What was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Bodybuilding Diet?

Everyone Knows Arnold

Who does not know Arnold Schwarzenegger? He has starred in blockbuster movies such as Conan the Barbarian, The Terminator, Commando, The Running Man, Predator, Total Recall, True Lies, etc. And even though he retired from bodybuilding competition almost 40 years ago, his body is still what most bodybuilders dream of having.

Want a Body Like Arnold?

This article will talk about the Arnold Schwarzenegger diet so you can try it to help you get closer to having a Schwarzenegger type body.

What Made Arnold Different?

Like all bodybuilders, Arnold had to eat a lot to gain size. But, while many bodybuilders eat anything and everything, including junk food in a effort to “bulk up”, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s diet had a very different approach.

Higher Protein and Lower Carbs

His target was not only to bulk up, which means gaining both muscle and fat, but he wanted to gain lean muscle mass. To him protein mattered more than anything else. According to him, “I always lived off the rule that for every pound of body weight, I needed one gram of protein”.

What Exactly Did He Eat?

He ate at least five times a day plus milk and egg protein shakes made with Rheo Blair’s Protein to attain his 250 grams of protein. Usually his mornings was scrambled eggs and cottage cheese, his lunch usually composed of a big steak, with vegetables, and for dinner, it can be a salad and steak, fish or chicken.

He drank protein shakes for his pre and post workout snacks. If he felt hungry between meals, he grabbed cheese, bananas or apples, or mixed nuts and drank milk.

Annold Supplements

He also used supplements to get vitamins, minerals and other nutrients the body needs in order to be healthy.

Test Drive The Arnold Diet

To give this diet a try start by upping your protein intake, eat more beef, chicken, turkey and fish, and limit your carbohydrate intake, not totally, just limit it. Substitute your carbs with greens and other vegetables or even fruit. Always eat whole food because it is easier to be absorbed by the body. Choose good fats from eggs, avocado, nuts, etc.

The great thing about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s diet is, it does not deprive you.

Arnold’s Workout Secrets

Of course, it was not just his food intake that made him Arnold Schwarzenegger, he put in thousands of hour in the gym lifting weights. His secret was that he always used perfect form and he concentrated on the basic mass building exercises such as squats, bench press, rows, power cleans, overhead presses, etc.

He also didn’t just focus on his strongest body parts such as his arms and chest, but he concentrated on the body parts that were harder to grow such back, legs and calves to achieve whole body perfection.