Arnold Schwarzenegger Lied to Fellow Bodybuilders Who Were Alarmed by His Workouts Before the Controversial 1980 Mr. Olympia: “Told Them That Being Ripped Was Required…”

The 1980 Mr. Olympia edition is one of the most talked-about events in the history of bodybuilding.  The surprising return of Arnold Schwarzenegger after his retirement went down as one of the most controversial moments to date. However, to create this historic moment, he had to once lie to his fellow bodybuilders concerning his workout routine.  

The Austrian Oak swept the Sandow Trophy back home six consecutive times from 1970 to 1975. And to grab the trophy for the seventh time, Schwarzenegger had to take some extreme steps. 

Why did Arnold Schwarzenegger lie?

Arnold had taken a break from bodybuilding and had not competed in Mr. Olympia after his last win in 1975. Many people thought that Schwarzenegger was past his prime. However, Schwarzenegger had been secretly preparing for the 1980 Mr. Olympia competition for months. He had been training hard and had developed a new workout routine that he believed would give him an edge over his competitors. 

While the former Governor did pretty well to keep it a secret during the training period, he had to escalate the intensity of the workout. The sudden increase in Arnold’s workout routine seemed unusual to his fellow bodybuilders. “Some of the guys in the gym were uneasy. When they saw me start blasting two-hour workouts twice a day,” he wrote in his autobiography, Total Recall. 

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However, Schwarzenegger told them that he was doing it for the upcoming movie project. “I’d told them that being ripped was required for the part,” he wrote. He kept this new routine a secret from his fellow bodybuilders, and he even lied to them about his training regimen. Finally, the secret was revealed when the former governor announced his comeback just a day before the scheduled date of the event.

While it ended on a good note for the Terminator actor, events unfolding moments and days ahead of the competition only added to the controversies surrounding 1980 Mr. Olympia event.

The controversy behind the 1980 Mr. Olympia

In the end, Schwarzenegger’s secret workout routine paid off. He won the 1980 Mr. Olympia competition, much to the surprise of many who were expecting a different result. However, the results created controversies, as many people including his fellow participants in the event believed that Schwarzenegger had been given preferential treatment by the judges. However, there is no denying that Schwarzenegger’s win was a testament to his dedication and hard work.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s decision to lie to his fellow bodybuilders about the workout routine that led him to win the 1980 Mr. Olympia competition was a calculated move. Whether or not his win was controversial is up for debate, but there is no denying that Schwarzenegger is one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time.

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