For the last 50 years, whenever bodybuilding has been mentioned, the name Arnold Schwarzenegger has always come up. Recording his first win at Mr. Olympia in 1970, Arnold quickly rose through the ranks to become the best in the business.
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His physical attributes, combined with 7 Mr. Olympia titles, made him one of the greatest bodybuilders in the history of the sport. Even today, at 75 years old, Arnold keeps fit, exercises and follows a strict diet. In fact, Schwarzenegger has been a physical specimen throughout his life.
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But one should never think that fitness came easy to him. Schwarzenegger has been through great trials in his life. Some incidents even affected his physical health. During an interview, Arnold once recalled one such case in which he had to restart from the beginning at the age of 71.
Arnold Schwarzenegger recalled the surgery that sent him back to square one
Whenever one is about to undertake something great, people often say that the first step is the hardest to take. But when you have to take the same first step in the last part of your life, things get much more difficult.
legendary bodybuilder arnold schwarzenegger had to go through something similar in 2018. The legend underwent open heart surgery and had to retrain his system from scratch.
Recalling his post-surgery struggle, Arnold urged people to stay fit and healthy. Addressing himself, he said, “I can already hear you say, ‘That’s easy for you to say, Arnold. Fitness has always been your life and you’ve always been in top shape.’”
But Schwarzenegger shed light on how he had to struggle to find his way back to a healthy life. He said, “I had to work my way back up from the bottom this year, and I learned a lot along the way.”
Arnold continued, “After having open heart surgery this spring, I had to use a walker. I had to do breathing exercises five times a day to retrain my lungs. I was frustrated and angry, and at my worst, I couldn’t see my way back to my old self.”
But sure enough, Arnie came back stronger than before. And just three months after the surgery, he was on the sets ready to shoot the latest version of the ‘Terminator’ series.
It’s the little things that count the most for Schwarzenegger during his recovery
Many of us would think of going to great lengths to maintain or gain a certain physique. But for Arnold, it was the smallest movements that mattered most. After his surgery, Arnold didn’t immediately aim for ripped abs or bench pressing a heavy weight. He just wanted to get healthy.
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During the same interview, Schwarzenegger detailed the importance of setting smaller goals. “I just kept walking, kept breathing, kept trying,” Arnold said. He was lucky and had a great team around him to support him all the way.
Once Arnold was fit enough to hit the gym, he didn’t go straight to weight training. His walks turned into bike rides. Schwarzenegger only aimed to get better every day to get to a healthier place.
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Schwarzenegger could fight through one of the worst phases of his life physically if he stays strong mentally. It was a simple mantra of setting and achieving small goals every day. “If you and your training partner walked 5,000 steps yesterday, walk 5,001 today. If you ate one vegetable yesterday, eat two tomorrow.”
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