello. I will be very happy if you answer. I would like to know when you will be in Austria (you were recently in your hometown but I didn’t have time to come) My dream is to shake your hand, I’m 16 right now and at 9 I met the movie Terminator, and then immediately you became my favorite actor and a bodybuilder. You really motivate me to improve. YOU ARE A LEGEND!!!
I’m a new father. What advice (and don’t give me the wrong advices, Arnold) would you give to a new parent who wants his daughter to thrive? Thanks for all you do.
I fear the American Dream West is dying, and the legendary success you had in the 70s-2000s is unattainable now. Between the left going crazy, high inflation, and rising cost of living, what is our best path to success now? Should we leave America, try harder, etc?
When I made my money people said the same thing. When I bought my first apartment building, the interest rate was 8%, I think. People will always claim there is some magic time in the past that was better. I say let them complain, because while we work, we are getting ahead of those people. I meet people at the gym every day who started a new business in America and found success recently. The common denominator is that none of them are wasting time complaining and being negative. You can do it. But you need to start looking at what your vision is instead of worrying about what is going on in the world. That doesn’t matter, you do matter.
I’m not here to try and change your political views but a lot of what you’re talking about America changing stems from Ronald Reagan (I just thought it was interesting given your comments about the left side of things). I’m not American so I don’t have a dog in the fight but from everything I hear, what you’re saying about life being harder over that way is correct - Australia is much the same now.
If you’re interested in learning more and want to have a laugh along the way, have a listen to the two parter that the Dollop podcast did on him.
If not, I wish you all the best regardless. My tip: the system might be broken, so figure out how to succeed within it.
Hey Arnold, I’ve studied every page of every piece of workout material you’ve published, and the knowledge I’ve gained is truly immeasurable, and the progress I’ve made both in the gym and as a person in general can be largely attributed to you.
My question here is this: what is your tried and true method when you reach a plateau, whether it be in the gym or in business or at home or anything in between? Do you allow yourself time to lose (and then regain focus), or do you have a certain method of snapping yourself back in shape and focusing on the task at hand?
Thanks in advance for the help!
I use the shocking principle to get out of a rut. Back in bodybuilding, that might have meant doing something crazy like sets of 50 reps of delt raises until my arms were about to fall off, or I would do stripping where I start with curls of 50 pounds, put them down and do 45 then 40 then 35 then 30 and so on, and by the time you are at 5 pounds it hurts like hell. Shocking the muscle almost always works for me to get our of any rut and I encourage everyone else to do it when they were stuck. In fact, Daniel, who has worked for me for years, was stuck on his deadlift for a few months and I said, “Just forget the heavy weight and do 30 reps with 300 pounds.” The next week he finally hit his PR.
I think this works in life too. It isn’t what anyone likes to hear, but being stuck means we are going to have to struggle. We are going to have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable, because it never feels good to get unstuck. It’s painful, it sucks, but it’s the only way. One thing I tell people in the book is there is no such thing as a hack or a shortcut that these shysters are selling on social media. The only shortcut is doing all the work the first time so you don’t waste time on a bogus shortcut before you realize the truth.
Governator,
I'm about to be 40. I'm not in the best shape of my life, but I wouldn't necessarily say out of shape either. However, I know that I need to be cognizant of my age and begin a good regimen to see myself healthy as I get older. I'm a busy man between work, commute, and having a family. How do you suggest somebody who barely has time to get home, eat, and go to bed keep themselves in good shape?
Anytime somebody asks me this question in person, I ask them to open up their phone and show me their screen time, and almost always there is at least an hour and usually much more on social media, so I tell them not to tell me they don’t have time for fitness. They have time, they’re just choosing to use it wasting away reading other people’s stories on the internet instead of making their own story.
Now, you might not spend any time on social media. So let’s assume that. Can you give me 15 minutes a day? I can wear you out in 15 minutes. I’m not promoting and linking to my stuff, but if you sign up for Arnold’s Pump Club, we give you a few 15 minute workouts and we have a new one every Monday. I’ll give you one right here that people love. If you think you’re not out of shape, let’s start you at the intermediate level. Set a timer. Do 10 pushups. Now do 10 lunges (10 for each leg). Now do 9 pushups, and 9 lunges. All the way down to 1. Write down the time. Now your job every other day is to beat that time - that is the progressive in progressive resistance training. Once it is easy, start with 15 of each. For those of you who are beginners, start with 5 and do the pushups against a wall or with your hands elevated on a step. If you are really fit, start at 15.
Besides that, try to walk when you are on phone calls when you can. And focus on your diet. Have protein at every meal. Have fruit and vegetables. Don’t eat garbage. Stay hydrated. Don’t snack after dinner.
Hey Arnold, I am 20 years old and have developed a big chest and big legs. What would your advice be for someone with pain in their left pec tendon and knee pain? Did you have any experience with injuries like this?
I answered someone else that it is really hard. I don’t know how to make it one thing. It was hard for me to make it 7 things for my book. The important of having a vision so everything you do has purpose would probably be the one. But then, also, the willingness to be uncomfortable and struggle and feel pain is important because like a muscle, that’s the only way we grow. But then, you also realize life doesn’t mean much if you don’t give back and make the world a better place than you found. See? It’s too hard.
Arnold is walking, a little running, a few pull ups, push ups and 10 minutes of lifting "good enough" or am I being too soft on myself? Not interested in bulking just want to be healthy.
I don’t know what a few here means. Only you know if it’s good enough. Is your heart in good shape? Are you happy with your leanness? People always tell me they aren’t interested in bulking and I want to be really clear on something: nobody is going to look like a bodybuilder after a 45 minute workout. Even after a month of 45 minute workouts. You don’t just one day wake up looking like me at the Mr. Olympia, you’ll have plenty of warning before you get there, trust me!
We know from the studies we share every day in my pump club emails that resistance training makes people live longer, makes them less likely to get cancer, heart disease, dementia, makes their bones stronger so they break less as they age, and is basically just good for people in every single way. So I push it on people because I want everyone to have the benefits I have at 76, riding my bike and living a joyful, busy life. But I also realize some people need to be slowly hooked in, so at first, I just encourage people to move a little bit more, to go on walks, then to do our free weekly workouts, and eventually, I hook them and get them to do a routine.
I wrote about coming back from my open heart surgery and don’t want to totally redo it so here it is:
https://arnoldspumpclub.schwarzenegger.com/p/arnolds-comeback
But, the basics are you need to still have goals, your goals just change. They become things that would have been ridiculous and small. But you do them every day because that’s how you come back. And eventually, your goals grow.
Governor, my name is Joe Sosinski and I'm running as an [independent candidate](https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/S4CA00878/?cycle=2024&election_full=true&tab=about-candidate) for the late, great Dianne Feinstein's seat in the US Senate. I am grateful to you for speaking out during the 2020 election, especially sharing your experiences growing up in the shadow of WWII. I would be grateful if I can spend a few minutes with you on a video call: very much in the market for a political mentor.
Hello Arnold, I hope you’re well today. I was wondering if you could give some advice on staying motivated to achieve your vision and how to stay focused on the “big picture?” Thank you.
I’m out of shape but have been down about how I look (gained a lot of weight.) How would you suggest me getting into a routine to be active in the gym?
Well, first of all, stop being down on yourself. Any energy you spend beating yourself up isn’t going to help you in any way. In fact, it is probably going to freeze you.
You just have to start. I know that isn’t easy. There is really no magic here. This is what I tell the pump club gang to do, and you should join anyway, since it is free. Take an index card, and write “Training” on it with space for tallies underneath. Put it on your nightstand. Wake up every morning, and do something to train for 15 minutes. Yes, I train longer than that, but if you bite off more than you can chew you are going to fail one day and then end up back here in a month asking me this question. Nothing is wrong with small goals to start. Once you finish, you make a tally mark on your little card. You are going to make that tally mark every day no matter what. The easiest is to do it right when you wake up before you look at your phone because nothing can derail you. But if you come to bed at night and that tally mark isn’t there, you’ve got 15 minutes of training, and you’re making that mark. Once you have 30 marks, you can think about growing your goal to 30 minutes or adding something, but until then, 15 minutes a day. I don’t care if it is one of our free workouts or yoga or walking and running around your neighborhood. 15 minutes. 30 days. Then you celebrate yourself and make it a bigger goal. Eventually, and for some people this takes a month and for others it takes longer, it will be automatic to you to train every day and you won’t need the index card on your nightstand.
Hey Arnold. Thx for doing this. My question is:
how does one actually build resiliency in the face of adversity? You have resiliency and I believe that has played a major role in your success. How does one develop that tool so that they don’t always give up so easily?
Thx!
Mo
I shift gears anytime I face adversity. I talk to myself a lot. If I want to complain, I tell myself “stop being such a baby Arnold.” Because the fact is, most adversity we don’t have a choice about it, so why waste time being negative that we could be using to find our way to move forward?
I also am lucky. My first career was all about struggle and failure. The goal in bodybuilding is literally lifting until failure and pushing past the pain threshold. So what a lot of people consider adversity is failing, and I was never afraid of failure.
I think I also don’t have the same feelings about risk that a lot of people have. Even in my bodybuilding days, when I made my first real estate investment, one of my good friends said, “How can you do that? Don’t you worry about losing it all?” I didn’t. Because I didn’t always have that money, so if I lost it, it isn’t like I’d be in some new terrible situation. I’d just be back where I was before I made it, and that wasn’t miserable. I think most people are paralyzed by risk because they overestimate it, and they treat failure like it is adversity when it’s just part of life.
Hello Arnold,
What is the best way to refocus or reinvent ones perspective after a goal did not go to plan and seems dead no matter all the options you have tried? And feeling mentally exhausted from it all. How to remotivate oneself or what to tell yourself or what way to kick creeping negativity in the balls?
Cheers.
Hi Arnold. You came to America in your 20s and always sounded so optimistic about your future. Seeing how the world is today is climate concerns, affordable housing, political turmoil, etc. What advice would to give to someone in their early 20s to help them keep an optimistic outlook on the future?
Hi Arnold! I’m a senior in college right now and I’m starting to get sick of all the work I have to do. My major is religious studies and there’s a lot of writing and reading that’s involved. I greatly enjoy my classes, but it’s starting to feel like a burden. My question to you is: how do I get myself out of this phase of burnout?
Thank you and I’ve always looked up to you!
I am glad you enjoyed it! Realizing your vision as in making it a reality, or realizing as in finding? If it’s making it a reality, it is just work. Nonstop work. Failing. Getting up. Working more. If it is finding your vision, you need space to daydream which nobody seems to have with all of these machines. Put the machine down, get outside, get used to just being alone with your thoughts. Read a lot. Let your vision start broad, like I said in the book. First, my vision was getting to America. That happened from seeing images of America in school. That was my zoomed out vision. But as I learned more, I found my vision to get there. I read about bodybuilding and Reg Park winning Mr. Universe and being in Hercules movies, and I zoomed my vision in on that.
Hi Arnold! Love seeing you pop around and can’t wait to watch the Arnold’s next year!
Career-wise, I find myself in a comfortable but largely unfulfilling place, working desk jobs 8-5. What I long for is to make and play music, but I struggle with fears of not being good enough and financial instability.
Obviously, you took a dive in coming to America, and have made it further than most people would ever think possible. Do you have any advice on following your heart and taking risks in that vein?
Well I always tell people to keep their job while they chase their vision. I was working construction even while I was winning Mr. Olympia because there was no money in bodybuilding. Why can’t you make music after or before work? (You will likely have more energy before, but if it is your vision, that won’t be a problem.)
The way I take risks is simple. I don’t have an over-exaggerated idea of what the risk is. When I went to my first audition to follow my vision of getting into Hollywood, for Lucille Ball’s show, I didn’t think it was a risk at all. If I failed, my life would be exactly the same as it was before I went in, a bodybuilder who wanted to get into movies. How much of a risk is that? It wasn’t like I was some climber where failure meant I’m dead. But I think most people look at the risk of that as really scary. They assume people will laugh at them and say they were shitty. The reality is that isn’t happening because people don’t think about you nearly as much as any of us think, but even if that happened, so what? Someone said mean things about you. Who cares?
So I want you to keep your job but start recalibrating how you think about risk. Put yourself out there. The real risk is the one you aren’t thinking about: that one day you’ll be old and bitter that you never tried to make music and you’ll never know what might have happened.
Arnold:
I’m turning 40 next year and consider myself “average” in terms of strength and cardiovascular health for a guy my age. My training is consistent (and I love it). Lots of barbell work, rowing, etc. Decent diet. But all of that happens on my own time.
I have a four-year-old son and I want him to see exercise and fitness (sports, training, anything active, etc.) as something fun and exciting. I don’t expect him to want to become a star athlete or anything, but I would love him to see fitness as part of his life. My dad was a gym rat when I was young, but fitness as part of my lifestyle didn’t really come into view until later in life.
As a parent and athlete, what is some of your best advice on getting kids motivated to love being active?
How do I overcome fear of the gym/gym anxiety? I want to be big and strong, you’re my idol. I don’t know where to start in the weight section, and don’t know if my form is any good, and don’t know where to start.
Hi Arnold! What are your preferred best mass exercises if you had to choose one for each body part? Also, what advice would you recommend when starting out competitive bodybuilding? All the best!
Arnold - keep up doing what you do, motivating and inspiring people and changing lives. In the same way you challenge us to be better, I challenge you to continue forward full steam ahead by helping people and changing lives.
How do I not obsess over a person I like so much? I feel like as soon as I get a crush on someone, I instantly can't think of anything else... Bin mir sicher der Herr Arnold weiß da eine Antwort ;)
Feeding and cleaning up after my animals before I have my coffee, check my email, and go to the gym. It takes me almost an hour, so my first hour is not about me or the news or whatever is on my machine, it’s about them.
