“I never believed I was average, and that alone is a big reason I wasn’t.” -Arnold Schwarzenegger

Perspective influences outcomes. The idea that your mindset plays an important role in your future reality is maybe one of the most underrated elements of human change.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is the ultimate example of someone who built a vision for what he wanted to achieve, created opportunities, and surpassed expectations throughout his life.

While it’s easier said than done, success leaves clues. Specifically, the way Arnold approaches situations, obstacles, and challenges is a masterclass in mental preparation, visualization, maximum effort, and mastery.

“No matter what, I had to prove to myself that I’m extraordinary. There is no normal,”  Schwarzenegger told me during an exclusive interview.

The mind is a powerful thing, and Schwarzenegger has leveraged an unbreakable mindset to seemingly create a competitive advantage over the universe. As someone who started with nothing when he immigrated from Austria to the United States, his belief in himself and his hard work has made the world apparently bend to his will — and not the other way around.

What allowed a former Mr. Universe and Olympia to then become a Hollywood movie star and, ultimately, also become the Governor of California?

It wasn’t a motivational talk or a secret shortcut. It was a mindset that has powered everything Arnold has done.

“Always think of yourself as special. And think, ‘I’m going to prove to myself and the rest of the world that I can do it.’”

Even at 72 years old, the Austrian bodybuilder-turned actor-turned governor-turned activist continues to believe there’s more to accomplish — and it’s likely the main reason he continues to break the rules of aging and add more achievements to his resume.

If you’re looking to change your mindset, and learn how to make a vision a reality, here are 8 motivational lessons from Arnold Schwarzenegger on building mental toughness, eliminating the fear of failure, and developing unbreakable habits.

Lesson 1: Remove Your Excuses

“There’s an advantage of doing things automatically,” says Schwarzenegger. “I have a routine where you don’t have to think much — if at all. [Routines] are the foundation of a house.”

Schwarzenegger has built his life on habits and routines that have made him a creature of habit and efficiency.

Whether it’s his workouts he used to win Mr. Olympia and Mr. Universe — delts and arms one day, chest and back and calves another day, abs every day, and an extra 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise at night — or checking email and catching up on news, Arnold has built-in expectations for his day.

“Add as many of those routine things as possible because you do them without ever thinking about them. This is your daily schedule. Like breathing.”

While this isn’t earth-shattering, his mindset towards creating habits isn’t what you’d expect. 

Whereas you might consider it difficult to build certain habits, that’s where Arnold believes most people go wrong. You can’t label something as “difficult.”

If you think about change as challenging, it’s the first step towards making it harder to adopt change.

“People should realize that I don’t have sympathy for ‘difficult.’ There are a lot of things in life that are difficult,” adds Schwarzenegger. 

“If you want to build routines, you need to change your expectations. Are you going to back off every time something is difficult?”

“Or, are you going to be the person who looks at something that is difficult — or the most difficult — and say, ‘I’m going to go and do it and prove it to myself.’ That’s how you build habits.”

“Don’t ask should or shouldn’t I? You just do it.” 

Lesson 2: Create Energy By Saving Energy

It’s easy to think of a routine as a way to be more efficient with your days. But, for Arnold, it’s so much more than that. 

Routines are designed to require less mental energy and focus so you can have more energy to give to the non-routine aspects of your day. This is why making certain daily experiences is so important. If you’re going to have the energy to tackle the new challenges, you can’t be drained by everyday expectations.

To help you understand the importance of automated experiences, Arnold shared his experiences in politics as Governor of California. 

“When I was Governor, I had fixed funds on what you could spend on certain programs like education. It’s a fixed expenditure. Same for healthcare and prisons.”

“I had something like only 8 percent of discretionary funds. There’s very little wiggle room. But, knowing what is automatic and knowing what is not help you focus,” says Arnold.

Arnold recommends creating as many fixed moments in your day as possible. Then, you have fewer times where you’ll need to dig deep, be creative, and come up with custom solutions. This is good because then you’ll have more energy to dedicate, which means you’ll be more likely to succeed.

Less variation means more focus. The more you can focus on fewer things, the more likely you’re able to create a bigger impact. 

