“In the past, before the physiology of abdominal training was well understood, bodybuilders used to do a lot of “conventional” abdominal exercises such as Sit-Ups and Leg Raises. Unfortunately, those are not primary abdominal exercises but instead work the iliopsoas muscles—the hip flexors.”
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Arnold Schwarzenegger
“In weeks that followed, I refined this vision until it was very specific. I was going to go for the Mr. Universe title; I was going to break records in power lifting; I was going to Hollywood; I was going to be like Reg Park. The vision became so clear in my mind that I felt like it had to happen. There was no alternative; it was this or nothing. My mother noticed right away that something was different. I was coming home with a big smile. I told her that I was training, and she could see I found joy in becoming stronger.”
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Arnold Schwarzenegger
“It took many months in court, but the tabloid eventually published a total retraction and paid substantial damages in an out-of-court settlement. The money went to the Special Olympics in Great Britain.”
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Arnold Schwarzenegger
“When you hook your feet under a support and lift your torso up in a conventional Sit-Up, you are also using the iliopsoas muscles.”
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Arnold Schwarzenegger
“The competition physique should be as much pure lean mass as possible, with any excess body fat stripped away. As the saying goes, “You can’t flex fat.” But fat on your body makes you feel bigger than you actually are, and this sense of being bigger is psychologically satisfying to most bodybuilders.”
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Arnold Schwarzenegger
“My definition of living is to have excitement always; that’s the difference between living and existing.”
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Arnold Schwarzenegger
“Mass is vital to a bodybuilder’s physique. But it is the shape and the quality of this mass that win contests.”
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Arnold Schwarzenegger
“The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it, as long as you really believe it 100%,”
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Arnold Schwarzenegger
“Kurt Marnul can win Mr. Austria," I thought, "and he's already told me that I could too if I train hard, so that's what I'm going to do." This thought made the hours of lifting tons of steel and iron actually a joy. Every painful set, every extra rep, was a step toward my goal of winning Mr. Austria and entering the Mr. Europe competition.”
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Arnold Schwarzenegger
“Rest, let your body relax and grow. Work up gradually and don't blow it. Sometimes you can do so much your mind gets sick of it. Remember what I said earlier: Keep your mind hungry. People have a tendency to overdo things at first and then sluff off.”
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Arnold Schwarzenegger
“Don’t go where it’s crowded. Go where it’s empty. Even though it’s harder to get there, that’s where you belong and where there’s less competition.”
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Arnold Schwarzenegger
“On the airplane, Sly and I were smoking stogies and constantly trading jokes. We never talked about the feud. We were typical guys, totally in denial, as if there had never been any problem and nothing had ever happened.”
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Arnold Schwarzenegger
