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COUNTDOWN TO THE OLYMPIA
Training Secrets of the Mr. Olympia Champions!
By Ron Harris
The Mr. Olympia title represents the pinnacle of achievement in the sport of bodybuilding. Beginning in 1965, one man was chosen to represent the absolute best in muscular development in the entire world. It’s only natural that bodybuilders around the world, seeking to improve their own physiques and aspiring to greatness, would look to these men as role models on how to sculpt their own bodies and bring them closer and closer to perfection. This month, as the 58th annual Mr. Olympia is just around the corner, we pay tribute to the event and its legendary champions. We’ve gathered a slew of excellent training tips from the six most recent Mr. Olympia champions with a total of 16 Mr. O titles between them. Take their combined wisdom and use it to forge your own destiny in iron and muscle!
Jay Cutler
Mr. Olympia 2006, 2007, 2009-2010
Back. “Plain and simple, chin-ups is the best exercise you can do for your back, in my opinion. I was quite humbled at how bad I was at pull-ups when I tried them again after years of not including them. It's not so much a strength issue, because I can pull a ton of weight on a lat pulldown any time. But with chins, or pull-ups, there's a technique to it that requires a bit of a learning curve and a good deal of practice before you get it down. I do them at every back workout now.
“Back is one muscle group where too many guys get all hung up on how much weight they use. They think because Dorian rowed over 400 and Ronnie was doing 500 in his video, that's what they should use to get a huge back. But 99 times out of 100, these guys are just yanking the weight up and letting it drop, and getting almost no stimulation in the lats at all. They would be so much better off forgetting about how many stupid plates are on the bar and focusing on what they feel in their backs during the set.”
Shoulders. “Many times, I do lateral raises first on shoulder day to get a good pump going in the medial heads of my delts as well as for a pre-exhaust effect. I really believe that a pumped muscle responds better to heavy weights, and that you'll feel the compound movement that much better if you do an isolation movement first.
“Fully developed rear delts are a little-known secret for having very impressive shoulders. Whenever you're seen from the side in the quarter turns or the side chest or triceps poses, that extra development in the rear delts adds a whole other level of impressiveness to the shoulders that most bodybuilders are too blind to realize.”
Jay's Back Workout, Circa 1992 - Age 18
Lat Pulldowns to Front 4 x 10
Pulldowns Behind Neck 4 x 10
Close-grip Pulldowns 4 x 10
Seated Cable Rows 4 x 10
One-arm Dumbbell Rows 4 x 10
Barbell Rows 4 x 10
T-Bar Rows 4 x 10
Jay's Back Workout as Mr. Olympia
Lat Pulldowns (standard or reverse-grip) 3-4 x 8-10
Deadlifts* 4 x 8-10
One-arm Dumbbell Rows 3 x 8-10
Barbell Rows** 3 x 8-10
T-Bar Rows 3 x 8-10
Seated Cable Rows 4 x 8-10
Standing Cable Pullovers Using Rope (FST-7 “Sevens”) 7 x 8-10
*Done at every other back workout.
**Alternates overhand and underhand from workout to workout.
Legs. “I really don't think high reps are the best way to build mass in the legs. I've seen the best results by sticking with 8-12 reps, but doing a lot of overall volume. Your legs can take a lot of abuse. You walk around on them all day. You want to challenge yourself with the weight, and don't be afraid to do a lot of sets. It takes me two hours to train quads and hams, and I don't rest much at all. I want to keep the blood flowing and a pump going that whole time.
“Guys get caught up all the time with using as much weight as they can, but they usually end up either not using a full range of motion, cheating the weight up, or both. It really doesn't matter how much weight you use. It's about getting nice, full contractions and stretches on all your reps. That's why I'll do things like pause in the hole when I squat for a second or two before driving back up, and slowing my negatives down so I feel the quads or hams stretching as I lower the weight. You recruit a lot more muscle fibers this way, and you make sure the muscle is doing the work and not momentum. I don't use more than 405 on squats, which some people like to knock me for, but I get a lot out of every rep. If you're using a ton of weight but not feeling the quads and hams work and you don't get a pump, you're not getting much out of your leg workouts.”
Jay’s Leg Routine
Leg Extensions 4 x 12 (as warm-up)
45-Degree Leg Press 2 x 12-15 (warm-up), 4 x 10
Hack Squats 4 x 10
Leg Extensions 4 x 12
Smith Machine Squats 4 x 10
Vertical Leg Press 3 x 10
Seated Leg Curls 4 x 10
Single Leg Curls 4 x 10
Lying Leg Curls 4 x 10-12
Stiff-leg Deadlifts 4 x 10
Jay’s Chest Workout
Incline Dumbbell Press 2 warm-ups 12-15, 3 x 10-12
Flat Smith Machine Press 3 x 10-12
Incline Dumbbell Flyes 3 x 10-12
Decline Barbell Press 3 x 10-12
Dumbbell Pullovers 3 x 12
Chest. “I've always done dumbbell pullovers, all these years. I really do believe they can help stretch out your chest and allow for more growth if you do them with a good pump in your pecs.
“Two major technique adjustments helped me improve my chest thickness. One was to keep an arch in my back when I did any type of press. I found that I had to get my chest up higher than my shoulders or else my delts would always take over the movement. I would say to myself, chest high, chest high, as a reminder of the position I needed to maintain during the set. The other adjustment was limiting the range of motion a bit on presses. When I used to touch the bar to my chest I could feel my shoulders and triceps working to get it moving back up again, not my chest. I found that if I stopped short an inch or two, I could keep the tension on my pecs and I felt them doing a lot more of the work.”
Dexter Jackson
Mr. Olympia 2008
“There are a few guys who can get away with terrible form and still manage to grow. But they are the exceptions, not the rule – most guys will just look like crap training that way. When I've done most of my reps in really nice form, I will loosen up the form a little to get a couple more. Cheat reps should help you work the muscle harder by continuing the set, not make it easier because you're jumping and swinging around and using every other muscle group except the one you're supposed to be training.”
Arms. “The arms are a smaller muscle group than something like back or legs, but you still see so many guys doing as much if not more for them. Arms are fun to train, and since few of us are satisfied with the biceps and triceps we see when we flex them in the mirror, it's natural to want to do more. More is not better. Not counting warm-ups, you shouldn't need any more than 8-10 sets total for the biceps, and the same for triceps. Hit them hard and be done with it.
“You have to switch up the exercises you do for arms on a pretty regular basis to keep seeing results, and you can't avoid exercises just because you don't like them. There are definitely exercises I don't care for, like straight bar curls, that I still throw in there once in a while because I know they deliver good results. Staleness in training is one of the silent killers of muscle gains.”
