Arnold Schwarzenegger: The Golden Boy of Fitness

Using equipment he built by hand, Joe Gold opened his first Gold’s Gym in California in 1965. The most recognized gym brand has since exploded to over 700 gym locations worldwide. It is not a big surprise for Gold’s Gym on its golden anniversary to honor its most popular member and induct him to the Hall of Fame, but it was surreal to witness Arnold Schwarzenegger go up the stage in front of you to personally accept the award. Most of us were speechless and teary-eyed as we listened to his speech.

Having watched some of his movies with famous one-liners, I was truly in awe as he gave a flowing, extemporaneous speech that beautifully captured his affiliation with Gold’s Gym. He has a natural gift to inspire and entertain with his story telling. Schwarzenegger helped Gold’s Gym be equated to fitness in the 1970s — he was the reason why most of the gym owners in the crowd chose their profession. Everyone listened.

“What’s the secret to becoming Mr. Universe?” He asked the winner then when he was 19 years old. “Move to California. Go to Gold’s Gym. That’s where I bulked up,” he was told.

“As soon as I arrived in America, from the airport and on the way to the apartment rented for me, they dropped me off to see Gold’s Gym. There I met Joe Gold and saw all his great equipment. Then I worked out there every day. The following year, I won two Mr. Universe contests in 1969. And they really got me ripped, defined with the muscle separation needed to win these competitions. And the following year after that, I won Mr. Olympia, Mr. World, Mr. Universe all in one year. And this was how it went. I won competition after competition because of the great equipment at Gold’s Gym,” Schwarzenegger narrated.

“It was the most unbelievable equipment that we have. All hand-built by Joe Gold. It was his passion. I would go to his metal shop where he made the equipment and he would test them on bodybuilders. He would make them do 50 reps or a hundred reps. He would check if it’s the right angle, the right grip, the right cable, the right bar. Everything was specifically done to really work best for the bodybuilders. This club, this Gold’s Gym, was not only for the bodybuilders. It had the world’s greatest hammer throwers, discus throwers, shot putters, weight lifters, bodybuilders. People from around the world came to this little place in Venice, and then of course the film Pumping Iron made it world famous,” he added.

“But to me it was just not the great equipment that Gold’s Gym had, the great atmosphere and all these great athletes giving you energy. When you are an immigrant, 21, alone with absolutely no one. I left my family behind, my friends behind, everyone behind (in Austria). I had absolutely no one, and I can barely speak English. That place became my home. That was the most important thing to me. That was not just a place for training. It was my home. A place where I go to twice a day, morning and night. They opened up their arms and welcomed me the first day I walked into the gym. They helped me,” he continued.

“You have no idea. When I arrived it was Thanksgiving, and the guys went to my apartment where I had nothing. They brought me silverware, plates, a black-and-white TV set, a little rug, pillows, sheets. They brought me everything I need to feel a little more comfortable. That was how generous those people were. My Gold’s Gym family. Other people always talk about training and equipment. But what is important is a family. That makes you feel good. You get this great pump. You get these great equipment. You get help. But what’s great is you are included. You are brought in and become part of the inner circle. That’s the beauty of Gold’s Gym. And that’s why I will never forget this place,” Schwarzenegger reminisced.

“So even today, I love to ride my bike from my home. Park my bike and work out for one hour at Gold’s Gym. Just love it. It’s fantastic, but of course it’s now different because you have this huge body factory. Room after room of machines and equipment. And the energy down there is really fantastic. So I want to tell all of you that you are doing a great job, you are all part of a fitness crusade that started 50 years ago when they say that if you work out you will be muscle bound, that you will be stupid, that you will turn into a narcissist always spending time in front of the mirror, and that you will die very quickly. Look what happened after 50 years, now everyone is working out. Even the ones who said that before are working out now,” he pointed out.

