Arnold Speaks!

Highlights From the 2019 Arnold Classic Seminar

Compiled by Ron Harris

Every year on the Sunday morning after the Arnold Classic, fans have the chance to attend a seminar headed by the man himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger. It’s a unique opportunity to sit in as the most influential bodybuilder of all time as well as one of Hollywood’s biggest stars reminisces on old times and comments on current events in our sport and industry. Here are some selected quotes from 2019’s Sunday Showcase Seminar held in Columbus, Ohio.

“Franco is the strongest man I ever knew.”

Arnold tells us how the most famous training partnership of all time had its genesis, and lauds his longtime, late compatriot Franco Columbu as being the strongest man, pound for pound, he ever saw in his lifetime of being surrounded by the most physically powerful men in the world.

“When I won the European Championships in 1965, they also had a powerlifting competition with two categories, heavyweight and lightweight. Franco won the lightweight, hands down. I watched him and was amazed because he was a little guy. Compared to how he would look later, he was skinny. Not huge or muscular at all. But he would outlift everybody. A year later in 1966, I decided to move to Munich after my military service. I had told him when I met him at the contest that we should train together. I always admired strength, and I always wanted to be one of those bodybuilders that could also win a powerlifting competition. When I went to Munich, we trained together, and I started winning powerlifting competitions all over Germany and Austria. I taught Franco bodybuilding. He told me he wanted to be Mr. Universe. I said I will help you do that, and you can help make me stronger. He worked with me on technique for the bench press, squat and deadlift, and we both made a lot of progress toward our goals. That’s how we became training partners.

“When I moved to America, the person I missed the most was Franco. I just couldn’t train the right way without him. I had to convince Joe Weider of this. Yes, he’s a short guy and no, he’s not a very imposing figure, but he offers a lot of substance. Why don’t you bring him over from Germany? Nine months later, he arrived in Los Angeles. He kept competing in bodybuilding, and he did win the Mr. Universe. His strength kept going up also. I remember watching him deadlift 735 pounds at a bodyweight of 175 pounds. Think about that. I couldn’t lift that once, but he did it three times! He could bench press 500 pounds and do 600 pounds in the squat. Franco did lateral raises with good form with 85- and 90-pound dumbbells. The only other person I ever heard of who could do that was Marvin Eder from New York, another smaller guy who was tremendously strong. I remember we had a super strong guy training at Gold’s named Steve Merjanian. He was almost 6 feet tall and was close to 300 pounds, and he used to do behind-the-neck barbell presses with 350 pounds. None of us could do that, but Franco worked in with him one time and got eight reps with it!

“When they came up with the idea of having the World’s Strongest Man contest, Franco was a natural choice even though the other men were all much taller and heavier. One of the events was running with a refrigerator on your back. Sadly, Franco got injured. Otherwise he would have easily been in the top three or maybe even won. There was a hole in the ground, and he stepped in it with that 600-pound refrigerator on his back. He twisted his ankle and ripped his knee apart. I always thought there was no man alive in his weight category who could beat Franco in terms of strength. He’s not human. When we were down at Venice Beach, there was a bar we used to do chin-ups on. One day Franco said we should work some abs today too. I pointed out that there were no ab benches there. All they had in those days, 1968 or 1969, was a few very basic pieces of equipment. Franco said watch, I’ll show you how to do it. He hooked his toes on the bar, hanging upside down. Imagine the pain of your bodyweight on just your toes hanging like that? He went ahead and did 30 sit-ups. I thought, only a monkey could do that. I told Franco you’re not human, there’s something off about you. I need to go to Sardinia and study your culture.”

Which Mr. Olympia Look of Yours Did You Like the Most?

Arnold won the Mr. Olympia title every year from 1970 to 1975, and then returned one last time in 1980 to set a record of seven wins that stood until Lee Haney broke it in 1991. In those seven years, he showed many different looks and competed at various bodyweights. Here, he is put on the spot to choose which year he felt he looked his absolute best.