Chest. “Even if f your upper chest isn't weak, you should still start with incline presses every other workout. But if it's weak, of course you should always start with inclines! Why wouldn't you? You're fresh in the gym and you can push as much weight at that time. Another thing I tell guys who need more upper chest is to lower the bar higher up on the chest near the bottom of your throat instead of down close to the nipple line. That puts more stress on the upper chest.”
Back. “Some body parts might respond even with crappy form, but back isn’t one of them. Forget about heaving, snapping or jerking the weight. Think stretch and squeeze with every rep you do, and make sure you feel your lats contracting. If your back never gets a pump or sore, you can be pretty sure your form sucks. Use less weight and do it right.
“Some guys think it’s macho to never use straps on back day; I think it’s stupid. Look at how big and powerful the back is, then compare it to your hands and forearms. They are a weak link. Your grip will always give out before your lats are truly done. I use Versa Gripps and have for years. You can say whatever you want about straps; my back development is proof that I made the right choice.
“You should always be aware of your posture, but especially if you’re doing things like barbell rows or deadlifts. Never, ever let your lower back round and go convex. Always keep a slight arch in it and your shoulders up and back. I’ve never had a serious lower back injury, but plenty of guys I know have, and it makes life miserable. One of the reasons I always wear a belt is because it’s an unconscious reminder to never let my back round out.”
Warm-ups, reps. “Things like pec and rotator cuff tears happen because guys don't warm up enough, they go way too heavy, and they don't use proper form. I never jumped into a heavy weight on the bench press right away, that's insane. Instead I would start with 135 for 15, then 185 for 12, 225 for 10, then start my work sets. My reps were never under eight, and mostly right at 10. You got to remember you're doing this exercise to build your chest, so focus on good contractions instead of worrying about being the guy at the gym who can bench press the most.”
Phil Heath
Mr. OIympia 2011-2017
No Secrets, But Plenty of Great Tips
Phil is one of those rare examples of someone who never had to struggle to develop a certain body part, yet is still able to impart useful advice to us regular mortals. Here are some techniques he used to build his sensational arms.
Sevens
Phil’s success and popularity helped spread the word about his coach Hany Rambod’s FST-7 Training system to the bodybuilding world. At the core of the program are “Sevens,” which are seven sets of the same exercise with the same weight, with only 20-30 seconds rest between. The weight won’t seem too challenging for the first two to four sets, but the cumulative effect of lactic acid and trapped blood make it a real struggle to finish the reps on the final set or two.
“To assure you get a great pump, end your biceps and triceps routines with Sevens,” Phil advises. Sevens have been the saving grace for many who were previously unable to achieve a meaningful pump in the arms, and there are also more than a few who swear it was the key to seeing new growth in arms that hadn’t budged the tape measure in years.
The Arm Blaster
Barbell curls can be an incredibly productive basic movement for the biceps, yet many use cheating form to heave up heavier weight, in the process working more lower back and shoulders than biceps. “One of the best ways you can ensure you’re using good form is to get one of those Arm Blasters. That thing will keep your elbows pinned right to your sides and make 50 pounds feel like 100 pounds,” notes Phil. Note: a quick search showed you can pick one of these up for anywhere from $25 to $40 – a small price to pay if they can fix your form on barbell and EZ-bar curls and pack some meat on your bi’s!
Don’t Just Go by the Tape Measure
While we all thrill to see a bigger number for an arm measurement, Phil reminds us that this number never tells the whole story. “A lot of what makes arms great is the separation and the freaky details, those striations.” Obviously, you would need to be at an extremely low body fat level to see all that cool shit. “Don’t get obsessed with measurements,” Phil reminds us. “A big fat arm isn’t nearly as impressive as a lean, somewhat smaller arm.”
Forget Low Reps
I often questioned the wisdom of going so heavy on arm exercises that you’re only able to complete four to six reps, as some in the past have advocated, and I was glad to see Phil agreed with me. “I stick to 10 reps per set for biceps, and for triceps I will go a little higher, usually in the 12-15 rep range. I’ve never felt the need to go so heavy on arms that I can’t get 10 reps. That’s just opening yourself up to injuries that can throw off all your upper-body training. Be smart and be careful.”
Switch Things Up Often
Many of you have experienced steady gains in arm size for weeks or months, only to hit a plateau where it seems no further growth is occurring in spite of your most valiant efforts. This is perfectly normal, and Phil has a solution. “Always keep mixing things up,” he suggests. “Using a variety of movements is important for growth.” Just to add to that, if you have found a certain exercise or two that you seem to have a superior mind-muscle connection with, or a routine that is delivering results, don’t change a thing until you see that progress has stalled. In other words, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But of course, if what you’re doing isn’t working anymore, do something else!
‘Heath Curls’
Long before most of you were born, even me in this case, the first Mr. Olympia, Larry Scott, gave credit to preacher curls for his astonishing biceps development and was so fond of them that they became known as “Scott Curls.” Phil has put his own twist on the old standard alternate dumbbell curls that some fans have dubbed his version “Heath Curls.” As Phil explains: “When doing dumbbell curls, I don’t alternate reps – I alternate every five reps.” He will do five reps on the right side, then five on the left, and repeat for a total of 10 reps per arm. “That way, each side gets a longer rest during the set so you can get a couple more reps. Also, by not alternating every rep, you can focus more on each individual arm.”
If you try Heath Curls, you will also be pleased to see that your form is probably better than when you alternate arms every rep, as you tend not to lean your torso over toward the working arm during the set.
Biceps Routine
EZ-Bar Curls 3 x 10-12
Alternate Dumbbell Curls 3 x 10
OR
Hammer Dumbbell Curls 3 x 10-12
Spider Curls 3 x 10-12
Concentration Curls 3 x 10-12
Triceps Routine
Rope Pushdowns 3 x 12-15
Dumbbell Extensions 3 x 12-15
Bar or Machine Dips 3 x 12-15
Training Split
Monday: Shoulders
Tuesday: Legs
Wednesday: Back
Thursday: Chest
Friday: Legs
Saturday: Arms
Sunday: Off
Shawn Rhoden
Mr. Olympia 2018
Pre-exhausting for the Win
Rhoden typically began each workout with an isolation exercise rather than a compound movement. His shoulder routine started with seated dumbbell laterals to target his medial deltoids before moving on to presses and upright rows. He kicked off his arm attack with rope pushdowns, an exercise some might consider a “finishing move.” Leg extensions were how he started his leg workouts, isolating his quads before moving on to the compound lifts: front squats, leg presses and hack squats. “It’s a way of pre-exhausting the targeted area,” Rhoden, who passed in 2021, told MD, “and it also can be sort of a working warm-up. For example, the leg extensions warm up my knees before moving on to the heavier lifts.”
