Joe Baena may have secured accolades in both the bodybuilding contests he has participated in to date. But even then, Arnold Schwarzenegger's son couldn't ignore the effects of rest and sleep deficit, as he failed to match his usual count of reps during a training session.

On May 25, Baena met the former MMA fighter and fitness coach, Axel Guerra, and went for a workout session for the latter's YouTube video. At one point, they both went for dumbbell bench presses in which Baena, according to himself, failed to achieve his usual number of reps. He gave up after eight reps with two 60 lbs dumbbells, and credited his failure to the lack of rest due to travelling.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's son said, "This usually doesn't happen, guys. [laughter] I'm usually stronger than this." A few moments later, he made things even clearer, saying, "I'm telling you, for some reason, when you travel, everything feels heavier. I don't know, cuz at Gold's [Gym] I can rep the hundreds out easily. Yeah. I go up to maybe the 110s for like five [reps]."

However, travelling and the lack of rest weren't the only factors that Baena held responsible for the drop in the number of his reps. After Baena revealed that he could usually go for more reps, Guerra highlighted how he wasn't getting "8 hours of sleep" currently.

Schwarzenegger's son validated the words, saying, "No. Not out here," which displayed that he also viewed his sleep deficit as a major factor in the decline of his reps.

The importance of rest and sleep in bodybuilding has been talked about for several decades now, and Baena isn't the only one who views the lack of sleep as a factor that can decrease one's potential during workout sessions.

A 4x Mr. Olympia winner also holds a similar opinion about the significance of sleep, not only for bodybuilders, but for the entire society.

Jay Cutler advises the 'society' to sleep more to stay active

Cutler may have retired from active competition in 2013, but the 4x Mr. Olympia still does his part to uplift the sport, with his commentary on various bodybuilding topics, ranging from workout techniques to the importance of a well-planned diet.

While Schwarzenegger has highlighted how a good sleep of "6 hours" is important to keep the body at its best in his "Sleep faster" philosophy, Cutler also echoed the same stance in a two-year-old YouTube video.

Cutler's sleeping hours may differ from what Schwarzenegger recommends, but the overall message was similar.

He said, "Sleep. I feel like society doesn't sleep enough. I've always tried to sleep at least five hours straight. I always recommend a little more, but of course, it depends on your schedule. In any case, sleep is super important for maintaining a lean and active body."

So, after learning about the importance of sleep from these legends, do you think that Baena could have completed a couple more reps if he actually got his "8 hours of sleep"?

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Written by

Souvik Roy

Edited by

Ashvinkumar Patil