Joseph Baena is carving his own path in the bodybuilding world. After a breakout performance in Colorado, the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger is sharing the secrets behind his physique. His five-day natural training split prioritizes recovery and steady-state cardio over pure intensity.

Baena has made a successful transition to bodybuilding by winning 3 gold medals at the NPC Natural Colorado State Championships at the end of March. Not only that, but he also earned his Pro status within a week at the Iron Gladiator Classic Physique competition. Naturally, that transition has raised the question among fans about how he did that.

During his interview with GQ, Baena shared many secrets from his bodybuilding journey, including his 5-day training split for natural bodybuilding that helped him carry on his father's legacy.

The 28-year-old revealed how he trains throughout the week leading up to his first professional bodybuilding competition, including cardio. His 5-day workout splits include:

• Monday: push, biceps, and cardio
• Tuesday: pull, triceps, and cardio
• Wednesday: legs
• Thursday: cardio
• Friday: upper-body and cardio
• Saturday: lower-body and cardio
• Sunday: rest

He also said, “I’m doing cardio about five days a week as well. Monday, Tuesday – I don’t do cardio on Wednesdays on leg day – then Thursday and Friday. On lower body day, I’ll just get my steps in.”

For the son of the 7-time Mr. Olympia, cardio is not about high-intensity work or running. Instead, for Baena, it is about increasing energy expenditure without unnecessary stress.

He said, “No running. It was all steady-state cardio. Walking on the treadmill for 30 to 40 minutes. I know some guys do an hour, I think that’s a bit much, especially if you’re doing this naturally.”

Unlike some bodybuilders who push themselves beyond their stress limits, Baena believes in simplicity, and he also revealed the reason.

The recently turned Pro bodybuilder said, “I’ve never taken any s******* or anything like that, so you have to be a little easier on the body and not torture it.”

So, he follows a steady cardio routine on StairMaster. Baena added, “steady-state cardio on the treadmill or StairMaster. The StairMaster was a game-changer. And if I can’t get to those, I’m in Santa Monica, so I’ll just walk around the neighborhood or along the beach and get my steps in.”

And that hard, strategic work definitely paid off for him. The 3 gold medals he earned at the NPC Natural Colorado State Championships include:

• The Men’s Open Bodybuilding Heavyweight class
• Men’s Classic Physique True Novice
• Men’s Classic Physique Novice

The youngest son of Schwarzenegger not only earned medals and titles but also caught the attention of former Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler and Phil Heath, who praised Baena on their Instagram victory posts, which must be an intangible achievement for the young bodybuilder.

Apart from his workouts, Baena also opened up about the supplements he has been taking for a while now, including pre-workouts and protein.

Supplements That Help Joe Baena to Stay Stage-Ready

During the interview with GQ, when the interviewers asked him about the little boosts that he takes, Baena said, “Pre-workout is a necessity. I try to limit the amount of caffeine that I have in a day. But I train in the morning, and the pre-workout is definitely a must, with creatine. Then, when it comes to vitamins, the ones that are daily, non-negotiable: vitamin C, vitamin D3, zinc, and fish oil”.

Apart from these daily supplements, the son of Schwarzenegger also maintains a structured night routine where he takes:

• 400 milligrams of magnesium
• Sleepytime tea

He added, “I’ve tried melatonin. It always makes me groggy. Magnesium has helped a ton with sleep and relaxation.

I tried ashwagandha too. That was fine for a while, but I heard someone that was like, you’re not supposed to take it for very long because it basically numbs you as a person. Your emotional receptors or something like that. I was like, OK, I’ll not do that for a little bit.”

The young bodybuilder also admitted that he likes protein powder and that, for him, clean and flavorful protein powder is important.

He added, “If I can’t get it in with food, then I’ll go to the protein powder. But during this prep, it was all ground beef, chicken, eggs, and Greek yogurt.”

Baena uses Greek yogurt as a dessert trick. He likes a cup of Greek yogurt with a scoop of protein powder as his dessert. He sometimes adds frozen berries for a crunch.

So, it was Baena’s structured workout routine and proper supplements that helped him reach this level.

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Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Ashvinkumar Patil