If there’s one man in the entire world who should be proud of his physique, it’s definitely Arnold Schwarzenegger. The 7-time Olympia winner and bodybuilder turned actor has often been hailed as the ideal image of masculinity. In fact, many are envious of his physique even at the age of 75.
A lot of his action star image has been built around his perfect body. For example, Conan the Barbarian film was entirely mounted on his physical perfection. But it turns out that Schwarzenegger wasn’t as confident in his body as everyone would have liked to believe. In fact, he pretty much hated it.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Revealed That He Hated His Body
In the new Netflix docuseries, Arnold, the titular star got candid about his body image issues. The Terminator star talked about how even after achieving fans and fame in the bodybuilding sphere, he still wasn’t satisfied with his physique. In fact, he hated his body so much that he couldn’t believe anyone would award it in any way.
Arnold Schwarzenegger said:
“I never really was satisfied with my body. I looked in the mirror and said to myself, ‘I don’t know how this s**t body can ever win this competition.”
The Total Recall star admitted that all of his bragging about his body was fake. He had instead created an alter-ego that he would present on stage in front of the camera. The actor revealed that “In reality, when I’m by myself, I look at it, and I say to myself, it’s not there yet, it’s not happening.” So did he overcome his body image issues?
Did Arnold Schwarzenegger Learn To Love His Body?
Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn’t explicitly say if he has reconciled his body image issues. But he did say that the self-deprecating thoughts pushed him to achieve more and become the greatest. The Collateral Damage star said:
“I think it’s the only thing that made me always be on the edge and always want more.”
But age has made him change his gameplan even though the actor admitted that he still hates looking at his body in his old age. However, due to health complications and advancing age, he’s more careful with how he treats his body. Schwarzenegger said:
“I’ve chosen to adapt to my age, make my workouts a little bit different, and focused on staying lean and avoiding injury. This is why I’ve moved away from free weights and stick to the workout machines.”
The actor still hits the gym and stays fit, something most of us can’t even imagine doing at the age of 75. It is Arnold Schwarzenegger’s unending dedication to achieving perfection no matter what, that has made him a role model to many.
Arnold is streaming on Netflix.
Source: Netflix