Arnold Schwarzenegger steroid cycle what was it really like?
If you are anything like me you have probably wondered what kind of steroids the old-school bodybuilders used to enhance their physiques.
Escpecially the king of bodybuilding Arnold Schwarzenegger.
He had big arms, a tiny waist, huge shoulders and a wide chest.
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A physique that is still celebrated in today’s day and age.
It’s no secret that Arnold did not attain his physique naturally, he used steroids to build up his physique.
Out of pure curiosity I decided to find out exactly what kind of steroids Arnold used to achieve his incredible physique.
We all know that Arnold trained really hard.
Even though the Arnold Schwarzenegger steroid cycle was good,
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It was definitely not only the steroids that got him the physique that he had when he was at his best.
However it’s really interesting to know because the bodybuilders in the golden era all had very aesthetically pleasing physiques.
And they used the same kind of anabolic steroids.
They had perfect porpotions and most guys training in the gym today want to have a physqiue like they had.
To be honest the bodybuilders today don’t impress me at all.
They have big guts and are out of propotion.
Did Arnold Schwarzenegger use steroids?
At the time Arnold was training steroids weren’t a big deal, they weren’t banned and guys were pretty honest about their steroid use.
It’s pretty interesting to know that Arnold did not abuse steroids, he was a moderate user and used simple compounds.
Here’s a quote from Arnold about his steroid use:
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One of the most common questions I get is : did we take steroids?
Because now of course drugs is such a big issue in sports, and the answer is yes.
It was just in the beginning phase because bodybuilders at the time just experimented with it, but it was not illegal.
We talked about it very openly.
Anyone you would ask about using steroids would say yes.
it was not an illegal thing.
Now after it became a big problem our federations say : “bodybuilders are not allowed to take steroids and where will be testing done, surprise testing done.”
You could be called at any given time and within 2 days you would have to take the test and you couldn’t get them out of your system and that’s what’s going on right now.
Bodybuilders are tested continually.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has admitted in an interview that he used steroids to enhance his physique, he said that everyone talked openly about it back in the day and it wasn’t a taboo subject.
Arnold did not specify which steroids he used but there were a handful of different steroids available in the time Arnold Schwarzenegger was a competitive bodybuilder.
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Back in the day bodybuilders generally used lower doses of steroids than modern bodybuilders and back then it wasn’t a touchy subject at all, bodybuilders talked openly about using them.
It wasn’t until they became a problem and sports organizations began to ban steroid use that bodybuilders stopped talking about the subject all together.
What Age Did Arnold Start Using Steroids?
It is believed that Arnold Schwarzenegger started using steroids at the age of 17, in the early stages of his bodybuilding career.
At the age of 17 Arnold had built up an impressive physique which is hard to build up naturally which may indicate that he started using steroids around that time.
Arnold started training around 15-years old and was able to progress very fast at the age of 17.
At the young age of 20, Arnold won his first Mr. Universe title and when he was 23 he won his first Mr. Olympia.
Arnold was considered the best bodybuilder in the world after winning his first Olympia at the young age of 23.
Steroids Available in the 60’s and 70’s
There were only about six steroids available back in the the golden era, Primabolan, Deca durabolin, Dianabol, Testosterone, Anavar and Winstrol.
It’s believed that Arnold used the steroids Primabolan, Deca Durabolin and Dianabol to grow faster.
Winstrol and Anavar were a steroids bodybuilders used back then to cut down and get vascular.
We’ve not found any credible info that Arnold used Winstrol nor Anavar however it’s extremely likely that he tried it, especially to tone down for competitions
It was not hard to get steroids back then, all you needed was a prescribtion from your doctor which was easy to get.
Also, steroids back then were cheap.
Ric Drasin who trained with Arnold back in the day says in one of his videos on youtube that he got 100 pieces of 5 mg Dianabol pills for $8 and just needed a prescription from either of two doctors the golden era bodybuilders went to back then.
