Arnold Schwarzenegger won the Mr. Olympia title seven times between 1970 and 1980, but he still trains – almost – like he used to. After all, he’s almost 80 years old!
He works out every day but makes sure that his once heavy workouts are now joint-friendly and his training is focused on longevity.
A hallmark of his routine is active commuting. He frequently bikes to Gold’s Gym Venice before lifting, which he’s publicly shared.
Coming up, we’ll dive deep into the daily workout plan of Arnold Schwarzenegger, as well as what he eats in a day and what kind of supplements he takes to stay fit and healthy.
What Arnold Eats in a Day
Arnold has been quite transparent about his daily diet in his own daily newsletter, Arnold’s Pump Club.
He frames eating as simple, routine, and mostly plant-forward (roughly ~70% plant-based), prioritizing whole foods over shakes.
In a typical day:
- Breakfast (after training): Oatmeal or Greek yogurt with granola
- Lunch: A big salad, sometimes with a veggie burger, or salmon/chicken, or a scramble/omelet for added protein.
- Dinner: Soup (he likes legume-rich options such as chickpea-based soups) and often a light salad; he aims to eat light at night.
He has also said he cut back on protein shakes, leaning harder into whole-food protein sources for heart and joint health (he still enjoys meat occasionally but keeps it moderate).
Supplements Arnold Schwarzenegger Takes
Arnold takes far fewer supplement than he uses to in his youth. He uses fewer shakes than in years past and focuses on whole foods first, then supplements as needed for convenience and coverage.
Actually, he believes that protein is the only supplements that constantly delivers. And while protein can come from any food source, protein shakes have been proven across more than 40 years of research.
However, during his competitive bodybuilding years he used a range of mainstream nutritional supplements, such as:
- Protein powder (obviously)
- Multivitamins and minerals: to ensure micronutrient sufficiency given high metabolic demands and heavy training.
- Amino-acids: used for recovery and anti-catabolism, particularly surrounding workouts.
- Creatine
- Liver tablets: were popular as a rich source of iron, B vitamins and protein.
- Occasional stimulants like caffeine: used pre-workout for more focus and energy
It’s worth keeping in mind that the supplement industry in the 1970s was less regulated and less diverse, so there weren’t many choices. Supplements were mainly used to fill gaps, add calories, and aid recovery; not as substitutes for training, sleep, or food quality.
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The Arnold Schwarzenegger Workout Plan
Arnold doesn’t have a strict workout routine that he follows anymore, but the following reflects the structure he describes; daily movement, machine-centric lifting, and moderate volume that totals ~25 sets per session.
Make sure to adjust loads to keep joints healthy.
But how does that workout differ from his classic era?
In his 20s and 30s, Arnold built his physique with very high-volume, six-days-per-week splits, training chest/back, shoulders/arms, and legs/lower back, often twice each week; what fans call the “Arnold split.”
Ab work was near-daily and he also popularized dense supersets and extended sets.
Today he advocates adapting that intensity for longevity.
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