Schwarzenegger's son Joseph Baena places 5th in pro bodybuilding debut
Joseph Baena, Arnold Schwarzenegger's son, placed fifth in Classic Physique Open at the PNBA World Cup in El Segundo, California, in his professional natural bodybuilding debut.
It was Baena's third contest. "That was such a fantastic competition," he told his Instagram followers afterward.
In a video posted the following day, Baena said he had reached the top five in his Professional Natural Bodybuilding Association debut. "So I'm extremely proud of myself," he said, adding that he "came in looking so much better than last time."
Spanish-language site todanoticia.com quoted Baena as saying he had met his goal of finishing in the top five. Baena said the other professionals were in much better condition than he was.
Baena said his arms, hamstrings and glutes needed more work. He thanked his supporters and credited his father with the idea that nobody succeeds entirely on their own.
Baena shared an Instagram clip of his posing routine, with Ennio Morricone's "The Trio" from the Clint Eastwood Western "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" as its soundtrack. "First look at my posing routine from the PNBA World Cup," Baena wrote in the caption.
He earned his pro card April 4, when he won the Classic Physique title at California's INBA Iron Gladiator competition. He had made his competitive debut March 28 at the NPC Natural Colorado State competition in Denver, winning several first-place titles.
Baena previously told GQ that a bodybuilding encyclopedia from his father sparked his interest in the sport during college. "I was flipping through that, trying to learn how to grow the biceps, and I fell in love with weightlifting," he told the magazine.
Schwarzenegger won seven Mr. Olympia titles between 1970 and 1980, and Baena called him "the best training partner" in an April GQ interview. "He makes sure that I don't slack off in the gym," Baena told the magazine.
Baena described a different experience in school. In a July Instagram post, he wrote that he had been "chubby in high school" and that both his basketball and soccer teams had dropped him. "Swim didn't have tryouts thankfully and completely changed my life forever," he wrote.
Baena's mother, Mildred Patricia Baena, previously worked on the Schwarzenegger family's household staff. The fact that Schwarzenegger was Baena's father became public in 2011.
Headline Society and todanoticia.com dated the World Cup to Saturday, Nov. 7, while the Daily Mail described it as "Friday's event."
It was not immediately known when Baena will next compete. He plans to continue improving his conditioning and enter more natural-circuit events, todanoticia.com reported.
