In his newsletter, Arnold Schwarzenegger answers fans' questions and offers advice from his decades-spanning career as both a world-class bodybuilder and movie star. In the most recent edition, he spoke about the importance of being able to take feedback in order to progress. While drawing from his own experience as a seven-time Mr. Olympia, he believes this lesson can be applied in pretty much any area of life.
"I actually love hearing criticism, because that’s how we improve," he wrote, sharing a story about the first time he was given criticism by bodybuilding legend Reg Park which he first interpreted as harsh, then realised was constructive.
"When I went to train with my hero, Reg Park, he pulled out a tape measure and measured my calves and my biceps. He said, 'Arnold, your calves are 19 inches and your biceps are 21 inches. You might win Mr. Universe like this, but you’ll never go all the way. You need to build up your calves. Every step you take is a 250 pound calf raise. So to grow, you are going to have to go as heavy as possible, and you’re going to need to do 10-15 sets every single day.'"
"It rattled my cage so much because I was young and at first I thought, 'I’m a Mr. Universe, why is he giving me a beating?'" Schwarzenegger recalled. "But I put aside my pride and I listened to him. I trained the hell out of my calves. I was loading the calf raise machine up to 700 pounds, doing 15 sets every day. I was hitting them with donkey raises with half the bodybuilders in the gym on my back. I left no stone unturned. I was relentless. I trained like Reg Park told me to, and the results were exactly what he said they would be: My calves were 21 inches and because of that, my body was much more symmetrical. Naturally, I thanked Reg for his advice. Even though it was painful to hear at first, it made me better, and I learned to turn off my ego and be grateful for criticism."
Schwarzenegger added that after each of his shows, he would approach the judges to ask for feedback on how he could get better—and explained that this is how he now approaches his role as commentator during the Arnold Classic.
"Bodybuilders (hell, everyone) love to focus on their strong points, when we grow the most by doing the opposite," he said. "So when I criticise stomachs or calves, I’m hoping to be what Reg Park was for me. Honest criticism is how I grew."