Drop Sets and Supersets to Turbocharge Intensity
Shawn did mostly straight sets, but he did employ two techniques to boost intensity. One was supersets. Most bodybuilders superset two very different exercises, such as flyes and presses for chest. Rhoden preferred to pair up two similar exercises. On chest days he often supersetted dips and push-ups. On back days, he liked to superset two types of pulldowns, such as behind-the-neck and underhand with a Hammer Strength machine. For shoulders, he was known to combine two types of rear laterals: one with dumbbells lying facedown on an incline bench and the other using a rear lateral machine.
The other technique he often employed was drop sets. “Drop sets let me go beyond failure,” he explained. “I’ll do them on the last set of an exercise. So on my last set of seated laterals, I’ll get eight to 12 reps and then grab a pair of lighter dumbbells and get another eight or so, and then I’ll grab even lighter dumbbells and get as many as I can again.”
Chest Workout
Incline Barbell Bench Press 5 x 8-12
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 4 x 10-15
Shrug Machine Bench Press (lying on floor) 4 x 10-15
Dumbbell Chest Flyes (lying on floor) 4 x 10-15
Hammer Strength Bench Press 5 x 8-12
Leg Workout
Seated Leg Extensions 3 x 10-15
Cambered Bar Squats 5 x 8-12
Leg Press 5 x 6-12
Single-leg Leg Press 4 x 10-15
Hack Squats 5 x 8-12
Hip Adduction Machine 4 x 10-15
Shoulder Workout
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press 5 x 6-12
Seated Barbell Overhead Press 5 x 6-12
Reverse Dumbbell Flyes 5 x 10-15
Barbell Delt Raises 5 x 8-12
Standing Machine Shrugs 5 x 15
Dumbbell Front Raises 5 x 10-15
Arm Workout
Seated Alternating Dumbbell Curls 4 x 10-12
Cable Triceps Pushdowns 4 x 10-12
Incline EZ-Bar Skull-crushers 4 x 10-12
Single-arm Machine Preacher Curls 4 x 10-12
EZ-Bar Forearm Curls 4 x 10-12
Back Workout
Bent-over Barbell Rows 4 x 8-12
Incline Machine Rows 5 x 10-15
Close-grip Cable Pulldowns 5 x 10-15
T-Bar Rows 4 x 8-12
Wide-grip Machine Pulldowns 5 x 10-15
Close-grip Seated Cable Rows 4 x 8-12
Brandon Curry
Mr. Olympia 2019
How Much Ya bench? Who cares?
Brandon came from a strong athletic background of gymnastics followed by high school and college football. As such, even as he transitioned to bodybuilding, he still saw himself as an athlete first and foremost. “I couldn’t be all show and no go,” he explains. “Being big and muscular wasn’t important unless I could also perform, which in this case meant I had to be strong also.”
Though he never competed in powerlifting, Curry nonetheless insisted on building up to being able to bench press more than twice his bodyweight, and get triple his bodyweight on both the squat and deadlift. He accomplished all that, and since we are talking about chest, you should know he pressed 500 pounds for two reps at a bodyweight of 205. Still, in spite of being able to move some impressive weights in those key power lifts, he wasn’t seeing the development he expected in his chest, back or legs.
“At a certain point, it became clear to me that if I wanted to be a better bodybuilder, I had to throw my determination and love for performance out the window,” he says. “It doesn’t matter how much you can lift if your physique doesn’t show it.”
He was able to learn better mind-muscle connection first with his back, which he then applied to other muscle groups with success. Coupled with his discovery of a more productive range of motion in which he never locked out the arms and maintained tension on the pecs, finally Brandon started seeing chest growth from bench presses. Around that time, he found that dips gave him a much deeper feeling and connection in the muscle fibers than the bench press did.
“My gym had one of those old Nautilus chin/dip machines with a weight belt connected to the weight stack, and that thing burned my pecs down to the sternum,” the Schiek athlete tells us. “My sternum would actually get sore!”
Eventually he abandoned the flat barbell bench press, as he saw too many bodybuilders tearing pecs on it. Dumbbells also fell by the wayside in time. “The problem with dumbbells is that once you get very strong, it takes more work getting those really heavy ones off the rack, into position for every set, and then putting them back on the rack. That’s valuable energy you’re wasting that should be going into your sets.”
Chest Workout
Incline Press With Kadillac Bar* 5-6 x 12-20
Arsenal Strength Incline Press 4 x 12-20
Floor Press on Arsenal Multi Flex 4 x 12-20
Arsenal Strength Incline Flyes+ 4 x 12-20
Pec Deck 4 x 12-20
*Unique bar by Kabuki Strength that allows for multiple grip and width choices.
+Brandon likes to perform a superset with this machine, doing 10-12 reps in more of a pressing motion, then switching to a flye motion.
Shoulder Routine
Active warm-up: Rotator cuff exercises, cable upright row/external rotations/press
Overhead Press 4 x 10-12
Sideways Lateral Raises 4 x 10-12, each arm
EZ-Bar Upright Rows 4 x 10-12
Facedown Rear Laterals 4 x 12
Dumbbell Front Raises 4 x 10-12
Brandon’s Training Split*
Day 1: Chest and triceps
Day 2: Back and biceps
Day 3: Shoulders
Day 4: Legs
Repeat
*The schedule is usually followed straight through, with only Fridays being taken off to rest. Workouts are usually split into two per day.
Mamdouh Elssbiay aka Big Ramy
Mr. Olympia 2020-2021
How to Perfect Your Bench Press Form
The bench press is the exercise that is most often done incorrectly in the gym, advises the Schiek athlete. The reason, ironically, is often because people think that it is simple and natural. As a result, they don’t see the need to learn proper technique the way they would with a squat or deadlift. That is a big mistake!
The first thing to understand about bench press form is that you need to pull your shoulder blades together and tuck in the latissimus dorsi. This is based on Newton’s Law that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. So, when you press the bench press bar, that bar is also pressing back on you. To get the maximum force transfer, you need to get as much of your back as possible on the bench.
Ideal Setup
• Lie on the bench with a flat back, with minimal back arch.
• Place your feet flat on the floor and directly under the knees.
• Draw the shoulder blades together and down, expanding the rib cage and placing more of the lats on the bench.
• Your eyes should be directly under the bar with your hands slightly wider than shoulder level.
• Before unracking the bar, take a deep breath to maximize the amount of tightness in the body. This also helps to transfer force from the feet to the hands.
