Joe Baena, the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger, 7-time Mr. Olympia, has been a talk of the bodybuilding world since his back-to-back wins in professional bodybuilding competitions.

The 28-year-old bodybuilder debuted at the Natural Colorado State Championships in May and placed 1st in 3 divisions, including Men’s Open Bodybuilding Heavyweight, Men’s Classic Physique True Novice, and Men’s Classic Physique Novice.

Within a week, Baena earned his Pro Card by winning the Iron Gladiator competition in the Classic Physique division. Since then, the question of his next destination has remained unanswered. But now, the youngest son of the Austrian Oak has revealed the timeline for his next bodybuilding event during his appearance on Alex M. Guerra's YouTube channel on May 25.

During the video, when Guerra complimented Baena, saying he was looking bigger, Schwarzenegger’s son said he is filling out, and regarding the question of whether he is going to compete against Baena, he said,

“Yeah. In uh, in like November or towards the end of the year. Like, six months. Yeah.”

Although Baena has not revealed the name of the competition, an analysis by Generation Iron posted on May 1 suggests Baena could compete in the natural Olympia, which takes place every year in Las Vegas in November.

So, what are the reasons behind this claim? Generation Iron has highlighted 3 key points hinting at Baena's debut on the natural Olympia stage.

• Reason 1: momentum: After winning 2 back-to-back competitions, Baena has already gained the confidence that took years to build.
• Reason 2: His name and value deliver real results: being the son of Schwarzenegger will always attract attention, and after winning the competitions, Baena is already in the spotlight for his thousands of fans. He is also very famous for his Instagram posts. So, his Natural Olympia debut will bring serious fan engagement.
• Reason 3: Time to enhance: Baena has several months to prepare for the Natural Olympia.

And Schwarzenegger’s son is continuously training and posting workout videos on his Instagram. So how does Baena train?

Arnold Schwarzenegger's son Joe Baena’s training approach

According to Generation Iron, Baena drew inspiration from The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding, which his father once gifted him.

However, he does not copy and paste his father’s methods; he adapts them. Baena’s primary focus is on:

• High volume training
• Strong mind-muscle connection
• Balanced aesthetics over sheer size
• Consistency and controlled reps over ego lifting.

His workout routine developed from a 3-day split approach, which is easy, effective, and rooted in the old days of bodybuilding. Baena’s 3-day split includes:

• Day 1: back and chest
• Day 2: shoulders and arms
• Day 3: legs
• Day 4: rest or repeat.

So, it will be interesting to see which competition Baena will participate in.

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Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Ashvinkumar Patil