Lesson 3: Add Value With Effort

I asked Arnold about something most people don’t know about him, and he shared his love of art and painting. But, that’s not what stood out to me (even though I was impressed by his painting). It was how he thinks of his time spent creating art for others. 

“Today, it’s easy to go to a store and buy a gift or go to the flower shop and get flowers. You used to go out and pick flowers and put them in a vase. It’s all flowers. But, my mother was in heaven that we made an effort to go out and make the gift.”

Arnold understands that output isn’t the only measure of success. Your effort is one of the most important parts of the equation. 

“You must try to make an effort in everything you do, especially things for others. When you find pottery and paint on that, they know you spent hours on that. It makes a difference. It takes effort and people really like that.”

If you’re working on something, it’s easy to think about finishing the job. It’s something else to think about how you can take a task and put in more effort in a way that makes the final outcome something better or more meaningful, and in turn, that task has a positive impact on your own life.

Lesson 4: Success Follows the Unconventional

According to Arnold, more than 50 years ago, no one worked out in the morning. Gyms didn’t open until 10 am, so the entire structure of the day was based on rules that, as it turns out, didn’t exist for a good reason.

Arnold explained that people used to believe you were weaker in the morning. It wasn’t until he lived with his idol, Reg Park, when he finally decided to break the rules. 

Reg forced him to train early in the morning. Arnold recalls squatting 500 pounds at 5:30 am, and how it changed everything for him. 

The shift helped him remove limiting beliefs about his body. This, in turn, helped him understand that most limitations are self-conceived.

“If you think you can’t do something, you won’t,” says Arnold. “It’s a mindset that starts with ‘don’t be afraid.'”

“If you try to do something different, you might be surprised how much what you thought was a limitation wasn’t real.”

Lesson 5: Turn Visualization into Realization

Arnold opened up about one of the scariest moments of his life:

“Arnold, you’ve been asleep 16 hours. Something went wrong with this non-invasive procedure…you had internal bleeding, and in order to have you not die, we had to open you up.”

In the most powerful moment of our discussion, Arnold shared how his “routine” heart surgery took an unexpected turn and he was faced with a difficult comeback prior to playing The Terminator (once again) in Terminator: Dark Fate.

You might wonder how Arnold responded to such overwhelming news, and his immediate wasn’t what you might think.

“I wake up, I see what’s happening, I’m hearing the doctors, and I’ll I can think is, ‘Wait a minute, in three-and-a-half months, I’m supposed to be in Budapest to shoot Terminator 6. But, they are saying it takes 6 months to recover.’”

While it might seem like Arnold wasn’t thinking about the big picture and overall health, it was — in fact — the opposite. He was visualizing where he needed to be as a way to return to health.

“I always look for motivation. If you have no motivation, then it’s hard to get going under those circumstances. You’re down and you have a major setback. And the vision is what can bring you back.”

“If you have no goal, you have nothing. You have to know where to go. You need a vision.”

Lesson 6: Focus on Small Wins (They Add Up)

Once you have your vision, then you need to put in the reps. This is exactly what Arnold, whom many consider the greatest bodybuilder of all-time, had to do in order to recover from his heart surgery. 

“I asked the doctors, ‘When can I get up?’ And the doctor says 3 to 4 days. People don’t die from the procedure; they die from pneumonia and lungs filling with fluid,” recalls Arnold.

“I’m going to be up tomorrow and I’m going to be walking. Get me a walker. And that’s what I did. I went for walks, would lie back down, rest, and then get back up for another walk. I was a fanatic. I built up to 2-hour walks. Then, I traded the walker for a cane.”

Instead of focusing on the end goal, Arnold focused on mini-milestones. Get out of bed. Use the walker. Go down the hall. Go for an hour. Ditch the walker for a cane. Believe in yourself.

The micro-goals were all steps on the way to recovery. And, it worked…just like it has throughout his life.

Within 6 days Arnold was out of the hospital. Just 3 weeks later he was working out with light weights. And, as he promised, three-and-a-half months later, he was on set for Terminator 6. Ready to work like hell.

“The director said, ‘I can’t believe you had open-heart surgery three-and-a-half months ago,’” says Schwarzenegger.

