In 1961, Arnold began a friendship with professional bodybuilder and former Mr. Fascinated by the physiques of cinematic heroes Reg Park and Steve Reeves, Arnold made it his overarching goal to become the most phenomenally built man in the world and conquer the film industry in the process - he knew exactly where he was going at such a young age. "I was six-feet-tall and slender weighing 150lbs, but I did have a good athletic physique and my muscles responded surprisingly quickly with weight-training" More importantly, at the time, girls began to notice his results.Īround this time, Arnold decided that his new goal was to become the "most pumped up guy in the world". I suddenly just seemed to reach out and find, as if I had been crossing a suspended bridge and finally stepped onto solid ground".Īrnold found his body morphing into something quite spectacular. Arnold said at the time, "it was something. In 1960, Arnold's soccer coach took Arnold along with the rest of his team to a local gym, to gain strength for future games.Īrnold picked up a barbell for the first time and, as they say, the rest is history. It was during his soccer playing days, at age 13, that Arnold first began his quest for physical supremacy. Indeed, Arnold went on to become a multitalented athlete, running, swimming, boxing, throwing shot-put and javelin, but excelling in Soccer. Īrnold was impressed by the physical prowess of Weissmuller and decided to emulate his example. He would go on to become a household name and revolutionise the fitness industry.Īrnold's desire to become a great athlete emerged early when in 1953, at the age of six, his father took him to Graz to see Olympic swimming champion Johnny Weissmuller. In 1947, in the small Austrian village of Thal, just outside of Graz, born to parents Gustav and Aurelia, Arnold Schwarzenegger made his way into the world. LIfe and TImes of the Worlds greatest bodybuilder We at salute Arnold and his contribution to bodybuilding and hope he will continued to be respected as a great bodybuilder, and, more importantly, a great human being. The many great bodybuilders who have competed in the ASC over subsequent years have been granted the opportunity to realize their dreams through the efforts of the man who started it all, a man who will remain the backbone of the sport.Īrnold has become an icon, a symbol of a cultural movement, one who has defined, and re-defined, what it means to become one of the few - a bodybuilder, proud of ones healthy physique and the concomitant benefits. In 1989, Arnold's dream of promoting his own show came to fruition, and The Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic (The ASC) was born. Wherever possible, Arnold would promote bodybuilding and, practicing what he preached, kept himself in great shape - the kind of shape that could be seen in the many films he acted in. Still, he never lost touch with the foundational element of his success: the bodybuilding lifestyle. These attitudes still prevail in some sectors, but due in large part to Arnold's popularization of the sport, bodybuilding has become not only accepted as a legitimate sporting choice, but as a way of life for many.Īppointed chairman of the inner City Games and the Presidents Council on Physical Fitness, in addition to stanch advocate and mover and shaker of the Special Olympics Movement, Arnold has always been a big supporter of sport and active living as life changing pursuits.Īrnold has also shown that bodybuilders, to belie their often narcissistic and insular reputation, can be multi-dimensional, and succeed in all facets of life, while helping others in the process.īy 1983, Arnold had achieved the American dream had become a successful actor, one of the worlds greatest athletes, and a wealthy businessman. Indeed, prior to the 1970's, the period in which Arnold made his mark as the greatest bodybuilder of all time, bodybuilding and its adherents were together seen as a strange and somewhat insular subculture of social deviants. In many ways, Arnold helped to change public attitudes toward a sport regarded as deviant and on the margins of what was acceptable social practice at the time. Indeed, Arnold Schwarzenegger remains the greatest, and most influential, bodybuilder of all time in the eyes of many. No other bodybuilder in the history of the sport has made the same impact.
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