In preparation for the role, Schwarzenegger had weapons training, martial arts training, and horse riding lessons. He trained with an 11-pound broadsword two hours a day for three months. Each broadsword used in the movie cost $10,000 and had to look weathered. He also learned climbing techniques, and how to fall and roll and jump from at least 15 feet in the air.
Conan's response to the Mongol General's question, "What is best in life?" are the very first lines of dialog he speaks in the film after a full twenty minutes into the movie. His reply to the question was, “Crush your enemies. See them driven before you. Hear the lamentations of their women.” Then even though Conan and Valeria are shown together frequently throughout the film, he only says five words to her in the entire film. Thirty seconds after they meet he says "You're not a guard", and "No".