“In 1991, when we invaded Iraq, I had to organize with Dick Cheney and Colin Powell an airlift of 40 tons of weights so that the military there can train properly instead of just lifting sandbags. Now, every military base has a complete gymnasium with hundreds of benches and complete equipment. Weight training now is a necessity. This is how far we have come. The fitness crusade has succeeded. The challenge is to make everyone fit, not only the ones who can join the gymnasium but also the ones who can’t. You have instructors. Send them to the after- school programs, to athletes, the community. Continue our duty to reach out to everybody.  Everyone has the right to be fit, to be muscular, to have energy. Continue the fitness crusade. It’s our duty.  It’s not how much you have made but how much you have given back. It’s all about giving back,” he concluded.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, looking great at 68, is not only the most popular icon of fitness and bodybuilding. He is also the most convincing testimonial of America as the land of great opportunity. 

“I thought I was the poster boy for the American dream. I came to the US virtually broke, worked hard, kept focused on my goal, and made it. This really was the land of opportunity. If a kid like me could do it, anybody could. I had a fire inside of me to succeed. Anything is possible, but you have to do your end of the work. Making money was never my only goal, but money opened the door to interesting investments,” Arnold said in an interview documented by imdb.com.

“What are the odds for an Austrian farm boy to come to America and become the greatest bodybuilding champion of all time, to get in the movie business, marry a Kennedy, and then get elected governor of the biggest state in the United States?”

How can you argue with that? A confessed believer of the power of visualizing success into fruition, Arnold did not only grow Mr. Olympia muscles in America. He built a personal empire that transversed Hollywood, business, and politics. Here are seven more wise words from the big man:

• “The resistance that you fight physically in the gym and the resistance that you fight in life can only build a strong character.”

Rapper Flo Rida got inspired to bulk up and be featured on the cover of Muscle & Fitness by watching movies of Arnold Schwarzenegger. These Gold’s Gym celebrity members met last week at the 50th anniversary celebration of Gold’s at the Omni Hotel in downtown Dallas. Omni and Gold’s are both owned by TRT Holdings. ?

• “Training gives us an outlet for suppressed energies created by stress and thus tones the spirit just as exercise conditions the body.”

• “I do the same exercises I did 50 years ago and they still work. I eat the same food I ate 50 years ago and it still works.”

• “Bodybuilding is much like any other sport. To be successful, you must dedicate yourself 100% to your training, diet, and mental approach.”

• “The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow. This area of pain divides the champion from someone else who is not a champion. That’s what most people lack, having the guts to go on and just say they’ll go through the pain no matter what happens.”

• “Fitness is fun. I felt very strongly that I had to carry to all 50 states the message that fitness was a national priority.”

• “In the beginning I was selfish. It was all about, ‘How do I build Arnold? How can I win the most Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia contests? How can I get into the movies and get into business?’ I was thinking about myself . . . As I’ve grown up, got older, maybe wiser, I think your life is judged not by how much you have taken but by how much you give back.”

“This week, we celebrate 50 years as the world’s leading authority on health and fitness,” said Aaron Watkins, president of Gold’s Gym. “We were honored to celebrate this milestone with special guest Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is a key part of the heritage of our brand, and has helped catapult fitness into the mainstream.”

“As we look ahead to our future, we are positioning Gold’s Gym to continue its legacy of strength through domestic and international growth that will allow the iconic brand to reach and change even more lives,” added Watkins. “It’s our hope that 50 years from now, everyone in the world will have access to the first-class fitness experience and elite personal trainers that only Gold’s Gym can offer.”

Gold’s Gym, the largest full-service co-ed gym in the world with locations spanning from Australia and India to Japan and the Czech Republic, announced a partnership with Microsoft plus other exciting 50th anniversary initiatives to ensure that its legacy continues in the next 50 years.

Excited to expand its global footprint even further, the brand signed a deal earlier this year that would bring Gold’s Gym to Mongolia, Jordan, and Morocco. It now boasts a presence on every continent except Antarctica. The iconic symbol of strength transcends cultures, language barriers, and politics.  

Here in the Philippines, we celebrate the 50 years of Gold’s Gym by bringing to life the Philippine editions of Shape and Muscle & Fitness (where Schwarzenegger sits as executive editor), by staging our first ever BodyCon and building 12 more locations to make our network a happy 30 before we turn 51. Cheers to strength and fitness!

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Post me a note at mylene@goldsgym.com.ph or mylenedayrit@gmail.com. Photos courtesy of Gold’s Gym, USA