Arnold Schwarzenegger has a whole brood of kids and seems pretty close to all of them, if social media holds any truth to the situation. His youngest child Joseph Baena, while not sharing his famous father’s last name, seems to take after Schwarzenegger the most. Baena’s career closely mirrors that of his father’s and the bodybuilder has now recalled training with his dad for the first time as well as the weight lifting advice he was given from the former Mr. Universe.
Joseph Baena recently thought back to his first time training with Arnold Schwarzenegger, which was at the beginning of his bodybuilding career, and how it felt working out next to his massively accomplished father. Baena talks about wanting to figure out things for himself before going to his father for advice, but once he finally did take a trip to his father’s gym, things changed. Here’s what he said exactly during his interview with Men’s Health:
I was so nervous. I was being observant, trying to see what he was doing and the way he was acting. I was able to acquire a bodybuilding mentality—that I could shape my body however I want. I made insane progress.
It makes a ton of sense that Joseph Baena would want to make his own way and not have his accomplishments be overshadowed by the fact that he's the son of a super famous bodybuilder and actor. However, if you have someone who has been incredibly successful and pretty much a leading expert on what you yourself are trying to accomplish, it would be borderline foolish not to take advantage of it, even if your intent of paving your own way is respectable.
It's a good thing the budding star came to that conclusion, as he did benefit a ton from eventually having his father as a mentor. In the same interview, Baena discussed one of the other most helpful things he learned from his father when training with him. Here it is in his own words:
One of the big things I learned from Dad was not to have the ten-rep mentality. It’s pushing yourself to the limits and going that extra mile, getting those extra reps and half reps till you’re basically dying.
I would imagine that to get results as otherworldly as what Arnold Schwarzenegger has accomplished, you would pretty much have to go to the ends of your own strength on the regular. It only makes sense that Joseph Baena would adopt this philosophy as well if he is dedicated to becoming as successful as his father.
It almost seems as though history is repeating itself with the 24-year-old, as he even looks a great deal like a young version of his father. It’s uncanny, really, especially when you consider that he's following the same path as Arnold Schwarzenegger. Aside from building his physique, Baena has added acting to his list of skills, even recreating one of his father’s iconic scenes.
After becoming proficient in bodybuilding, Joseph Baena looks to be creating a name for himself in the action and sci-fi genre like his father before him, as he has a number of films in the works that have yet to be released. This is impressive, given that he's only just starting his acting career. While none of his projects are dated on the list of major film releases of 2022, his upcoming film Chariot, which will see him acting with the likes of John Malkovich and Rosa Salazar, should release sometime this year.
