Arnold Schwarzenegger has opened up about why he finds it difficult to look at himself in the mirror nowadays.
Schwarzenegger first rose to fame as a professional bodybuilder, his physicality also lending itself to his roles in high-profile action movies.
Now, at the age of 76 years old, Schwarzenegger looks quite different to how he did when he appeared in movies such as The Terminator and he's admitted he struggles with his changed appearance and body image.
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**Warning: Discussion of struggle with body image.**
On SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show on Wednesday (4 October), Schwarzenegger sat down with Stern to discuss what it's been like for him 'getting older'.
Stern notes he found it 'sad' in Schwarzenegger's book when the former professional bodybuilder talks about looking in the mirror and noticing 'a lot of the big muscles are gone,' so much so he doesn't like looking.
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Schwarzenegger reveals: "Every day I do look in a mirror and I say, 'Yeah, you suck'.
"Look at this body. Look at those pectoral muscles that used to be firm and perky and kind of like really powerful with a striation in there and now they're just hanging there. I mean, what the hell is going on here?"
Schwarzenegger admits it is 'sad' noting he's previously said to people it's 'one thing to see yourself get older and more and more out of shape' but 'most of the people never have been in shape'.
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Schwarzenegger questions: "So what does it mean getting out of shape?"
"They've always looked at the s****y body," he continues. "So therefore it gets s******r as time goes on."
The father-of-five argues it's 'when you have been hailed for years as this supreme body' the difference between then and now can be even more hard to adjust to.
"You have the definition and you see the veins coming down your abs and you see veins on top of your chest [...] you see all this stuff and now then, now you cut and you roll the clock forward 50 years and now you're standing there and you don't see that anymore."
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Schwarzenegger admits he 'never ever thought about that when [he] was like 30 years old or 40 years old'.
He resolves: "That one time we're going to look at this body - and it still looks better than the majority of bodies - but I mean, it just sucks."
Ultimately, Stern notes: "You have to accept your humanity. It's hard, right? When you were Superman?"
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Schwarzenegger responds: "Absolutely."
People have flocked to social media in support of the former Governor of California, with one YouTube user saying: "A very humbling and inspiring message."
"The body is only designed to take us so far. Arnold has done great things with his, but life isn't all about having a great body," a second added.
A third commented: "Arnold still looks great!"
And a fourth resolved: "Love Arnold and have seen a ton of interviews… This one might be one of my favorites… Humble and as hard as aging is …. He’s trying to accept it …..."
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.
You can also call 1-800-985-5990 or text “TalkWithUs” to 66746 at the SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline.
Topics: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Celebrity, Mental Health, YouTube, Social Media, Film and TV, US News
Poppy Bilderbeck