Arnold Schwarzenegger started the new year by giving his fans the chance to get in top shape by training with him in person.
On January 1, the 77-year-old actor and bodybuilding icon announced a new challenge for users of his fitness app The Pump.
“Today I announce 'The Iron Ticket,'” Schwarzenegger wrote in the Pump Club newsletter. “It’s like the Golden Ticket to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but instead of giving you a lifetime’s worth of chocolate and candy factory tours, you get healthy.”
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Arnold Schwarzenegger is giving his fans the chance to train with him at his gym. (Arnold Schwarzenegger Instagram/Getty)
“Every three months, we'll ask you about your success stories within the app,” he continued. “Then, every three months, we choose three people with great success stories to train with us. One is a beginner, one is intermediate, and one is advanced, so no one is left behind.” yeah.”
Schwarzenegger explained that unlike other fitness challenges, “Iron Ticket” is not intended to be “just a prize for people who get fitter.”
“I want this to be for everyone, no matter where your starting line is,” he wrote. “Whether it's your first chair squat or a 500-pound squat, as long as you strive to get better every day, you qualify.”
fitness icon It was also revealed that He said he plans to continue competing for the Iron Ticket indefinitely.
“Like most challenges, it's not a one-time thing, because true fitness doesn't change in one month or even three months. I challenge you to choose fitness that lasts a lifetime. That's why the Iron Ticket is here to stay.'' ”
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Schwarzenegger has previously said his life's mission is to inspire others to embrace fitness and prioritize their physical health.
For more than 50 years, the daily-workout action star has helped millions of people around the world get in shape, including fans, military personnel, and even a former U.S. president.
Let's take a look back at Schwarzenegger's history of fitness inspiration.
bodybuilding champion
Schwarzenegger won the Mr. Olympia title seven times throughout his bodybuilding career. (Jack Mitchell)
Schwarzenger's passion for fitness began when he started weight training as a teenager and decided to pursue a career in bodybuilding. The Austrian native competed in his first bodybuilding competition at the age of 16, winning the 1965 Junior Mr. Europe contest and winning his first major title at the age of 17. A year later he became the winner of the Mr. Europe contest held in Germany.
At the age of 20, Schwarzenger won the 1967 Mr. Universe contest, making him the pageant's youngest champion.
In 1970, he won the Mr. Olympia contest, earning him the title of the world's best professional bodybuilder. He won Mr. Olympia five years in a row until 1975.
After a four-year hiatus, Schwarzenegger returned to the Mr. Olympia competition and once again won the top title. Schwarzenegger has won the Mr. Olympia seven times, and held the record for most wins in the event until Lee Haney won eight in a row in 1991.
Hollywood pioneer
Schwarzenegger's acting career skyrocketed with “Conan the Barbarian.'' (Dino De Laurentiis/Universal Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)
After his success in bodybuilding, Schwarzenegger pursued a career as an actor. However, he initially had a difficult time in Hollywood, facing rejection due to his foreign accent and body type, which was not considered the standard for leading men at the time.
Schwarzenegger made his film debut in the 1970 film Hercules in New York. Over the next few years, he made guest appearances on television shows and had bit parts in movies.
In 1977, Schwarzenegger appeared as himself in the bodybuilding documentary drama Pumping Iron. The film was a huge hit at the box office and paved the way for the bodybuilding industry to enter mainstream culture. The success of “Pumping Iron” brought Schwarzenegger international fame.
In 1982, Schwarzenegger made his breakthrough as an actor when he starred in “Conan the Barbarian.'' He gained widespread fame with his iconic role in 1984's The Terminator, which spawned five sequels.
Once a storied rival, Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone are credited with igniting the action movie boom of the 1980s, which also contributed to the explosive growth of the fitness industry.
In a 2000 post on his website, Schwarzenegger reflected on how he overcame obstacles early in his career.
Schwarzenegger is known internationally for his iconic role in the Terminator series. (Photo courtesy of Sunset Boulevard/Corbis, via Getty Images)
“It was very difficult for me at first. Agents and cast members told me that my body was 'too weird', that my accent was strange, that my name was too long. Please say my name, and They told me “I had to change that,'' he wrote in response to a fan question.
Schwarzenegger continued. “Basically everywhere I went, I was told I didn't have a chance. But it made me even more determined and inspired me to try harder. I took acting and voice classes. I took it and never gave up.”
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“One of the valuable lessons I learned is that you have to establish yourself in an area where there is no one else and then create your own need. If you can do that in the action movie genre, eventually they'll come to you.”