“We all have setbacks, but, if you have a very clear vision and a clear goal, then you put in the reps, you can come back.” 

Lesson 7: Find Your “On Switch”

Despite his success, Arnold isn’t immune to having down moments or aging. But, it’s his ability to adapt and be self-aware that allows him to keep on thriving.

“When I hit 50, I realized I was not able to come back as quickly at 2 am for filming after 2 hours of sleep. So I said, ‘I will never sleep again at night when I’m filming.’ But, I needed something to give me a spark.”

That spark was chess.

“The more chess I played, the more alert I was and able to come to the set fully charged because my mind was ready from all the chess. I remembered the lines 100% and the physical work felt 100%.”

“You have to figure out what it takes to be on. When you have a setback or feel sluggish or mentally tired, you must find a way to recharge.”

Lesson 8: Eliminate Distractions

In the 1970s, Arnold found himself overwhelmed with his bodybuilding career, acting, buying real estate, and building construction. 

“A lot of things came together at once. I was overloaded,” recalls Schwarzenegger.

At that point, Arnold turned to meditation, something he has discussed in the past. For a year, he would meditate 20 minutes in the morning and another 20 minutes at night. Whereas many might find meditation beneficial for its ability to calm and destress, Arnold found another invaluable benefit that continues to help him today.

“[After meditating] all of a sudden, I could focus on one thing. I could do real estate and not be thinking about bodybuilding When training, I wasn’t thinking about acting. I got really focused and learned how to focus, and it made me better at everything I did.”

“Knowing how to focus on one thing at a time has made me better at everything I did.”

Build Arnold-Like Confidence

Arnold’s mindset is built on something we can all possess: confidence. 

That starts by removing your fear of failure.  And visualizing what you can become and not what might go wrong.

Arnold’s confidence allowed him to take chances and push himself to heights no one could’ve ever imagined — except maybe himself.

And, that’s the secret. If you believe something will happen, block out the distraction, prove the naysayers wrong, and focus on habits that will allow you to tackle your big goals – then anything is possible. But, it all starts with your belief. 

“Prove to [the world] that there are extraordinary things that can happen because that’s when they can.”

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post 8 Lessons From Arnold Schwarzenegger For Personal Success appeared first on Born Fitness.

In an age where the latest technology is favored over time-tested advice, and “get fit quick” infomercials clog our expectations with smoke and mirror sales pitches, we have a tendency to overlook the best advice simply because it’s old.

Some watches are old. Some cars are old. Hell, some might even consider Arnold old (not me, boss). But we can all agree that sometimes the most valuable things in life are those that have age, character, and a track record you can trust. Nowhere is this more accurate than the sage muscle building advice from yesteryear’s bodybuilders. As the great Mark Twain once said: “Age is just an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”

As you work to give your extra 1% this year—whether that’s starting your journey to a better body or be better than ever—one place you should not ignore the are the history books. Here are some of the best bodybuilding tips developed back-in-the-day that today’s best fitness coaches think could use a refresh in the gym. Add these to your fitness plan—including a favorite technique from Arnold—and the only thing that will be old is the body you used to have.

The Expert: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Muscle Building Technique: The Strip Method

“Without stripping there is no excitement,” says Arnold. Before you get the wrong idea, the legendary bodybuilder is referring to mega-drop sets that he used to quickly and efficiently challenge his body. The idea is simple and an instant way to shock your system and pack on muscle.

Here was Arnold’s approach in his bodybuilding days, with the dumbbell overhead press as an example:

1)      Use 100-pound dumbbells for 6 reps

2)      Immediately grab 90-pound dumbbells and do another 6 reps.

3)      Complete this pattern—without rest—until he reached 40 pounds

“By the time you’re on the lower weights, the burning is so intense that 40 pounds would feel like 110,” says Arnold.

It’s time efficient, and your muscle activation increases as fatigue sets in. But one of the biggest benefits comes from using less weight. You don’t need to use heavy weights to see results and have an incredible workout. “Even if you started with 15 pounds and worked down to 5, it’s a great way to work your muscles quickly and always keep them guessing.”

