“That Was a Total Shocker”: Arnold Schwarzenegger Reflects on His Defeat to Frank Zane at 1968 Mr. Universe and How He Overcame That Setback

Published 03/10/2024, 11:52 PM EDT

The rivalry between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Frank Zane was first noticed to be at its peak when both were neck-to-neck at the stage of Mr. Universe. It was subsequently won by Frank Zane. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Frank Zane were later known to have trained together. And from the initial rivalry, they have also built their friendships in a way where they helped each other later on.

Recently, in a conversation, he was asked about it again. The 7-times Mr. Olympia winner reflected on his feelings and how he dealt with the situation.

Arnold Schwarzenegger cried all night

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Arnold Schwarzenegger recently appeared in the Jocko Podcast hosted by Jocko Willink. The Austrian Oak had asked the host to imagine a situation where Schwarzenegger had just won a Mr. Universe and coming to America he found another contest from a different federation, and while he thought his physique was in perfect shape, the results were not aiding his thoughts.

He recalled, “You just won a week before a Mr Universe contest, the second Mr Universe contest now you’re coming to America and there is another Federation that has also Mr Universe count you say might as well grab that one too very quickly while I’m at it. And I lose that was a total shocker.”

Then the bodybuilder went ahead to reflect on how he felt at that moment. He remembered crying all night and blaming everything. He even said that he found himself as a victim – because according to him that’s what the brain implores people to think – because he has a different tongue and he hails from Europe. Schwarzenegger believed that they only let the American bodybuilders win.

Then he suggested, “Because you have to be able to get to a point where you can laugh at that and say the Mind pulls interesting tricks now I woke up now I’m with the program now. I’m seeing reality now, I don’t see anymore I was perfect. And they f*cked me, and Frank Zay is a terrible person he put a trick on me and all of that said, no is it this is over now we went past this stage to where we are trying to defend ourselves.” Although there were tensions between the two bodybuilders, Arnold Schwarzenegger also shared memories of where he and Frank Zane would sneak out to have food.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger and Frank Zane’s cheat day

While talking about his diet, Schwarzenegger also revealed that there were times when Arnold Schwarzenegger and Zane were highly starved of Carbs because of their diets. In fact, for his prep for Mr. Olympia, Zane had also asked The Austrian Oak to stop with desserts. Yet the night before their contests, both of them would sneak out to the House of Pies.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger recalled that they would eat a whole cherry pie. But he also affirmed that it did not harm them. He said, “It didn’t hurt anymore it was too late because the next day it was we went to New York for the Mr Olympia contest and we won and he won his Mr Universe and Mr World contest and I won the Mr Olympia and everything was good and fine.” What do you think of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Frank Zane’s rivalry and friendship? Let us know in the comments below.

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Written by:

Pritha Halder is a bodybuilding writer at EssentiallySports. Specializing in covering the off-court life of bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts, she can often be seen scrounging Kali Muscle’s Instagram feed to find the new fruitarian diet the fitness influencer is on. Having completed her Bachelor's in English Language and Literature from a multidisciplinary university, Pritha started her career as a writer for a literary magazine, before delving into the world of fitness.

Edited by:

Bhujaya Ray Chowdhury

“That Was a Total Shocker”: Arnold Schwarzenegger Reflects on His Defeat to Frank Zane at 1968 Mr. Universe and How He Overcame That Setback

Arnold Schwarzenegger cried all night

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Arnold Schwarzenegger and Frank Zane’s cheat day