• Hold the bar with a “thumb over the bar” grip.
Ideal Performance
• Unrack the bar and position it over your eyes.
• Draw your shoulder blades back and down.
• Tighten the lats and lower body by squeezing your glutes and legs.
• Try to pull the bar apart as you lower it to your chest. This will maintain the tightness of the upper back and lats.
• Drive your heels into the floor and press the bar up as forcefully as possible.
Big Ramy’s Top Training Tips
Always Warm Up With Cardio
Even when I’m bulking, I always do a few minutes of cardio to warm up. This helps prevent injury and facilitates blood flow to the muscles.
Listen to Music
Hard training isn’t easy, and the right music can help you get fired up for a big lift or help you push through a brutal workout. I personally like rock and heavy metal. You’ll always find Metallica, Tool, System of a Down and Korn on my workout playlists.
Set Goals
I didn’t get to the size I am by walking into the gym and winging it. I always set goals for myself to ensure I am getting stronger and making progress. Setting a realistic goal like adding 30 pounds to your bench, squat or deadlift in 12 weeks is a good way to ensure that you keep making progress.
Remember to Train Your Legs
If trained properly, the legs can be the largest and strongest muscle group in your body. Because of this, squats and other heavy leg exercises will release massive amounts of testosterone and growth hormone. As a result, not only will your legs benefit, but your other muscle groups will as well.
Stick to Free Weights
Even though the modern gyms are full of complex, high-tech machines, they will not help you build a solid foundation of muscle mass the same way that free weights will. Dumbbells and barbells are the best when it comes to building muscle, especially for a beginner.
Prioritize Sleep
One of the most essential bodybuilding tips for building muscle is to allow your body time to recover. Aim for 8-9 hours of sleep each night. If you have trouble falling asleep, try settling into a nighttime routine or try a natural sleep supplement.
Change Is Good
It’s good to change up the way you’re doing stuff in the gym (stance, grip, angles, exercise variations, sets/reps, technique, etc.). You’ll always need to do the basic exercises, but the way that you execute them needs to include variations. This is an excellent tool for progression in your training and overall physique.
Find a Coach/Training Partner
The biggest improvements in my career occurred while training with people who were more knowledgeable or stronger than me. There’s always something new to learn or a new way to improve, so find someone knowledgeable and make them your coach or training partner.
Fuel Your Workouts
Eat protein before and after weight training. Protein consumed 60 minutes before you train will help induce a muscle-building effect following training. Consume the same amount of protein within 30 to 60 minutes after your workout combined with some carbohydrate – and creatine if you decide to take that.
Ron Harris got his start in the bodybuilding industry during the eight years he worked in Los Angeles as Associate Producer for ESPN’s “American Muscle Magazine” show in the 1990s. Since 1992 he has published nearly 5,000 articles in bodybuilding and fitness magazines, making him the most prolific bodybuilding writer ever. Ron has been training since the age of 14 and competing as a bodybuilder since 1989. He lives with his wife and two children in the Boston area. Facebook Instagram
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COUNTDOWN TO THE OLYMPIA
Training Secrets of the Mr. Olympia Champions!
By Ron Harris
The Mr. Olympia title represents the pinnacle of achievement in the sport of bodybuilding. Beginning in 1965, one man was chosen to represent the absolute best in muscular development in the entire world. It’s only natural that bodybuilders around the world, seeking to improve their own physiques and aspiring to greatness, would look to these men as role models on how to sculpt their own bodies and bring them closer and closer to perfection. This month, as the 58th annual Mr. Olympia is just around the corner, we pay tribute to the event and its legendary champions. We’ve gathered a slew of excellent training tips from the six most recent Mr. Olympia champions with a total of 16 Mr. O titles between them. Take their combined wisdom and use it to forge your own destiny in iron and muscle!
Jay Cutler
Mr. Olympia 2006, 2007, 2009-2010
Back. “Plain and simple, chin-ups is the best exercise you can do for your back, in my opinion. I was quite humbled at how bad I was at pull-ups when I tried them again after years of not including them. It's not so much a strength issue, because I can pull a ton of weight on a lat pulldown any time. But with chins, or pull-ups, there's a technique to it that requires a bit of a learning curve and a good deal of practice before you get it down. I do them at every back workout now.
“Back is one muscle group where too many guys get all hung up on how much weight they use. They think because Dorian rowed over 400 and Ronnie was doing 500 in his video, that's what they should use to get a huge back. But 99 times out of 100, these guys are just yanking the weight up and letting it drop, and getting almost no stimulation in the lats at all. They would be so much better off forgetting about how many stupid plates are on the bar and focusing on what they feel in their backs during the set.”
Shoulders. “Many times, I do lateral raises first on shoulder day to get a good pump going in the medial heads of my delts as well as for a pre-exhaust effect. I really believe that a pumped muscle responds better to heavy weights, and that you'll feel the compound movement that much better if you do an isolation movement first.
“Fully developed rear delts are a little-known secret for having very impressive shoulders. Whenever you're seen from the side in the quarter turns or the side chest or triceps poses, that extra development in the rear delts adds a whole other level of impressiveness to the shoulders that most bodybuilders are too blind to realize.”
Jay's Back Workout, Circa 1992 - Age 18
Lat Pulldowns to Front 4 x 10
Pulldowns Behind Neck 4 x 10
Close-grip Pulldowns 4 x 10
Seated Cable Rows 4 x 10
One-arm Dumbbell Rows 4 x 10
Barbell Rows 4 x 10
T-Bar Rows 4 x 10
Jay's Back Workout as Mr. Olympia
Lat Pulldowns (standard or reverse-grip) 3-4 x 8-10
Deadlifts* 4 x 8-10
One-arm Dumbbell Rows 3 x 8-10
Barbell Rows** 3 x 8-10
T-Bar Rows 3 x 8-10
Seated Cable Rows 4 x 8-10
Standing Cable Pullovers Using Rope (FST-7 “Sevens”) 7 x 8-10
*Done at every other back workout.
**Alternates overhand and underhand from workout to workout.
Legs. “I really don't think high reps are the best way to build mass in the legs. I've seen the best results by sticking with 8-12 reps, but doing a lot of overall volume. Your legs can take a lot of abuse. You walk around on them all day. You want to challenge yourself with the weight, and don't be afraid to do a lot of sets. It takes me two hours to train quads and hams, and I don't rest much at all. I want to keep the blood flowing and a pump going that whole time.
