1 secret Arnold Schwarzenegger morning trick to stay jacked at 76
Hollywood star and GOAT bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger is originally famous for being fit, but the aging process comes for us all.
And no matter how much you love to work out in general, we all need little tricks to get us into the gym when we really don’t feel like it.
As we age and our bodies and energy levels start pushing back, this becomes more important than ever.
Arnold, who at 76 remains very fit for his age, is no exception.
You would think that someone whose identity is so integrated with being strong and healthy would be able to make his way into the gym with ease, but you would be wrong.
Even Arnold needs his little hacks.
Let me reveal one I heard about this week that I really love.
The secret to happiness (and fitness?)
A little while back, I wrote about why I believe the first three hours of your day are the key to your entire happiness.
I’d urge you to check out the whole thing, but here’s the key passage:
“Lately, more than ever, it feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day.
“(*whispers*) But there are.
“When I’m feeling this way, just completely down and frazzled, I know that I’ve structured my hours poorly and I’m paying the price.
“Trust me when I say this: if you can carve out 2–3 hours for yourself at the start of the day, it will change your life.
“That’s because, when you take that time to do the things that are most important to you, you can tackle the rest of your day in a relaxed manner and allow it to flow (rather than fighting against it).
“Take it from me: if you don’t find the time to do what you WANT to do, you’ll inevitably resent what you HAVE to do.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger evidently feels the same way, though with a very Arnold twist: his first hours are dedicated to working out.
And he explained the trick he uses to get started and how the routine sets the tone for his entire day.
Here’s what Arnold said about his morning routine during a philanthropy panel recently, as quoted by People Magazine:
“I feel good in the morning. I get up and I feed my animals, Lulu and Whiskey, and my little pig, Schnelly. I feed the dogs, then I go to the gym.”
“It’s because you’re working out and having done something physical where you kind of really sweat and you train hard.
“(It) makes you feel good because you’ve done something early in the morning.”
“And so this is why I say to people, ‘The key thing is in the morning, do right away something.’
“Don’t think when you get up because stupid stuff comes into your mind and negative stuff.”
“I said, ‘Just roll out a bed, get on your bike and start riding the bike and work out and do something physical.’
“And then afterward you will feel much better about yourself and about the world, the way you look at the world and everything like that.”
The thing I love about this is the idea of not thinking.
The moment you let your mind speak up when you have to do something challenging, you open the door to excuses.
Quiet the mind, win the day
If you can push through that initial resistance and just get started, you’ll be shocked at how much you can accomplish while most people are sleeping.
As Arnold said on that panel, during his bike ride to the gym, the world shifts from a “black-and-white movie” to a full-color experience.
I’ve dedicated my morning to side hustling so that’s out for me, but I always make sure to carve out workout sessions each day.
In order to achieve peak productivity, you need a lot of energy — energy I don’t have if I’m not exercising.
I’ve gone through phases when I’ve done this very early in the morning (like up at 5:45 a.m.) and late at night (arriving at the gym at 9:15 p.m. on average).
Currently, I go for a run and do some yoga over the lunch hour after I’ve worked on my side business early in the morning and had a productive first half of the work day.
With all those good accomplishments in the bag by early afternoon, I usually feel at peace for the rest of the day.
I never feel guilty that I’m not doing enough.
Find YOUR schedule
However you structure your activities, the main point is to OWN the first few hours of your day.
Whether that’s working or working out, give yourself a reason to be proud of your efforts early on.
When I go downstairs in the morning, before I eat or drink anything, I set a timer for 15 minutes of side business work.
Then I take 5 to go grab something to put in my stomach, then it’s another 15.
By that point, I’m already rolling.
You CAN manage 15 minutes of anything at the start of your day, right?
Just make sure you take Arnold’s advice and get started before your brain has time to wake up and say no.
Thank you so much for reading all the way to the end! Got any tricks of your own to get started on working or working out? Let me know in the comments!
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