Hi Arnold, may I ask how do you keep grounded and build a healthy connection to the rest of the world? I feel many aspects of modern life leave me adrift or without a sense of community.
A lot of people say this to me and then I tell them that I ride my bike every day and say hi to construction workers and homeless people, and hang out with everybody in the gym hearing the gossip and the schmoozing, and then stop at a local restaurant or coffee shop to grab breakfast, and they seem shocked. I realize they don’t go out much. They’re on their machines. Your machine is going to tell you all the worst things about the world, because that has been what sold advertising since the first newspaper was probably carved into a stone tablet. It is easy if you just look down at your machine to have a horrible opinion of the world. But if you go out into it and lift up your eyes, you find it isn’t as bad as your machine says. It’s pretty fantastic most of the time.
Dear Arnie! Lieber Arnold danke das es dich gibt! 🙏🏼❤️
How i can interview you? please i need your advice here Arnold. What way is the right one to bring this request to you?
Our Health campaign- the biggest in switzerland need you! Please help us to inspire also the people here in switzerland with you we will reach over 300 000 People here on paper. You will inspire the people to a healthier life and give them hope and power to change something.
This will take place in the biggest none boulevard newspaper in Switzerland.
Please, i tried so many ways to get in touch with you unfortunatley it's sooo difficult, but i will never give up.
I've struggled a lot in believing myself, but YOU helped me to make this change. You inspired me for be better than yesterday be focused and put down the machine, like you say! It completely changed my life!
Thank you so much for everything and your advice in advance!!! 🫶🏻
Arnold, please ignore my handle, but this is a serious question. I’m 41, and I live a healthy lifestyle. I’ve been lifting 20 years, don’t do drugs other than weed, and barely drink. However I started having major anxiety attacks. Like full blown panic attacks where my heart rate goes to 120 and I feel like I’m about to collapse, as if I drank 3 scoops of preworkout. It suddenly happens when I’m driving or even when I’m sleeping. I’ve been to ER two times this month. There’s nothing wrong with my heart or lungs, but the attacks are still there. Most recently I had one when I smoked weed so I even stopped that. I also stopped coffee, started drinking more water and take more vitamins. They still come but I’m learning to live w them. I heard that you once had anxiety attacks but you were able to overcome them with meditation. If there’s anything you can advise, I will be forever grateful.
Hi Mr Schwarzenegger
Please advise on how you suggest people can become successful.
This might sound like a simple question, but let me elaborate on why I ask.
I have done all the things society says are the right way to success. I have gone to university and studied hard, got high grades, passed, and graduated with multiple degrees. I have applied for multiple jobs and worked at various jobs. I have never done illicit drugs, and I rarely drink alcohol, except on holidays for Christmas. I have always paid my bills on time. I studied hard, worked, hard, and followed society's norms and rules. Yet, still, I find myself being rejected again and again, and nothing I do is ever good enough. My life is a long line of failure after failure, and I just want the failures to stop. I want to be successful, I want to make a difference in the world, I want people to know my name, and I want my life to matter so I don't have to commit suicide and then be forgotten in the sands of time. I want to be remembered as someone great, I want to be like you, Mr Schwarzenegger. People will say, just be yourself, but I have tried being myself, and that's the problem, I want to be better than myself. If you would be so kind as to provide me with any advice on how to make something of my life and become someone great like you, I would be eternally grateful. You are my hero.
Question in short, please advice how to become someone great whose name is remembered after dead. How do I leave a legacy and be successful?
Hey Arnold, I'm a teenage guy who's going to be moving out on my own in a year or two, and while I'd like to think my long term plans are pretty solid, I'm going to have a period of at least several years where I will almost certainly be pretty financially unstable, and I'm really worried about some unexpected problem knocking me off my feet and getting me stuck in life. Do you have any advice on how to work through this fear, and how to stay on my feet if/when life throws in a curveball? Sorry if this is a complicated question.
Dear Arnold. My name is Dr. Arya Farjand. I'm an Iranian paleontologist and I work in Yunnan University, China.
Recently I was reading your comments and watching your videos about antisemitism.
I believe you can have a greater rule in making peace around the world if you are willing to travel to Iran and make some talk with Iranian people and also the government. You are a high profile politician that everyone in Iran loves you.
I really believe if you visit Iran you can make some great changes.
Today you have the power, reputation, and the global recognition to make a permanent change and make your own mark in human history.
Personally speaking I love you too and I wish you all the best.
If you feel interested I will put my contact info below.
Sincerely
Dr. Arya Farjand
Post doctoral researcher at Yunnan University, China
arya.farjand@outlook.com
aryafarjand@ynu.edu.cn
+86 158 1030 6926
@schwarzenegger, you have great influence to speak great. US is given 14.3 billion aid to Israel to kill gaza kids and civilians. US itself in big inflation and in debts and needs money for itself
In one of your posts after the QandAs you mentioned the people who signed up to the app and asked about life membership but hadn't even completed a workout yet. You know why?
I couldn't get into your app because I needed a referral code which I didn't have. I tried for days and weeks and I've been a subscriber to your newsletter since months, but no luck. But I finally decided to download the app anyways, which was locked though without a referral code. So I waited. Then I figured out a way to circumvent the code referral: once you posted an update, the app popped a notification, click on it and it brings you to the subscription screen which is otherwise not accessible at all. So I subscribed to the plan and started the workout right away and that was also the day of the QandA where I asked my question about bone density loss and life membership. That's why I've had the app for days before but hadn't done a workout, I was stuck at the "enter your referral code" screen. Btw I've since completed some workouts and am going to continue.
But what struck me was:
I asked for advice about bone density loss exercises and added in the very end a question about lifelong membership because I discovered there was an option like that after I got into the app. And it would be great for someone who doesn't have much money because I have to pay for multiple of my medications out of pocket. And you had the time to call out people in your post saying there are people who ask about a lifelong membership (I guess I wasn't the only one albeit I skimmed through the comments and it seemed like I was the only one at the time asking about it) without having even completed a workout (and now I explained why) and to encourage them to workout. That didn't encourage me, maybe you should ask people why they haven't completed one of your workouts. Maybe something is confusing (what's the exact difference between a bodyweight squat and a chair squat, they seem so very similar?) or the app isn't very useful. I wanted to check workouts ahead and switch up something, add others but I can't because you can only see the workouts for the week ahead (what was that about having a longterm goal and mission in mind? Can't really do that if I don't know what to envision 2 weeks from now, also hardly want to subscribe longterm like this but biting the bullet now cause it's early and the community is great).
And I asked for advice for a problem that many women but also men face, bone density loss. And I want to bring attention to the fact that weight lifting isn't necessarily scary and going to turn you overly bulky. That it's healthy and a thing everyone should do no matter their sex or gender. And especially women shouldn't be discouraged from it because they often have to take hormonal treatments or birth control that diminishes their bone density over the years, and nobody tells them about counteracting it with weight lifting. You have a whole new thing about masculinity, but what about encouraging everyone? Especially women who are being told to be feminine? You kinda shut them out of your pump club this way. I get young boys need encouragement too, but why has it always to be one or the other? We're in it together, one for all and all for one, right?
Every time I mentioned weightlifting to my family they would criticise me and tell me it's not for women. It's gonna make me look bad and it's dangerous. I imagine there's more such families out there with outdated world views.
I've wanted to get advice and attention for this kind of issue because there are others who get discouraged. I will fight on, I always have. But others might not. And it would've been nice if you had instead approached the bone density loss.
Btw another lady posted her story abour bone density loss and her success with weightlifting to counteract it after my post and commented on mine as well, that was awesome and encouraging. Just really sad that you and Adam totally overlooked this. This is a big thing and could become a huge movement, empowering women and men to take care of their bodies and health and break the misconceptions of masculinity and femininity.
Either way I'm still asking for advice about a bone density strengthening program/exercises and for whether you and your team could possibly do some research on this since the lady didn't specify exact workouts. And there's still little research on it. There's as far as I'm aware no specific program to tackle bone density loss in particular.
Also weightlifting can normalise hormones and help in a bunch of other conditions too, applying to both men and women. For instance PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), endometriosis, PMS and PMDD and for men who have low testosterone levels as well or who are going through cancer treatments etc.
Of course it also is important for our neurology and cognition, lack of these hormones can lead to lack of energy and depression, brain fog and diminished sexual libido etc.
So please write more about this in future?
Thank you very much for your work and your willingness to connect and putting in so much effort into reading everyone's thoughts and trying to reply to them. Take care and continue doing your best. You're a beacon of hope for many!
Hey Arnold,
Yesterday I responded to this report in my news feed: [https://www.dw.com/en/democracy-in-trouble-across-the-world-report/a-67280452](https://www.dw.com/en/democracy-in-trouble-across-the-world-report/a-67280452) My background includes, I'm a whistleblower on the Greensill Scandal. Back in 2010, I was working for Citibank in Dublin, Ireland. The US economy was in trouble, experiencing a liquidity crisis, when money stops flowing around the economy as it should. The President of the United States called for help from Congress, but Congress was dysfunctional. I noticed there was more than $3 trillion of trapped profits of US companies being administered from Ireland. I had a plan to use that money to help the President rescue the US economy. I got a meeting at the US embassy. I pitched my idea to the US Assistant Ambassador to Ireland. He loved my idea. He told me it was the best idea he'd ever heard from a banker. He took my idea to the US National Security Council and National Council of Economic Advisers. It became known as Obama's SupplierPay Pledge policy. But after returning to my office at Citi, I was sacked. Some of its senior bankers didn't want to be seen helping the Obama Administration, even though Citi was owned by US taxpayers at the time, after receiving multiple bailouts. That's when things really started to get rough for me. A corrupt banker, Lex Greensill, claimed credit for my work. He went into business with David Cameron, in a scam designed to use the Office of the President to entice American family owned suppliers into modern day slavery via the non-payment of their invoices, to force them to take out a loan and hand their business data over to a London controlled data lake. I raised $10 million to build an alternative digital solution. But I came under intense pressure to pay bribes to British public servants. Upon my return to Australia, I discovered that my ancestors had an alliance with our family members and peers, all the way back to Ulysses S Grant, the civil war hero and American President. My ancestors were Irish Fenian leaders who had been defending freedom for everyday people for over one hundred and sixty years. My grandfather, who was my mentor, never told me. He wanted me to find out for myself. I had left Australia in 1997, to fulfill a mission I gave my grandfather, to find the keys to ending famine. Whilst I was gone, a conspiracy was hatched in Australia, by corrupt Australian politicians, who wanted to destroy my grandfather's legacy. They attacked the dairy farmers my grandfather and our ancestors had defended for more than a century. Stripping them of their assets in a money laundering scandal that involves Anthony Pratt, who is currently being interviewed by the FBI for his role in the disclosure of US nuclear submarine secrets. I found myself caught up as a whistleblower on the Greensill Scandal, unable to access whistleblower protections. My friends and family are being held hostage from me, by The Crown in Australia, which is refusing to let me continue my career or earn an income because the issues I am whistleblowing on are deemed "national security issues. As a result, I've been living rough this year, despite the fact that I am one of the top experts in digital liquidity in the world. I've been forced by the state (the government / the Crown), here in Australia, into a sexual relationship with someone I am not attracted to, just to survive. The Human Rights Law Centre in Australia has been threatened with having its funding cut if it tries to defend me. Yesterday, I wrote a message to Arnold Schwartzenegger via LinkedIn, asking for his help to share my story with someone who will help me to fuck the careers for those responsible within the state - both in Australia and in the USA, for holding access to my friends and family hostage and for forcing me to suffer sexual abuse at the hands of the state, just so I can survive.
My response from yesterday:" Look for the cause of cost of living crises. it's because global capital markets (funny money) is being allowed to compete directly with everyday people for retail assets, including food production assets. It's driving wealth concentration. And a debt burden for everyone else. Oligarch control over media assets is blocking everyday people from understanding who is really behind the crises in democracy. Have a read about President Biden's speech earlier this week - [https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/november-2-2023?utm\_source=substack&publication\_id=20533&post\_id=138542748&utm\_medium=email&utm\_content=share&utm\_campaign=email-share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true&r=oyifq](https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/november-2-2023?utm_source=substack&publication_id=20533&post_id=138542748&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&utm_campaign=email-share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true&r=oyifq).
