Arnold Schwarzenegger was a tank. He instinctively knew how to eat and how to train. His philosophy on whole food meals and snacks is accepted today as the best way to construct a weight gain diet, a fat loss diet, or even a regular healthy diet for a non-athlete. The famous Arnold Schwarzenegger protein shake will be sure to put muscle on anyone’s back.
The Importance of Protein
From the earliest reports on his nutritional theories, Arnold believed that the average person needs half of a gram of protein per pound of body weight per day and that a bodybuilder needs at least one gram of protein per pound of body weight each day. However, he did not recommend drinking 4 glasses of protein powder mixed with water to get all of that protein, and neither do I.
The Importance of Whole Foods
As early as the 1960’s, Arnold recommended animal protein sources such as meat, fish, dairy products, and eggs. These were considered the best whole-food protein sources for bodybuilders, and he thought it was important for bodybuilders to get more of their protein from whole foods.
Arnold also emphasized the importance of vitamins and minerals in his diet and he reportedly took vitamin and mineral supplements to fortify the nutritional content of his whole food diet. This was particularly important during growth phases or periods of intense training, when the body’s needs for nutrients are at their peak, at least for men.
The “Six Meal” Plan
The Oak must have been able to see into the future because he preached a diet consisting of six meals a day broken up into three large whole-food meals and three smaller whole-food snacks. I have been writing about the 3-meal, 3-snack meal plan for years now, but honestly, I didn’t learn the strategy from Arnold. In today’s fitness world that is now a widely accepted meal plan structure for gaining muscle and even for losing fat.
Arnie regularly consumed upwards of 5000 calories a day and over 300 grams of protein. So how did he get that much protein and that many calories into his daily diet using only whole foods?
I reveal to you now the highly anticipated Arnold Schwarzenegger Protein Shake!
Arnold Schwarzenegger Protein Shake Recipes
Easy instructions: combine all ingredients in a blender.
The Original Arnold Protein Shake:
- two cups of 1% milk
- 1/2 cup of dry, nonfat milk powder
- one egg
- 1/2 cup ice cream, flavored as desired
The Arnold Fat Loss Shake (customized by Project Swole):
- two cups of skim milk
- 1 scoop of protein powder
- two large egg whites
- 1/2 cup low-fat or fat-free ice cream, flavored as desired
Final Thoughts
Blend the ingredients, pour into a cup, and consume. It doesn’t get much easier than that.
These whole food protein shakes were often used in place of snacks and you can use them in place of your snacks or even full meals too. The original recipe is a great substitute for a meal for those of you who enjoy protein shakes for breakfast or lunch.
Read more: 105 Protein Shake Recipes for Weight Loss, Muscle Gain, and Energy
Tags: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Diet, gain muscle, gain weight, muscle gain, nutrition, protein, protein shake, protein shake recipe, protein shakes, recipe, Recipes, weight gain
going to try it fa sho.
natural shake , only side effect is masssssssssssss gain….
Arnold is great but I really want to know that protein is good or calories is good for gaining lots of muscles.
yeahh buddy!
i dont
Arnold is the boss.
what are dry non fat milk solids??
https://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-non-fat-dry-milk.htm
I’m a vegetarian and do not consume egg.
How can I prepare the shake without the egg?
Thanks
Just leave out the egg. What about Eggbeaters, can you eat those?
This is really cool, good post Steve. Could the ProjectSwole Fat Loss shake still be used to bulk? I really like this idea, but the fat and cholesterol have me worried in the original shake. Or is that the whole point of it?
Mike
Mike, I think that was partially the whole point of it.
The Arnold Schwarzenegger Protein Shake | Project Swole…
Looking to gain some serious muscle like Arnold? You say you don’t like traditional protein shakes? Well then try this classic whole-foods protein shake that the Austrian Oak used to bulk up to Olympi……
Isn’t it a bit overboard in the cholesterol and sugar aspect for the original arnold protein shake?
There is plenty of cholesterol and sugar in the Arnold Shake. I don’t think Arnold really cared. Cholesterol helps make hormones like testosterone and estrogen, so unless you already have an unhealthy high cholesterol level you really don’t need to worry. Sugar content is a little high in the original, but it’s more of a mass gaining shake anyway. Like I said, Arnold didn’t seem to care.
So would you recommend cooking the egg white before putting them into the shake or just having them raw?
Definitely raw. If you cook the egg white first it will probably make the shake chunky and disgusting. Maybe the blender would fix it, but I don’t even want to try.
I use Egg Beaters instead of eggs. I figured since they’re pasteurized they’re safer. What do you think?
Egg beaters and egg whites are the same thing. I usually prefer to have a yolk mixed in with my whites, but egg beaters are pretty convenient and are much safer if you are going to swallow them raw.
And what about the juice??? 😉
These protein shakes are gear free.