Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Bodybuilder Son Performs Father’s Favorite Chest Exercise

Arnold Schwarzenegger, aka the Austrian Oak, with seven Mr. Olympia titles and many more, is often appreciated for his unique training regime. During his prime and even now, Arnie is open to trying out every new exercise. Now his son, Joseph Baena, is taking the same path as his father.

In a recent Instagram story uploaded by Baena, he was seen doing one of Arnie’s favorite chest exercises. This is not the first time Baena has tried to follow his father’s training style. What did he try this time?

Gironda changed Arnie’s perspective about bodybuilding divisions

In the story, one could see how Baena did a twelve-rep set of the most famous Gironda dips. Arnie used to love doing Gironda dips back in the day, and it helped grow his lower chest. After arriving in California, the seven-time Mr. Olympia’s perspective on bodybuilding divisions changed completely. It was then that he started training with Vince Gironda, learning the secrets of bodybuilding from him.

Gironda was the one who introduced Preacher curls to the Austrian Oak for his biceps. But Arnie had something else on his mind and wanted to develop a sharp line on his lower chest. For this ask, he was taught the Gironda dips, which are different from the conventional dips. The Gironda dips not only target your triceps but also your chest at the same time.

This same phenomenon can be seen in Baena’s story. The strain was easily noticeable when he engaged in the reps. Baena also did slow reps to increase his time under tension to get optimal results from the exercise. Back in the day, it was the introduction of the Gironda dips that marked the start of experimenting for Arnie. This helped him develop the Arnold Press. Let’s look at how the Terminator came up with the idea of such an exercise.

The history behind the Arnold Press

In a previous edition of the seven-time Mr. Olympia’s newsletter, Arnold’s Pump Club, he shed light on how he found the best variation for his shoulders. The Austrian Oak shared that in the ’70s, “I was constantly testing and experimenting in the gym… The gym was my lab.” 

The former Governor of California explained that he “always tried different movements and hand placements, and I would do 30 sets and see how the soreness worked.” The Austrian Oak even highlighted the results of the exercise and said, “The next day, sure enough, my front and side delts were crushed.” 

This might come as a surprise to you, but the Terminator only thought of mass as an important factor while competing. But it all changed when he met Gironda and introduced him to such effective exercises. What do you think of both of these variations? Will you try them out? Let us know in the comments.