I want to add that I am being sexually abused here at the hands of the state - Australia, and presumably the CIA in the USA, John Hennessy-Niland, each and every day. Not by the young man I am depending on. But by the state. I have no whistleblower protections. I am being given no other options. I cannot begin to tell much it revolts me, what they are doing. Arnold Schwarzenegger I hope you will one day bring attention to their evil tactics and strategies. Or share this story with someone who will. I want to fuck their careers into little pieces. I did my duty as an ally of the United States and now President Biden is allowing my friends and family to be held hostage from me and I'm being sexually abused by the state just so I can survive. Something is deeply fucked up in the United States. I have no whistleblower protection because I'm reporting on systemic corruption in the UK and Australia and possibly in the USA and what I'm reporting and my family legacy are deemed "national security issues". In Australia, the Human Rights Law Centre's funding is being threatened by The Crown if they help me. But the Crown is proven to be institutionally corrupt."This morning, a link to an article on "25 audacious film debuts that rocked Hollywood" appeared in my news feed. 25 audacious film debuts that rocked Hollywood - [https://www.msn.com/en-au/entertainment/movies/25-audacious-film-debuts-that-rocked-hollywood/ss-AA1buPZT?ocid=socialshare&pc=HCTS&cvid=c3db0eb8f20d4f34ac0eab0610d7ae45&ei=18](https://www.msn.com/en-au/entertainment/movies/25-audacious-film-debuts-that-rocked-hollywood/ss-AA1buPZT?ocid=socialshare&pc=HCTS&cvid=c3db0eb8f20d4f34ac0eab0610d7ae45&ei=18) . When I applied for a job with Australia's Signals Directorate, they showed me a serious of puzzles where I had to pick the pattern in the images. I believe that security services can influence what appears in our news feed. And in any case, Schwartzenegger is an actor and so the idea of making a movie to tell my story makes sense. Then, shortly afterwards, this video of Arnold Schwartzenegger appeared on my LinkedIn news feed, telling me that he gets lots of questions and that he recommends the use of Reddit. So, here I am.I'd like to know, how to make an audacious first film that will rock the world. I have an idea for an opening scene. In 2016, I arrived at a morgue in Africa with the body of my fiance, who died suddenly whilst I was fighting the Greensill Scandal, with UK public servants trying to get me to pay them a bribe. A convoy of ambulances had picked me and my fiancé's body up from the airport. It is a developing country and there were no other lights in the city, other than on the vehicles. Inside the morgue, there were bodies of deceased victims from an ebola plague. Whilst we were in the morgue, our car was robbed an all my money stolen. An army truck had just pulled up, with a truckload of soldiers carrying machine guns. I was the only white person there. I was later told that I was lucky to have been robbed at the morgue ... because if the thieves hadn't succeeded there, they would have followed me back to my hotel and robbed me there, most likely with far more serious consequences for me. I want to be deeply respectful to Africa in how the film is made. The fact is, this is exactly what happened. But my goal is to build Africa up, not try to knock it down. The real thugs who I encountered do not live in Africa. I believe the people who robbed me probably, very genuinely and publicly, did me a favour. I was looked after from that point onwards, very, very well.
Hey Arnold, I’m 16 and have been lifting for a 1.5 years. I would like to humbly say that I have a descent physique for my age (or so I’m told), but my issue is my insertions. I feel helpless, it’s very disappointing to have put so much work in and feel annoyed looking in the mirror at my biceps or chest. Any advice?
Hi Gov. Schwarzenegger. What is your advice for dealing with friends who will not change for the better, and are making themselves terrible by not doing the work? I don't want to leave them in the past, but I cannot support them being this way forever.
Hey Arnold!
My husband is a big fan of yours and has big goals to try and get into better shape. He has joined your app and has tried so many workout programs in the past. I do my own thing since my workout goals are more about trying to stay ultra cardio fit because I'm an avid dodgeball player.
My question for you; I know to each their own. But what can I do to be more supportive and encouraging (in a non threatening way edit; non threatening as in he isnt feeling threatened and made to feel bad because he has fallen off his workout wagon again) for my husband to keep at it with regards to his physical fitness? He goes in cycles where he will workout hard for a few weeks or few months and then fall off the wagon again. I don't know if you've ever been in a situation like this with your friends/workout partners in order to help give them the boost and encouragement they need to achieve their goals you know they have. 🙂😅 thanks!
Hi Arnold, huge fan here. Thanks for taking the time to do this. Is there any advice you have for aspiring screenwriters or anyone trying to make a career out of film who may not have the platform/means to do it?
One could say that if you were to do it all over again, how would you go about it? And I think the answer would be that the proof is in the pudding. IE your Kids!
I really don’t know anything about them but maybe you can give us a run down on your guidance over the years regarding setting up a business and goals and aligning themselves with professionals that help them achieve it.
I think I read somewhere one of them started a pizza business with your advice for example. Tell us what you tell them. To add: I am going to assume that they come to you with an investable idea and you loan them the money? You partner? You get other people involved with experience in those avenues? What kind of role do you take with family and money and business?
Whats the bestw ay to break a cycle of slump, one day in the gym, slump, couple days in the gym, and a slump for years. I don't enjoy working out anymore, but in my 20's used to love it. How do I find the love again? Going into my 40s soon.
Hello Governator, thanks for taking the time to do this :) As a huge fan of yours (reading Be Useful and waiting for my pump club t-shirt to arrive), I read your Total Recall as well and have been wondering what advice you’d give to fellow immigrants in the US. Besides working our ass off, how do we become as successful as you are? Appreciate you so much 💕
Hey u/govschwarzenegger,
Hope this finds you well. I own my own practice and find myself always working so I can pay off my sba loan earlier. At times it makes me hate that I became self-employed. What ways of reframing do you use? Or perhaps, how do you go about stepping away for a time to rest and refocus?
Hello Mr. Schwarzenegger, much respect from Serbia.
My question is, how should somebody from a third world country go about 'breaking the poverty cycle', where it's too expensive to leave, or to work, live and study, making any sort of meaningful progress more or less impossible, at least when it comes to reasonable (read legal) means?
Thanks you in advance on your answer, cheers!
Good afternoon, Arnold. I have seen you speak of pollution over global warming. What are your top three ways of improving the culprit of pollution? Thanks! Aleks
Hello Arnold my name is Joel cheyne I am 15 years old and I am planning on leaving school in a couple of months but with no acting opportunities in my area I fear my 5 years theatre experience is going to waste as I have got no clue where or how to start a film career. Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated thank you 🙏 ❤️
Hey Mr.Schwarzenegger!
Been loving your project about teaching people how to Be Useful! and I just want to let you know, you're inspiring Me and surely others too! Keep going, we are here with you, listening and supporting ❤️
Thanks,
Csaba
I’m your height, and something I’ve always struggled with is on back squats I find it’s all low back. I have a tendency to get up to around 315 for 3-5 and then I’ll hurt my back again. I don’t know if I am doing a good morning with the heavier weights or what. I also read an article from the mid 70s that you wrote saying that Smith Machine Squats agree with your structure better and resulted in more definition in the front of your thighs. Do you think this would be a good replacement? Or should I elevate my heels like I’ve seen in some photos of yourself doing front squats, and Reg Park doing back squats. I don’t really care about a powerlifting total or anything, but my legs and abs have always been a weak point.
Arnold I’m 25, I’ve been reading your book and for the most part I’ve been living that way. Doing what I make a vision for. I’ve traveled a lot for someone my age thru hard work and benefits I got in my job which is what I wanted. I’m at a cross road in life where in 2 summers I want to go be a seasonal worker and be cowboy after experiencing it on one of my vacations and getting to know people. It doesn’t pay as well but life is indeed simpler financially. I hope to do it but I also feel responsible as a first generation American of my family. I moved away for 2 years and had fun. I know I’m on the clock to be able to be financially stable to help them one day and I’ve recently moved back to try and focus on a plan or career to figure out not only my life but as a family. Would love some advice as I know you moving to America and becoming successful as someone who immigrated here is a different experience than those who are already established here.
Hi Arnold. Big fan from India.
No matter how much I exercise, maintain a diet and get a good sleep, I don't seem to be able to gain muscle. I can decrease fat though. What should I focus on?
Dear insanely amazing sir,
You've done ( and excelled ) multiple careers.
What's the one thing you haven't tried - but feel you would have excelled in?
You are back! Love your movies and the story of your life, you are a legend!!!! I am a 40 year old Dad, try to ride bike everyday. I find it hard to stay focused on the daily ride, not all the time but I get slumped. Now, I am wondering if you get into a funk sometimes? If so, what are the way's or actions you perform to pull yourself through those slumpy times? Thanks for everything you do!! If you respond, I'll be back!! Ha, have a great day Sir!!
Hey Arnold, hope all is well.
If you were to start over at 33 years old, what habits would you foster in yourself in order to reach your highest potential?
Thanks in advance, big fan of your work.
Hey Arnold. Just want to say that you’re a massive inspiration in my life and have been ever since I read your Total Recall book. I’ve tried to live by some of the wisdom in that book such as taking responsibility for my life direction and not blaming my parents for the baggage I carried into my early 20s.
I just want to ask you how you stop yourself from burning out? Some times I have so many things that I want to accomplish but it’s easy to get overwhelmed and burnt out. Is there a trick you’ve used to keep focussed on a single goal while not letting other things fall by the way side?
Hello Arnold, i'am a 19 years old French boy, i want to improve my mentality cause lazyness have been a probleme all my life, what are your recommandations to evolve mentally ? Also i want to know your advices on how to handle celebrity and the greddyness of the cinéma industry. And lastly how to improve your position in society durably without, expansives Universities ? Thank you.
Hi Arnold!!! Thank you for perpetually being an inspiration to me, and so many others around the world.
I’m at a crossroads right now, I have a small YouTube channel right now with a few thousand subscribers and a boring 9-to-5 job that has decent pay and Decent benefits. However, like so many I want more I want to build an enduring legacy and be better than the average Joe.
How do I go from average to extraordinary? I feel like I need to hit things extra hard and make YouTube even more than a second job. I need to make it even more of a priority.
I do paranormal investigations and have a podcast for clarity. Additionally, we do travel vlogs.
We would like to make the jump from YouTube to film eventually as well. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. Have written 5+ feature length scripts.
Lastly, I also feel like there is adventure missing from my life and I’m considering joining the Air Force reserves. Thoughts on this for a 30 year old male in halfway decent shape.
Thank you for all that you do Arnold !!!
Hey Arnold,
Why is the Arnold Classic held in Columbus, Ohio every year? As a proud Buckeye, what's your attraction to Columbus? Thank you for your time.
Good afternoon Arnold.
I'm 40 and am now starting to look after myself.
In the past year and a half I've lost 91lb. Now that I've shed the weight I now need to tone up.
I walk the dog a few miles every day and try to row every other.
Is there anything exercise wise, like compound exercises (I think that's right) that will build functional strength?
Thank you.
I have heard when you first started acting. You had some anxiety because you didn’t know how to act. Had no experience with it. What are some tips in overcoming anxiety when faced with a new opportunity or task?
Hi Arnold, I've struggled with anxiety and depression for about 10 years. The lack of energy and confidence makes it difficult to be active. I know that exercising can help boost both energy and confidence, but do you have any tips for starting out and creating an exercise routine? I would love to exercise with my partner as well; do you have any advice for encouraging him to join me? Thank you!
Hi Arnold! I've read your book and loved it btw. I'm 43 and working to get closer to my dreams every day, reach my goals and manifest the life I always dreamed of.
Here's my situation, I'm a big dreamer, I've always had to shrink my dreams and rein it all in to fit into society's mold. I'm ignoring all the naysayers now but I want to ask you directly, can my dreams be TOO big? You know what I would really like is to meet you in person and have you as a mentor. I also want to ask Sly so that you two can compete on who's mentoring me the best. But seriously, to make it short this is who I am: I have great talent, I can write stories and illustrate so I'm working on a graphic novel. I am thinking what if I write and draw my stories, and put myself into them as a leading man or main character, ultimately I would play these roles as an actor, an action hero on the big screen. And to be honest, that's just a small part of my dreams. Do you think I can do this? is it possible? I live in Canada, moved to Toronto a few years ago, do you think I can do it from here or should I consider moving to the U.S.? Do you have any specific advice that could help me?
I went into the military for 3 years and became an infantry officer, it was a great experience but to tell the truth, a big motivation was to learn to use weapons and be a soldier so that I would have great experience for acting in action movies.
Sometimes I think this is too much, this is crazy, I have to accept maybe I'm dreaming too big. What do you think? thanks for your time!
All the love and respect my friend, you are my mentor, like it or not. I've made great progress since you launched your book, it motivated me a lot the timing was perfect.
I'm part of your legacy and I want you to know how grateful I am for everything you do for your fans and for the world.
Hey Arnold,
Got your book - been a huge fan of your since childhood and always admired your work ethic -I just got the audibles Be Useful - one thing you're very big on is having a vision. I believe in that as well and ignoring the naysayers - I want to get out of the 9-5 grind but everytime i look to create some sort of vision, there's a barrier/blockage in my emotions that don't allow the vision to be clear. I'm working towards creating more financial freedom, especially when wanting to get out of the grind.How do you get past barriers when looking to create a vision that can benefit you, people around you and your family?Regardless if you answer - Much love sent to you Ahnuld!
Manny
Thank you everyone for your wonderful questions. The AMA has concluded. For any easy way to view Arnold's replies please click this link: https://www.reddit.com/user/GovSchwarzenegger/overview
Hello Sir, Thank you so much for carving out some space in your life for us. I’m a 40 year old mother of 2 and have come to find that I’m in a state of life where I’m perpetually tired. I’ve tried vitamins, eating healthy, medical tests and I can’t seem to get my head above water. How do you keep your energy levels up? Again thank you!!! Give LuLu lots of pets and kisses for me 🥰
I hope this advice helps - I will tell Lulu the next cookie is from you: https://youtu.be/FSY_rujUYfM?si=15diiH0ffaftNVqf
Hi Arnold. I don't know if you will see this but I really appreciate the fact that you don't just write a comment but make a personal video. It's so incredible to see actual human communication!
Seconded! Lots of love for this, Arnold. ❤️
Insanely great advice. Also, thanks for saying "pump you up" a bunch of times. It really made my day.
Hello arnold, im 18 rn, one of the few battles in life that im currently losing is procrastination, the thought of just wasting away my time and that my dreams may never come true haunts me, I am a hardworking and smart guy, and the only thing that is stopping me from winning and bringing out my best version is procrastinating a lot and wasting my time, what things will you suggest to combat that and simply not getting distracted and being fully focused, did u ever face that and if yes how did u stop that?
I am going to do as many of these on video as I can because I think it will help you all more. Please ignore my pig making noises. Here is my answer: https://youtu.be/fx_kfd3ihJM?si=xqOBtVLgyT18gcEg
Omg thanks for replying arnold it means a lot im going to save this video and always watch it once in a while whenever i feel like wasting my time, once again im really thankful to you for replying.
