Arnold Schwarzenegger, 78, Lost 15kg to Play Conan – Here’s How He Became Faster, Leaner and More Athletic
Arnold Schwarzenegger has reportedly agreed to reprise the role of Conan, more than 40 years after his Hollywood breakthrough in Conan the Barbarian. It’s a role the bodybuilding legend fully committed himself to – so much so that he lost 15kg, sacrificed muscle mass and even gained body fat to become the sword-wielding warrior.
Having retired from professional bodybuilding in 1980, when he weighed close to 110kg at single-digit body fat, Schwarzenegger needed to make a dramatic change to his physique. That’s because Conan the Barbarian director John Milius wanted Arnold to look less like a bodybuilder. The brief was simple: gain some body fat, lose some muscle and become more athletic.
Why Schwarzenegger Lost 15kg for Conan the Barbarian
‘I had just won the Mr Olympia competition for the seventh time in Sydney, Australia, and literally two months later we’re on set filming Conan the Barbarian,’ Schwarzenegger told Men’s Journal. ‘The director, John Milius, came to the competition and told me he wanted me to be “less cut” because he didn’t think it looked natural for the period. So for those two months, I changed the way I was training and my diet to become more rounded.
‘I wanted to look like a man who’d gotten his muscles from hard work in the world and not from very specific, organised training in the gym. I made the adjustments I needed to make. Milius was very happy and I looked exactly the way he wanted.’
Transitioning from a stage-ready physique to that of a naturally muscular warrior took time. Working alongside fellow bodybuilder Franco Columbu for 18 months, Arnold dropped from 110kg to 95kg and reached around 12% body fat – highlighting just how much muscle mass he sacrificed in the process.
Schwarzenegger no longer cared about restrictive diets to get shredded, while the high–intensity, isolation-heavy training that had defined his bodybuilding career was replaced by lighter weights, higher reps and circuit-style workouts.
Rope climbing, horse riding, swimming and running all became important parts of his training. Arnold eventually built up to eight-mile runs, while learning how to move his body in a more athletic and dynamic way.
The Austrian also spent three months training for two hours a day with martial arts master Kiyoshi Yamazaki, learning how to handle a 5kg broadsword correctly.
What Arnold’s Conan Transformation Can Teach You
Everyone wants a little more muscle and a little less body fat, but achieving single-digit body fat percentages and getting as big as possible shouldn’t necessarily be the goal – unless you’re a professional bodybuilder.
As Arnold’s transformation highlights, the moment he stepped away from competitive bodybuilding, he shifted his focus towards becoming more athletic. He loosened the reins on his diet and embraced a wider variety of training styles.
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Ryan is a Senior Writer at Men’s Health UK with a passion for storytelling, health and fitness. Having graduated from Cardiff University in 2020, and later obtaining his NCTJ qualification, Ryan started his career as a Trainee News Writer for sports titles Golf Monthly, Cycling Weekly and Rugby World before progressing to Staff Writer and subsequently Senior Writer with football magazine FourFourTwo.
During his two-and-a-half years there he wrote news stories for the website and features for the magazine, while he also interviewed names such as Les Ferdinand, Ally McCoist, Jamie Redknapp and Antonio Rudiger, among many others. His standout memory, though, came when getting the opportunity to speak to then-Plymouth Argyle manager Steven Schumacher as the club won League One in 2023.
Having grown up a keen footballer and playing for his boyhood side until the age of 16, Ryan got the opportunity to represent Northern Ireland national futsal team eight times, scoring three goals against England, Scotland and Gibraltar. Now past his peak, Ryan prefers to mix weightlifting with running – he achieved a marathon PB of 3:31:49 at Manchester in April 2025, but credits the heat for failing to get below the coveted 3:30 mark…
You can follow Ryan on Instagram @ryan.dabbs or on X @ryandabbs_
