Arnold Schwarzenegger: 'When I look in the mirror, I throw up'

Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger at a charity event earlier this month. Photo/Getty

Arnold Schwarzenegger has made the startling confession that, "When I look in the mirror, I throw up."

The 69-year-old action star and former bodybuilding champion opened up about his self-esteem issues in the February issue of Cigar Aficionado.

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

"I'd look in the mirror after I won one Mr. Olympia (he's won seven times) after another and think, 'How did this pile of s**t win?'

"I never saw perfection. There was always something lacking. I could always find a million things wrong with myself and that's what got me back into the gym - because I started out with that mentality."

A young Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film Pumping Iron. Photo/Supplied

The Terminator star told the magazine that he works out every single day and if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to feel good about himself.

"I don't feel my age," he said, "I do everything exactly the same as I did 20 years ago.

"The last thing I ever wanted to do is disappoint myself. 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."

Schwarzenegger will next be seen as the host of the Celebrity Apprentice, replacing the now President-elect of the United States Donald Trump.