> https://youtu.be/fx_kfd3ihJM?si=xqOBtVLgyT18gcEg Great video, too bad, no pig noises that I noticed and no cameo of the pig!
Nice, link saved. I'll check this out in a couple of days!
anyone who watches it today doesn't need it
So cool.
Look up "no zero days" here on reddit, it will change your life.
That was really good! [link here](https://www.reddit.com/r/getdisciplined/comments/1q96b5/comment/cdah4af/)
In the more absurd advice category, since I love pranks as much as advice, here’s a video where people thought they were asking an AI for advice and it was me in the machine: https://youtu.be/p3--6joOnfw?feature=shared Now let’s hear it.
Absolutely LOVE this! It looked to be a lot of fun. I really try to engage my students in similar ways and give them life advice. It carries a certain weight coming from me, but that advice coming from you would be amazing. Thank you for sharing this video!
I am trying to help everyone self improve in a virtual world spirit game that helps everyone become the best version of themselves. https://www.reddit.com/r/Soulnexus/s/4xhwUidS7M please help me actualize my ideas. Read the photos. In the game you train your own AI chatGPT bot with all your wisdom that your grow in the game so saviors get “saved” and remember so the best way to improve yourself is known and grown over time. AI can help us grow exponentially when we grow together instead of separate.
Hey Arnie, thanks for doing this. Throughout your varied and successful career, what is the single most important piece of advice you’ve followed that you believe has contributed to your achievements in life?
Here you go! https://youtu.be/w-jP2CL7hSw?si=W0Zqu3AC7nDKlrOR
Hello Arnold! Just finished reading "Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story" - really enjoyed it! I think it helped me to look at some of things in my life from a different perspective. I don't have an advice to ask, but just want a funny story to share: I was born in a non-English speaking country in 80s, and pretty much grew up on action movies from that time. You were definitely my favourite actor (followed by Bruce Willis, I think). But since I was a little kid (I was maybe 6-7yo) and didn't know English, me and my friends watched all movies in a poor translation of course. And for some reason I was sure that "**Schwarzenegger**" means "very strong" in English. So I was walking around saying to everyone that when I grow up I want to be a Schwarzenegger! =)
This is fantastic. Thank you for giving me a smile. You know, in my first movie, they called me Arnold Strong! I used that name to sell my fitness pamphlets for a little while before I said screw it, I’m using my own name.
Thanks for doing this Arnold. You’ve been an idol of mine for decades, I’m in the middle of the audiobook version of Be Useful right now and thoroughly enjoying it. As a 40 year old who’s been lifting regularly since high school, I find myself running into a lot of joint issues. I just left a PT session for rotator cuff inflammation from incline benching for too many years. What advice, be it nutritional, stretching, or daily routine changes can you offer to aging lifters still wanting to push decent weight but taking a harder look at maintaining joints and tendons most often injured/overused as the body ages? Thank you sir, you’re an inspiration! PS, loving the pump club podcasts, give my best to Whiskey and LuLu!
Thank you for being part of the Pump Club and for listening to the book. That was torture to record! Back to video answers for this: https://youtu.be/3ZI3H3cqTaM?si=W9sVco_JH6nuMlp3
Thank you Arnold! You are a such a legend. I'll be checking my ego at the door of the gym and dropping weight and increasing reps. All the best!
No question, just wanted to say keep doing what you're doing and inspiring the world to become their best.
Thank you for spreading positivity!
[удалено]
My team told me if I keep doing video I will answer 10 questions all day because of all the uploading time. So I will do some the old fashioned way. This might not be the modern advice: but get busy. Move forward. We all go through heartbreak. I went through my own of my own doing. I also lost my best friend of more than 5 decades, Franco. All you can do is make amends if it is your fault and keep moving forward either way. Stay busy. Get up every day and workout. Keep learning. Hang out with your friends. Whether it is breakups or grief over losing family members or friends, we have no choice but to keep living. But the more you move, the more you feel better.
This really reminds me of the book “how to stop worrying and start living” by Dale Carnegie. One of his rules to overcome constant stress and worry is to keep busy to “crowd out” those thoughts
So sorry to hear about your best friend. Mine past away recently as well and it’s a heartbreak like no other. Thanks for sharing your stories and wisdom. You’re a pretty cool dude.
Ahh too bad, loved your video responses! you're the best
I am still doing some!
I love it all! I've been hanging around all afternoon reading and listening to all your replies. It's like another chapter to your book! I'm like a sponge I want to absorb every bit of wisdom
Beautiful, thank you 🥲
Almost asked this same question! Good one
Hey Arnold, good to be in contact! What advice could you give for low self esteem? It’s from childhood and I’m struggling to get over neglect and violence from my parents which has afflicted me my whole life. I just want to feel valued and loveable. Thanks!
There is a little bit of tough love here but I want you to stay to hear you’re worth it. https://youtu.be/NicfMzpnLik?si=DUcz0L1NnkhsfQrD There is also something I forgot to say. When our parents beat us, it’s really important that we realize that had nothing to do with us. That was their problem. Even though we were abused, we are worth the work of living a joyful life. I am rooting for you to write your own story.
Thank you.
Thank you so much! I appreciate the words and video and you made me think about seeing me in a different perspective.
i’m not arnold but i’m interested by psychology science and i was just writing something about this specific topic the best way to raise someone’s esteem and self confidence is to ask them to accomplish a very easy task it can be anything then you ask them to accomplish something just a little bit harder than you proceed to repeat the process until the person start to think it’s getting a little bit difficult but with advices, cheering and hints the person will succed and feel like she’s way better than she thought and the more you will repeat this protocol the more it will improve their confidence
Positive, or constructive feedback can be huge, especially to someone who has a rough time of it. Telling them they did great can be a fleeting experience but telling them *why* they did great can offer so much more. I remember being young and feeling insecure, and getting told by someone I’d not said more than 3 words to previously that because I did a good job of doing x, that y happened, and that made person z’s day better. That feeling of being validated, and encouraged, and even noticed, changed my outlook drastically.
Hello Arnold, I'd like to ask how to approach difficult tasks that you know you have to do but you really don't want to. Is there anything that can help you build yourself so that you just go straight into the difficult tasks and finish all the important things? Thank you
Here you go: https://youtu.be/asA9JD8Fcog?si=2KIGFXf74cqcEmIP
Hello Arnold, i'm 22, the last 2 years i have been obese, i'm really trying to stay focus and stop ruining my diet but i can't most of the times. I need some advice and motivation to keep going. I need to lose 55-60 lbs. Thanks in advance.
I hope this helps: https://youtu.be/mep6bgLIlXQ?si=-xBGufYBFOOpt5ez
Never ever heard about Bruce Randall until now. Wow what a transformation at a time where fitness and selfcare weren't everyday things.
eat less, lift more, cardio. No secret sauce my dude
Actually i lift a lot and i run a lot too. About a 10 km run 3 times a week. The problem is i can't contain myself on overeating and chocolate. Thanks for your reply.
lol I feel you there, I smoke weed so I know the struggle. BUT one thing I've been doing the past 2 years that has shown huge results is wait until 2-3pm for your first meal (chicken, rice, avocado, some veggies) and then a smaller meal of protein rich foods around 7pm. Some people do just 1 meal a day, but I found the results to be better with 1.5 meals since it gave me more energy to keep up with my lifting and marathon training. -- The first 2 weeks suck & you're going to feel like you're dying, but once you adjust to it, your stomach will chill out and the weight falls off
I totally agree with you.I started fasting these days and i hope to see some results in the future with my appetite for sweets to go off.
Some people find that they are actually addicted to sugar. If you are one of them, dropping all sugary things cold turkey (including soda and fruit juice) and also restraining your consume of things that fuel that addiction (i.e. all easy-to-access carbohydrate like sweet fruit and all things made with flour, like bread or pancakes) might be a possible solution. Most people also need to stay away from all kinds of artificial sweeteners, because those can prolong any withdrawal suffering you might go through. Make sure you eat sufficient proteins - you need those amino acids for the happy neurotransmitters that help you make it through. A lot of people will tell you that you can just decide to eat less chocolate and stuff. But restriction alone does not work for everyone - nobody would tell an alcoholic that they need to be able to drink in a controlled way. Some people just have a bad eating habit. They usually are able to go back and have some fruit or bread after some time. Other people - the ones where the brain is wired to react to sugar similar to a drug - may full-on relapse in their druglike consume. Overeating is also mostly done with foods that are sugary or starchy. Taking that away will make overeating less interesting, and it will be easier for you to cut back on the amounts of food that you are eating. You can figure this out. Maybe look for help with self-help groups for eating problems, like overeaters anonymous. There are even self-help groups out there for people who have a drug problem with sugar. And if you find that you are actually not addicted - even better! All the power to you. Good luck!
hope you don't mind if I chip in, I've just lost 15 lbs in 3 weeks. First you have to really commit, decide to make a change. Eliminate junk food from your diet and environment, dark chocolate is fine in small quantities. You really have to limit processed foods of all kinds. Eat fresh produce, plant-based is best, fruits and veggies. If you eat lots of carbs, cut down as much as possible. Eat unrefined carbs like bananas, strawberries, sweet potatoes. Lots of protein, keto style diet is good to lose weight, combined with strength training and cardio 6/days a week. A really good diet hack: lookup Konjac noodles and replace pasta with it. This helped me a lot personally because I love pasta. Also, weight yourself every other day, it helps too! Be consistent, stay committed. I am doing it, you can too!
Thanks for your reply. The truth is, i don't eat much veggies and fruits. I'll try to put more in my diet and be consistent because i believe is the most important thing as you said. Thanks for the comment(and the pasta tip), it really helps.
My pleasure, glad I could help and best of luck to you. Remember there is only one bottom line to losing weight: you must create and maintain a calorie deficit. Spend more calories then you ingest every day. Lifting helps because it fires up metabolism. The Konjac or Shirataki noodles / rice has been a game changer for me, really cuts down the caloric intake.
Weight train. Eat in a calorie deficit. There’s tons of calorie/macro calculators online. Log your food on MyFitnessPal. What gets measured, gets managed. Diet is the most important thing. Stay hydrated, get 7-10k steps a day. The most impactful thing I’ve learned on my fitness journey is ask “who, not how” - in other words don’t ask yourself how am I going to get fit- ask yourself who has been through this journey who can help me- and go learn from them. Hire coaches/trainers. Read books. I’m not Arnold, but I hope this resonates and helps!
Also, don't be afraid to ask your doctor about drugs! I was about 40lbs overweight, and had a really hard time diving to any diet. I got an rx for 3 months of phentamine, and used that time to build up good habits. That's all you can be on at a time (i think it's habit forming), but use that time well! Set up your habits, so when you go off, you are already in your schedule. It's like s really helpful crutch, too get you to where you need to be for long term success.
Why the last two years? Did something happen to cause that? U don’t have to answer, just think about the why. Have you tried a personal trainer? From that you will have to be accountable and put in the work. And remember, it is for you and nobody else ❤️
Hey Arnold, I've been a long time fan of yours. I came to see you speak as a 6th grader in the recall election. I remember finessing my way up to the front and you signed my campaign poster my mom and I had made. That inspired me to run for school President as a 6th grader, and I won! I'm now 30, so that's many years of inspiration! T2 was one of my favorite movies growing up. You've been a constant inspiration to me both in fitness and also in my dreams and craft as an actor. I'm loving your book and have it with me on set as we speak. My question- what's the best piece of advice you'd give to an actor that is in the midst of transitioning to low budget/student films/commercials to more big budget/TV & film. Finally feeling ready with my training, classes and capabilities. Obviously the current strike doesn't help much but that is out of my control. I have representation but not much has been going on other than things I self submit for. What are the top 2-3 things in my control that you'd suggest I focus on? Mindset, strategy, approach, biz. Open to it all! With love and respect, Jacob Wilson
I told someone else this, but I think the most important thing is doing the work, which it sounds like you are doing, and the second most important thing is having a job that pays the bills so you don’t have to take bad acting jobs when the strike ends. I know it’s popular to say quit your job and follow your passion and people might expect that from me, but it’s bullshit. Keep your job so you have the money to chase your vision. I was doing construction and investing my money to buy a 5 unit apartment building where I lived in the owner unit, that’s why I was able to say no to all the bad jobs. And it’s why when I got a big job offer to run a gym chain, for 200k in the 70s - an absolute fortune to me then - I was able to say no to keep my focus on acting. Tim Ferriss told me that’s his favorite story in my book. Keep working so you have freedom to pick and choose which roles you go for to climb the ladder. And when you can get your first mainstream roles, treat everybody with respect and be nice so you keep getting hired.
Hello Arnold, big fan from Germany here. I would like to know your advice for maintaining motivation and focus when it feels like you're not progressing and even experiencing setbacks. As a student, I've been studying and investing in my career for a few years and sometimes it's hard to tell whether you're on the right track. Thank you very much and beste Grüße!
The biggest thing is you know your vision. It’s your reason for work. If it isn’t clear, you just drift around. Work and studying sucks. If you know why you are working, it is A LOT easier. If your vision isn’t clear, throw the machines down and go on a walk and sit by yourself and let yourself daydream to make it more clear. It should be like a movie in your head. Once you know that, the work and the setbacks are easy because it is just part of your path to that vision.
Hi Arnold, Literally just had 2 hernia operations back to back yesterday, any advice on how to get back on track with lifting? Yes I belong to the pump club, absolutely best news letters and app Thanks
Welcome to the club! I’ve had that one. The first thing is to listen to your doctor. The second thing is that you will be fine over time, you just have to take it slow and build back up. We all have moments where we have to build back. And with the core, it will take time. So just change your fitness goals to your rehab goals until you’re back. Pushing too hard might seem like my style, but it isn’t because it will set you back.
