Arnold Schwarzenegger and his bodybuilder pal Franco Columbu were pioneers of new diet trend carbohydrate backloading way back in the 1970s when their peers told them their love for late-night pies after work-out sessions would destroy them.
The Terminator star was thrilled to read about the new post-workout diet in a recent issue of Men's Fitness magazine and tells the publication he and Columbu were following the regime as young hunks.
The diet system consists of starving the body of carbohydrates throughout the day before extensive gym sessions, and then scoffing calorific carbs immediately afterwards. Experts claim the muscles will absorb the carbohydrates.
Schwarzenegger tells Men's Fitness, "The week before competition, (we) used to go to the House of Pies (in Santa Monica, California) and eat pies at night... Instinctively, we just felt like we needed the pie.
"Other bodybuilders would say, 'You guys are crazy, it's going to smooth you out. You're going to f**k everything up with your diet and lose the competition.'
"But, after dieting, we couldn't even think straight. So we would go like an addicted couple and devour our pies just like animals. They were usually cherry pies."