Arnold Schwarzenegger has been taking questions on training and strength in his newsletter, the Pump Daily, sharing advice on working out and building muscle from his wealth of experience as a seven-time Mr. Olympia winner.
He was recently asked what he would say to beginners who were looking to get into fitness, and offered up some tips on how to get started working out and build consistent good habits.
“My advice to beginners is really simple: begin. And then don’t stop until it is a routine,” he said.
“For a lot of people, that first step is the hardest. So find something, anything, you can do. If you have been completely sedentary, go on a 30 minute walk. If you walk all the time and you have never done any strength training, you don’t need equipment: do 5 pushups, then do 5 squats. If your heart’s beating fast, rest for a minute. Now do 4 pushups, and 4 squats. Rest if you need to. Then do 3 pushups and 3 squats. Then 2 and 2, then 1 and 1. You just did 15 pushups and 15 squats. If it was easy, start at 10 next time.”
“Once you begin, the key is keeping your momentum,” he continued. “That’s why I encourage everyone to set goals they can achieve when they’re just starting out. Train 10 minutes every day for a month. Then make it 15 minutes. Motivation is fleeting, but routine is what carries you on. You need to make this a routine. Do whatever you can do every day for a month, and then build on that.”
Philip Ellis is a freelance writer and journalist from the United Kingdom covering pop culture, relationships and LGBTQ+ issues. His work has appeared in GQ, Teen Vogue, Man Repeller and MTV.
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