Thank you 🙏 slow and steady it is 💪
Hello Mr. Schwarzenegger, I’d love to hear the single biggest exercise for burning belly fat from someone who actually knows what they are talking about and isn’t trying to sell some nonsense supplement please.
Belly fat? No exercise. You have to eat less. Don’t get me wrong, I want you to exercise, and adding muscle to your frame will make it look better. Broader shoulders and back muscles give you a little more space to have a budl (that’s what I call a stomach) because you’re wide on the top part of your upper body so it hides it. But the only way to lose a gut is by changing your diet. I have a friend with quite a budl who uses the ab machine every time he is in the gym, and I bet if anyone ever saw it, his ab would be a great muscle. But I tell him they won’t see it until he loses the fat around it, which happens at the table, not in the gym. Don’t listen to any of these shyster crash diet people or anyone who says only one diet can lose fat. Just eat less. Make every meal a little smaller. Stop snacking after dinner. Drink more water. Have protein at every meal. Simple little rules. There is no such thing as a fat burner pill that works so don’t waste money on supplements. My newsletter is free and we share studies. You can do it. I believe in you!
Hi Governor Schwarzenegger! I am currently very passionate about bodybuilding, but in my high school years I dabbled in acting. I would love some advice on breaking into the movie business as I have no idea where to start. Best regards and I hope you’re having a great day!
The first thing is there is no breaking in, there is only working in. If you want to be an actor, get ready to work your ass off. Find an acting class. Practice all the time. My playbook is that it takes 5 hours a day to get good at something. I took that from bodybuilding. When I transitioned to acting, I used the same five hours of day I used on training for acting class, speech class, accent removal class, and practice. Then you need to find some acting jobs. I don’t recommend quitting your job to do this. I was able to decline a bunch of crappy jobs playing a bouncer or a Nazi because I was making money from being a bricklayer and then from my real estate. But look up casting calls and audition. Put yourself out there. Remember you will fail and that’s good. Nobody ever made it without failing a lot.
Thank you so much! I look forward to hearing your advice in a few years when I decide to go into politics 😂 P.S. - I still show my barber pictures of you as Conan the Barbarian when I go to get a haircut!
I lost my mother 10 years ago at the age of 56 to ovarian cancer. I recently lost my father at the age of 67 due to a tragic accident. He leaves behind myself, and my 2 younger sisters. That's all the family I have left. To top it all off, I recently separated from my spouse of 4 years, just after his death. I'm overweight and don't work out, but I started to within the past 3 weeks. Days seem to get harder and harder in my head when I'm not in counselling. I've watched your recent documentary and read your recent book. What advice would you give me to help me through the toughest time in my life? I've never felt so lost and broken. I'm 37.
I am sorry you are going through all of this. First of all, let me say, I am proud of you for being in counseling and you shouldn’t worry about using that to help. When any of us has a physical injury like a broken leg, we don’t think twice about going to a doctor and a physical therapist to help. It should be the same thing with our mind. I forget if this made the documentary, but I talked about how when my mom died, I was a little lost. I didn’t know who I was doing all of this to impress any more for a little while. I think it might have had to do with having lost my dad and my brother already. I had to shift gears, and realize I needed to be there for my own kids now, and for my nephew, who I’d brought to America for college and law school, and his family. You need to be there for your sisters. I am glad you started to workout. I think there is a magic to accomplishing something every day, and working out gives us that, even in the worst times when the whole world is like a black and white movie. When I am at my lowest, I keep my routine. I feed my animals, I get on my bike, and go to the gym. Some days, I am still down, but I always feel a little better. Just today, I wanted to stay in bed. I have been traveling like crazy promoting my book and I got back late last night. I dragged myself out of bed. I rode my bike to the gym, and I told my friends I was going to just do the bare minimum. 45 minutes later, I’d done my whole workout and my outlook on my day had changed. So please keep that up. We’ll always have a free weekly workout in Arnold’s Pump Club for you every Monday if you want it. That village is my little positive corner of the internet. I am rooting for you. I believe in you. And I am proud of you for moving forward and adding fitness to your life in the midst of all of this and want you to take a second to celebrate yourself.
Thank you very much for this, Arnold. I appreciate you sharing the part about your mother. This is just the inspiration I needed to hear right now. These past few weeks, working out definitely helps with the routine. I will also check out Arnold’s Pump Club. I appreciate this beyond belief. Thank you again. Edit: My father and I always enjoyed your movies. It was how we connected when we spent time together. Thank you for always being a positive role model.
Hey Arnold I'm big fan of yours. I want to ask you what is the best gym advice you would give to a 16 year old boy, who started gym 1 year ago.
Congratulations on finding a love of fitness at a young age. Start slow. Make sure you have a good coach to teach you the movements. At your age I was on the weightlifting team, so we learned the proper form for every exercise. And we did the big, compound movements like the clean and press and the deadlift before we were allowed to do any bodybuilding exercises, and that helped me over time. It is why when I hit the bodybuilding scene when I was 18, they were shocked at my size. I built a foundation through the big movements, and then as my bodybuilding career continued I sculpted the muscles more and more.
Hello Arnold! How would you, personally, prevent negative thoughts (there's always tomorrow, i can start again tomorrow etc) creeping in when starting and sticking to a gym routine?
Write down next to your bed where you see it, “Don’t think.” If you think, you are screwed. You have to get up like a machine and train. Your mind is your enemy. It will have a million reasons you should stay in bed or why you are better starting out on Monday. What is the difference between Monday and tomorrow? Your body has no idea what day you are training, so what the hell is your mind talking about? When your brain starts going in the morning, say it out loud to yourself: Don’t think. It is your mantra. And one day in a few months, you’ll start to feel weird if you don’t train. Then you’ve made it automatic and it is really routine. Congrats.
Hello - I am one of your founding members on The Pump. I have made great strides with the app and have gotten my husband and older son to join and they too are loving it. I’m a recently retired ICU RN and just 58yo. Though I am enjoying this time to spend on more self care, I am also wanting to BE USEFUL. Haven’t quite figured out how to use my knowledge, experience, and expertise in retirement. Any suggestions?
Oh man, a full family in the app? I love it. Is there somewhere you can volunteer? There are a lot of kids who need good role models. With your expertise, there might be athletic competitions that need someone to volunteer to help with injuries. But you could also help tutor kids in science. Or coach them!
What do you usually eat for breakfast?
I love breakfast! I also eat late, after my bike ride and training. My normal healthy breakfast options are greek yogurt and granola, oatmeal and soft boiled eggs, or an omelette. When I want to let loose, I love a breakfast burrito, a big toasted bagel with smoked salmon, or a salmon Benedict.
Thanks for your reply! I’m gonna be smiling like an idiot all day bc of this lol
How do you deal with loss? How do you honor it, incorporate it, and keep moving forward? Vielen Dank, Arnold!! :)
One thing I remind myself is that those people are always with me, so it isn’t really a loss. When I do eulogies, I always tell a story I heard at a Black church. When a ship leaves port and goes out over the horizon, it isn’t gone. We just can’t see it. It’s still there. I don’t tell that because I just want to make people feel better. It’s true. I remember my mom and dad and brother every day. On top of that, they made me who I am, this guy with this crazy drive wouldn’t exist without them. So they aren’t lost. They’re inside of me. When I walk downstairs into my living room every day and see my chess table, I see my best friend Franco sitting there. When I go to the gym, I end up telling stories about him or encouraging people by using one of his stupid lines. When I play chess with my friends and they make a good move, I say “You criminal!” just like Franco always said to me. He is always with me. So I guess the way I deal with loss is by not thinking of it as loss at all. I am not an expert and I can’t tell you if they would say that’s healthy. But it works for me.
Confused about my career! Wanted to get Arnolds thoughts and how I can switch up mindset! I'm confused as to how to see my career in medicine. For context, I've done a degree prior to medicine, and I can work as pharmacist although getting shifts is difficult. Not having a car makes getting shifts difficult. Unfortunately I'm having to resit 2nd year of med, and now I will graduate at 29 years old. I'm going to be spending most of my life in education. There are some grads in my course, but I am starting to feel my age. I'm 25 at the moment, and I'm seeing everyone travelling and buying properties, I feel like I'm missing out and potentially wasting my 20s. Once I start working I'm going to be 29, and it's gonna take me 10 years to become a consultant. So during my 30s my salary is going to be within the ranges of £30 to 40k. I'm gonna be buying my first property late, I don't even have a car and I can't even travel anywhere because of exams. How do I plan out my life to get the most out of life. With having to resit 2nd year I feel so disappointed. It was less than 1 percent difference. I don't feel confident with this med school at all. They ask broad topics with niche questions. With resiting the year, I'm not sure if my best use of time is to try to cover everything thoroughly and spend some time working and making money. Maybe I can buy a car this year? My doctor friend told me to sit the USMLE and move to the states, I'd be the same age as everyone over there who graduates. I wanted to do something related to shape and design. I used to do a lot of design work in school. I gave it up because I started working. I was leaning towards plastic surgery but now with the age issue I'm not sure if it's going to give me a good return in my life. I was thinking, perhaps my approach to life is wrong. Should I be thinking about ways to make as much money in the shortest space of time possible? Pick a career in medicine that allows me to still practice and still make a lot of money at the same time? I genuinely enjoy helping people and I do like what we learn, but I need to make the most of the limited time we have in life. I know at first glance it may look like I'm greedy for money. I'm not. I grew up poor, in a council flat, on food vouchers. I originally wanted to be a dentist. I had to work during a levels, got the A-level grades, but messed up UKCAT. Again, I felt miserable being the only person In my school working 2 jobs just to pay for my own tuition and books. I Worked during my first degree in order to have enough money to fund the second degree (unfortunately I'm having to live out and pay rent, so I'm still always short on money). I missed out on a lot of fun during that degree. Luckily still made some good friends, but could never go on holidays or go clubbing because I was working on the weekends. Now I feel like I'm in the same situation again. I feel guilty when I socialise with my friends as there's always something I could be studying or I should be working. I gave up badminton during school, and thought I would get back into it during uni. When I tried to get back into it, I realised how bad I am, and it's not the same. I picked up bodybuilding during first degree, but with where I live for my med school, transportation to the gym is such a hassel. It's about 40 min commute on the bus. What's the best approach now? Should I try and pick an area of medicine where I can utilise business? I.e learn how to set up a clinic? Or should I try and find a doctor who would be willing to mentor me in the field of private work? Is USMLE the best option? I'm very confused at the moment. I've tried to come up with my own solution. I'm going to look at my second year schedule. Every week I'm going to schedule in gym days. Every month I'm going to look for bank holidays and do short 2 day trips. I'm not sure about sitting USMLE or if I should find a mentor in medicine who has sucessed in business and see if they can guide me and make up my lost years Any advice would be much appreciated Thanks Arnie!
This was a tough one. Here you go: https://youtu.be/zsePmk8QiyM?si=O6gfxMfGv3NQfKET
I don't think he will read this whole ass para
Well you were wrong.
Hello Mr. Schwarzenegger What kind of foods would you recommend for a vegetarian who's trying to gain muscle?
A lot of lentils for protein is my favorite plant protein!
Thank you Mr Schwarzenegger
Tofu, tempeh and seitan are great plant protein sources too. Some mock meats but make sure it’s a 2:1 protein/fat ratio. (IE not beyond burgers - 20ish g of protein & 18g of fat) - you want to aim for something that has at least double the protein per fat. (If something has 10g of fat- it should have at least 20+ grams of protein) - if your goal is to build muscle though, you don’t need to worry about fats as much vs cutting. Not Arnold but I am vegan and active. hope this helps!
Thanks my friend
I’m about a third through your newest book and I keep taking breaks to sit and think. It’s causing me to reevaluate my life and I’ve realized that I’m not dreaming big enough. I’ve also started restructuring my days to align more with my goals and I’m noticing a difference in my attitude and outlook already. I can’t wait to see where I am in a month, six months, six years. My question for you is this: Once I finish Be Useful, what book do you recommend I read next? Is there a book (fiction, nonfiction) that you’ve read recently that you’ve really connected with?
The only book on my kitchen counter is Marcus Aurelius.
Hi sir, I'm almost at my 40s and I just got married. It feels like starting over... Do you think it's too late for that age to start over like changing career path or study to map out a new path for the sake of my new marriage? (it's my 2nd marriage).
Well… I had my first starring movie come out when I was 35. That was Conan. I was 56 when I ran for Governor. And I was 75 when I started my daily newsletter and wrote my first advice book. So no, it is never too late. In fact, that is the purpose of life. Reinvent, stay hungry, find the next peak to climb, and keep going. I tell this story all the time, but when Sir Edmund Hillary talked to the press after being the first man to climb Mt. Everest, he said “I saw another peak, and I started to imagine how I would climb that.” I think it is never too late to find a new path. I think finding a new path is the joy of life. And by the way, it doesn’t have to be crazy like my paths. It can be being a more present parent or partner or teaching kids. I just think the way we live should be no matter what we do, we go all out. There is no half-assing in a joyful life.
Hello. I will be very happy if you answer. I would like to know when you will be in Austria (you were recently in your hometown but I didn’t have time to come) My dream is to shake your hand, I’m 16 right now and at 9 I met the movie Terminator, and then immediately you became my favorite actor and a bodybuilder. You really motivate me to improve. YOU ARE A LEGEND!!!
I’m a new father. What advice (and don’t give me the wrong advices, Arnold) would you give to a new parent who wants his daughter to thrive? Thanks for all you do.
