Arnold Schwarzenegger is considered the godfather of bodybuilding. Mainly for his contribution to the industry of bodybuilding by making it glamorous and propelling it to unthinkable fame.  In his prime, he was at the very top for nearly a decade and his fame has only risen after he retired from the sport by having roles in movies, the TV industry, and even holding a Government position in the US. Fast forward four decades and came another man who would not only have a similar physique as Schwarzenegger but also have a very close resemblance to him in overall appearance as well. The man is called Calum Von Moger, an Australian bodybuilder of Austrian and Dutch ascent.

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He had two Mr. Universe titles by the age of 23 and his career only seemed to be going up from there. He then started promoting his videos on YouTube, which added to his fame. He is currently even set to play Schwarzenegger in an upcoming film on the Weider Bros. And in a bid to getting some views and more subscribers on his YouTube channel, he started doing things that recently cost him dearly. Things that can be called outright stupid.

For example, after his second-place finish in Arnold Classic, he hit an arm workout with Chris Bumstead (another prodigy in modern-day bodybuilding) and they decided to do a 400 lb bicep curl, just for fun. Curling nearly 200 kilos for fun!  They managed a cheat rep and forced the second one where he felt that his bicep snapped.

And this is what happened.

DONT TRY THIS! last night I had this crazy idea that me and @cbum_ should attempt a 400lb barbell curl. Was all fun and games until I tore my bicep. I really should have known better, I forgot to warm up properly and should have used #koalafreak pre from @staunch.nation instead of the stim free ð Bicep: Pretty sure it's a Grade 2 tear going off the web and the symptoms. Can Take up to 3 weeks before I'll get strength back. I'll try and see a specialist and get their opinion on it too. Note: Learn from my stupid mistakes! You can see half the arm workout on my YouTube ch.

A post shared by ð¦ðºCALUM VON MOGERï¸ï¸ï¸ ð´ð¦ (@calumvonmoger) on Nov 30, 2017 at 1:49pm PST

After having a surgery, the doctor suggested him to rest and recover but he could not stay away from the gym as he did not want to lose size. He kept training his lower body while his arm was recovering. Things seemed fine until he went rappelling and had another accident. That accident left him with a ruptured quadricep and a dislocated kneecap. During this time, he was still recovering from his bicep injury. 

And that injury led to his legs looking like this.

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Now on the path of recovery, obviously he is losing his size and is nothing close to where he used to be or what his potential was.

© YouTube

All of it for the sake of some views, some more subscribers or some fun on YouTube, is it justified? Are cheat reps or lifting with your ego worth the Instagram likes? The story of a (hopefully not) ex-pro says it is not worth it.

The lesson to learn here: keep your ego outside the gym.

Author Bio:

Pratik Thakkar is the co-founder and director of GetSetGo Fitness, an online fitness company. He is regarded as someone who will make it easy for you to understand the process by putting things in the right context and providing science-based recommendations for natural bodybuilding. You can reach out to him at pratik@getsetgo.fitness and follow him on Instagram and Facebook.