Commando1980
2014-11-28, 20:01
As I have said in my post about Arnolds weight in 1980, from 1995 through 2001 I had the pleasure to work for Arnold. The job that I held with him I choose to not disclose. I had signed heavy confidentiality agreements and I do not want to be a part of any lawsuits, just as Don Cestone has said in his thread called Unknown Arnold Stories. What I will be discussing on this thread is something that I feel absolutely comfortable with and that which cannot compromise the contracts that I signed nor put this site in jeapordy. As much of this info has been witnessed by many around Arnold, those that trained in World Gym and those that have eaten in Schatzi's restaurant when Arnold was their in the 90's and early 2000's. Employees of these establishments as well as the average folks that were consistently present have seen much of what I will discuss.
During the time I was working for him, I had the honor to watch Arnold train and eat for many films. I was working for him during the time of the films Eraser, Jingle all the Way, Batman, End of Days, The 6th Day, and Collateral Damage. While Collateral Damage came out in 2002. It was shot in late 2000 and early 2001. It was delayed release because of the 9/11 attacks and controversy.
For the films Jingle all the Way, Batman, and The 6th Day, it appeared that Arnold did not seem particularly concerned with getting his body into any better physical shape than what he had already been walking around with. The films did not really display much of his physique. So it appeared to me that Arnold would not undertake any new changes to his eating or training for these films. It makes sense to me, considering they were not films that showcased his physique. And it is not as if he didnt already look awesome already.
But for Eraser, End of Days, and Collateral Damage, I noticed a distinct change in his eating and training in preparation for the films.
Arnolds eating habits seemed come to a change about a few months before these films. Let me say this first. In all of my time around him , I can honestly say that I have never seen a man be less picky about food than Arnold. He is not a big eater and he never was particulary fussy about what he ate. I honestly believe that you could put anything in front of him that was high quality and well made and he would eat it and not ask for more.
A few months out from a film his diet seemed be:
Breakfast: 1 regular size bowl of steel cut irish oatmeal with a handfull of fresh strawberries. His restaurant Schatzi had this great type of oatmeal.
Lunch: A Salmon Salad with balsamic vinagrette dressing
Dinner: the same as lunch.
This seemed to be the same every day monday -friday. The only variations would come in the form of a chicken breast being substituted for salmon. The oatmeal and strawberries , Arnold would eat year round for breakfast. Never saw him once not eat it. Never saw him consume a protein shake either. The above fish or chicken was all the protein that he seemed to consume. And the portions looked no more than 6 ounces. Basic size. So I would say that he ate about 70-80 grams of protein a day.
He never seemed to strayed from this eating. Maybe on weekends he may have loosened the reigns and eaten some tastier stuff. They used to do that in the 70's too.
As for his training for the mentioned films. Much has been written about Arnolds heavy ,back to the old days routine he did at World Gym , Marina in prep for T3 with Franco and Eddie. I was no longer with him at this point but I heard that he did indeed train old school style for T3 with these men at World gym on split routines. But for the years I was around him this seemed to be the routine that he did with little to no variation. Just as his diet, he seemed to train solidly Monday- friday.
It was a full body routine. And it was done 5 days a week. He would Giant set the entire body like Bob Gadja's PHA system. It looked as if he did 5 circuits of this full body giant set. The reps always looked to be high. 12 reps minimum but more like 15-20 reps. This is what it appeared to me. And here are the exercises. Some might find it hard to believe that this is what he chose to do, but remember one thing. This is Arnold. Some of the greatest genetics ever and a body with muscle memory that responds incredibly fast. And Arnold knows his body and what can cause him injury. A lot of his exercise choices looked to be based on injuries that he may have wanted to avoid or irritate. Isnt this the case for most bodybuilders in their later years of training. Here is the workout that he always seemed to do.
1. Cybex Lat Pulldown to the front
2. Cybex Pec Dec
3. DB Side Laterals
4. Cybex Preacher Curl Machine
5. Tricep Pushdowns on the Lat machine
6. Cybex Leg Extensions
7. Cybex Leg Curls
8. Seated Calf Raises
9. Ab machine
So he would do each of these excercises one after the other with no rest until the end of abs. Then he would take a good rest and repeat it a few more times. After that he would peddle a lifecycle for 30 minutes.
While it may seem odd, it is not. He trained intense and at a brisk pace. And he would balloon up well. And remember, he did this routine 5 consecutive days a week.
Many people who trained at World Gym, Venice and later World Gym , Marina were present to witness Arnold train. And I would often hear that people were surprised that he did giant set type of training.
A few days a week he would train with somebody another ironage bodybuilder. And the pace would slow down quite a bit. But still it was intense. No forced reps ever and no sets pushed to failure. Significant weight was used but nothing dangerous. It all seemed sensible.