Bodybuilders back then did not take huge doses of steroids and were low-moderate users.
They took way less dosages than the pro bodybuilders today use.
Arnold and Primabolan
What is Primabolan?
Primabolan or (Metenolone enanthate) is an injected anabolic- androgenic steroid.
It’s said that Primabolan from Germany used to be Arnold’s favorite drug.
It’s not very popular now a days but back then most bodybuilders used it.
At the time is was extremely powerful but you cannot get the same Primabolan today, as they took back in the day it’s just not available and the stuff that is available isn’t the same.
Ric Drasin a bodybuilder who trained with Arnold in the 70’s says in one of his Youtube videos:
“I got Primbolan from Arnold and Franco back in the day, it came in a box already pre-loaded with the needle and I just blew up with this stuff, in fact I felt I was getting too big”
It’s said that Arnold, Franco and many other golden era bodybuilders used this extremely powerful steroid to build muscle mass quickly.
However the bodybuilder at the time did not abuse the drug in any way, they took low-moderate doses.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Steroid Cycle
The Arnold Schwarzenegger steroid cycle is really interesting.
However,
We can only speculate on what doses Arnold really took back in the day.
Arnold has not come with an official statement on what steroids he took.
However we know what kind of steroids were available at the time and we know Arnold did use steroids.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has confessed using steroids in interviews when he was training for the Olympia.
Of course you cannot intimate his stack because steroid back then were way different than they are today.
They were more powerful so bodybuilders in the golden era had to take less stuff to get the same results as someone using a huge stack today.
It’s believed that Arnold used:
- Primabolan,
- Deca Durabolin
- Dianabol
to gain mass.
They used to pyramid their cycles back in the day so they started off with a low dose, upped the dose and lowered it again.
Pyramiding cycles was considered a good practice back then, but is now considered ineffective.
Starting point of Arnolds steroid cycle could be something like this:
First 5 weeks:
- Primabolan 600mgs/per week
- Dianabol 60-80mgs/ per week
Week 5-10
- Primabolan 800 mgs/per week
- Dianabol 80-100 mgs/per week
- Deca Durabolin 400mgs/per week
Week 10-15
Starting high and lowering the dose with each week that goes by.
- Primabolan 600-800 mgs/ per week
- Dianabol 60-100 mgs/ per week
- Deca Durabolin 200-300 mgs/ per week
Week 15-20
- Primabolan 600-700 mgs/ per week
- Dianabol 60- 100 mgs / per week
- Deca Durabolin 200-300 mgs/ per week
Week 20-25
- Primabolan 200 mgs/ per week
- Dianabol 40 mgs/ per week
Steroid experts believe his cycle may have looked something like this.
We are not claiming that this is the actual steroid cycle Arnold followed but it probably looked similar to this.
It is also likely that Arnold used Winstrol and Anavar to cut down body fat before competitions.
We don’t condone the use of steroids in any way, this article is strictly for entertainment purposes
Wow nice know .
Thanks for sharing this knowledge..it is very helpful people to what is good and bad for his health..No pain no gain
Can u please share us the detais of pct?
There was no pct then. And no AI. Also the found test dirty and didn’t use it.
Nice article. Thanks for sharing. ?
As we all know Arnold had heart surgery later in life and I’ll wager it was because of steroid use. To me, the true “golden age” of bodybuilding was John Grimek, Steve Reeves, Clancy Ross, George Eifferman, Jack Delinger, Melvin Wells, and early Bill Pearl. Grimek never lost his physique and still looked great into his seventies whereas today’s “bodybuilders” like Ronnie Coleman look like crap and I believe it’s because they used steroids and were more concerned with size then shape as opposed to the above physique stars and look how many have died from steroid use. What the hell’s wrong with natural bodybuilding? At least your strength gains ans muscle size are natural and to me the natural physique is far, far more pleasing.