Arnold Schwarzenegger (Image via MensXP)

Has Arnold Schwarzenegger ever competed in a powerlifting competition?

Modified Mar 13, 2024 12:33 GMT

Arnold Schwarzenegger is well known for the feats he has achieved in the bodybuilding circuit. The Austrian Oak has won a record seven Mr. Olympia titles. Bodybuilding requires intense physical workouts for each part of the body, even lifting weights.

Schwarzenegger competed in powerlifting competitions and various weightlifting competitions. He did so during his early days as a bodybuilder. The Total Recall star has even won titles in the two strength sports. The Governator won two titles in the powerlifting category, once in 1966 and the other in 1968.

He was only 19 when he won his first title in this version of lifting. His two victories in this category came in the 1966 International Powerlifting Championship and the 1968 German Powerlifting Championship in Germany. Schwarzenegger was active in the powerlifting competition from 1966 to 1968.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (Image via Fitness Volt)

The GOAT bodybuilder won two weightlifting titles, one in 1964 and the other in 1965.

He competed in the Olympic Weightlifting event from 1963 to 1965. Schwarzenegger's best overhead press came in Olympic Lifting, when he lifted a weight of 119 kg. In the snatch, which is the most technical lift, the Conan star has lifted 110 kg.

The Austrian Oaks' best clean and jerk is 135 kg. Schwarzenegger realized that his body type wasn't meant for Olympic weightlifting, so he stopped competing in it after 1965, according to MensXP. However, even after quitting this version of lifting, Arnold Schwarzenegger was active in the powerlifting circuit till 1968.

The Governator's personal best in squats is 215 kg. He could also bench press 200 kg. His deadlift is a stunning 310 kg. Some of the GOAT bodybuilder's unofficial gym records are 247 kg in squat, 226 kg in bench press and 322 kg in deadlift.

Apart from powerlifting and weightlifting competitions, Arnold Schwarzenegger won the Munich stone-lifting contest in 1967. The competition involved lifting a stone weighing 254 kg between the legs by standing on two footrests.

How many Mr. Universe titles has Arnold Schwarzenegger won?

Arnold Schwarzenegger has won six Mr. Universe titles. While competing at the Mr. Universe amateur held by NABBA (National Amateur Bodybuilders' Association) in London in 1966, he finished second, behind Chet Yorton. In his next attempt the next year at the same competition, the Total Recall star won his first NABBA Mr. Universe amateur title.

In 1968, the ace bodybuilder competed for the NABBA Mr. Universe professional title and won the event. In the same year, Schwarzenegger competed in the Mr. Universe competition organized by IFBB, but he wasn't victorious.

The Conan star finished second, behind Frank Zane. The next year, Arnold Schwarzenegger would compete in the IFBB Mr. Universe amateur and NABBA Mr. Universe professional and clinched both titles.

The Governator competed in the 1970 NABBA Mr. Universe professional competition and won the event by beating his idol, Reg Park. That would have been his most memorable victory, as it came against his idol. That was also the last time Schwarzenegger competed in the Mr. Universe competition.