Posts Tagged ‘Arnold Schwarzenegger’
Bodybuilder turned actor turned politician Arnold Schwarzenegger may have grown up in poverty conditions in Austria, but his journey to America and his thirst for fame and fortune has led to his becoming a multi-millionaire accustomed to private jet travel. He earned 30 million alone from his participation in the third installment of the wildly popular “Terminator” movie franchise, more than enough to make the down payments on a variety of high-ticket transportation methods, including a Mercedes SL600, a Harley Davidson Motorcycle, a Porsche Carerra 911 convertible and a Gulf Stream III jet, rumored to have cost the action picture star a cool $38 million.
Schwarzenegger’s private aircraft certainly came in handy during the actor’s stint as Governor of California between 2003 and 2011. The very focused and very busy actor turned politician opted to enjoy travelling on his own private jet rather than hassle with arranging for charters or even flying first class VIP status on commercial airliners. When the avowed family man, married to television journalist and Kennedy clan family member Maria Shriver, decided against moving from his sumptuous digs in the Pacific Palisades of California into a governor’s home in Sacramento, his private Gulfstream aircraft came in handy for the quick commute between the Los Angeles area and Sacramento that allowed Schwarzenegger to spend time with his wife and four children every night.
It’s estimated that the cost of shuttling Governor Schwarzenegger to and from Sacramento daily and to such business appointments as the annual Governor’s Conference in Washington, DC cost as much as half a million annually, which Schwarzenegger carefully paid for out of his own pocket or using campaign donor contributions, to avoid taxpayer wrath. But even through Schwarzenegger opted to use his own personal fortune to finance private charters aboard his personal Gulfstream III, his was still roundly criticized by environmentalists who contended that the pollution of his daily one-hour airplane flight did as much damage to the atmosphere as a passenger car does in a full year.
But Schwarzenegger is both very savvy as well as charming and met this hailstorm of criticism by purchasing pollution credits to account for any carbon dioxide damage that may have been done by his private jet travels. The credits are used to provide funding to finance efforts around the globe to pursue projects that help to decrease or eliminate greenhouse gases.
Having his own jet suited Schwarzenegger during his two terms as California’s governor because he is a man with many financial interests who is used to travelling on a moment’s notice. Although his term as governor ended on a sour note when it was disclosed that marital infidelity with a housekeeper resulted in a secret love child, Schwarzenegger, who is currently separated from Shriver, has bounced back from the shame by returning to movies, with Terminator 5 expected to be released sometime in 2015. He is rumored to be trying to woo his wife back and so far there’s been no need for him to post a for sale sign on his beloved Gulfstream III.
If anyone asked you what bodybuilding is, you would probably tell them the name of the first bodybuilder that pops into your head. All of the old world would tell Eugen Sandow while the youth of today would say Arnold Schwarzenegger. Indeed the story of bodybuilding is not complete without the likes of Eugen Sandow the ‘father of modern bodybuilding’ or that of Arnold Schwarzenegger, the American movie superstar.
A look into the annals of story of bodybuilding
The story of bodybuilding first began when the Italian wrestler Milo from Croton, Italy (6th century BC) demonstrated enormous power such as single handedly carrying a bull. It is no wonder then that he won half a dozen Olympic titles.
India entered the story in the 11 century AD mainly because it used ‘nal‘ a weight-training device that gave the Indian bodybuilders an almost perfect body shape. History also has it that those in Greece used ‘halteres‘ for the same purpose.
Exercising and diet supplements for bodybuilding
So, what are the exercises and what is so special about the diet? If you know what the bodybuilding routines are then you would know that development of the muscles are done only by feeding the body with the food supplements meant for that purpose. Creatine and proteins are used extensively for repairing torn muscles and building new ones. Carbohydrate boosters in the form of fruits and juices are taken just before the exercise regimen in order to give a burst of energy. The bodybuilders exercise regimen is designed to build particular sets of muscles, one at a time.
First bodybuilding contest In the beginning of the 18th century bodybuilding was almost unknown. Strongmen would travel all over the land to showcase their strength. However,story of bodybuilding was to see the emergence of the Newton’s apple of bodybuilding, Eugene Sandow. He was not as strong as his physique was perfectly sculpted. It was not that he was strong that made him much admired; it was his physique that was perfectly sculpted that endeared him with the crowd. He was the person to conduct first contest for bodybuilding where he was a judge.
The first worldwide contest in bodybuilding to ever take place was the Mr. America contest. It began in 1939 and was launched by Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). A decade later Ben Weider together with his brother Joe formed the alternate AAU championship named Mr.America IFBB. These brothers were the Arnold Schwarzeneggers of their days. They organized this competition till 1977 when the National Championship Physique organized things. To date they are conducting the contest as the popular Bodybuilding Championship National NPC.
Mr. Olympia and Mr. Universe are competitions in the same mold. The trophy used for every Mr. Olympia contest is a sculpted figure of Eugen Sandow; it is named ‘the Sandow’. It is an annual contest and the blue ribbon event of this sport. It is a follow through event for pro-bodybuilders share in glory and fame after they have finished with Mr. Universe. Mr. Universe is the topmost championship that originally began as one for amateurs only in 1948. It was later in 1952 NABBA (Amateur National Bodybuilding Association) then opened the doors for professionals also in 1952.
This is just a quick overview, but the topic is interesting so stay tuned for more of these to come