Arnold Schwarzenegger, seven-time Mr. Olympia champion and A-list Hollywood actor in his prime age, has now shifted his priorities toward optimizing his health for performance and longevity at 76. Talking about his life in the realm of fitness to author Rich Roll on the latter’s podcast, Schwarzenegger also generously shared some valuable life lessons he’s acquired over the years.
One of the particularly important lessons he emphasized was the importance of open-mindedness and willingness to learn from those with more experience and expertise. In this regard, The Terminator actor shared the story of how he was humbled by a bodybuilding legend.
This Bodybuilding Legend Taught Arnold Schwarzenegger A Valuable Life Lesson
In The Rich Roll Podcast, Arnold Schwarzenegger opened up about his fitness journey with the host from his early years till now. The Predator actor also recalled several of the health decisions he had to take in his life, especially following multiple open heart surgeries. Schwarzenegger had to cut back on meat and transition to a 70% plant-based diet to regulate his blood pressure.
However, amidst the health advice, the Total Recall actor also imparted some important lessons that extend beyond the realm of exercise and nutrition. He shared the time when he was humbled by Vince Gironda, a bodybuilding legend and the owner of Vince’s Gym. While the legend and his gym are no more, the lessons Schwarzenegger learned from him continue to be invaluable. The Twins actor shared with The Rich Roll Podcast:
“[Once] I saw him doing an exercise, a triceps exercise, and I looked at him and said, ‘What are you doing?’ He says ‘This is for the outside tricep that splits one head from the other.’ I said, ‘This looks like some kind of a Mickey Mouse exercise, Jesus Christ, it doesn’t look like a heavy lift or sort.’ He said, ‘Just try it.’ I said to myself, the way I tried it in those days I would do an exercise for 40 sets of 20 reps. […] The next day this muscle here was just jumping all over the place. I realized he was absolutely correct.”
Schwarzenegger didn’t just feel embarrassed by his initial skepticism, he also felt grateful that he had the humility to listen to Gironda and give the new exercise a try.
This Encounter Made Arnold Schwarzenegger Hungry For More Information In Life
Arnold Schwarzenegger disclosed that he was never aware of the specific muscle that Vince Gironda had mentioned. If he hadn’t listened to Gironda and brushed aside the exercise as a “Mickey Mouse” routine, he would have missed out on a major muscle development lesson. Schwarzenegger shared that because he took a try before reaching a conclusion, it paid off, something the True Lies actor adopted in life too.
The Escape Plan actor explained that the incident taught him to be more hungry for information and to listen before passing judgment. Schwarzenegger shared with Rich Roll:
“At first, I brushed it off as a Mickey Mouse [exercise]. Then I said, ‘No, no, no… Let’s just try it before we kind of like come to the conclusion. So you learn from those kind of experiences and you then apply this rule with everything. That’s why I was always rather more hungry for more information. More hungry for listening rather than talking.”
Schwarzenegger also cited an example from his time as the Governor of California. From his initial belief that the people of the capital city, Sacramento, drove it to the ground, the FUBAR actor came to realize that he could learn a great deal from the very people he had underestimated.
The Commando actor has laid out these life lessons in detail in his book, Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life, which is expected to hit the stores on October 24. The book is currently available for pre-order.
