It takes more than just lifting weights to train like Arnold

It takes more than just lifting weights to train like Arnold

If you have been following my month-long Train Like Arnold Challenge on Instagram (@rocklockridge), then you have seen various pictures and short videos of me doing various exercises like incline bench presses, squats, various curls, and yes, even Arnold presses.

It turns out I'm banging and banging in my barn almost 24 hours a week. That's a lot, but if you think that's all it takes to train like a bodybuilding legend, then that's a short-sighted observation.

Recovering from this amount of bulk is also time consuming and involves more than taking a nap in the middle of the afternoon and downing a few protein shakes. I'm doing this in my 40s, but I didn't want this to be an excuse or a safety net if I fell short in this endeavor. So each workout is followed by about 20 minutes of percussion pistol work and 20 minutes of total body foam rolling. I also incorporate stretching into my daily routine.

Additionally, I have used water in my recovery process. A local pool has both cold and hot water access, so I alternate between the two when I make the trip. I've also used my shower to do the same thing when I'm home. If you choose the shower version, I go for five minutes with hot water and two with cold water. I learned this strategy from legendary wrestler Dan Gable, who used two showers in the locker room after his strength training sessions. His times were longer than mine.

Refuel until you level up

Then there is the food. Even though I've lost 15 pounds since starting this challenge, I'm eating more than I did before I started. I have between 5 and 6 meals a day and I don't eat small. I kept my protein to around 300 grams per day. My main sources are chicken, steak, eggs, Greek yogurt and protein shakes. My fats are about 60 grams per day, and the main sources come from various nuts, egg yolks and natural peanut butter.

I consume between 200 and 300 grams of carbohydrates per day. I let my energy level determine how much I eat. My typical pre-workout meal is Greek yogurt with fruit and nuts. I also have rice and oats as carbohydrate sources. I've found that my body handles it better than other sources like multigrain pasta. As for vegetables, since they are low in calories, I have as many as I want. Usually it's broccoli, salads and even carrots. There's no real science behind it, other than when I've found that it helps me work out better without feeling like it, then I've stuck with it.

The supplementation strategy is also simple – protein powder, pre-workout, BCAAs and a joint recovery supplement. If you haven't figured this out about me yet, simple works best for me. If I have to think about it too much, it will probably be harder to follow.

Back to the weight room

Now let's talk about how I do what I do in the barn. This was actually more complicated for me than the other parts of this challenge. It would have been really easy for me to just do the exercises like I traditionally do, but this is called the Train Like Arnold Challenge for a reason - I had to train like Arnold. This meant that I tried to mimic his form as much as possible so that I could better understand how he could train the way he did.

Let's take the dumbbell fly as an example. If you've seen "Pumping Iron," then you've seen him perform his flies with his arms outstretched and pulled back as far as possible. This is to deeply stretch his chest muscles. But have you ever paid attention to his feet? His legs are raised and his feet are over the bench. This makes this isolation movement even more difficult to perform as the body must remain stable. This took some getting used to, but I got the hang of it. I use 50 pound dumbbells as my top set. That's a far cry from the 85s he was able to use.

There are some things that I am limited at due to previous injuries. For example, due to previous problems with my right shoulder, I cannot lower a barbell as far as he could. I manage to use the best range of motion I can. The strange thing is that I can do these relatively painlessly because of the rotation in the Arnold presses.

I now have more respect for actors and how they work to portray real people in films. I've watched and read as much as I can about Arnold's training, so I use his form instead of my own. I even went and bought a new copy of “The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding” to read his descriptions. No, I don't talk like him. So you'll still hear my country boy voice when I speak.

My main role: father and husband

Even with all of this, my main focus is to make sure my family doesn't experience any negative effects from this. Believe me, it wasn't easy. Packing groceries while running errands is part of your daily routine. More importantly, I don't miss any of my son's school events. This requires me to keep a tight schedule, sometimes almost to the minute.

In Part 1 of this series, it was actually my wife who gave me the final push to take on this challenge. She was the one who convinced me that I could do it. We traditionally have weekly “day dates” while our son is at school to spend some time outside the house. So far I haven't missed a single one. Our lunch menus are different because I no longer eat for pleasure but for purpose, but I'm still with her. Unfortunately I'm just moving slower due to the DOMS, which was also quite present.

Check out my posts on my Instagram (@rocklockridge). If you decide to follow, I promise to do my best to keep it interesting even after this is over.