Arnold Schwarzenegger "throws up" when he looks in the mirror.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger

The 69-year-old actor and former bodybuilding champion - who first claimed the title Mr. Olympia at the international competition Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness and Performance Weekend in 1970 - has admitted he has always been "so critical" of himself, even when he was in his best shape, and is still repulsed by his appearance.

Speaking to Cigar Aficionado magazine, the 'The Expendables' actor said: "When I look in the mirror, I throw up.

"I was already so critical of myself, even when I was in top physical shape."

Despite winning the highly-acclaimed title over seven consecutive years, he used to doubt why he was crowned champion every time because he felt he was "lacking" something.

He said: "I'd look in the mirror after I won one Mr. Olympia after another and think, 'How did this pile of s**t win?' I never saw perfection. There was always something lacking."

Although the 'Terminator' actor isn't happy with his looks, he has admitted he doesn't feel like he will soon be turning 70 years old because he has maintained the same lifestyle he enjoyed two decades ago.

He explained: "I don't feel my age. I do everything exactly the same as I did 20 years ago."

The new 'Celebrity Apprentice' star - who has kids Katherine, 27, Christina, 25, Patrick, 23, and Christopher, 19, with estranged wife Maria Shriver, and 19-year-old Joseph with his former housekeeper Mildred 'Patti' Baena - used to be very strict on his workout regime when he was younger, and has credited himself as the "master" of writing gruelling fitness schedules.

He explained: "When I saw those animals climbing around the chin-up bar and doing 20 chin-ups and then going over to the squat rack and squatting 200 kilos [440 pounds], and then another guy snatching up 315 [pounds] in one movement, it outweighed by far everything that I'd seen on the soccer field.

"I lived by the training programme, the eating programme, the competition programme. I was always the master in writing out the programmes.

"I knew that as soon as I put it down, the last thing I ever wanted to do is disappoint myself. I knew that I had to look in the mirror every day and I could not look in the mirror and say, 'You know something: You're a f**king loser; you cannot even do the kind of sets and exercises and eat the kind of food that you wrote down.' I didn't want to face that."