Melanie Hoffmann, Editor-in-Chief

April 6, 2023, 9:06 am | Read time: 4 minutes

Ralf Moeller stands for training, strength–and vegan nutrition. The 64-year-old has been living mostly vegan for more than four years, is a co-author of the cookbook “Vegan Gladiators,” and is living proof that a meat-free diet and strength training can go hand in hand. The native of Recklinghausen, who made a name for himself in Hollywood as an actor and is friends with stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Russell Crowe, cannot imagine a life without sports long after his active bodybuilding career. FITBOOK spoke with Ralf Moeller about what his training looks like today. Ralf Moeller also explained why he has now banned a specific exercise he used to enjoy and excel at from his training.

Ralf Moeller on …

… a specific training that must never be missing

“I’ve always done cardiovascular training my whole life. Even when I started bodybuilding at 19. It’s important.”

… his former training routine

“I used to train for about two and a half hours daily. When competitions were approaching, three months before, I would train twice a day. That added up to about four hours. If I add up all the weights, I sometimes moved up to 30 tons. At 29, I ended my competitive sports career, but not sports, not bodybuilding. I still continue that to this day.”

… having enough time for training in everyday life

“Twenty-four hours is a lot of time, you can do a lot. You can sleep for seven hours, work eight to ten hours, and still have enough time. So, the hour of training should always be possible.”

… his training today

“I enjoy circuit training. In the past, I would train chest and back on one day and maybe abs or calves, and on another day shoulders and arms, and then abs again. I trained abs about four times a week, calves as well. Today, I sometimes do circuit training with four different muscle groups. I do four sets, ten to twelve repetitions. And if I notice it hurts a bit after twelve reps, I do three or four more.”

… the right number of repetitions in strength training

“Basically, you have to warm up first. The first seven or eight repetitions bring relatively little. What matters is the point where you want to stop. When you think: Oh, it hurts now, I’ll put the weights down. But, stop! The four or five reps that come in this range, and which you can cheat a little on–the exercise doesn’t have to be performed so correctly–those are the ones that bring growth and make the difference.”

… his training with Arnold Schwarzenegger

“I continue my training and will keep doing it. With Arnold (Schwarzenegger; editor’s note), for example, I meet at 6:30 or 7 a.m. for cycling. Then we head down to the gym. We’re on the bike for about half an hour. Then we go for an hour of training. Afterward, we go for breakfast. We usually eat oatmeal with nuts, raisins, fruits. Or we have vegan yogurt.”

… a specific strength exercise he no longer does

“I used to do bench presses, for example. My personal best in bench pressing was 245 kilos back then. I warmed up with 120 or 130 kilos. I enjoyed and did bench presses for a long time. However, if you don’t warm up properly, there’s a risk. So now I prefer to do other exercises like using the bench press machine. I don’t do bench presses anymore.”

… perseverance and envy in everyday life

“I’ve always felt comfortable when there’s headwind. Then I know I’m on the right track–when people criticize you or don’t like certain things. If no one says anything anymore, you have to start worrying. If you don’t have any critics anymore, then it becomes critical. As long as they’re still there–and I have plenty, for example on the internet–everything is fine. You should never respond in kind, with anger or envy.”