“Guys get caught up all the time with using as much weight as they can, but they usually end up either not using a full range of motion, cheating the weight up, or both. It really doesn't matter how much weight you use. It's about getting nice, full contractions and stretches on all your reps. That's why I'll do things like pause in the hole when I squat for a second or two before driving back up, and slowing my negatives down so I feel the quads or hams stretching as I lower the weight. You recruit a lot more muscle fibers this way, and you make sure the muscle is doing the work and not momentum. I don't use more than 405 on squats, which some people like to knock me for, but I get a lot out of every rep. If you're using a ton of weight but not feeling the quads and hams work and you don't get a pump, you're not getting much out of your leg workouts.”
Jay’s Leg Routine
Leg Extensions 4 x 12 (as warm-up)
45-Degree Leg Press 2 x 12-15 (warm-up), 4 x 10
Hack Squats 4 x 10
Leg Extensions 4 x 12
Smith Machine Squats 4 x 10
Vertical Leg Press 3 x 10
Seated Leg Curls 4 x 10
Single Leg Curls 4 x 10
Lying Leg Curls 4 x 10-12
Stiff-leg Deadlifts 4 x 10
Jay’s Chest Workout
Incline Dumbbell Press 2 warm-ups 12-15, 3 x 10-12
Flat Smith Machine Press 3 x 10-12
Incline Dumbbell Flyes 3 x 10-12
Decline Barbell Press 3 x 10-12
Dumbbell Pullovers 3 x 12
Chest. “I've always done dumbbell pullovers, all these years. I really do believe they can help stretch out your chest and allow for more growth if you do them with a good pump in your pecs.
“Two major technique adjustments helped me improve my chest thickness. One was to keep an arch in my back when I did any type of press. I found that I had to get my chest up higher than my shoulders or else my delts would always take over the movement. I would say to myself, chest high, chest high, as a reminder of the position I needed to maintain during the set. The other adjustment was limiting the range of motion a bit on presses. When I used to touch the bar to my chest I could feel my shoulders and triceps working to get it moving back up again, not my chest. I found that if I stopped short an inch or two, I could keep the tension on my pecs and I felt them doing a lot more of the work.”
Dexter Jackson
Mr. Olympia 2008
“There are a few guys who can get away with terrible form and still manage to grow. But they are the exceptions, not the rule – most guys will just look like crap training that way. When I've done most of my reps in really nice form, I will loosen up the form a little to get a couple more. Cheat reps should help you work the muscle harder by continuing the set, not make it easier because you're jumping and swinging around and using every other muscle group except the one you're supposed to be training.”
Arms. “The arms are a smaller muscle group than something like back or legs, but you still see so many guys doing as much if not more for them. Arms are fun to train, and since few of us are satisfied with the biceps and triceps we see when we flex them in the mirror, it's natural to want to do more. More is not better. Not counting warm-ups, you shouldn't need any more than 8-10 sets total for the biceps, and the same for triceps. Hit them hard and be done with it.
“You have to switch up the exercises you do for arms on a pretty regular basis to keep seeing results, and you can't avoid exercises just because you don't like them. There are definitely exercises I don't care for, like straight bar curls, that I still throw in there once in a while because I know they deliver good results. Staleness in training is one of the silent killers of muscle gains.”
Chest. “Even if f your upper chest isn't weak, you should still start with incline presses every other workout. But if it's weak, of course you should always start with inclines! Why wouldn't you? You're fresh in the gym and you can push as much weight at that time. Another thing I tell guys who need more upper chest is to lower the bar higher up on the chest near the bottom of your throat instead of down close to the nipple line. That puts more stress on the upper chest.”
Back. “Some body parts might respond even with crappy form, but back isn’t one of them. Forget about heaving, snapping or jerking the weight. Think stretch and squeeze with every rep you do, and make sure you feel your lats contracting. If your back never gets a pump or sore, you can be pretty sure your form sucks. Use less weight and do it right.
“Some guys think it’s macho to never use straps on back day; I think it’s stupid. Look at how big and powerful the back is, then compare it to your hands and forearms. They are a weak link. Your grip will always give out before your lats are truly done. I use Versa Gripps and have for years. You can say whatever you want about straps; my back development is proof that I made the right choice.
“You should always be aware of your posture, but especially if you’re doing things like barbell rows or deadlifts. Never, ever let your lower back round and go convex. Always keep a slight arch in it and your shoulders up and back. I’ve never had a serious lower back injury, but plenty of guys I know have, and it makes life miserable. One of the reasons I always wear a belt is because it’s an unconscious reminder to never let my back round out.”
Warm-ups, reps. “Things like pec and rotator cuff tears happen because guys don't warm up enough, they go way too heavy, and they don't use proper form. I never jumped into a heavy weight on the bench press right away, that's insane. Instead I would start with 135 for 15, then 185 for 12, 225 for 10, then start my work sets. My reps were never under eight, and mostly right at 10. You got to remember you're doing this exercise to build your chest, so focus on good contractions instead of worrying about being the guy at the gym who can bench press the most.”
Phil Heath
Mr. OIympia 2011-2017
No Secrets, But Plenty of Great Tips
Phil is one of those rare examples of someone who never had to struggle to develop a certain body part, yet is still able to impart useful advice to us regular mortals. Here are some techniques he used to build his sensational arms.
Sevens
Phil’s success and popularity helped spread the word about his coach Hany Rambod’s FST-7 Training system to the bodybuilding world. At the core of the program are “Sevens,” which are seven sets of the same exercise with the same weight, with only 20-30 seconds rest between. The weight won’t seem too challenging for the first two to four sets, but the cumulative effect of lactic acid and trapped blood make it a real struggle to finish the reps on the final set or two.
“To assure you get a great pump, end your biceps and triceps routines with Sevens,” Phil advises. Sevens have been the saving grace for many who were previously unable to achieve a meaningful pump in the arms, and there are also more than a few who swear it was the key to seeing new growth in arms that hadn’t budged the tape measure in years.
The Arm Blaster
Barbell curls can be an incredibly productive basic movement for the biceps, yet many use cheating form to heave up heavier weight, in the process working more lower back and shoulders than biceps. “One of the best ways you can ensure you’re using good form is to get one of those Arm Blasters. That thing will keep your elbows pinned right to your sides and make 50 pounds feel like 100 pounds,” notes Phil. Note: a quick search showed you can pick one of these up for anywhere from $25 to $40 – a small price to pay if they can fix your form on barbell and EZ-bar curls and pack some meat on your bi’s!
Don’t Just Go by the Tape Measure
While we all thrill to see a bigger number for an arm measurement, Phil reminds us that this number never tells the whole story. “A lot of what makes arms great is the separation and the freaky details, those striations.” Obviously, you would need to be at an extremely low body fat level to see all that cool shit. “Don’t get obsessed with measurements,” Phil reminds us. “A big fat arm isn’t nearly as impressive as a lean, somewhat smaller arm.”