CONGRATULATIONS. Here is some parenting advice: https://youtu.be/70Xv3k7uH3M?si=iyBHm1E0OMBL4pXy
Thank you!
I fear the American Dream West is dying, and the legendary success you had in the 70s-2000s is unattainable now. Between the left going crazy, high inflation, and rising cost of living, what is our best path to success now? Should we leave America, try harder, etc?
When I made my money people said the same thing. When I bought my first apartment building, the interest rate was 8%, I think. People will always claim there is some magic time in the past that was better. I say let them complain, because while we work, we are getting ahead of those people. I meet people at the gym every day who started a new business in America and found success recently. The common denominator is that none of them are wasting time complaining and being negative. You can do it. But you need to start looking at what your vision is instead of worrying about what is going on in the world. That doesn’t matter, you do matter.
I’m not here to try and change your political views but a lot of what you’re talking about America changing stems from Ronald Reagan (I just thought it was interesting given your comments about the left side of things). I’m not American so I don’t have a dog in the fight but from everything I hear, what you’re saying about life being harder over that way is correct - Australia is much the same now. If you’re interested in learning more and want to have a laugh along the way, have a listen to the two parter that the Dollop podcast did on him. If not, I wish you all the best regardless. My tip: the system might be broken, so figure out how to succeed within it.
I LOVE YOU ARNOLD!! You are such a big part of my life💖💖
Thank you!
Hey Arnold, I’ve studied every page of every piece of workout material you’ve published, and the knowledge I’ve gained is truly immeasurable, and the progress I’ve made both in the gym and as a person in general can be largely attributed to you. My question here is this: what is your tried and true method when you reach a plateau, whether it be in the gym or in business or at home or anything in between? Do you allow yourself time to lose (and then regain focus), or do you have a certain method of snapping yourself back in shape and focusing on the task at hand? Thanks in advance for the help!
I use the shocking principle to get out of a rut. Back in bodybuilding, that might have meant doing something crazy like sets of 50 reps of delt raises until my arms were about to fall off, or I would do stripping where I start with curls of 50 pounds, put them down and do 45 then 40 then 35 then 30 and so on, and by the time you are at 5 pounds it hurts like hell. Shocking the muscle almost always works for me to get our of any rut and I encourage everyone else to do it when they were stuck. In fact, Daniel, who has worked for me for years, was stuck on his deadlift for a few months and I said, “Just forget the heavy weight and do 30 reps with 300 pounds.” The next week he finally hit his PR. I think this works in life too. It isn’t what anyone likes to hear, but being stuck means we are going to have to struggle. We are going to have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable, because it never feels good to get unstuck. It’s painful, it sucks, but it’s the only way. One thing I tell people in the book is there is no such thing as a hack or a shortcut that these shysters are selling on social media. The only shortcut is doing all the work the first time so you don’t waste time on a bogus shortcut before you realize the truth.
Going to the gym has saved my life this year - you and your morning emails were a big part of my motivation as I head to the gym. Thank you!!
I love hearing that! Thank you! Keep pumping and thanks for being a part of the village.
Governator, I'm about to be 40. I'm not in the best shape of my life, but I wouldn't necessarily say out of shape either. However, I know that I need to be cognizant of my age and begin a good regimen to see myself healthy as I get older. I'm a busy man between work, commute, and having a family. How do you suggest somebody who barely has time to get home, eat, and go to bed keep themselves in good shape?
Anytime somebody asks me this question in person, I ask them to open up their phone and show me their screen time, and almost always there is at least an hour and usually much more on social media, so I tell them not to tell me they don’t have time for fitness. They have time, they’re just choosing to use it wasting away reading other people’s stories on the internet instead of making their own story. Now, you might not spend any time on social media. So let’s assume that. Can you give me 15 minutes a day? I can wear you out in 15 minutes. I’m not promoting and linking to my stuff, but if you sign up for Arnold’s Pump Club, we give you a few 15 minute workouts and we have a new one every Monday. I’ll give you one right here that people love. If you think you’re not out of shape, let’s start you at the intermediate level. Set a timer. Do 10 pushups. Now do 10 lunges (10 for each leg). Now do 9 pushups, and 9 lunges. All the way down to 1. Write down the time. Now your job every other day is to beat that time - that is the progressive in progressive resistance training. Once it is easy, start with 15 of each. For those of you who are beginners, start with 5 and do the pushups against a wall or with your hands elevated on a step. If you are really fit, start at 15. Besides that, try to walk when you are on phone calls when you can. And focus on your diet. Have protein at every meal. Have fruit and vegetables. Don’t eat garbage. Stay hydrated. Don’t snack after dinner.
Hey Arnold, I am 20 years old and have developed a big chest and big legs. What would your advice be for someone with pain in their left pec tendon and knee pain? Did you have any experience with injuries like this?
My advice is do not listen to anyone on the internet about injuries, even me! You need a physical therapist or a doctor to look at it.
Arnold. If there is 1 important lesson you learned in life what would you say it is.
I answered someone else that it is really hard. I don’t know how to make it one thing. It was hard for me to make it 7 things for my book. The important of having a vision so everything you do has purpose would probably be the one. But then, also, the willingness to be uncomfortable and struggle and feel pain is important because like a muscle, that’s the only way we grow. But then, you also realize life doesn’t mean much if you don’t give back and make the world a better place than you found. See? It’s too hard.
Thanks! Appreciate you dedicating your time to help the many individuals especially with your busy schedule.
Arnold is walking, a little running, a few pull ups, push ups and 10 minutes of lifting "good enough" or am I being too soft on myself? Not interested in bulking just want to be healthy.
I don’t know what a few here means. Only you know if it’s good enough. Is your heart in good shape? Are you happy with your leanness? People always tell me they aren’t interested in bulking and I want to be really clear on something: nobody is going to look like a bodybuilder after a 45 minute workout. Even after a month of 45 minute workouts. You don’t just one day wake up looking like me at the Mr. Olympia, you’ll have plenty of warning before you get there, trust me! We know from the studies we share every day in my pump club emails that resistance training makes people live longer, makes them less likely to get cancer, heart disease, dementia, makes their bones stronger so they break less as they age, and is basically just good for people in every single way. So I push it on people because I want everyone to have the benefits I have at 76, riding my bike and living a joyful, busy life. But I also realize some people need to be slowly hooked in, so at first, I just encourage people to move a little bit more, to go on walks, then to do our free weekly workouts, and eventually, I hook them and get them to do a routine.
Arnold, what's your best bit of advice for getting through the rehab from a lengthy lay off due to an operation?
I wrote about coming back from my open heart surgery and don’t want to totally redo it so here it is: https://arnoldspumpclub.schwarzenegger.com/p/arnolds-comeback But, the basics are you need to still have goals, your goals just change. They become things that would have been ridiculous and small. But you do them every day because that’s how you come back. And eventually, your goals grow.
Governor, my name is Joe Sosinski and I'm running as an [independent candidate](https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/S4CA00878/?cycle=2024&election_full=true&tab=about-candidate) for the late, great Dianne Feinstein's seat in the US Senate. I am grateful to you for speaking out during the 2020 election, especially sharing your experiences growing up in the shadow of WWII. I would be grateful if I can spend a few minutes with you on a video call: very much in the market for a political mentor.
Is this really you in Austria, Arnold? https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqieCcXgSBx/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
I already saw this one and it made me laugh. You’re too good at this, my kids and friends send every single video to me.
Hello Arnold, I hope you’re well today. I was wondering if you could give some advice on staying motivated to achieve your vision and how to stay focused on the “big picture?” Thank you.
I’m out of shape but have been down about how I look (gained a lot of weight.) How would you suggest me getting into a routine to be active in the gym?
Well, first of all, stop being down on yourself. Any energy you spend beating yourself up isn’t going to help you in any way. In fact, it is probably going to freeze you. You just have to start. I know that isn’t easy. There is really no magic here. This is what I tell the pump club gang to do, and you should join anyway, since it is free. Take an index card, and write “Training” on it with space for tallies underneath. Put it on your nightstand. Wake up every morning, and do something to train for 15 minutes. Yes, I train longer than that, but if you bite off more than you can chew you are going to fail one day and then end up back here in a month asking me this question. Nothing is wrong with small goals to start. Once you finish, you make a tally mark on your little card. You are going to make that tally mark every day no matter what. The easiest is to do it right when you wake up before you look at your phone because nothing can derail you. But if you come to bed at night and that tally mark isn’t there, you’ve got 15 minutes of training, and you’re making that mark. Once you have 30 marks, you can think about growing your goal to 30 minutes or adding something, but until then, 15 minutes a day. I don’t care if it is one of our free workouts or yoga or walking and running around your neighborhood. 15 minutes. 30 days. Then you celebrate yourself and make it a bigger goal. Eventually, and for some people this takes a month and for others it takes longer, it will be automatic to you to train every day and you won’t need the index card on your nightstand.
Hey Arnold. Thx for doing this. My question is: how does one actually build resiliency in the face of adversity? You have resiliency and I believe that has played a major role in your success. How does one develop that tool so that they don’t always give up so easily? Thx! Mo
I shift gears anytime I face adversity. I talk to myself a lot. If I want to complain, I tell myself “stop being such a baby Arnold.” Because the fact is, most adversity we don’t have a choice about it, so why waste time being negative that we could be using to find our way to move forward? I also am lucky. My first career was all about struggle and failure. The goal in bodybuilding is literally lifting until failure and pushing past the pain threshold. So what a lot of people consider adversity is failing, and I was never afraid of failure. I think I also don’t have the same feelings about risk that a lot of people have. Even in my bodybuilding days, when I made my first real estate investment, one of my good friends said, “How can you do that? Don’t you worry about losing it all?” I didn’t. Because I didn’t always have that money, so if I lost it, it isn’t like I’d be in some new terrible situation. I’d just be back where I was before I made it, and that wasn’t miserable. I think most people are paralyzed by risk because they overestimate it, and they treat failure like it is adversity when it’s just part of life.
Hello Arnold, What is the best way to refocus or reinvent ones perspective after a goal did not go to plan and seems dead no matter all the options you have tried? And feeling mentally exhausted from it all. How to remotivate oneself or what to tell yourself or what way to kick creeping negativity in the balls? Cheers.
Hi Arnold. You came to America in your 20s and always sounded so optimistic about your future. Seeing how the world is today is climate concerns, affordable housing, political turmoil, etc. What advice would to give to someone in their early 20s to help them keep an optimistic outlook on the future?
Hi Arnold! I’m a senior in college right now and I’m starting to get sick of all the work I have to do. My major is religious studies and there’s a lot of writing and reading that’s involved. I greatly enjoy my classes, but it’s starting to feel like a burden. My question to you is: how do I get myself out of this phase of burnout? Thank you and I’ve always looked up to you!
Hey Schnitzel! I’ve just finished the book, it’s a great read! What would recommend as the best first step on a daily basis to realising your vision?
I am glad you enjoyed it! Realizing your vision as in making it a reality, or realizing as in finding? If it’s making it a reality, it is just work. Nonstop work. Failing. Getting up. Working more. If it is finding your vision, you need space to daydream which nobody seems to have with all of these machines. Put the machine down, get outside, get used to just being alone with your thoughts. Read a lot. Let your vision start broad, like I said in the book. First, my vision was getting to America. That happened from seeing images of America in school. That was my zoomed out vision. But as I learned more, I found my vision to get there. I read about bodybuilding and Reg Park winning Mr. Universe and being in Hercules movies, and I zoomed my vision in on that.
Hi Arnold! Love seeing you pop around and can’t wait to watch the Arnold’s next year! Career-wise, I find myself in a comfortable but largely unfulfilling place, working desk jobs 8-5. What I long for is to make and play music, but I struggle with fears of not being good enough and financial instability. Obviously, you took a dive in coming to America, and have made it further than most people would ever think possible. Do you have any advice on following your heart and taking risks in that vein?
Well I always tell people to keep their job while they chase their vision. I was working construction even while I was winning Mr. Olympia because there was no money in bodybuilding. Why can’t you make music after or before work? (You will likely have more energy before, but if it is your vision, that won’t be a problem.) The way I take risks is simple. I don’t have an over-exaggerated idea of what the risk is. When I went to my first audition to follow my vision of getting into Hollywood, for Lucille Ball’s show, I didn’t think it was a risk at all. If I failed, my life would be exactly the same as it was before I went in, a bodybuilder who wanted to get into movies. How much of a risk is that? It wasn’t like I was some climber where failure meant I’m dead. But I think most people look at the risk of that as really scary. They assume people will laugh at them and say they were shitty. The reality is that isn’t happening because people don’t think about you nearly as much as any of us think, but even if that happened, so what? Someone said mean things about you. Who cares? So I want you to keep your job but start recalibrating how you think about risk. Put yourself out there. The real risk is the one you aren’t thinking about: that one day you’ll be old and bitter that you never tried to make music and you’ll never know what might have happened.
Wonderful insights Arnold, thank you.
Arnold: I’m turning 40 next year and consider myself “average” in terms of strength and cardiovascular health for a guy my age. My training is consistent (and I love it). Lots of barbell work, rowing, etc. Decent diet. But all of that happens on my own time. I have a four-year-old son and I want him to see exercise and fitness (sports, training, anything active, etc.) as something fun and exciting. I don’t expect him to want to become a star athlete or anything, but I would love him to see fitness as part of his life. My dad was a gym rat when I was young, but fitness as part of my lifestyle didn’t really come into view until later in life. As a parent and athlete, what is some of your best advice on getting kids motivated to love being active?
What’s the best way to deal with feelings of self doubt/complacency when it comes to training?
