He’s back: Arnold Schwarzenegger campaigns for fitness

In his Twitter account where he has almost three million followers Arnold@Schwarzenegger says, “Thanks for the great support of my @GoldsGym video! Please don’t forget the goal: raising money for @ASASafterschool, Omaze.com/Arnold” at 9:09 p.m., Wednesday, January 22.

A day after Omaze published the video on YouTube, Arnold’s a-day-in-the-gym post garnered close to 4.7 million views already. Television, radio, print and social media are abuzz about the latest offer from the Terminator. The whole Gold’s Gym global community got perked up by the surprise as Dave Reiseman, vice president for communications, announced, “For those who have not seen it, our most famous member, Arnold Schwarzenegger, added another legendary (and hilarious) chapter to his association with Gold’s Gym yesterday. In a video to support his charity, After School All Stars (which promotes physical fitness to kids), Arnold goes undercover as our newest regional manager ‘Howard’ to lend unsuspecting members some fitness tips and training advice. Candid cameras captured the hilarious interactions and all that can be said about the video is:  It’s incredible!”

“Our goal is to help Arnold promote this terrific cause. We will be promoting the video on social media and with our members, associates and franchisees around the world. We’ll also be disseminating it via our many marketing channels and through our national agency partners. Please share the video with your friends and family and, if you can, make a donation to the After School All Stars through the Omaze.com link at the end of the video. It’s a great cause and you may actually win a trip to go hang with Arnold,” Reiseman adds.

Undercover for a cause

The former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has gone undercover to raise money for his after-school program. In the YouTube video, he pranks members of Gold’s in the bodybuilding mecca in Venice, California as a regional manager.

“I’m Howard Kleiner. I’m here to help you,” Schwarzenegger says as he welcomes members in the front desk. “When it burns, it grows. Remember that,” he encourages a woman at the gym.

Schwarzenegger hopes the video raises awareness and money for his After-School All-Stars program. ASAS provides nationwide after-school care to low-income families.

Omaze organized the fund drive where donors who donate at least $10 to the program are automatically entered to win a chance to ride shotgun with Schwarzenegger in his own personal Sherman tank. The contest includes flight and hotel accommodations for two in Los Angeles, cigars, and workout time with Arnold.

Schwarzenegger will match every donation dollar for dollar. The video fundraiser debuted last January 21. The contest will end in 10 days by the end of January. However, the chance to win is reserved for US citizens only. The winner will experience a day with the Terminator in late February or early March.

As refreshing as the viral video is the story behind Omaze. Two college friends, Matt Pohlson and Ryan Cummins, have always been united by a passion for using the power of a story to inspire social change. One night, they attended a benefit event Magic Johnson hosted for the Boys & Girls Club of America. There, he auctioned off the chance to watch a Lakers game with him plus dinner with him after.

Both Lakers fans, they wanted the experience badly but couldn’t afford the $15,000 winning bid. Driving home, they couldn’t help discussing how an online promotion can make the amazing experience affordable with a minimum donation while raising more funds by involving more donors.

The most popular fitness poster boy

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger or Arnold Schwarzenegger, born in 1947, won Mr. Universe at age 20, making him the youngest ever to win the title. He trained under Joe Weider at Gold’s Gym in Venice, California. Filmmakers George Butler and Robert Fiore convinced Arnold to film his training in a bodybuilding documentary dubbed Pumping Iron.

Arnold’s breakthrough box-office hit movie was the epic Conan the Barbarian in 1982. His most successful movie was Terminator 2: Judgment Day in 1991.

“Bodybuilders who have to force themselves to go to the gym and work out will never achieve the kind of success possible for those who can’t wait to hit the gym and start pumping iron,” Arnold says in his book The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding. “Bodybuilding is much like any other sport. To be successful, you must dedicate yourself 100% to your training, diet, and mental approach,” he adds.

Arnold followed calorie cycling, which involved having some higher calorie days with some low calorie days in between to prevent a slowdown in metabolism. He advised in his book that going too long on a low-calorie diet will result in slow metabolism that makes further fat loss very difficult.

For Arnold,  muscular success is achieved when one lifts between 70 and 75% of one’s rep maximum, and pushing your body to the limit was the quickest route to muscular success.

He suggests eight to12 reps for upper-body movements and 12 to 16 reps for lower-body movements. He recommends 12 sets per body part for beginners and 20 for all muscles for advanced trainees except for small muscles like biceps and triceps, which can be sufficiently targeted with nine sets.

He stresses, “Training gives us an outlet for suppressed energies created by stress and, thus, tones the spirit just as exercise conditions the body.”

He also recommends 48 hours of rest after working larger muscle groups, and slightly less for smaller ones. Arnold is not a reckless athlete. He is a firm believer in injury prevention through rest, a thorough warm-up before exercise, and stretching to end a good workout.

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Post me a note at mylene@goldsgym.com.ph or mylenedayrit@gmail.com.