“We Don’t Have an Excuse”: Arnold Schwarzenegger Lights the Fire of Inclusivity in Fitness With an Inspiring Meet

Throughout his life, Arnold Schwarzenegger has talked about how fitness is for everyone. One’s age, gender, race, weight, or disabilities didn’t matter as long as one had the zeal to be fit. And a recent incident inspired him to spread the message to his village.

In his newsletter, Schwarzenegger met popular bodybuilder Kyle Landi, who has Down syndrome and works on spreading awareness about it. His drive to exercise and work towards his goals set forth a major concern that Schwarzenegger highlighted. Are gyms inclusive enough?

Landi’s goal is to inspire everyone to stop accepting the limitations society tries to hammer in. This drove Schwarzenegger to bring up a crucial aspect of fitness. Not all gyms are inclusive, and since the former bodybuilder has been on a mission to spread the message that ‘fitness is for everyone,’ he took it as an opportunity to educate his village.

Arnold Schwarzenegger raved about how Landi was a joy to train and how, despite challenges, both had a great time. Incidents like these inspire Schwarzenegger to make his event, the Arnold Sports Festival, as inclusive as possible.

“Young, old, rich, poor, black, white, straight, gay, man, woman, “disabled,” able-bodied — and anything in between; no matter who you are and what your situation might be, fitness is for you.”

With specially-abled athletes, Schwarzenegger observed that all they needed was a strong motivating force to move forward. They didn’t need sympathy, as long as the fitness they sought gave them the power to overcome obstacles. Exercises and workout mediums had no boundaries and only one purpose: to keep the person trained regardless of their quirks and challenges.

“We don’t have an excuse. They aren’t moping around, so there isn’t a challenge big enough to keep us from getting off the couch and…focusing on our fitness and moving forward every day.”

Here’s where Schwarzenegger asked his village to step in. Pointing out how many of his readers owned gyms and wanted some sort of promotion in his newsletter, he asked the community to make gyms and other such places more accessible. It might take some time and effort, but the payout would be worth it.

“I’ll keep fighting to make fitness for everyone every day of my life. But I can’t lift this weight alone. I need all of you.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger once rooted for his favorite heroes at the Arnold Sports Festival

The star’s respect for specially-abled athletes has had a history of its own. From the Special Olympics during his political career to a dedicated segment at his own sports festival, he has always had the same message. Fitness will always be for everyone, as long as they have the will to move forward.

In a resurfaced video from an older edition of the Arnold Sports Festival, the icon talked about how his favorite heroes were Derick Carver, Miles Taylor, and Garrett Fort—three specially-abled athletes who left jaws on the floor with their strength and passion for fitness. And now he aims to open the gateways to more such heroes.

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• Arnold Schwarzenegger
• Kyle Landi