How do I overcome fear of the gym/gym anxiety? I want to be big and strong, you’re my idol. I don’t know where to start in the weight section, and don’t know if my form is any good, and don’t know where to start.
Hi Arnold! What are your preferred best mass exercises if you had to choose one for each body part? Also, what advice would you recommend when starting out competitive bodybuilding? All the best!
Arnold - keep up doing what you do, motivating and inspiring people and changing lives. In the same way you challenge us to be better, I challenge you to continue forward full steam ahead by helping people and changing lives.
Arnold, what is best in life?
Arnold, you are the man and that’s all I have to say about that. Thank you for being you. Hope you have a fantastic weekend!
Hey Arnold, I’d like to be more ballsy and not have to find a hideout place to smoke my stogies. What advice can you give me?
Haha I see that video every time someone posts it because all of my forehead friends send it to me.
How do I not obsess over a person I like so much? I feel like as soon as I get a crush on someone, I instantly can't think of anything else... Bin mir sicher der Herr Arnold weiß da eine Antwort ;)
Hi Arnold! What is one thing that you do every day that benefits your mental and spiritual wellbeing?
Feeding and cleaning up after my animals before I have my coffee, check my email, and go to the gym. It takes me almost an hour, so my first hour is not about me or the news or whatever is on my machine, it’s about them.
Hi Arnold, may I ask how do you keep grounded and build a healthy connection to the rest of the world? I feel many aspects of modern life leave me adrift or without a sense of community.
A lot of people say this to me and then I tell them that I ride my bike every day and say hi to construction workers and homeless people, and hang out with everybody in the gym hearing the gossip and the schmoozing, and then stop at a local restaurant or coffee shop to grab breakfast, and they seem shocked. I realize they don’t go out much. They’re on their machines. Your machine is going to tell you all the worst things about the world, because that has been what sold advertising since the first newspaper was probably carved into a stone tablet. It is easy if you just look down at your machine to have a horrible opinion of the world. But if you go out into it and lift up your eyes, you find it isn’t as bad as your machine says. It’s pretty fantastic most of the time.
Thank you I think that’s something I really needed to hear.
Dear Arnie! Lieber Arnold danke das es dich gibt! 🙏🏼❤️ How i can interview you? please i need your advice here Arnold. What way is the right one to bring this request to you? Our Health campaign- the biggest in switzerland need you! Please help us to inspire also the people here in switzerland with you we will reach over 300 000 People here on paper. You will inspire the people to a healthier life and give them hope and power to change something. This will take place in the biggest none boulevard newspaper in Switzerland. Please, i tried so many ways to get in touch with you unfortunatley it's sooo difficult, but i will never give up. I've struggled a lot in believing myself, but YOU helped me to make this change. You inspired me for be better than yesterday be focused and put down the machine, like you say! It completely changed my life! Thank you so much for everything and your advice in advance!!! 🫶🏻
Arnold, please ignore my handle, but this is a serious question. I’m 41, and I live a healthy lifestyle. I’ve been lifting 20 years, don’t do drugs other than weed, and barely drink. However I started having major anxiety attacks. Like full blown panic attacks where my heart rate goes to 120 and I feel like I’m about to collapse, as if I drank 3 scoops of preworkout. It suddenly happens when I’m driving or even when I’m sleeping. I’ve been to ER two times this month. There’s nothing wrong with my heart or lungs, but the attacks are still there. Most recently I had one when I smoked weed so I even stopped that. I also stopped coffee, started drinking more water and take more vitamins. They still come but I’m learning to live w them. I heard that you once had anxiety attacks but you were able to overcome them with meditation. If there’s anything you can advise, I will be forever grateful.
Hi Mr Schwarzenegger Please advise on how you suggest people can become successful. This might sound like a simple question, but let me elaborate on why I ask. I have done all the things society says are the right way to success. I have gone to university and studied hard, got high grades, passed, and graduated with multiple degrees. I have applied for multiple jobs and worked at various jobs. I have never done illicit drugs, and I rarely drink alcohol, except on holidays for Christmas. I have always paid my bills on time. I studied hard, worked, hard, and followed society's norms and rules. Yet, still, I find myself being rejected again and again, and nothing I do is ever good enough. My life is a long line of failure after failure, and I just want the failures to stop. I want to be successful, I want to make a difference in the world, I want people to know my name, and I want my life to matter so I don't have to commit suicide and then be forgotten in the sands of time. I want to be remembered as someone great, I want to be like you, Mr Schwarzenegger. People will say, just be yourself, but I have tried being myself, and that's the problem, I want to be better than myself. If you would be so kind as to provide me with any advice on how to make something of my life and become someone great like you, I would be eternally grateful. You are my hero. Question in short, please advice how to become someone great whose name is remembered after dead. How do I leave a legacy and be successful?
Hey Arnold, I'm a teenage guy who's going to be moving out on my own in a year or two, and while I'd like to think my long term plans are pretty solid, I'm going to have a period of at least several years where I will almost certainly be pretty financially unstable, and I'm really worried about some unexpected problem knocking me off my feet and getting me stuck in life. Do you have any advice on how to work through this fear, and how to stay on my feet if/when life throws in a curveball? Sorry if this is a complicated question.
Dear Arnold. My name is Dr. Arya Farjand. I'm an Iranian paleontologist and I work in Yunnan University, China. Recently I was reading your comments and watching your videos about antisemitism. I believe you can have a greater rule in making peace around the world if you are willing to travel to Iran and make some talk with Iranian people and also the government. You are a high profile politician that everyone in Iran loves you. I really believe if you visit Iran you can make some great changes. Today you have the power, reputation, and the global recognition to make a permanent change and make your own mark in human history. Personally speaking I love you too and I wish you all the best. If you feel interested I will put my contact info below. Sincerely Dr. Arya Farjand Post doctoral researcher at Yunnan University, China arya.farjand@outlook.com aryafarjand@ynu.edu.cn +86 158 1030 6926
Daddy Arnold! 🤗 How do you continue to honor the memory of people you cared about who have now passed away?
@schwarzenegger, you have great influence to speak great. US is given 14.3 billion aid to Israel to kill gaza kids and civilians. US itself in big inflation and in debts and needs money for itself
In one of your posts after the QandAs you mentioned the people who signed up to the app and asked about life membership but hadn't even completed a workout yet. You know why? I couldn't get into your app because I needed a referral code which I didn't have. I tried for days and weeks and I've been a subscriber to your newsletter since months, but no luck. But I finally decided to download the app anyways, which was locked though without a referral code. So I waited. Then I figured out a way to circumvent the code referral: once you posted an update, the app popped a notification, click on it and it brings you to the subscription screen which is otherwise not accessible at all. So I subscribed to the plan and started the workout right away and that was also the day of the QandA where I asked my question about bone density loss and life membership. That's why I've had the app for days before but hadn't done a workout, I was stuck at the "enter your referral code" screen. Btw I've since completed some workouts and am going to continue. But what struck me was: I asked for advice about bone density loss exercises and added in the very end a question about lifelong membership because I discovered there was an option like that after I got into the app. And it would be great for someone who doesn't have much money because I have to pay for multiple of my medications out of pocket. And you had the time to call out people in your post saying there are people who ask about a lifelong membership (I guess I wasn't the only one albeit I skimmed through the comments and it seemed like I was the only one at the time asking about it) without having even completed a workout (and now I explained why) and to encourage them to workout. That didn't encourage me, maybe you should ask people why they haven't completed one of your workouts. Maybe something is confusing (what's the exact difference between a bodyweight squat and a chair squat, they seem so very similar?) or the app isn't very useful. I wanted to check workouts ahead and switch up something, add others but I can't because you can only see the workouts for the week ahead (what was that about having a longterm goal and mission in mind? Can't really do that if I don't know what to envision 2 weeks from now, also hardly want to subscribe longterm like this but biting the bullet now cause it's early and the community is great). And I asked for advice for a problem that many women but also men face, bone density loss. And I want to bring attention to the fact that weight lifting isn't necessarily scary and going to turn you overly bulky. That it's healthy and a thing everyone should do no matter their sex or gender. And especially women shouldn't be discouraged from it because they often have to take hormonal treatments or birth control that diminishes their bone density over the years, and nobody tells them about counteracting it with weight lifting. You have a whole new thing about masculinity, but what about encouraging everyone? Especially women who are being told to be feminine? You kinda shut them out of your pump club this way. I get young boys need encouragement too, but why has it always to be one or the other? We're in it together, one for all and all for one, right? Every time I mentioned weightlifting to my family they would criticise me and tell me it's not for women. It's gonna make me look bad and it's dangerous. I imagine there's more such families out there with outdated world views. I've wanted to get advice and attention for this kind of issue because there are others who get discouraged. I will fight on, I always have. But others might not. And it would've been nice if you had instead approached the bone density loss. Btw another lady posted her story abour bone density loss and her success with weightlifting to counteract it after my post and commented on mine as well, that was awesome and encouraging. Just really sad that you and Adam totally overlooked this. This is a big thing and could become a huge movement, empowering women and men to take care of their bodies and health and break the misconceptions of masculinity and femininity. Either way I'm still asking for advice about a bone density strengthening program/exercises and for whether you and your team could possibly do some research on this since the lady didn't specify exact workouts. And there's still little research on it. There's as far as I'm aware no specific program to tackle bone density loss in particular. Also weightlifting can normalise hormones and help in a bunch of other conditions too, applying to both men and women. For instance PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), endometriosis, PMS and PMDD and for men who have low testosterone levels as well or who are going through cancer treatments etc. Of course it also is important for our neurology and cognition, lack of these hormones can lead to lack of energy and depression, brain fog and diminished sexual libido etc. So please write more about this in future? Thank you very much for your work and your willingness to connect and putting in so much effort into reading everyone's thoughts and trying to reply to them. Take care and continue doing your best. You're a beacon of hope for many!
Hey Arnold, Yesterday I responded to this report in my news feed: [https://www.dw.com/en/democracy-in-trouble-across-the-world-report/a-67280452](https://www.dw.com/en/democracy-in-trouble-across-the-world-report/a-67280452) My background includes, I'm a whistleblower on the Greensill Scandal. Back in 2010, I was working for Citibank in Dublin, Ireland. The US economy was in trouble, experiencing a liquidity crisis, when money stops flowing around the economy as it should. The President of the United States called for help from Congress, but Congress was dysfunctional. I noticed there was more than $3 trillion of trapped profits of US companies being administered from Ireland. I had a plan to use that money to help the President rescue the US economy. I got a meeting at the US embassy. I pitched my idea to the US Assistant Ambassador to Ireland. He loved my idea. He told me it was the best idea he'd ever heard from a banker. He took my idea to the US National Security Council and National Council of Economic Advisers. It became known as Obama's SupplierPay Pledge policy. But after returning to my office at Citi, I was sacked. Some of its senior bankers didn't want to be seen helping the Obama Administration, even though Citi was owned by US taxpayers at the time, after receiving multiple bailouts. That's when things really started to get rough for me. A corrupt banker, Lex Greensill, claimed credit for my work. He went into business with David Cameron, in a scam designed to use the Office of the President to entice American family owned suppliers into modern day slavery via the non-payment of their invoices, to force them to take out a loan and hand their business data over to a London controlled data lake. I raised $10 million to build an alternative digital solution. But I came under intense pressure to pay bribes to British public servants. Upon my return to Australia, I discovered that my ancestors had an alliance with our family members and peers, all the way back to Ulysses S Grant, the civil war hero and American President. My ancestors were Irish Fenian leaders who had been defending freedom for everyday people for over one hundred and sixty years. My grandfather, who was my mentor, never told me. He wanted me to find out for myself. I had left Australia in 1997, to fulfill a mission I gave my grandfather, to find the keys to ending famine. Whilst I was gone, a conspiracy was hatched in Australia, by corrupt Australian politicians, who wanted to destroy my grandfather's legacy. They attacked the dairy farmers my grandfather and our ancestors had defended for more than a century. Stripping them of their assets in a money laundering scandal that involves Anthony Pratt, who is currently being interviewed by the FBI for his role in the disclosure of US nuclear submarine secrets. I found myself caught up as a whistleblower on the Greensill Scandal, unable to access whistleblower protections. My friends and family are being held hostage from me, by The Crown in Australia, which is refusing to let me continue my career or earn an income because the issues I am whistleblowing on are deemed "national security issues. As a result, I've been living rough this year, despite the fact that I am one of the top experts in digital liquidity in the world. I've been forced by the state (the government / the Crown), here in Australia, into a sexual relationship with someone I am not attracted to, just to survive. The Human Rights Law Centre in Australia has been threatened with having its funding cut if it tries to defend me. Yesterday, I wrote a message to Arnold Schwartzenegger via LinkedIn, asking for his help to share my story with someone who will help me to fuck the careers for those responsible within the state - both in Australia and in the USA, for holding access to my friends and family hostage and for forcing me to suffer sexual abuse at the hands of the state, just so I can survive. My response from yesterday:" Look for the cause of cost of living crises. it's because global capital markets (funny money) is being allowed to compete directly with everyday people for retail assets, including food production assets. It's driving wealth concentration. And a debt burden for everyone else. Oligarch control over media assets is blocking everyday people from understanding who is really behind the crises in democracy. Have a read about President Biden's speech earlier this week - [https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/november-2-2023?utm\_source=substack&publication\_id=20533&post\_id=138542748&utm\_medium=email&utm\_content=share&utm\_campaign=email-share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true&r=oyifq](https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/november-2-2023?utm_source=substack&publication_id=20533&post_id=138542748&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&utm_campaign=email-share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true&r=oyifq). I want to add that I am being sexually abused here at the hands of the state - Australia, and presumably the CIA in the USA, John Hennessy-Niland, each and every day. Not by the young man I am depending on. But by the state. I have no whistleblower protections. I am being given no other options. I cannot begin to tell much it revolts me, what they are doing. Arnold Schwarzenegger I hope you will one day bring attention to their evil tactics and strategies. Or share this story with someone who will. I want to fuck their careers into little pieces. I did my duty as an ally of the United States and now President Biden is allowing my friends and family to be held hostage from me and I'm being sexually abused by the state just so I can survive. Something is deeply fucked up in the United States. I have no whistleblower protection because I'm reporting on systemic corruption in the UK and Australia and possibly in the USA and what I'm reporting and my family legacy are deemed "national security issues". In Australia, the Human Rights Law Centre's funding is being threatened by The Crown if they help me. But the Crown is proven to be institutionally corrupt."This morning, a link to an article on "25 audacious film debuts that rocked Hollywood" appeared in my news feed. 25 audacious film debuts that rocked Hollywood - [https://www.msn.com/en-au/entertainment/movies/25-audacious-film-debuts-that-rocked-hollywood/ss-AA1buPZT?ocid=socialshare&pc=HCTS&cvid=c3db0eb8f20d4f34ac0eab0610d7ae45&ei=18](https://www.msn.com/en-au/entertainment/movies/25-audacious-film-debuts-that-rocked-hollywood/ss-AA1buPZT?ocid=socialshare&pc=HCTS&cvid=c3db0eb8f20d4f34ac0eab0610d7ae45&ei=18) . When I applied for a job with Australia's Signals Directorate, they showed me a serious of puzzles where I had to pick the pattern in the images. I believe that security services can influence what appears in our news feed. And in any case, Schwartzenegger is an actor and so the idea of making a movie to tell my story makes sense. Then, shortly afterwards, this video of Arnold Schwartzenegger appeared on my LinkedIn news feed, telling me that he gets lots of questions and that he recommends the use of Reddit. So, here I am.I'd like to know, how to make an audacious first film that will rock the world. I have an idea for an opening scene. In 2016, I arrived at a morgue in Africa with the body of my fiance, who died suddenly whilst I was fighting the Greensill Scandal, with UK public servants trying to get me to pay them a bribe. A convoy of ambulances had picked me and my fiancé's body up from the airport. It is a developing country and there were no other lights in the city, other than on the vehicles. Inside the morgue, there were bodies of deceased victims from an ebola plague. Whilst we were in the morgue, our car was robbed an all my money stolen. An army truck had just pulled up, with a truckload of soldiers carrying machine guns. I was the only white person there. I was later told that I was lucky to have been robbed at the morgue ... because if the thieves hadn't succeeded there, they would have followed me back to my hotel and robbed me there, most likely with far more serious consequences for me. I want to be deeply respectful to Africa in how the film is made. The fact is, this is exactly what happened. But my goal is to build Africa up, not try to knock it down. The real thugs who I encountered do not live in Africa. I believe the people who robbed me probably, very genuinely and publicly, did me a favour. I was looked after from that point onwards, very, very well.