Schwarzenegger retired from acting after becoming governor of California in 2003, but resumed his career in the entertainment industry after leaving the governorship in 2011.
Schwarzenegger starred in the hit series “The Expendables'' and reprized the role in the two latest “Terminator'' films.
In December 2024, Schwarzenegger announced that he would be returning to the big screen for the first time in five years, playing the role of Santa Claus in the upcoming holiday film The Man With The Bag.
Chairman of the Presidential Physical Fitness Council
U.S. President George H.W. Bush appointed Schwarzenegger to chair the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. (Luke Frazza/AFP via Getty Images)
At the height of his acting career, Schwarzenegger struck up a friendship with President George H.W. Bush that lasted until the former commander in chief's death at age 94 in 2018.
Bush, a fellow fitness buff, became gym buddies with Schwarzenegger, and the two trained together at the White House and Camp David.
In a 2018 interview with CNN, Schwarzenegger recalled that Bush would invite him to Camp David once a month, and the two would participate in a series of strenuous physical activities.
“He was exhausted,” Schwarzenegger said of Bush. “We played sports from dawn until dusk: skeet, trap shooting, horseshoes, weight training, Wally Ball, playing volleyball against the wall with the Marines. It went on and on, and by the time I went to bed at night I was exhausted.
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In 1990, President Bush appointed Schwarzenegger to chair the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
“The physical health of all Americans requires resolutions stronger than annual New Year's resolutions. We now know that individuals can improve their We know it can impact health, fitness, and a productive working life,” Bush said in a statement. .
“I asked Arnold to chair the council because I believe he is uniquely qualified to address and influence health and fitness issues for the nation, especially among young people. Because,” he continued. “Arnold has dedicated much of his career to the pursuit and advocacy of physical fitness. His abilities have translated into success in a wide range of careers, including athletics, acting, and business ventures.
“I call on him to raise awareness among all Americans about the importance of health through physical fitness.”
The two were friends and training partners. (Jean-Louis Atlant/Sigma via Getty Images)
In an interview with Jocko Podcast last year, Schwarzenegger recalled his time as council president and how he was instrumental in getting training equipment to military personnel deployed overseas.
The actor recalled a conversation with President Bush in which the former president told him about an article he had read in the New York Times about how soldiers in Iraq were using sandbags to exercise.
“I said, 'Do you know why they exercise with sandbags?' Because, first of all, resistance training is good. But another reason is that we haven't sent any barbells or dumbbells yet. Do you think they would rather not lift with dumbbells or barbells? '' Schwarzenegger recalled telling Bush.
Schwarzenegger remembers Bush asking him, “Can you sort that out?”
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“I said, 'You're talking to the right guy.'”
Schwarzenegger said he has solicited donations from all manufacturers of weight equipment.
“We collected 40 tons of heavy equipment and put it in a wooden box,” he recalled.
Upon learning that Schwarzenegger was planning to ship equipment overseas, then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Colin Powell intervened.
“He said, 'Arnold, I'm not going to do something stupid like ship this, but I've never heard of that,'” Schwarzenegger told Jocko. “'I'm going to fly that son of a bitch over there. I'll be there in two days.'”
“Then all of a sudden, three weeks later, we're hearing from guys on the front line, 'Arnold, thank you for helping us get the weights. We just received the weights. We're working in the barracks right now. Of course, there aren't enough dumbbells and barbells and stuff, because there are a lot of people who are into weight training, but this is a great, great start,” Schwarzenegger said. I reminisced.
Schwarzenegger was instrumental in introducing weight training equipment to military personnel. (Greg Matheson/Mai/Getty Images)
Schwarzenegger also told how he traveled to visit troops stationed in Iraq during the second Gulf War in 2003. Schwarzenegger was there for a screening of his film “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.''
He said it was important to him that the men and women serving in Iraq “be able to see this movie first, before anyone else sees it, before the critics or anyone else sees it. I'm very enthusiastic about that.” '' he said.
“I went to different places over there to show movies,” Schwarzenegger recalled. “Then all of a sudden I saw the gym where they were training. The craziest thing was when I went back there in 2009…I saw a gym that was much bigger than any gym in the world. I made it.”
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“It was insane,” he continued. “That's when I realized that we had reached a point where there was no fire department without weights, no police station without weights, no military station without weights.”
“This is what happened from the '70s to the '90s. There were explosions in all directions,” he added. “That's how it helped me. I believe in this. I feel passionate about this.”
“Because I felt that the bigger the sport, the healthier people would be.”
