Like father, like son: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son muscles into top 5 at bodybuilding competition

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More than 60 years after Arnold Schwarzenegger first flexed his stuff on a bodybuilding stage, his youngest son is continuing the dynasty of muscle, scoring in the top five during his professional debut over the weekend.

Joseph Baena competed in the classic physique category at the INBA PNBA Pro/AM World Cup in California on Saturday.

The 29-year-old placed fifth and said in a video on Instagram that he was happy to have achieved his goal of cracking the top five.

“I’m extremely proud of myself,” said Baena, who only started competing this year. “It was an incredible experience for my first show as a pro.”

This was the third-ever show for Baena, son of bodybuilder-turned-actor-turned-politician Schwarzenegger and Mildred Baena.

Under a video Baena shared on Instagram of his posing routine at the competition, several commenters noted, “Like father, like son.”

It’s perhaps no surprise that the son of a man who became famous for being impressively jacked is following in his footsteps. Schwarzenegger’s physique scored him the title of Mr. Universe five times at professional bodybuilding competitions in the 60s and 70s, and he remains one of the most enduring names associated with bodybuilding.

His 1977 docudrama, Pumping Iron, is credited with giving bodybuilding more exposure and having it treated more widely as a sport. High-profile roles for Schwarzenegger in Hollywood action films like Conan the Barbarian (1982) and The Terminator franchise further pushed muscle into the mainstream.

In what is clearly an older colour photograph, a man flexes his biceps surrounded by a crowd of women, many of whom are wearing wide-brimmed hats.

Arnold Schwarzenegger poses alongside dancers from the famous Parisian cabaret Le Paradis Latin on May 20, 1977, during the Cannes Film Festival in southern France. Schwarzenegger was there to present the docudrama Pumping Iron. (Raph Gatti/ AFP via Getty Images)

In his video reflecting on the competition, Baena said that bodybuilding was a solo sport where “it all comes down to your own discipline,” but noted that he had a lot of support from family and friends.

“My father always says there’s no such thing as a ‘self-made man.’ I have people in my corner,” he said.

Baena called Schwarzenegger “the best training partner,” in an interview with GQ earlier this year, saying his father makes sure he doesn’t “slack off in the gym.”

He added that his father gave him “the bodybuilding encyclopedia” when he was in college, and that it sparked his interest in the sport.