PHIL
HEATH
Dec. 18, 1979
5'9"
245
to 250 lbs
(contest);
280 lbs
(off-season)
Denver, CO
The Gift
2011–17 Mr.
Olympia, 1st;
2006 New York
Pro, 1st; 2006
Colorado Pro,
1st; 2005
NPC USA,
heavyweight
and overall
winner (earned
pro card)
Phil Heath, at this point, is a
finely tuned machine. Since 2011,
when he won his first of seven
consecutive Mr. Olympias, he’s
been the undisputed best
bodybuilder in the world. But
while his title hasn’t changed
over the years, his training
certainly has.
Indeed, it would be tempting
to employ the philosophy of
“if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,”
and keep repeating the same
workouts, year in and year out.
That approach worked for
Ronnie Coleman, after all. But
Phil Heath isn’t wired with an
“autopilot” setting.
“I’m always trying to get
better. I’m always trying to
fine-tune my physique, no
matter how dominating my
performance was at the last
Olympia,” says Heath. And for the
record, his performance at the
2017 Mr. O was as dominant as
any of the others. “Bodybuilding
fans don’t pay good money and
show up to watch the event live
for me to just phone in my
training and show up with the
exact same physique as last
year. They want to see if I can
look even better this time. And
as I said after the show [2017
Olympia], I think I can bring my
most dominant package ever to
the stage in 2018. I’ve got one
more year of experience under
my belt now. I know my physique
that much better.”
And what Heath knows about
his physique is that it responds
well to quality contractions and
utilizing as many different angles
as possible in his training. This
approach worked for his legs
two years ago, in 2016, when he
brought up his lower body so
that it was on par with Big
Ramy’s—the bodybuilder
currently known for having the
biggest, baddest legs in the
sport. Ramy placed an
impressive fourth that year at
the Olympia, but in 2017 he
moved up two spots and was
runner-up to Heath. Granted, we
can all agree that he was a fairly
P