Education of a Bodybuilder by Arnold – Review
August 21st, 2007 by Paul JohnsonOver the years the one book that has been most commonly read by bodybuilders is Education of a Bodybuilder by Arnold Schwarzenegger. A lot of it is because of who Arnold is, but also because it is very controversial among bodybuilders. Arnold did wonders for giving bodybuilding into the mainstream, so many bodybuilders have a lot of respect for Arnold as a bodybuilder.
About Education of a Bodybuilder:
The book is split into two major sections. The first goes into his life. The second is his workout and nutrition advice. In the first section you realize how goal orientated he is, he is the exact persona of a “A type personality”. He seems to be willing to sacrifice many things in life to reach his goals. Some may say this is a sickness, while others may think it is admirable. Today, we know that many bodybuilders suffer from “Bigorexia”, I definitely think it’s safe to say that Arnold did at one time.
The second section deals with training. I have to admit, some of his advice is pretty absurd. He recommends for the advanced workouts 2 hours in the morning 2 hours at night 7 days a week. Only the most genetically blessed juiced bodybuilder on steroids (such as Arnold) could grow off a routine like that! He also says a lot of bodybuilding myths, when he talks about spot reduction and targeting muscles.
In the nutritional section he mentions about his common use of alcohol. Everyone knows that alcohol hurts bodybuilding gains, so either he exaggerated or more proof he has probably the best bodybuilding genetics ever. With todays mass monsters in the Olympia, they couldn’t even look at Alcohol, if they wanted to get to that ripped bf% they compete at currently. The overall diet recommendations aren’t too bad though, certainly much better than his training recommendations.
Overall, it’s a good book to read more for entertainment purposes. I wouldn’t necessarily take a lot of it it as a serious reference for bodybuilding information, since most don’t have his genetics and we have learned a lot since then on training, diet, and supplements.
You can purchase Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder
Don’t forget that Arnold wrote the book back in 1976 or 1977. His training methods then were what was used at the time. Up until the 70s, most training was lengthy around 1-2 hours. It is only in the past 30 years that we’ve pushed the shorter, single bodypart, more intense sessions.
I’d treat this as a history book, with insights into bodybuilding during Aronld’s time and into Arnold’s mindset at the time, rather than any kind of training guide or in depth biography.
There definitely was a lot of myths back in those days. Arnold still does train similiar to that(or at least when getting ready for a movie) and it seems to have worked for him alright. It’s just that it is very excessive for us mere mortals.
I HATE THE PERSON WHO WRITE THE REVIEW. THE MAN WHO WIN LOTS OF BODYBUILDING TITLE IF TRAINING TWICE A DAY,SO ITS HIS SECRET THAT WHY IS A CHAMP NOT YOU DUMP REVIEW WRITER
I agree with the last comment. The proof is in the pudding. WHo would you rather take advice from, Arnold or some other random? Exactly.
To David Park and Tony – you’re missing the point entirely. Yes, Arnold is a world class bodybuilder, and yes, he managed to build a world class physique on his insane routine. No one is doubting that this routine worked for HIM. It is clear however, that Arnold has genetics perfectly tuned for bodybuilding. You have to understand that in the second part of this text, Arnold is giving advice to the general public, and althouhg this advice may have been commonly accepted as true in the 70’s and even 80’s, most now know enough to know that arnolds routines would NOT work for them. Therefore, much of the book should be looked upon either as a historical document as Matthew pointed out, or just as entertainment.
Its stupid to say you shouldnt criticize the book because Arnold is the best. That’s called heroification. Arnold can be wrong, believe me.
MOST elite athelites train a MINIMUM of 4 hours a day and some train much much much more. But you have to eat a ton of calories and sleep 9-10 hours or more a day. Not possible for the layman with a family and a full time job.
Don’t forget Arnold also used to say there is no such thing as over-training, just under-eating and under-sleeping.
Heroification is exactly what it is. Arnold was a monster, his genetics were definently some of the best bodybuilding has ever seen. His work ethic was also extremely high, and the combination of the genetics and work ethic is what his training advice came from, and why it is a bit absurd. For the normal person, that is. In his book, he does mention that these workouts are not correct for everyone, and even goes so far as to say that they can be modified. Once you do take into account his nutrition and rest habits these workouts do become a little more reasonable, but still on the insane side of things.
I am also not sure that some of the people who posted here have even taken the time to read the book. Before knocking the author, you really should know what he’s even writing about.
David Park, CAPS lock stuck on?
The book isn’t perfect, but I recommend it for everyone for obvious reasons.