5 Tips for Diet, Exercise to Build Muscle From Arnold Schwarzenegger

• Arnold Schwarzenegger loves to answer fan questions about fitness on social media. 
• His recent Reddit AMA included tips about eating more protein and vegetables. 
• He also recommended staying offline during a workout and tracking your reps to make progress. 

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Bodybuilding legend Arnold Schwarzenegger shared advice on eating healthy and exercise in an impromptu appearance on social media, offering advice and encouragement in response to fans’ questions.  

Schwarzenegger, known for being active online, hosted the surprise “Ask me anything” thread on Reddit’s “Fitness” forum for five hours, discussing everything from his own workout routines to his favorite protein shake recipe. 

His top tips for building lean muscle and staying healthy include getting more protein and vegetables, writing down your workouts, and sticking to a routine for best results. Here are his recommendations:

Build muscle by tracking your workouts 

To build muscle, do basic exercises like squats and deadlifts “over and over,” but keep track of your progress to continue challenging yourself, according to Schwarzenegger.

The former seven-time Mr. Olympia said he used to check off his sets and reps on a chalkboard for every workout. 

“The weight should go up, the reps should go up, the sets should go up, the rest time should go down, or the time it takes to do the stretch and flex of each movement should go up,” he wrote. 

Increasing the difficulty of a workout over time is a foundational fitness principle called “progressive overload,” and it works by putting more tension on your muscles to prompt them to grow bigger and stronger. 

Stay off your phone at the gym

While most of us today use an app instead of a chalkboard to track workouts, Schwarzenegger warned against using your phone too much during workouts. 

Listening to music is fine, he clarified, but be wary of scrolling social media between sets, since research suggests using your phone before exercise may reduce your strength by nearly 30%.

Get protein in every meal

Schwarzenegger’s diet advice for building lean muscle is to start by eating more protein. 

“Focus on simple things,” he said. “Anytime you put food in your mouth, make sure there is a protein source.” 

He said his favorite high-protein meal in his bodybuilding era was eggs, but that he didn’t track macronutrients like carbs and fats.

“I didn’t measure anything. I have no patience for that! Never counted. I think overthinking fitness and nutrition can end up derailing a lot of people,” Schwarzenegger wrote. 

He also shared his go-to protein shake recipe, with a raw egg, protein powder, a banana, and cherry juice. 

Eat your veggies

Schwarzenegger has been outspoken about eating a mostly plant-based diet to improve his heart and shared some of his favorite vegetarian foods that keep him energized. 

“I feel great and my cholesterol numbers make my doctors really happy,” he said.

For lunches, Schwarzenegger said he eats omelettes or scrambles with “absolutely every vegetable in them” and often has a salad, with yogurt and granola for breakfast, and almonds for a snack. His typical dinner is vegetable soup with pumpkin oil. 

“I love vegetable soups. No cream, just puréed veggies. Different ones every night. I apologize that it’s boring,” he said. 

Find a routine you enjoy

One of the most common questions for Schwarzenegger was how he’s stayed motivated to be fit for decades, which he said comes down to a stable routine. 

“I just keep going every day. Some days even I feel shitty, but by showing up and doing my daily routine, it normally snaps me out of it. Life is all about routine. Success isn’t magic, it comes from showing up every day,” he said. 

Schwarzenegger said he works out in the morning, before breakfast. His current schedule includes biking to and from the gym every day, and doing a workout split that focuses on chest and back, arms and shoulders, and legs on different days, while training abs and calves every day. 

But you don’t have to copy his workouts or routine to get results, according to Schwarzenegger. He said the best way to get started is to pick something you can do every day and gradually work your way up.

“There are a million ways for success. Don’t let anybody, even me, try to tell you there is only one way. Anybody who says their diet or program is the only way is absolutely a shyster selling you something,” he said. “If you love it, do it. Just hit all your muscle groups and progress in some way week to week.”

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