Bodybuilding legend who defeated Arnold Schwarzenegger shares how he stays ripped at 81
A bodybuilding legend is sharing the ways he makes sure he stays ripped at the age of 81.
Frank Zane is a three-time Mr. Olympia and simply one of the greatest bodybuilders in history.
Back in the day, he beat the one and only Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1968 Mr. Universe Competition – making him just one of the three men to have defeated the star.
Zane started training at the age of just 14 and began competitive bodybuilding in college.
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He bagged Mr. World in 1969 and picked up Mr. Universe in 1970 and 72. Then he won the highest title, Mr. Olympia in 1977, 78 and 79.
In 1999, Zane was inducted in the IFBB Hall of Fame which honour outstanding athletes and officials in bodybuilding. Schwarzeneger was also inducted in the same year.
Nowadays, he has a series of books and has an Instagram account with over 213,000 followers where he shares his own tips.
While he is over 80, the legend still trains – both the body and the mind.
And his Instagram shares plenty of advice for the ‘perfect workout’ including: “Concentrate, be in present time, don’t talk while performing a set.”
As well as not having a chat while you hold a dumbbell in the air, Zane recommends stretches in between sets to ‘rest and drop’ your heart rate to ‘save time and keep you warm’.
He says: “When training a particular body part, you should do roughly ten different stretches for it during the rest periods between your sets. Each set should last 15-20 seconds.”
Zane also mentions the ‘most neglected factor’ of workouts for bodybuilders: relaxing.
Another biggie for the legend is form over reps when it comes to weight lifting, as he says: “Focus on the quality of your sets instead of the weight and number of reps.”
He mentions that the body ‘only grows’ while it’s totally resting, so as well as having a good sleep, he says he does: “A deep relaxation technique for one half to one full hour during the afternoon or early evening.”
Zane also recommends swimming on the days between workouts as well as working on your breathing – to be honest, it seems like the man never rests - even his ‘rests’ are training.
In his nutrition advice, Zane recommends only eating ‘when you are hungry’ while he follows a low-carb, high-protein diet.
Zane also simply advises: “Stay alive and healthy as long as possible. We don’t know what the future holds, but we have to be prepared for it.”
So that’s relaxing, not talking, having perfect form, stretching, swimming, managing a diet and well, ‘staying alive’ to look like a bodybuilder, apparently.
Topics: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Health, Sport, Celebrity
Jess Battison