“I just use my muscles as a conversation piece, like someone walking a cheetah down 42nd Street.” Arnold Schwarzenegger had three heart surgeries, and it has left him with lifelong consequences. The bodybuilder, who earned seven Mr. Olympia titles at one point and made the vacuum pose famous has now confessed how he cannot heavy-lift anymore.

Acceptance wasn’t easy for the Austrian Oak as he admittedly stated that he would be green with envy should he witness anyone else square the circle after having gone through a similar medical history. Naturally, Arnie had to adapt. When asked how he goes about his fitness regime these days, the ‘Terminator’ revealed a sad truth.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was told to stop heavy lifting

Schwarzenegger was on the ‘Smartless’ podcast, where he talked about the surgeries and how they have affected him. According to Arnie, its after-effect only let him bike for 45 minutes alongside some other light exercises. He stated, “I had heart surgery in 1997, and then the doctors were telling me that you should stop the heavy lifting because it’s not good for your valves.”

Arnie then continued to talk about how, despite all the physical problems he might get, he still could not stop working out regularly. However, he changed his strategy. He said, “I just started lifting less weights more reps, and stuff like that, but I work out regularly.”

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Then Schwarzy went ahead to talk about how hard it gets to hold on to something when circumstances do not align. “But this you know, as you get older it’s kind of like how the hell do you hold on to some of the stuff that you once had, and it’s really, it’s tough,” he said.

The 76-year-old further explained how he didn’t want to put “unnecessary” pressure on his valves. And going heavy while bench-pressing, deadlifts and squats would do exactly that.

Earlier, Schwarzenegger had talked about how his replacement valves affected the way he worked out.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger talks about working out post-surgery

Schwarzy had declared how his replaced heart valves made it difficult for him to lift heavy. The bodybuilder stated, “My replacement heart valves made lifting heavy impossible. I have friends who kept training but had to adjust and do some exercises light for injuries… It is really a person-to-person question. If you can keep training with full intensity at heavy weights, I’m jealous.” 

At the peak of his bodybuilding career, he would train twice a day for hours and would engage in endless numbers of exercises and sets. The Governator is still passionate about working out. But owing to medical problems and old age, he sticks to the basics.

The ability to adapt and get back to one’s old regime after surgery may vary from one individual to the other. Even as he has found it difficult to hold on to the kind of workout regimes that were a part of his past, Schwarzenegger continues to ensure that he does what he can at the gym, inspiring countless others to do the same.

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