Joseph Baena Prepares for Natural Bodybuilding Debut in Denver

Joseph Baena, the 28-year-old son of Arnold Schwarzenegger, is preparing for his bodybuilding debut at the NPC Natural Colorado State championships in Denver this weekend. The event, set for Saturday at the Pinnacle Performing Arts Center, requires participants to undergo drug testing and a 30-minute polygraph examination to verify they compete naturally. Baena, who trains without performance-enhancing substances, has been honing his physique alongside his father, the seven-time Mr. Olympia winner, at Gold's Gym in Venice Beach, California.

Recent videos and photos captured the pair during a training session earlier this week, with Schwarzenegger, now 78, guiding his son on muscle posing and form. Baena shared an image on Instagram of himself performing bicep curls with a 70-pound EZ bar, captioning it, "You have to shock the muscles," echoing a principle from his father's training philosophy. Eyewitnesses at the gym, a historic hub for bodybuilders popularized by Schwarzenegger's 1977 film Pumping Iron, described the scene as a touching father-son moment amid the routine energy of the facility.

Baena's journey into bodybuilding builds on a fitness foundation instilled by...