Arnold Schwarzenegger reached out to fans who are feeling bored at home and provided them with a very special treat.
During the height of COVID when gyms were closed and people had to lift at home, the “Austrian Oak”, Arnold Schwarzenegger announced on Instagram that he was making his old home workouts available for free to anyone who wants to use them. He cited a desire to help people alleviate their boredom amid a massive shelter-in-place order for more than 10 million Americans.
During this time period, human contact was minimal and gyms were one of the first places to close down, and we were left not knowing when they would reopen. Some people were fortunate enough to have a complete home gym, or enough gym equipment in their house to get by, but not everyone had that. The Coronavirus pandemic was nothing short of a nightmare for everyone, especially for avid gym goers. A lot of people tried to switch up their training to a lot of cardio and calisthenics if they had no equipment. Thankfully, it is over now and we as a population are starting to recover, but during that time many gains were lost.
Arnold Schwarzenegger knew that it was not an easy time for many people, and took to social media to help people stay in shape both mentally and physically by releasing some of his old workouts. The 7x Mr. Olympia champion is a huge advocate for staying in shape no matter what life throws at you, and that showed more than ever during this time period.
You can check out the post in full below.
View this post on Instagram
“There are a lot of things we can’t control during this crisis, so we need to focus on what we can control,” Arnold shared in the caption. “I wrote up my old no-gym required workout for all of you, as promised…link in bio for the program (it is obviously free).”
Arnold shared the full workout in a post to his personal Reddit account. He also shared some of his earliest memories of his fitness journey, including being personally inspired by the early Gladiators and Vikings.
“Even without a gym, we can also control our physical fitness during this pandemic. Body weight, or freehand, training is the oldest method in the world. Gladiators and Vikings didn’t have gymnasiums. I started my own fitness journey with chin-ups on a tree branch by a lake in Austria. My father would encourage my brother and I to train by following the footsteps of a boxing hero of ours, László Papp, who chopped wood when he was preparing for a fight (this was a great trick to get us to do our chores). And once, when I found myself in New York to promote fitness, but ironically I couldn’t find a gym, I still found a way to train. I ran up the steps of the Park Lane Hotel where I was staying, all 46 stories, and by the end I was completely schvitzy and my legs got an incredible pump.”
He shared two tiers of difficulty for the at-home workout, advanced and beginner. You can read the post in full on Reddit. The workout is as follows:
Pushups
Beginner: 25 Reps
Advanced: 50 Reps
Dips between chairs
Beginner: 20 Reps
Advanced: 50 Reps
Row between chairs
Beginner: 30 Reps
Advanced: 50 Reps
Sit-ups
Beginner: 30 Reps
Advanced: 100 Reps
Bent-leg raises
Beginner: 25 Reps
Advanced: 50 Reps
Bent-over twists
Beginner: 25 Reps
Advanced: 50 Reps
Knee bends (squats)
Beginner: 25 Reps
Advanced: 50-70 Reps
Calf raises
Beginner: 25 Reps
Advanced: 50 Reps
Chin-ups
Beginner: 10 Reps
Advanced: 30 Reps
Those are all easy enough to do at home, and require no equipment. You do not need barbells or dumbbells for these workouts, so as long as you have basic human furniture like a couple of chairs around you are set. It might not feel as good as getting out there and getting in the gym to hit some heavy resistance training, but like Arnold said, the early Vikings and warriors didn’t have 24 Hour Fitness — they only had what was around them. While we all fought our way through such a difficult time, keeping that thought in mind was definitely a very powerful motivational tool, even to this day. When you do not want to train, just picture yourself as a Spartan gladiator as you dip between your dining room chairs. You’ll be back in the gym before you know it.
One thing that we forget is how important it is to stay active, not just for physical appearance and strength, but for mental health as well, especially during a time like the COVID pandemic.
Wrap Up
Overall, even though the workout is more than likely not going to make you the next Mr. Olympia, the fact that Arnold Schwarzenegger shared this in such a detrimental time for not only the fitness industry, but for people all over the world from all demographics. Thankfully it is over now, but something to remember is on the days when your gym may be closed down due to existential circumstances, there are other options.
*All images and media courtesy of Instagram.
