Like father, like son: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son muscles into top 5 at bodybuilding competition
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, 29, follows his father's muscular example
Alexandra Mae Jones · CBC News
·
Listen to this article
Estimated 2 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
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.
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.
Schwarzenegger and Baena attend Netflix's Los Angeles premiere of Fubar Season 2 on June 11, 2025. (Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netfix)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alexandra Mae Jones is a senior writer for CBC News based in Toronto. She has written on a variety of topics, from health to pop culture to breaking news, and previously reported for CTV News and the Toronto Star. She joined CBC in 2024. You can reach her at alexandra.mae.jones@cbc.ca
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.