Bodybuilding fans don’t admire Arnold Schwarzenegger simply because of his record-setting career, but because he pioneered several aspects of the discipline. Besides popularizing competitive bodybuilding as a sport, the Austrian Oak made several contributions to how we train in the gym even today. 4x Mr. Universe winner Mike O’Hearn gave an example earlier.

Mike O’Hearn shared a clip of himself doing bicep curls on 5th June. However, the American Gladiator star didn’t perform the regular dumbbell bicep curls. Instead, he used a simple yet effective apparatus called the Arm Blaster. The apparatus helps a bodybuilder isolate their biceps removing other muscles from the equation. That’s when one fan mentioned Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“Reminds me of classic pics of @schwarzenegger. What’s old is new again. The classics never die,“ wrote the impassioned fan. The comment reminded the 55-year-old that Arnold Schwarzenegger was the one who made the Arm Blaster popular. Arnie used it to isolate and grow his biceps. “Love Arnold for showing us all this one,“ Mike O’Hearn wrote in his Instagram story.

Arm Blaster bicep curls acted as an alternative to the famous preacher curl Vince Gironda developed for the first Mr. Olympia Larry Scott. Similar to the preacher curl, the arm blaster provides support to the elbow, allowing a bodybuilder to relax the supporting muscles, including the deltoids. While this adds difficulty, it amplifies biceps growth. 

The 55-year-old shredded bodybuilding icon has learned from the golden era legend throughout his career. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Frank Zane, Robby Robinson, and others have inspired and mentored O’Hearn. So he doesn’t pass up the opportunity to thank the heroes whose exercise philosophies have allowed him to maintain a shredded physique at 55. However, the 76-year-old former Mr. Olympia recently named the best exercise for your biceps.

Arnold Schwarzenegger names a must-do biceps exercise

The 76-year-old bodybuilding legend wrote about research done to find the best exercise for bicep training. Arnie explained that researchers compared the incline dumbbell against the preacher curl. While the exercises focus on providing optimal stimulus to the biceps, “preacher curls are more effective at building bigger biceps,” Schwarzenegger wrote in his newsletter.

The former Mr. Universe winner explained that among the two, preacher curls provide stimulus even when the bicep muscle fibers are in a stretched position. Hence, preacher curls give you the benefits of stretch hypertrophy. Stimulating the muscle “where it is most challenged,“ promotes more muscle growth, explained the Arnold Classic co-founder.

Whether you’re doing preacher curls or utilizing arm blasters, both exercises take advantage of stretch hypertrophy. This is why bodybuilding veterans like Mike O’Hearn still incorporate these timeless exercises into their workout routines.