I’m still in tip-top shape in my 80’s after winning three Mr. Olympias – my bodybuilding secret to getting the perfect physique

A 80-year-old bodybuilder has revealed how he built the perfect physique and how to stay in shape into old age.

Three-time Mr. Olympia winner Frank Zane became world famous for his incredible physique and competed with the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

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Now he shared how he developed his physique and what key mistakes other aspiring bodybuilders often make.

On the Escape Fitness podcast, Frank explained how it’s all about knowing your physique and making it look your best.

When asked by the host to define the perfect physique, Frank said, “One that has really great proportions, where everything fits together…nothing stands out.”

Growing up, Steve Reeves and Larry Scott were Franks bodybuilding icons.

“I always thought the ideal physique would be Larry Scott’s shoulders and arms on Steve Reeves,” he said.

Frank was always photographing himself training and moving to get a better idea of ​​what he would look like on stage in competition and which areas of his body needed work.

“I’ve always thought, ‘What’s possible for me based on my physique, and what do I really have for me?'” Frank explained.

“Looking at my physique, I have narrow hips and relatively broad shoulders, so I wanted to maximize that.

“From the side, I’m not really fat, I don’t have a barrel chest, and what I did is played out as I look straight in the front and straight in the back.”

The key areas Frank focused on were calves, hamstrings and abs.

“My thighs have always been very muscular, I trained them a lot,” he said. “The hamstrings have developed a lot… I’ve built up my calves quite a bit.”

Known for his highly toned abs, he boasted that he would do “up to 1,000 reps a day” on his abs until the muscles were “really deep.”

Frank also worked his back a lot to bring out definition and increase how broad he looked.

If I look like this when I’m 90, how awesome would it be?

Frank ZaneFormer Mr. Olympia

Having photos taken of what he looked like in different poses was something most other bodybuilders didn’t do at the time, he explained.

Frank added that he was gifted because he wasn’t naturally big and had to work very hard to build his physique.

This of course allowed him to overtake bigger competitors who found it easy and therefore felt they didn’t need to train as hard.

Frank said he felt he was at his peak physical form in 1979, the same year he won his third and final Mr. Olympia.

Competing as a bodybuilder for 23 years, he finally quit the sling in 1983 because he no longer wanted to injure himself to the point of not being able to train at all.

In addition to the workout, Frank used an important mantra or phrase that he repeated to help him stay focused.

A mantra he wanted to repeat 1 million times a year, or 3,000 times a day.

It’s important to be patient and record your results. Frank kept a notebook of all his workouts to measure his progress.

As any bodybuilder will tell you, diet is just as important as exercise.

Frank’s key advice was to avoid a key mistake that many bodybuilders make.

During the “off-season” of the winter months, many bodybuilders treat themselves to junk food and attempt to bulk up while losing definition in the process.

Frank said: “In the off-season I would specialize on weak points in December and January and stay in shape.”

He also restricted his carbohydrate intake as she approached competition and stopped drinking milk to avoid bloating.

On average, he said he would eat less than 2,000 calories a day, including 240g of protein, mostly fish or poultry.

Frank ate four to six times a day, and he still eats three soft-boiled eggs, whole wheat toast, an eighth of an avocado, and grated cheese for breakfast today.

So what does he want to achieve with his training now that he’s in his eighties?

“Now I’m just trying to stay the same,” Frank said. “If I look like this when I’m 90, how amazing would it be?”

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