Arnold Schwarzenegger told comedian Theo Von that he never cheated during his legendary bodybuilding posing routines. The seven-time Mr. Olympia winner credited his success to being physically prepared for any stage angle. Schwarzenegger explained that his strategy relied on constant flexing and theatrical acting to win over judges.

Theo Von didn't hold back when it came to asking questions to one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time. He made sure he asked Schwarzenegger everything about the sport and his time as a bodybuilder. While discussing posing routines, Von asked if Schwarzenegger ever cheated during his routines, to which the seven-time Mr Olympia said,

"No, I mean for me it was basically always a tremendous joy to be up on stage because it's one of those things where you feel like when you're really ready. I always felt kind of like in most cases that I was so ready that no matter what angle it was, I was ready to go, and I had always a smile on my face, and I flexed everything."

The conversation came to light when Von asked Schwarzenegger about the process of the Mr Olympia contest. Schwarzenegger explained the entire process patiently, starting with how, when your name is called out, and then you go out and do your poses. He told Vonn that before stepping onto the Mr. Olympia stage, competitors must have won a world title.

On stage, six to seven contestants are called on stage at a time and do whatever the judges tell them.

"So the judges they ask you to order come out, you have a certain time at be ready for pre-judging, and then you come out, and then you stand there, and then the judges will shuffle you around, and it says okay, can number seven go over where number one is, and number one goes over where number seven was."

But what was Arnold Schwarzenegger's process when he went on stage?

Arnold Schwarzenegger's strategy on the Olympia stage

Schwarzenegger ensured he was fully prepared on stage, which allowed him to stay confident regardless of his positioning, and he didn't feel the need to adjust or conceal his weaknesses.

"You stand there like this, but you still flex. You keep the stomach in, and you keep the abs flexed, and the calves flexed, the biceps, and the triceps flexed. So that was the idea, and I was always having great joy with that. It's kind of some acting up there. It is the one of the great forms of acting."

Schwarzenegger explained that you need to act while posing because you can use your words to tell the judges how great you are; you need to show that via your posing. You need to engage with the judges and the audience, and if you manage to get applause from the audience, it can boost your scores.

And when it comes to individual posing, the Terminator says, the only thing that can save a contestant is not to get nervous and stay confident.

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Written by

Ruwa Javed

Edited by

Ashvinkumar Patil