arnold
schwarzenegger

arnold’s day.

• On waking
  The same sequence, no deciding

  “I wake up, start the coffee, feed the animals, drink the coffee, get on my bike, ride to the gym, work out, then ride to breakfast. There is no thinking. There is no deciding.” On a night shoot abroad, waking in the afternoon, the order stays the same.

• First thing
  Coffee on, feed the animals

  he starts the coffee, feeds the animals, then drinks it.

• After coffee
  Bike to the gym

  he rides there, then on to breakfast after. On the bad days, “it usually happens somewhere on the bike ride. The legs start moving, the air hits my face, and the gray burns off.”

  fitness
• Gym
  About 25 sets in roughly 90 minutes

  his daily workout runs about an hour and a half, around 25 sets of weights plus about 45 minutes of biking, down from the five-hour sessions of his competing years.

  fitness
• Gym
  Machines for the joints, basics first

  he leans on machines now: “there’s certain movements I can’t do because of shoulder problems or knee problems.” He still rates deadlifts, squats, rows and bench presses, and the clean and press is a favourite.

  fitness
• Gym
  Lighter, more reps, less rest

  “I use lighter weights but more repetitions and less rest between sets to keep the intensity up. I ride a bike instead of running on the beach. When I ski, I call it quits after a half-day.”

  fitness
• Hard mornings
  Show up anyway

  “There are mornings I don’t want to get out of bed… I don’t wait for inspiration. I get up anyway, and somewhere on the bike ride or a few sets in, I’m back.”

  focus
• After the gym
  Ride to breakfast: oats or yogurt

  “Usually an oatmeal or a yogurt with some berries and some granola.” Some days it’s later, more like a brunch.

  nutrition

• Meals
  About 70% plant-based

  he eats far less meat to look after his heart, and rarely has protein shakes now: “I just think that I eat really well and I stay healthy this way.”

  nutrition

• Dinner
  Vegetable soup and cucumber salad

  a light dinner, with a drizzle of Austrian pumpkin seed oil on the salad.

  nutrition

• After travel
  Back home, a bigger week

  travel throws the diet “out the window.” On holiday he spends longer in the gym and bikes more; once home: “I’m going to work out a little bit more this next week, and I’m going to watch much more what I eat.”

  fitness