The Expert: Rob Sulaver
Muscle Building Technique: The Pump

“The greatest feeling you can get in a gym, or the most satisfying feeling you can get in the gym is… The Pump.” -Arnold

One of Arnold’s most famous lines captures the incredible feeling and reason that many people lift weights. “Anyone who’s ever had a tough resistance training session knows the feeling well – massive, engorged, tight vascular muscles,” says Rob Sulaver, owner of Bandana Training.

While a little vanity is fine, training for a pump actually has benefits for your body that go beyond the “most satisfying feeling.” In a scientific sense, the pump is the vasodilation of your capillaries, says Sulaver.

This means that you’re increasing blood flow to your body tissues, which helps transport the nutrients in your body more efficiently, and can improve your recovery. On a hormonal level, the pump can help increase testosterone and growth hormone naturally; this potent cocktail means more muscle and less fat.

What’s more, the pump also triggers feel-good endorphins and enkephalins—nature’s painkiller. “That’s why the pump is associated with wonderful, euphoric superhero feelings of invincibility and extremely good looks,” says Sulaver.

You can receive a pump in a variety of ways. Try combining heavy movements like squats and bench presses (3 to 6 reps per exercise) with bodyweight movements (think pushups and lunges) for higher reps (8 to 12). Or, you can simply keep all exercises in the 3 to 10 range (a mix of lower and higher reps), but shorten your rest periods to about 30 seconds to create the pump.

Whatever your choice, training for the pump isn’t the only key in the muscle building process, but it does play a role in packing on size and reminding you of the work you’re putting in.

The Expert: Tony Gentilcore
Muscle Building Technique: Wave Training (PAP)

One of the fundamental aspects of adding muscle is becoming stronger. For most people, this can be a frustrating process. That’s why wave training was so useful. Scientifically speaking, wave training is a technique known as “post-activation potentiation.” (Now you can see why bodybuilders used a different name.)

The technique involves alternating sets of low rep training with sets of higher reps, says strength coach Tony Gentilcore.

The low rep set (with a heavy weight) activates more muscle fibers so that when you do the higher rep set, you can lift more weight than you normally would.

For example: After a proper warmup, perform 1 rep of squats at 225 pounds. Rest 2 to 3 minutes, and then lift 185 pounds 5 times. The 185 pounds should feel lighter because the heavier set activates more of your motor units (the trigger in your body that causes your muscle fibers to fire), which allows you to move more weight, says Gentilcore.

From there, you can then do another set at 225 or maybe even 230, rest another 2 to 3 minutes, and then try to do a set of 5 reps with 190 pounds—your goal being to increase weight with each set.

And remember—don’t get caught up on the weights. Progress at your own level, and while this might seem like magic, you’ll experience real instant strength gains, which will lead to faster results.

The Expert: Jim “Smitty” Smith
Muscle Building Technique: Partial Reps

In general, focusing on giving only 50 percent on anything is a formula for failure. But when it comes to lifting weights, it might be one of the best ways to improve your workouts. Partial reps—where you focus on a limited range of motion—can help spark muscle building, improve your weaknesses and add serious strength, says strength coach Jim Smith, owner of Diesel Strength & Conditioning.

To start, you need to determine you sticking point—the area in an exercise where you struggle and the weight doesn’t seem to move. On the bench press, this is usually the point where the bar is about 3 to 6 inches above your chest.

Partial reps allows you to use heavier weights because you have to move the weight a shorter distance, which allows you to “feel” what it’s like to handle heavier loads, says Smith. For this reason alone, it builds confidence that you can become stronger.

On the bench press, you can perform board presses or pin presses. On board presses, you place different size wooden boards on your chest, which limits your range of motion. This is best performed with a partner. Don’t have a training buddy? Then do pin presses in a power rack. Set pins to the area of your sticking point (say 6 inches above your chest), and perform reps where you are only pressing out at the top of the exercise.

It might seem like cheating, but when you return to the full range of motion, you’ll discover that your weak point is now stronger, and you can begin making progress again.

The Expert: Clifton Harski
Muscle Building Technique: Pre-exhaust

Basic logic would tell you that a tired muscle won’t “work” as well as a fresh muscle. And yet, bodybuilders were notorious for a technique known as “pre-exhausting,” where they would purposely fatigue a muscle with an isolation exercise, and then follow with a compound (multi-muscle) exercise to cause more growth, says strength coach Clifton Harski.

