Why does Arnold Schwarzenegger say it’s important to be physically active?

“We know that ‘you rest, you rust.’ And as soon as you start getting inactive and you start sitting around and lying around, that’s the beginning of looking toward your death, as sad as it sounds,” Schwarzenegger tells Fortune’s Lindsey Leake. “Every medical study, every fitness study indicates that the more we move, the more we walk—just taking a walk after lunch, taking a walk after dinner, after breakfast, or just walking around casually—will help you.” The seven-time Mr. Olympia champion adds, “You don’t have to be a competitive athlete in order to really make this happen.”

Why is Arnold Schwarzenegger partnering with Zimmer Biomet?

The actor, former professional bodybuilder, and two-term governor of California is back with a new directive—in a reality not that incredibly far off from the one in which he played a time-traveling cyborg assassin. After all, we’re fewer than 50 months from 2029, AI has woven its way into everyday life, and Schwarzenegger is joining the C-suite at a Fortune 500 medtech firm that manufactures smart knee implants and completed the world’s first robotic-assisted shoulder replacement surgery. As of Nov. 13, 2024, he’s Zimmer Biomet’s inaugural chief movement officer. People 65 and older represented 17% of the U.S. population in 2022 and are projected to account for 22% by 2040. To realize that estimate, baby boomers like Schwarzenegger, 77, will have to keep their aging bodies moving.

What is life expectancy in the U.S.?

The average additional life expectancy of 65-year-olds was 18.9 years in 2022, up from 18.4 in 2021, according to the Administration for Community Living. Life expectancy at birth jumped from 76.4 to 77.5 years in that timeframe. People 65 and older represented 17% of the U.S. population in 2022 and are projected to account for 22% by 2040.

What will Arnold Schwarzenegger do as Zimmer Biomet’s chief movement officer?

As CMO, he aims to support and inspire people around the globe to stay or become physically active, as a means of nurturing their health and wellness. Given his own artificial hip and Zimmer Biomet’s focus on orthopedic innovation, Schwarzenegger’s new role includes promoting joint health. “Having had injuries and wear and tear, and body part replacements, joint replacements, and all of those things, there’s more stuff that’s artificial in my body than you can think of,” he says. “I feel like the Terminator in real life.”

How much exercise do older adults need?

Sit less, move more is the mantra of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, published by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. They recommend people 65 and older incorporate balance training into their exercise routines, in addition to these weekly guidelines for all adults: two days of muscle-strengthening activities; 150–300 minutes of moderately intense aerobic activity or 75–150 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity. Older adults should be as physically active as their health allows, the guidebook suggests. “I always recommend to people to exercise and to get with the program,” Arnold Schwarzenegger tells Fortune’s Lindsey Leake, “because it’s the only thing that is going to extend your joy for life and your quality of life.”

What’s the population of U.S. adults 65 and older?

People 65 and older represented 17% of the U.S. population in 2022 and are projected to account for 22% by 2040, according to the Administration for Community Living.

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Aging WellArnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger is joining a Fortune 500 company to solve a great problem of his generation

BYLindsey Leake

Arnold Schwarzenegger is Zimmer Biomet’s inaugural chief movement officer.