It has been decades since Arnold Schwarzenegger retired from competitive bodybuilding, but the 7x Mr. Olympia hasn't given up on helping fans with his value-added training guidance, like he recently did.

On March 16, a fitness coach on X requested his insights about the untoward effects of maxing out on weight training every day. He said, “I teach HS [High School] Strength and Conditioning. As we all know, HS kids just wanna max out every day, every lift. Do you know of any studies or data that I can share with them about how that's not the best way to grow strength?”

With generosity, 'The Austrian Oak' replied, "I will ask the team to find some studies for the newsletter. But I can tell you from experience: it doesn’t work. When I was winning powerlifting contests and bodybuilding contests, we had max days, but we earned them with a lot of normal work days in between."

According to the legend, people must proceed with max training using a progressive approach. Dr. Muscle published an article on April 26, 2025, which disclosed their team's findings from analysing Schwarzenegger's training approach. It said that he stressed progressive overloading, increasing his weight responsibly to consistently challenge his muscles.

Men's Health’s fitness director, Ebenezer Samuel, also echoed Schwarzengger's advice, stating, “Unless you’re a competitive powerlifter or weightlifter whose goal is to lift max weight for your sport, dedicating too much of your training focus to one-off max lifts is a bad idea”.

But while Schwarzenegger couldn't manage to highlight a specific study to support his advice for the HS coach, he has already provided guidance for beginners in strength training.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Strength Workout Advice for Beginners

In an edition of his newsletter, Arnold's Pump Club, Schwarzenegger shared his tips for those who were looking to begin strength training. According to the 7x Mr. Olympia, beginners who walk regularly and have never tried strength training can start exercising without any equipment.

Here are the exercises they can perform:

• 4 push-ups
• 4 squats.
• Rest if needed
• 3 push-up
• 3 squats.

After that, he said, “Then 2 and 2, then 1 and 1. You just did 15 pushups and 15 squats. If it was easy, start at 10 next time.”

Schwarzenegger's narrative clearly reinforces the fact that strength is not built through lifting the heaviest one can every time while training. Instead, it can be achieved through gradual loading up of weights and, most importantly, patience and consistency.

Are you thinking of following his postulates while training?

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Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Souvik Roy