“Arnold Schwarzenegger Education of a Bodybuilder by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Douglas Kent Hall
Compared with us Europeans, Chet Yorton and the other Americans seemed like scientific marvels. Their musculature had been worked on down to the last detail, almost to perfection. My body was far from perfect. I had come to London big and powerful, but not perfect. And suddenly I realized that I was at the beginning of an endlessly long road again, and if I ever wanted to win, I would have to set out along it. Until then I had focused only on building big mass, but as it turned out, that is not in itself decisive. Now I had to cut down, work on myself, shape myself, develop a defined physique and become truly perfect.
Even before the contest I had heard all sorts of interesting opinions and theories about bodybuilding. Some of the guys recommended going to the sauna before appearing on stage and sweating out every last drop of water from your body. Others said that stretching and flexion exercises help keep the muscles toned and improve blood circulation. Lessons, advice and recommendations came at me from left and right. Because of my limited English, these theories and ideas seemed even more complicated. But when another bodybuilder finally translated the gist of them for me, I understood that this was not simply a sport, but an entire science of its own. After five years of training, I had thought I knew everything about bodybuilding that there was to know. Suddenly everything was turned upside down. The only thing I knew was that I knew nothing.
Bodybuilding contests are usually held over two days: the afternoon of the first day and the evening of the second. The compulsory round, which is also the most important and weightiest part of the contest, takes place on the first day. The free posing routine, which by nature is more of a show for the audience than a competition, takes place on the evening of the second day. The compulsory round is usually presented only to the judges, federation officials, journalists and other bodybuilders. The judges compare the lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight competitors separately. Based on the points awarded, a ranking is drawn up and kept strictly secret until the evening of the following day, when the weight-class winners and the overall winner are finally announced and the awards are presented. Although it is hard to say anything for certain after the compulsory round, you can still conclude a thing or two from the general reaction. And I sensed that I had done well, better than I had hoped.
On the registration list for the heavier weight class, I noticed something very odd. Although I was the heaviest of the men, my name was written on the sheet second to last, not last. Chet Yorton had registered later than everyone else, which meant that he had “happened” to end up last on the list as well. I understood that it was a deliberate trick, a typically American move. Whoever is last on the list is last on stage, and so he is also the one who leaves the judges with the final impression. Yes, it was a trick, I was completely sure of it. Now that I knew what shape Yorton was in, I no longer expected much from this contest. But as soon as I stepped on stage, I was met with thunderous applause. The crowd was truly delighted with me. I was Mr. Europe, I had a powerful body, powerful arms, and I was young, incredibly young.
I was young and inexperienced. I did not know which poses I should do to make the best possible impression. Most of my posing routine, if you could even call it that, was copied from the routines of other bodybuilders that I had seen, or simply from poses in magazines. It lacked a clear structure and rhythm, as a proper routine should have. The audience show took place the following evening at the Victoria Palace Theatre. I tried to properly “pump myself up” and concentrate on my body.
The announcer gave me a powerful introduction: “And now, ladies and gentlemen, let me present a sensation from Germany – Mr. Europe, Arnold Schwarzenegger. He is only nineteen years old, yet already a fantastic top-class bodybuilder, and this is his first international contest. Let’s give him a worthy welcome!”
The applause was so long and loud that it was almost impossible to hear the announcer’s last words.
(To be continued)
Author: joker
Come and train! ArtGym