Forget Low Reps
I often questioned the wisdom of going so heavy on arm exercises that you’re only able to complete four to six reps, as some in the past have advocated, and I was glad to see Phil agreed with me. “I stick to 10 reps per set for biceps, and for triceps I will go a little higher, usually in the 12-15 rep range. I’ve never felt the need to go so heavy on arms that I can’t get 10 reps. That’s just opening yourself up to injuries that can throw off all your upper-body training. Be smart and be careful.”
Switch Things Up Often
Many of you have experienced steady gains in arm size for weeks or months, only to hit a plateau where it seems no further growth is occurring in spite of your most valiant efforts. This is perfectly normal, and Phil has a solution. “Always keep mixing things up,” he suggests. “Using a variety of movements is important for growth.” Just to add to that, if you have found a certain exercise or two that you seem to have a superior mind-muscle connection with, or a routine that is delivering results, don’t change a thing until you see that progress has stalled. In other words, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But of course, if what you’re doing isn’t working anymore, do something else!
‘Heath Curls’
Long before most of you were born, even me in this case, the first Mr. Olympia, Larry Scott, gave credit to preacher curls for his astonishing biceps development and was so fond of them that they became known as “Scott Curls.” Phil has put his own twist on the old standard alternate dumbbell curls that some fans have dubbed his version “Heath Curls.” As Phil explains: “When doing dumbbell curls, I don’t alternate reps – I alternate every five reps.” He will do five reps on the right side, then five on the left, and repeat for a total of 10 reps per arm. “That way, each side gets a longer rest during the set so you can get a couple more reps. Also, by not alternating every rep, you can focus more on each individual arm.”
If you try Heath Curls, you will also be pleased to see that your form is probably better than when you alternate arms every rep, as you tend not to lean your torso over toward the working arm during the set.
Biceps Routine
EZ-Bar Curls 3 x 10-12
Alternate Dumbbell Curls 3 x 10
OR
Hammer Dumbbell Curls 3 x 10-12
Spider Curls 3 x 10-12
Concentration Curls 3 x 10-12
Triceps Routine
Rope Pushdowns 3 x 12-15
Dumbbell Extensions 3 x 12-15
Bar or Machine Dips 3 x 12-15
Training Split
Monday: Shoulders
Tuesday: Legs
Wednesday: Back
Thursday: Chest
Friday: Legs
Saturday: Arms
Sunday: Off
Shawn Rhoden
Mr. Olympia 2018
Pre-exhausting for the Win
Rhoden typically began each workout with an isolation exercise rather than a compound movement. His shoulder routine started with seated dumbbell laterals to target his medial deltoids before moving on to presses and upright rows. He kicked off his arm attack with rope pushdowns, an exercise some might consider a “finishing move.” Leg extensions were how he started his leg workouts, isolating his quads before moving on to the compound lifts: front squats, leg presses and hack squats. “It’s a way of pre-exhausting the targeted area,” Rhoden, who passed in 2021, told MD, “and it also can be sort of a working warm-up. For example, the leg extensions warm up my knees before moving on to the heavier lifts.”
Drop Sets and Supersets to Turbocharge Intensity
Shawn did mostly straight sets, but he did employ two techniques to boost intensity. One was supersets. Most bodybuilders superset two very different exercises, such as flyes and presses for chest. Rhoden preferred to pair up two similar exercises. On chest days he often supersetted dips and push-ups. On back days, he liked to superset two types of pulldowns, such as behind-the-neck and underhand with a Hammer Strength machine. For shoulders, he was known to combine two types of rear laterals: one with dumbbells lying facedown on an incline bench and the other using a rear lateral machine.
The other technique he often employed was drop sets. “Drop sets let me go beyond failure,” he explained. “I’ll do them on the last set of an exercise. So on my last set of seated laterals, I’ll get eight to 12 reps and then grab a pair of lighter dumbbells and get another eight or so, and then I’ll grab even lighter dumbbells and get as many as I can again.”
Chest Workout
Incline Barbell Bench Press 5 x 8-12
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 4 x 10-15
Shrug Machine Bench Press (lying on floor) 4 x 10-15
Dumbbell Chest Flyes (lying on floor) 4 x 10-15
Hammer Strength Bench Press 5 x 8-12
Leg Workout
Seated Leg Extensions 3 x 10-15
Cambered Bar Squats 5 x 8-12
Leg Press 5 x 6-12
Single-leg Leg Press 4 x 10-15
Hack Squats 5 x 8-12
Hip Adduction Machine 4 x 10-15
Shoulder Workout
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press 5 x 6-12
Seated Barbell Overhead Press 5 x 6-12
Reverse Dumbbell Flyes 5 x 10-15
Barbell Delt Raises 5 x 8-12
Standing Machine Shrugs 5 x 15
Dumbbell Front Raises 5 x 10-15
Arm Workout
Seated Alternating Dumbbell Curls 4 x 10-12
Cable Triceps Pushdowns 4 x 10-12
Incline EZ-Bar Skull-crushers 4 x 10-12
Single-arm Machine Preacher Curls 4 x 10-12
EZ-Bar Forearm Curls 4 x 10-12
Back Workout
Bent-over Barbell Rows 4 x 8-12
Incline Machine Rows 5 x 10-15
Close-grip Cable Pulldowns 5 x 10-15
T-Bar Rows 4 x 8-12
Wide-grip Machine Pulldowns 5 x 10-15
Close-grip Seated Cable Rows 4 x 8-12
Brandon Curry
Mr. Olympia 2019
How Much Ya bench? Who cares?
Brandon came from a strong athletic background of gymnastics followed by high school and college football. As such, even as he transitioned to bodybuilding, he still saw himself as an athlete first and foremost. “I couldn’t be all show and no go,” he explains. “Being big and muscular wasn’t important unless I could also perform, which in this case meant I had to be strong also.”
Though he never competed in powerlifting, Curry nonetheless insisted on building up to being able to bench press more than twice his bodyweight, and get triple his bodyweight on both the squat and deadlift. He accomplished all that, and since we are talking about chest, you should know he pressed 500 pounds for two reps at a bodyweight of 205. Still, in spite of being able to move some impressive weights in those key power lifts, he wasn’t seeing the development he expected in his chest, back or legs.
“At a certain point, it became clear to me that if I wanted to be a better bodybuilder, I had to throw my determination and love for performance out the window,” he says. “It doesn’t matter how much you can lift if your physique doesn’t show it.”