I witnessed many of these workouts.
So there you have it. Something that many I am sure will find quite interestig, as not much is ever written about his training and diet of the movie years.
Hope you all enjoy it. And I would appreciate it if you could respect my wishes and not PM me in regards to more details. I feel that what I wrote is fine to write about. But I will not discuss anything else. Thanks guys.
During the time I was working for him, I had the honor to watch Arnold train and eat for many films. I was working for him during the time of the films Eraser, Jingle all the Way, Batman, End of Days, The 6th Day, and Collateral Damage. While Collateral Damage came out in 2002. It was shot in late 2000 and early 2001. It was delayed release because of the 9/11 attacks and controversy.
For the films Jingle all the Way, Batman, and The 6th Day, it appeared that Arnold did not seem particularly concerned with getting his body into any better physical shape than what he had already been walking around with. The films did not really display much of his physique. So it appeared to me that Arnold would not undertake any new changes to his eating or training for these films. It makes sense to me, considering they were not films that showcased his physique. And it is not as if he didnt already look awesome already.
But for Eraser, End of Days, and Collateral Damage, I noticed a distinct change in his eating and training in preparation for the films.
Arnolds eating habits seemed come to a change about a few months before these films. Let me say this first. In all of my time around him , I can honestly say that I have never seen a man be less picky about food than Arnold. He is not a big eater and he never was particulary fussy about what he ate. I honestly believe that you could put anything in front of him that was high quality and well made and he would eat it and not ask for more.
A few months out from a film his diet seemed be:
Breakfast: 1 regular size bowl of steel cut irish oatmeal with a handfull of fresh strawberries. His restaurant Schatzi had this great type of oatmeal.
Lunch: A Salmon Salad with balsamic vinagrette dressing
Dinner: the same as lunch.
This seemed to be the same every day monday -friday. The only variations would come in the form of a chicken breast being substituted for salmon. The oatmeal and strawberries , Arnold would eat year round for breakfast. Never saw him once not eat it. Never saw him consume a protein shake either. The above fish or chicken was all the protein that he seemed to consume. And the portions looked no more than 6 ounces. Basic size. So I would say that he ate about 70-80 grams of protein a day.
He never seemed to strayed from this eating. Maybe on weekends he may have loosened the reigns and eaten some tastier stuff. They used to do that in the 70's too.
As for his training for the mentioned films. Much has been written about Arnolds heavy ,back to the old days routine he did at World Gym , Marina in prep for T3 with Franco and Eddie. I was no longer with him at this point but I heard that he did indeed train old school style for T3 with these men at World gym on split routines. But for the years I was around him this seemed to be the routine that he did with little to no variation. Just as his diet, he seemed to train solidly Monday- friday.
It was a full body routine. And it was done 5 days a week. He would Giant set the entire body like Bob Gadja's PHA system. It looked as if he did 5 circuits of this full body giant set. The reps always looked to be high. 12 reps minimum but more like 15-20 reps. This is what it appeared to me. And here are the exercises. Some might find it hard to believe that this is what he chose to do, but remember one thing. This is Arnold. Some of the greatest genetics ever and a body with muscle memory that responds incredibly fast. And Arnold knows his body and what can cause him injury. A lot of his exercise choices looked to be based on injuries that he may have wanted to avoid or irritate. Isnt this the case for most bodybuilders in their later years of training. Here is the workout that he always seemed to do.
1. Cybex Lat Pulldown to the front
2. Cybex Pec Dec
3. DB Side Laterals
4. Cybex Preacher Curl Machine
5. Tricep Pushdowns on the Lat machine
6. Cybex Leg Extensions
7. Cybex Leg Curls
8. Seated Calf Raises
9. Ab machine
So he would do each of these excercises one after the other with no rest until the end of abs. Then he would take a good rest and repeat it a few more times. After that he would peddle a lifecycle for 30 minutes.
While it may seem odd, it is not. He trained intense and at a brisk pace. And he would balloon up well. And remember, he did this routine 5 consecutive days a week.
Many people who trained at World Gym, Venice and later World Gym , Marina were present to witness Arnold train. And I would often hear that people were surprised that he did giant set type of training.
A few days a week he would train with somebody another ironage bodybuilder. And the pace would slow down quite a bit. But still it was intense. No forced reps ever and no sets pushed to failure. Significant weight was used but nothing dangerous. It all seemed sensible.
I witnessed many of these workouts.
So there you have it. Something that many I am sure will find quite interestig, as not much is ever written about his training and diet of the movie years.
Hope you all enjoy it. And I would appreciate it if you could respect my wishes and not PM me in regards to more details. I feel that what I wrote is fine to write about. But I will not discuss anything else. Thanks guys.