Conan the Barbarian is an entertaining movie. It’s a compelling revenge tale mixed with a tragic love story, and it’s got tantalizing hints at fantasy elements. Plus, it stars a young Arnold Schwarzenegger. At the start of the movie, the filmmakers needed a believable enough way to transition their main character from childhood to the adult version, which would be played by a hulking bodybuilder. They accomplished this by killing off the boy’s parents and then showing a montage of him being sold into slavery and forced to push a giant log around and around in a circle for at least two decades.

My question is this: would that actually work? Would pushing a heavy wooden contraption in circles actually work all the muscle groups in a way that would produce a body like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s? Obviously, his legs would get incredibly strong. And likely his forearms and biceps would grow to an impressive size. But what about his pectorals and abs? It just seems like the repetitive motion of walking forward and pressing hard on a heavy object would not activate all the muscle groups in exactly the right combination to create such a perfect form.

I don’t know. I’m an exercise enthusiast, though I’m certainly not an expert. I go on plenty of walks, and I do pushups, sit-ups, and other workouts to stay physically strong. I find that variety is important. If I only did one type of workout, even if it was very strenuous, I would probably have a disproportionately muscular body.

And that’s leaving out the important role that nutrition plays in building a healthy body. How much did Conan’s captor’s feed him over the years? I suppose as his fellow slaves died off or were sent elsewhere, and he was left alone to push the log all by himself, there may have been extra food rations for him to eat.

What do you think? Is Conan the Barbarian realistic enough in its portrayal of how its titular character came to have a bodybuilder physique? It’s probably silly of me to read too much into this aspect of the film. But since the rest of the movie is built upon that premise, I think it’s fair game to ask.

This is the Deja Reviewer bidding you farewell until we meet again.

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