He was able to learn better mind-muscle connection first with his back, which he then applied to other muscle groups with success. Coupled with his discovery of a more productive range of motion in which he never locked out the arms and maintained tension on the pecs, finally Brandon started seeing chest growth from bench presses. Around that time, he found that dips gave him a much deeper feeling and connection in the muscle fibers than the bench press did.
“My gym had one of those old Nautilus chin/dip machines with a weight belt connected to the weight stack, and that thing burned my pecs down to the sternum,” the Schiek athlete tells us. “My sternum would actually get sore!”
Eventually he abandoned the flat barbell bench press, as he saw too many bodybuilders tearing pecs on it. Dumbbells also fell by the wayside in time. “The problem with dumbbells is that once you get very strong, it takes more work getting those really heavy ones off the rack, into position for every set, and then putting them back on the rack. That’s valuable energy you’re wasting that should be going into your sets.”
Chest Workout
Incline Press With Kadillac Bar* 5-6 x 12-20
Arsenal Strength Incline Press 4 x 12-20
Floor Press on Arsenal Multi Flex 4 x 12-20
Arsenal Strength Incline Flyes+ 4 x 12-20
Pec Deck 4 x 12-20
*Unique bar by Kabuki Strength that allows for multiple grip and width choices.
+Brandon likes to perform a superset with this machine, doing 10-12 reps in more of a pressing motion, then switching to a flye motion.
Shoulder Routine
Active warm-up: Rotator cuff exercises, cable upright row/external rotations/press
Overhead Press 4 x 10-12
Sideways Lateral Raises 4 x 10-12, each arm
EZ-Bar Upright Rows 4 x 10-12
Facedown Rear Laterals 4 x 12
Dumbbell Front Raises 4 x 10-12
Brandon’s Training Split*
Day 1: Chest and triceps
Day 2: Back and biceps
Day 3: Shoulders
Day 4: Legs
Repeat
*The schedule is usually followed straight through, with only Fridays being taken off to rest. Workouts are usually split into two per day.
Mamdouh Elssbiay aka Big Ramy
Mr. Olympia 2020-2021
How to Perfect Your Bench Press Form
The bench press is the exercise that is most often done incorrectly in the gym, advises the Schiek athlete. The reason, ironically, is often because people think that it is simple and natural. As a result, they don’t see the need to learn proper technique the way they would with a squat or deadlift. That is a big mistake!
The first thing to understand about bench press form is that you need to pull your shoulder blades together and tuck in the latissimus dorsi. This is based on Newton’s Law that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. So, when you press the bench press bar, that bar is also pressing back on you. To get the maximum force transfer, you need to get as much of your back as possible on the bench.
Ideal Setup
• Lie on the bench with a flat back, with minimal back arch.
• Place your feet flat on the floor and directly under the knees.
• Draw the shoulder blades together and down, expanding the rib cage and placing more of the lats on the bench.
• Your eyes should be directly under the bar with your hands slightly wider than shoulder level.
• Before unracking the bar, take a deep breath to maximize the amount of tightness in the body. This also helps to transfer force from the feet to the hands.
• Hold the bar with a “thumb over the bar” grip.
Ideal Performance
• Unrack the bar and position it over your eyes.
• Draw your shoulder blades back and down.
• Tighten the lats and lower body by squeezing your glutes and legs.
• Try to pull the bar apart as you lower it to your chest. This will maintain the...
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Training Secrets of the Mr. Olympia Champions!
By Ron Harris
The Mr. Olympia title represents the pinnacle of achievement in the sport of bodybuilding. Beginning in 1965, one man was chosen to represent the absolute best in muscular development in the entire world. It’s only natural that bodybuilders around the world, seeking to improve their own physiques and aspiring to greatness, would look to these men as role models on how to sculpt their own bodies and bring them closer and closer to perfection. This month, as the 58th annual Mr. Olympia is just around the corner, we pay tribute to the event and its legendary champions. We’ve gathered a slew of excellent training tips from the six most recent Mr. Olympia champions with a total of 16 Mr. O titles between them. Take their combined wisdom and use it to forge your own destiny in iron and muscle!
Jay Cutler
Mr. Olympia 2006, 2007, 2009-2010
Back. “Plain and simple, chin-ups is the best exercise you can do for your back, in my opinion. I was quite humbled at how bad I was at pull-ups when I tried them again after years of not including them. It's not so much a strength issue, because I can pull a ton of weight on a lat pulldown any time. But with chins, or pull-ups, there's a technique to it that requires a bit of a learning curve and a good deal of practice before you get it down. I do them at every back workout now.
“Back is one muscle group where too many guys get all hung up on how much weight they use. They think because Dorian rowed over 400 and Ronnie was doing 500 in his video, that's what they should use to get a huge back. But 99 times out of 100, these guys are just yanking the weight up and letting it drop, and getting almost no stimulation in the lats at all. They would be so much better off forgetting about how many stupid plates are on the bar and focusing on what they feel in their backs during the set.”
Shoulders. “Many times, I do lateral raises first on shoulder day to get a good pump going in the medial heads of my delts as well as for a pre-exhaust effect. I really believe that a pumped muscle responds better to heavy weights, and that you'll feel the compound movement that much better if you do an isolation movement first.
“Fully developed rear delts are a little-known secret for having very impressive shoulders. Whenever you're seen from the side in the quarter turns or the side chest or triceps poses, that extra development in the rear delts adds a whole other level of impressiveness to the shoulders that most bodybuilders are too blind to realize.”
Jay's Back Workout, Circa 1992 - Age 18
Lat Pulldowns to Front 4 x 10
Pulldowns Behind Neck 4 x 10
Close-grip Pulldowns 4 x 10
Seated Cable Rows 4 x 10
One-arm Dumbbell Rows 4 x 10
Barbell Rows 4 x 10
T-Bar Rows 4 x 10
Jay's Back Workout as Mr. Olympia
Lat Pulldowns (standard or reverse-grip) 3-4 x 8-10
Deadlifts* 4 x 8-10
One-arm Dumbbell Rows 3 x 8-10
Barbell Rows** 3 x 8-10
T-Bar Rows 3 x 8-10
Seated Cable Rows 4 x 8-10
Standing Cable Pullovers Using Rope (FST-7 “Sevens”) 7 x 8-10
*Done at every other back workout.
**Alternates overhand and underhand from workout to workout.
Legs. “I really don't think high reps are the best way to build mass in the legs. I've seen the best results by sticking with 8-12 reps, but doing a lot of overall volume. Your legs can take a lot of abuse. You walk around on them all day. You want to challenge yourself with the weight, and don't be afraid to do a lot of sets. It takes me two hours to train quads and hams, and I don't rest much at all. I want to keep the blood flowing and a pump going that whole time.
