As most fans of our executive editor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, know, he is a big fan Reddit, and GovSchwarzenegger contributes frequently to the site. It was one of his more recent contributions that made the headlines over the past few days. It started when GnashBrowns took to Reddit to talk about a bad day at the gym.

GnashBrowns: “Bad day at the gym, completely demoralized.”

Arnold found out about the tough day and posted this note:

GovSchwarzenegger:  “Someone told me about this. I hope I’m not too late here, I’m traveling, but I wanted to chime in.
I always say don’t be afraid of failure, because how far can you really fall? You found out – to the ground. It’s right there. Now you know it isn’t anything that should scare you.
You should be proud that you weren’t afraid – not embarrassed that you failed. You could have made excuses not to walk into the door, but you didn’t. You knew it would be hard, and it would be uncomfortable, and it might be awkward – and you did it anyway. That’s courage.
I’m proud of you.
The last guy I rooted for broke a world record in the deadlift. You have more in common with him than you think.
First, he started out lifting just the bar, too (when you look at him, he may have been 3 months old at that point). Second, imagine his courage. He walked up to that bar in front of a big audience and television cameras, knowing that not only had he never lifted that much before – NO ONE on earth had – and it was highly likely he would completely fail. You may not think about it this way, but you showed that courage, on a smaller level.
Finally, I’m rooting for you, too. You took the first step and you fell, but at least you fell in the right direction, so get back up and take the next step. Keep moving forward.”

The person that Arnold was referring to in his note was Eddie Hall, who set a new world record deadlift of 1,018 pounds at the Arnold Classic Australia. It looks like the advice had an impact, as GnashBrowns later took to Reddit to update his followers:

GnashBrowns: “I’m in total shock right now, but thank you so much Mr. Schwarzenegger. I was completely blindsided by the amount of support /r/gainit showed me, but this something else. I’m going to make sure I come back to this subreddit bigger and stronger to show everyone here that supported me that I stayed on the path and didn’t give up.”

 

What an experience for GnashBrowns to get some motivational advice from Arnold! Remember, it only takes a minute to help pick up a friend, or a stranger, who may not be hitting his or her fitness goals. It certainly helps if the advice-giver is a seven-time Mr. Olympia champion (props to Arnold) but positive support and motivation from any source can really make a difference to anyone in the gym. If you see someone in the gym that is struggling, maybe you can help them get over whatever hump they are stuck on. Just make sure you do it tactfully, and make sure you do it after you get your own work done for the day.