How big were Arnold Schwarzenegger's biceps in his prime?

By Zachary Roberts

Modified Mar 13, 2024 12:33 GMT

Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the most decorated bodybuilders of all time. He's a seven-time Mr. Olympia, one shy of the all-time record held by Ronnie Coleman and Lee Haney. He went on to have a successful career as a politician and an actor, but he'll probably always be best known for his bodybuilding years.

It takes a lot to be a successful bodybuilder. Each and every aspect of their bodies has to be perfectly sculpted in order to achieve success. No muscle can be ignored.

Despite that, certain muscles always get the attention, even on a body in which all the muscles look good. These are often the biceps as they are one of the most popular body parts, especially for bodybuilders.

The sheer size and definition of one's biceps is an easy way to see how well they're doing in bodybuilding. For Schwarzenegger, his impressive bodybuilding career was well symbolized by his impressive biceps.

It is widely reported that the former actor had 22-inch biceps in his prime. For most people of all age ranges, the average bicep size is a little less than 13 inches, so Schwarzenegger's arms were nine inches bigger than most people.

Guinness recognizes the world's largest biceps right now as being 31 inches, which is astounding. Schwarzenegger never reached that level of size, but he was one of the biggest in the world.

Some people believed that his arms were closer to 19 or 20 inches, but the official measurements gave him a 22-inch bicep. There were other bodybuilders with slightly bigger arms and there will be more going forward.

But Schwarzenegger's dedication to more than just his arms is why he won so much as a bodybuilder.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger's bodybuilding career

When the Terminator star was young, he saw Reg Park and knew he wanted to do two things. One was to become a bodybuilder and win Mr. Universe awards, and the second was to be an actor, both things Park was.

Arnold Sports Festival - Slap Fighting Championship

At present, the actor is one of the biggest movie stars in history and one of the most celebrated bodybuilders of all time.

He began his career in 1965 with a first-place finish in the Junior Mr. Europe contest. In 1966, he took was placed first in three contests:

• Best Built Man of Europe
• Mr. Europe
• International Powerlifting Championship

In 1967, he took first in the Mr. Universe amateur competition and followed it up the following year by taking first in the professional competition.

He first participated in the Mr. Olympia competition in 1969 in which he placed second. That would be the only time he placed that low.

From 1970 to 1975, and in 1980, Schwarzenegger took home all seven of his prizes. Had he won the first, he'd be tied for the most wins of all time.

He then retired from bodybuilding, eventually getting breakout roles in movies like Conan the Barbarian a couple of years after that. He'd been acting for a little while, but that movie put him on the map.

In 2003, he entered the world of politics, becoming governor of California from then until 2011. He was the last Republican governor of that state.