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 | | PUMP UP: A poster of the Arnold classic fitness centre in Baghdad yesterday. Pic/AFP | BAGHDAD: Bodybuilding buffs in Baghdad worship at a temple to the Terminator — American actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger — in a country where the term survival of the fittest can take on extra resonance.
On a dusty side street in the once posh Karrada area of central Baghdad is a single-storey brick house where wannabe beefcakes gather to emulate the star of the 1980s Terminator movies and dream of having a body like his.
Inside the Arnold classic fitness centre, dozens of men pump iron, run on treadmills and work out on benches, rowing and weight machines.
The gym’s Iraqi owner is even said to have received a personal letter from Schwarzenegger himself, the former Mr Universe.
Every inch of wall within the gymnasium is plastered with posters of a beefy Arnold to inspire Iraqi men on to greater things.
No guns are allowed inside, but there are lockers available for those who want to store their automatic weapons before entering.
Aimen Mohammed (24) said, “I go to the gym regularly for good health and Arnold’s good looks.” | 
