Arnold Schwarzenegger Reveals Link Between Willpower and Consistency in the Gym

Bodybuilding legend Arnold Schwarzenegger has started a new section in his newsletter. Arnie calls this section ‘From the Village’ to further bridge the gap between his free Arnold’s Pump Club and the paid, The Pump app. In the latest edition, Schwarzenegger highlighted a member’s question about willpower and training.

“How can I increase my willpower?” asked one of The Austrian Oak’s over 600,000-strong village members. So Arnold Schwarzenegger explained why trying to increase willpower is a futile endeavor. He mentioned a study that found why consistency is more effective at helping some develop a habit.

“Research suggests that if you want to build healthier habits, depending on willpower or motivation is not a recipe for success,” Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote in his newsletter. The 76-year-old explained the brain’s pre-frontal cortex generates willpower. However, it’s also responsible for many other things.

The pre-frontal cortex also generates “day-to-day tasks, short-term memory, and focus,” and is burnt out by the end of the day. So, trying to increase willpower only puts further stress, leading you to skip the gym. Instead, studies found that practicing consistency helps preserve willpower when you need it most.

Scientists took three groups to study how consistency affects willpower and habit-building. They told one group to train and the second to read motivational material. Meanwhile, the third group committed to “a day, time, and place for at least 20 minutes of exercise per day.”

Researchers saw no changes in their exercise behavior. Only 35% of people from the first two groups trained for one day per week despite consuming motivational material. Meanwhile, 91% of the third group who committed to consistency “completed at least one workout per week.” Yet, building a habit is easier said than done.

Arnold Schwarzenegger emphasized flexibility

In a past edition of his newsletter, Arnold Schwarzenegger explained why being consistent but too rigid could have the opposite result. The True Lies star cited another study with three groups. Scientists divided participants into “a strict routine, a flexible plan, and a control group.” While the first two groups remained consistent, the results were different.

The study paid its participants to train. While the strict group had to commit to a specific training schedule, the flexible group could train whenever they found time. Yet when they stopped paying the participants, twice as many people from the flexible group continued training compared to the strict group.

Arnold Schwarzenegger cited these studies to remind everyone that consistency builds habit and preserves willpower for the days you need to push yourself a little harder. However, he also advised people to not make their routine so rigid that it would add to their stress instead of relieving it.