“It’s hard to say, but my favorite was 1974. In ’74, I weighed 246 pounds. Today that isn’t much, but in those days it was. Lou Ferrigno was heavier. He weighed 260 or so, but he was also a few inches taller. I was 246 and felt full and pumped. The following year in 1975, I had the opportunity to do the film “Stay Hungry,”which would be my first serious dramatic role. In order to get the job, I had to go down to 210 pounds. Otherwise, the director, Bob Rafelson, wouldn’t hire me. He thought I would look too enormous next to Sally Field, who was about 100 pounds. My other co-star, Jeff Bridges, was only about 136 pounds back then. They just felt it would be better for my acting career and for the story if I could get down to 210 pounds. I would still be muscular at that weight, just not so big that it would look silly to some people and they might not take me seriously. So that’s what I did. We finished shooting in July, and I had no intention of defending my Mr. Olympia title that year until another once-in-a-lifetime opportunity came along to star in the documentary “Pumping Iron.” They wanted to follow me as I prepared for the Mr. Olympia in South Africa. There wasn’t enough time for me to gain all that quality muscle back, but I couldn’t say no. I didn’t get back up to 246. I was 233 or 234 pounds by the time of the Mr. Olympia. I was ripped, but I was lighter than I wanted to be. Some people felt I had the perfect body that year, but to me I was far too light. I didn’t feel comfortable at that competition. I felt I was good enough to win, but it wasn’t my best because there hadn’t been enough time to train properly for it.”

My Advice to Phil Heath

The only other man to hold seven Mr. Olympia titles along with Arnold is Phil Heath. After losing his crown this past September, Heath has been unclear as to whether he will return and attempt to reclaim the title. Phil was sitting just a couple of chairs away on that stage Sunday morning as Arnold directly addressed him and offered his take on what he himself would do were he in the same situation right now as Phil.

“I think if Phil feels that he’s at the height of his career and he feels that there’s another two or three years in him, I would definitely come back. I’ve watched Phil over the years, and there’s no one that can take him when he’s on. It’s almost impossible to hit that mark every time, so I wouldn’t be too hard on yourself. It’s just one of those things. There are so many champions now and you’re all so close at the Olympia, that when you lost it just means you were off a little bit. And Phil was off a little bit, so somebody else took the opportunity to take the title. So what you do is analyze, OK, what was it, what did I do differently? You analyze it, and then you go train like hell, and you pose like hell. Even if it takes two hours of posing a day, it makes no difference. Practice the vacuum for an hour every day, in every conceivable position. That’s what I would do, and I would make sure the record is clear. I know you have your own thoughts and you will do whatever you decide to do. We know you won so many times and you’re an inspiration to me, and millions of others out there. I’d go back and clean house so you can walk away from this and for the rest of your life say, I did it, and no can say shit to me. I hope you do it. But I would recommend of course that you go to one of the Arnold Classics first to pump up before you return to the Mr. Olympia.”

How I Felt When Lee Haney Broke My Record

Arnold had been an early mentor for Lee, encouraging him after taking third place at his rookie Olympia in 1983 to keep going, and that he had all the tools required to win the ultimate title in the sport. Arnold even gave Lee his own posing coach to help improve his presentation, which he felt was one of his only lagging areas. Haney went on to win his first Mr. Olympia the very next year and would keep on winning until he earned his eighth title in 1991, breaking Arnold’s record of seven wins. Arnold was open and honest as he recounted his emotions when that historic achievement occurred.

“I had two feelings. One was OK, someone has now broken the record, and records are meant to be broken. I understand that. But still, inside of you, there’s that part that says shit! What happened here? There was also a moment of joy, because I’d known Lee for all these years, and I knew the struggles that he went through year after year. It’s really hard to stay on top of the game when everyone wants what you have. You can get injured when you train so hard throughout the year. You cannot get too far away from your top shape because you have posing exhibitions, guest appearances, and photo shoots where you are always representing the title and the sport itself as its ambassador to the world. The better side of me was very happy that he won his eighth Mr. Olympia title and broke the record I had set 11 years earlier. I thought maybe Lee would go on to win 10 titles, because there was no stopping him at that point. Then he retired at only 31 years old. He felt it was time to move on. Since then he has been doing great work for kids and for his community. Lee was even the Chairman for the President’s Council on Physical Fitness [now called the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition] under President Bill Clinton as I had been during the administration of George H. Bush. I’m so proud of him. Lee is one of those bodybuilders who used his platform of fame to do good works.”

Ron Harris got his start in the bodybuilding industry during the eight years he worked in Los Angeles as Associate Producer for ESPN’s “American Muscle Magazine” show in the 1990s. Since 1992 he has published nearly 5,000 articles in bodybuilding and fitness magazines, making him the most prolific bodybuilding writer ever. Ron has been training since the age of 14 and competing as a bodybuilder since 1989. He lives with his wife and two children in the Boston area. Facebook Instagram

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