Here’s how to make it work: Pick an isolation exercise. If you’re working your chest, you’d do a series of chest flys for 8 to 12 reps. That would exhaust your pecs. Then, follow that with a compound exercise like an incline chest press for another 8 to 12 reps.

You might have to use less weight on the incline chest press, but your muscle fibers should be working more in your chest, and as an added benefit, your triceps will work harder because your tired chest requires your arms to assist more with the lift, says Harski.

Use this technique with any of your major muscle groups to help jump-start a stalled program, or simply to help you “feel” the muscles you should be working and improve your focus.

The Expert: Brad Pilon
Muscle Building Technique: Forearm Training

“One traditional muscle building method that is absolutely essential for naturally skinny guys looking to build a powerful physique is direct forearm training,” says Brad Pilon, author of Eat Stop Eat. Before you insert your favorite forearm joke, remember that all the bodybuilding greats—Arnold, Lee Haney, Dorian Yates, and Ronnie Coleman—had meaty, well-trained forearms.

And for good reason: big forearms don’t just make you look impressive, they help you perform better too. Everything from direct arm work like biceps curls, to your presses and pulls that build a stronger, healthier body start with your ability to grip the weight.

“Somewhere in the early 2000’s we got the idea that the muscles of the forearm got enough stimulation from ‘grip training’ like heavy deadlifts, and that we didn’t need to do any direct training for forearms,” adds Pilon. But nothing could be farther from the truth—especially for people who have trouble becoming stronger.

Begin with a few sets of direct forearms work, such as forearm curls, and then add more weight and volume as you become stronger.

Putting It All Together

Adding any of these techniques to your workout can help provide the spark that you need to push forward, feel better, and look the way you want. But like anything in life, too much can be a bad thing. So start with one of these techniques and give it a try for 4 to 6 weeks.

Once you see progress, then try another to keep you heading in the right direction. If we all start practicing these techniques, we’ll make sure that the classics of yesteryear are not only preserved–but also reestablish the foundation of success for the future.

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Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post How to Master the Art of “Old School” Muscle Building appeared first on Born Fitness.

I remember reading that statement several years ago while going through some research and predictions from the World Health Organization. I remember thinking at the time, “Adam, these are just predictions. You’ve been predicting the Cubs would win the World Series since ’93…and you know how well that’s gone.”

And yet, the estimates made me mad. Make that pissed off.

I didn’t want to watch helplessly when I felt more could be done to “be the change” and assist others with their health and fitness struggles. It wasn’t long after this moment that I decided to leave my corporate job, start my own business, and expand all of the ways that I can offer health and fitness services, work with more people one-on-one, and improve the outreach of fitness and nutrition professionals and companies. I realized that the end goal—helping more people—would depend on enabling more people, rather than taking on the responsibility on my own.

That was the foundation of #FitnessLives.

This is not your typical health movement. The focus was simple and personal: Find your own level of comfort and excitement about being active (regardless of the activity of choice), eating well, and making time for you health—all within a structure of enjoying the process.

The #FitnessLives concept has been a rallying call for me on Twitter, and something that has resonated with so many people. Health comes in many shapes and sizes. Your personal goals are all that matters, and together if we all focus on behaviors rather than outcomes, then good things will happen.

Join the #FitnessLives Movement

#FitnessLives is about becoming a better you. It’s also about inspiring others to do the same.

If you want to join the #FitnessLives movement, all it takes is doing something healthy. Anything healthy. And then letting people know about it. You can go for a walk, lift weights, laugh, take the stairs, make a good diet choice, or deadlift 500 pounds. Doesn’t matter. Just do it and pass it on.

I’ve been fortunate enough to work with Arnold Schwarzenegger, someone who has arguably done as much for the fitness industry as anyone. So it only made sense that Arnold was the first to wear the #FitnessLives shirt.

I’ll have more ways soon for you to become involved.

Join the #FitnessLives movement.

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post What is #FitnessLives? appeared first on Born Fitness.