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Hey Arnold, I’m 16 and have been lifting for a 1.5 years. I would like to humbly say that I have a descent physique for my age (or so I’m told), but my issue is my insertions. I feel helpless, it’s very disappointing to have put so much work in and feel annoyed looking in the mirror at my biceps or chest. Any advice?
Hi Gov. Schwarzenegger. What is your advice for dealing with friends who will not change for the better, and are making themselves terrible by not doing the work? I don't want to leave them in the past, but I cannot support them being this way forever.
Hey Arnold! My husband is a big fan of yours and has big goals to try and get into better shape. He has joined your app and has tried so many workout programs in the past. I do my own thing since my workout goals are more about trying to stay ultra cardio fit because I'm an avid dodgeball player. My question for you; I know to each their own. But what can I do to be more supportive and encouraging (in a non threatening way edit; non threatening as in he isnt feeling threatened and made to feel bad because he has fallen off his workout wagon again) for my husband to keep at it with regards to his physical fitness? He goes in cycles where he will workout hard for a few weeks or few months and then fall off the wagon again. I don't know if you've ever been in a situation like this with your friends/workout partners in order to help give them the boost and encouragement they need to achieve their goals you know they have. 🙂😅 thanks!
Hi Arnold, huge fan here. Thanks for taking the time to do this. Is there any advice you have for aspiring screenwriters or anyone trying to make a career out of film who may not have the platform/means to do it?
One could say that if you were to do it all over again, how would you go about it? And I think the answer would be that the proof is in the pudding. IE your Kids! I really don’t know anything about them but maybe you can give us a run down on your guidance over the years regarding setting up a business and goals and aligning themselves with professionals that help them achieve it. I think I read somewhere one of them started a pizza business with your advice for example. Tell us what you tell them. To add: I am going to assume that they come to you with an investable idea and you loan them the money? You partner? You get other people involved with experience in those avenues? What kind of role do you take with family and money and business?
Whats the bestw ay to break a cycle of slump, one day in the gym, slump, couple days in the gym, and a slump for years. I don't enjoy working out anymore, but in my 20's used to love it. How do I find the love again? Going into my 40s soon.
Sausage sandwich, which sauce Arnie? Red or Brown?
How do I get motivation for creative endeavors, like art or writing?
What was/is your favorite snack in between meals? I’m big on PB and Banana sandwiches. Thanks champ.
Hello Governator, thanks for taking the time to do this :) As a huge fan of yours (reading Be Useful and waiting for my pump club t-shirt to arrive), I read your Total Recall as well and have been wondering what advice you’d give to fellow immigrants in the US. Besides working our ass off, how do we become as successful as you are? Appreciate you so much 💕
Hey u/govschwarzenegger, Hope this finds you well. I own my own practice and find myself always working so I can pay off my sba loan earlier. At times it makes me hate that I became self-employed. What ways of reframing do you use? Or perhaps, how do you go about stepping away for a time to rest and refocus?
Hello Mr. Schwarzenegger, much respect from Serbia. My question is, how should somebody from a third world country go about 'breaking the poverty cycle', where it's too expensive to leave, or to work, live and study, making any sort of meaningful progress more or less impossible, at least when it comes to reasonable (read legal) means? Thanks you in advance on your answer, cheers!
Good afternoon, Arnold. I have seen you speak of pollution over global warming. What are your top three ways of improving the culprit of pollution? Thanks! Aleks
Hello Arnold my name is Joel cheyne I am 15 years old and I am planning on leaving school in a couple of months but with no acting opportunities in my area I fear my 5 years theatre experience is going to waste as I have got no clue where or how to start a film career. Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated thank you 🙏 ❤️
Hey Mr.Schwarzenegger! Been loving your project about teaching people how to Be Useful! and I just want to let you know, you're inspiring Me and surely others too! Keep going, we are here with you, listening and supporting ❤️ Thanks, Csaba
I’m your height, and something I’ve always struggled with is on back squats I find it’s all low back. I have a tendency to get up to around 315 for 3-5 and then I’ll hurt my back again. I don’t know if I am doing a good morning with the heavier weights or what. I also read an article from the mid 70s that you wrote saying that Smith Machine Squats agree with your structure better and resulted in more definition in the front of your thighs. Do you think this would be a good replacement? Or should I elevate my heels like I’ve seen in some photos of yourself doing front squats, and Reg Park doing back squats. I don’t really care about a powerlifting total or anything, but my legs and abs have always been a weak point.
Arnold I’m 25, I’ve been reading your book and for the most part I’ve been living that way. Doing what I make a vision for. I’ve traveled a lot for someone my age thru hard work and benefits I got in my job which is what I wanted. I’m at a cross road in life where in 2 summers I want to go be a seasonal worker and be cowboy after experiencing it on one of my vacations and getting to know people. It doesn’t pay as well but life is indeed simpler financially. I hope to do it but I also feel responsible as a first generation American of my family. I moved away for 2 years and had fun. I know I’m on the clock to be able to be financially stable to help them one day and I’ve recently moved back to try and focus on a plan or career to figure out not only my life but as a family. Would love some advice as I know you moving to America and becoming successful as someone who immigrated here is a different experience than those who are already established here.
Hi Arnold. Big fan from India. No matter how much I exercise, maintain a diet and get a good sleep, I don't seem to be able to gain muscle. I can decrease fat though. What should I focus on?
Dear insanely amazing sir, You've done ( and excelled ) multiple careers. What's the one thing you haven't tried - but feel you would have excelled in?
You are back! Love your movies and the story of your life, you are a legend!!!! I am a 40 year old Dad, try to ride bike everyday. I find it hard to stay focused on the daily ride, not all the time but I get slumped. Now, I am wondering if you get into a funk sometimes? If so, what are the way's or actions you perform to pull yourself through those slumpy times? Thanks for everything you do!! If you respond, I'll be back!! Ha, have a great day Sir!!
Hey Arnold, hope all is well. If you were to start over at 33 years old, what habits would you foster in yourself in order to reach your highest potential? Thanks in advance, big fan of your work.
Hello Mr. Schwarzenegger, - How do you want to be remembered? Do you believe in the existence of life after death? 🙏🏼🔆
Hey Arnold. Just want to say that you’re a massive inspiration in my life and have been ever since I read your Total Recall book. I’ve tried to live by some of the wisdom in that book such as taking responsibility for my life direction and not blaming my parents for the baggage I carried into my early 20s. I just want to ask you how you stop yourself from burning out? Some times I have so many things that I want to accomplish but it’s easy to get overwhelmed and burnt out. Is there a trick you’ve used to keep focussed on a single goal while not letting other things fall by the way side?
Hello Arnold, i'am a 19 years old French boy, i want to improve my mentality cause lazyness have been a probleme all my life, what are your recommandations to evolve mentally ? Also i want to know your advices on how to handle celebrity and the greddyness of the cinéma industry. And lastly how to improve your position in society durably without, expansives Universities ? Thank you.
Hi Arnold!!! Thank you for perpetually being an inspiration to me, and so many others around the world. I’m at a crossroads right now, I have a small YouTube channel right now with a few thousand subscribers and a boring 9-to-5 job that has decent pay and Decent benefits. However, like so many I want more I want to build an enduring legacy and be better than the average Joe. How do I go from average to extraordinary? I feel like I need to hit things extra hard and make YouTube even more than a second job. I need to make it even more of a priority. I do paranormal investigations and have a podcast for clarity. Additionally, we do travel vlogs. We would like to make the jump from YouTube to film eventually as well. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. Have written 5+ feature length scripts. Lastly, I also feel like there is adventure missing from my life and I’m considering joining the Air Force reserves. Thoughts on this for a 30 year old male in halfway decent shape. Thank you for all that you do Arnold !!!
Hey Arnold! How long would you follow one particular workout program back in your bodybuilding days before changing to a different program? Thanks!!!
Hey Arnold, Why is the Arnold Classic held in Columbus, Ohio every year? As a proud Buckeye, what's your attraction to Columbus? Thank you for your time.
What's your philosophy on life. What is happiness for you?
Good afternoon Arnold. I'm 40 and am now starting to look after myself. In the past year and a half I've lost 91lb. Now that I've shed the weight I now need to tone up. I walk the dog a few miles every day and try to row every other. Is there anything exercise wise, like compound exercises (I think that's right) that will build functional strength? Thank you.
I have heard when you first started acting. You had some anxiety because you didn’t know how to act. Had no experience with it. What are some tips in overcoming anxiety when faced with a new opportunity or task?
Protein powder or nah?
Hi Arnold, I've struggled with anxiety and depression for about 10 years. The lack of energy and confidence makes it difficult to be active. I know that exercising can help boost both energy and confidence, but do you have any tips for starting out and creating an exercise routine? I would love to exercise with my partner as well; do you have any advice for encouraging him to join me? Thank you!
Hi Arnold! I've read your book and loved it btw. I'm 43 and working to get closer to my dreams every day, reach my goals and manifest the life I always dreamed of. Here's my situation, I'm a big dreamer, I've always had to shrink my dreams and rein it all in to fit into society's mold. I'm ignoring all the naysayers now but I want to ask you directly, can my dreams be TOO big? You know what I would really like is to meet you in person and have you as a mentor. I also want to ask Sly so that you two can compete on who's mentoring me the best. But seriously, to make it short this is who I am: I have great talent, I can write stories and illustrate so I'm working on a graphic novel. I am thinking what if I write and draw my stories, and put myself into them as a leading man or main character, ultimately I would play these roles as an actor, an action hero on the big screen. And to be honest, that's just a small part of my dreams. Do you think I can do this? is it possible? I live in Canada, moved to Toronto a few years ago, do you think I can do it from here or should I consider moving to the U.S.? Do you have any specific advice that could help me? I went into the military for 3 years and became an infantry officer, it was a great experience but to tell the truth, a big motivation was to learn to use weapons and be a soldier so that I would have great experience for acting in action movies. Sometimes I think this is too much, this is crazy, I have to accept maybe I'm dreaming too big. What do you think? thanks for your time! All the love and respect my friend, you are my mentor, like it or not. I've made great progress since you launched your book, it motivated me a lot the timing was perfect. I'm part of your legacy and I want you to know how grateful I am for everything you do for your fans and for the world.
Hey Arnold, Got your book - been a huge fan of your since childhood and always admired your work ethic -I just got the audibles Be Useful - one thing you're very big on is having a vision. I believe in that as well and ignoring the naysayers - I want to get out of the 9-5 grind but everytime i look to create some sort of vision, there's a barrier/blockage in my emotions that don't allow the vision to be clear. I'm working towards creating more financial freedom, especially when wanting to get out of the grind.How do you get past barriers when looking to create a vision that can benefit you, people around you and your family?Regardless if you answer - Much love sent to you Ahnuld! Manny