Arnold Schwarzenegger's documentary, Pumping Iron, brought in a worldwide revolution in bodybuilding, and it only happened because of the grueling workout sessions that the 7x Mr. Olympia had to go through.

Schwarzenegger's larger-than-life presence and relentless intensity turned his sessions into an inspiration that attracted millions. One of the moments from the 1977 documentary resurfaced on Instagram on March 15, when Arnold Sports Festival UK shared a short clip of the Austrian Oak working out on the set of Pumping Iron.

In the clip, the 7-time Mr. Olympia was seen doing 10 reps of the bent-over with heavy weight. The caption to it read, “Arnold hitting his reps on bent over rows during the filming for Pumping Iron."

Apart from this, another short clip of the documentary shared by Arnold Sports UK showed the bodybuilding legend doing side-lying dumbbell raises. The documentary helps fans get up, personal, and close with Arnold.

It was filmed with the focus on the 1975 Mr. Olympia and IFBB Mr. Universe titles. By that time, Arnold had won 5 Mr. Olympia titles and was preparing for his 6th one.

Directed by Robert Fire and George Butler, the documentary was basically centred on the competition between The Austrian Oak and Lou Ferrigno, one of Arnold's major competitors.

While the documentary highlighted many real and intense training moments, the 7-time Mr. Olympia later admitted that everything shown in Pumping Iron was not authentic.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Acknowledged Pumping Iron as a Docudrama

Decades after its release, Pumping Iron continues to inspire bodybuilders and newcomers alike. However, according to the film's main actor, while the athletes and competitions depicted were real, some parts and moments in the documentary were dramatized.

Mabase Onseen released a documentary titled The Making Of Pumping Iron on June 3, 2012, where Arnold admitted, “Every time anyone sees Pumping Iron, they love the movie, get inspired by the movie, but at the same time they ask themselves, ' Wow, was all this stuff true?”

He added, “There were certain things that were not true, and that’s why we never call it the documentary. We call it always a docudrama because certain things were created in order to make it more interesting, because it was the only way to raise money for the movie”.

While some parts may be included to add drama, there is no doubt that Pumping Iron is a masterpiece and will always inspire bodybuilders.

So, have you seen the documentary? If yes, did it inspire you too?

Written by

Supradeep Dutta