“Guys get caught up all the time with using as much weight as they can, but they usually end up either not using a full range of motion, cheating the weight up, or both. It really doesn't matter how much weight you use. It's about getting nice, full contractions and stretches on all your reps. That's why I'll do things like pause in the hole when I squat for a second or two before driving back up, and slowing my negatives down so I feel the quads or hams stretching as I lower the weight. You recruit a lot more muscle fibers this way, and you make sure the muscle is doing the work and not momentum. I don't use more than 405 on squats, which some people like to knock me for, but I get a lot out of every rep. If you're using a ton of weight but not feeling the quads and hams work and you don't get a pump, you're not getting much out of your leg workouts.”
Jay’s Leg Routine
Leg Extensions 4 x 12 (as warm-up)
45-Degree Leg Press 2 x 12-15 (warm-up), 4 x 10
Hack Squats 4 x 10
Leg Extensions 4 x 12
Smith Machine Squats 4 x 10
Vertical Leg Press 3 x 10
Seated Leg Curls 4 x 10
Single Leg Curls 4 x 10
Lying Leg Curls 4 x 10-12
Stiff-leg Deadlifts 4 x 10
Jay’s Chest Workout
Incline Dumbbell Press 2 warm-ups 12-15, 3 x 10-12
Flat Smith Machine Press 3 x 10-12
Incline Dumbbell Flyes 3 x 10-12
Decline Barbell Press 3 x 10-12
Dumbbell Pullovers 3 x 12
Chest. “I've always done dumbbell pullovers, all these years. I really do believe they can help stretch out your chest and allow for more growth if you do them with a good pump in your pecs.
“Two major technique adjustments helped me improve my chest thickness. One was to keep an arch in my back when I did any type of press. I found that I had to get my chest up higher than my shoulders or else my delts would always take over the movement. I would say to myself, chest high, chest high, as a reminder of the position I needed to maintain during the set. The other adjustment was limiting the range of motion a bit on presses. When I used to touch the bar to my chest I could feel my shoulders and triceps working to get it moving back up again, not my chest. I found that if I stopped short an inch or two, I could keep the tension on my pecs and I felt them doing a lot more of the work.”
Dexter Jackson
Mr. Olympia 2008
“There are a few guys who can get away with terrible form and still manage to grow. But they are the exceptions, not the rule – most guys will just look like crap training that way. When I've done most of my reps in really nice form, I will loosen up the form a little to get a couple more. Cheat reps should help you work the muscle harder by continuing the set, not make it easier because you're jumping and swinging around and using every other muscle group except the one you're supposed to be training.”
Arms. “The arms are a smaller muscle group than something like back or legs, but you still see so many guys doing as much if not more for them. Arms are fun to train, and since few of us are satisfied with the biceps and triceps we see when we flex them in the mirror, it's natural to want to do more. More is not better. Not counting warm-ups, you shouldn't need any more than 8-10 sets total for the biceps, and the same for triceps. Hit them hard and be done with it.
“You have to switch up the exercises you do for arms on a pretty regular basis to keep seeing results, and you can't avoid exercises just because you don't like them. There are definitely exercises I don't care for, like straight bar curls, that I still throw in there once in a while because I know they deliver good results. Staleness in training is one of the silent killers of muscle gains.”
Chest. “Even if f your upper chest isn't weak, you should still start with incline presses every other workout. But if it's weak, of course you should always start with inclines! Why wouldn't you? You're fresh in the gym and you can push as much weight at that time. Another thing I tell guys who need more upper chest is to lower the bar higher up on the chest near the bottom of your throat instead of down close to the nipple line. That puts more stress on the upper chest.”
Back. “Some body parts might respond even with crappy form, but back isn’t one of them. Forget about heaving, snapping or jerking the weight. Think stretch and squeeze with every rep you do, and make sure you feel your lats contracting. If your back never gets a pump or sore, you can be pretty sure your form sucks. Use less weight and do it right.
“Some guys think it’s macho to never use straps on back day; I think it’s stupid. Look at how big and powerful the back is, then compare it to your hands and forearms. They are a weak link. Your grip will always give out before your lats are truly done. I use Versa Gripps and have for years. You can say whatever you want about straps; my back development is proof that I made the right choice.
“You should always be aware of your posture, but especially if you’re doing things like barbell rows or deadlifts. Never, ever let your lower back round and go convex. Always keep a slight arch in it and your shoulders up and back. I’ve never had a serious lower back injury, but plenty of guys I know have, and it makes life miserable. One of the reasons I always wear a belt is because it’s an unconscious reminder to never let my back round out.”
Warm-ups, reps. “Things like pec and rotator cuff tears happen because guys don't warm up enough, they go way too heavy, and they don't use proper form. I never jumped into a heavy weight on the bench press right away, that's insane. Instead I would start with 135 for 15, then 185 for 12, 225 for 10, then start my work sets. My reps were never under eight, and mostly right at 10. You got to remember you're doing this exercise to build your chest, so focus on good contractions instead of worrying about being the guy at the gym who can bench press the most.”
Phil Heath
Mr. OIympia 2011-2017
No Secrets, But Plenty of Great Tips
Phil is one of those rare examples of someone who never had to struggle to develop a certain body part, yet is still able to impart useful advice to us regular mortals. Here are some techniques he used to build his sensational arms.
Sevens
Phil’s success and popularity helped spread the word about his coach Hany Rambod’s FST-7 Training system to the bodybuilding world. At the core of the program are “Sevens,” which are seven sets of the same exercise with the same weight, with only 20-30 seconds rest between. The weight won’t seem too challenging for the first two to four sets, but the cumulative effect of lactic acid and trapped blood make it a real struggle to finish the reps on the final set or two.
“To assure you get a great pump, end your biceps and triceps routines with Sevens,” Phil advises. Sevens have been the saving grace for many who were previously unable to achieve a meaningful pump in the arms, and there are also more than a few who swear it was the key to seeing new growth in arms that hadn’t budged the tape measure in years.
The Arm Blaster
Barbell curls can be an incredibly productive basic movement for the biceps, yet many use cheating form to heave up heavier weight, in the process working more lower back and shoulders than biceps. “One of the best ways you can ensure you’re using good form is to get one of those Arm Blasters. That thing will keep your elbows pinned right to your sides and make 50 pounds feel like 100 pounds,” notes Phil. Note: a quick search showed you can pick one of these up for anywhere from $25 to $40 – a small price to pay if they can fix your form on barbell and EZ-bar curls and pack some meat on your bi’s!
Don’t Just Go by the Tape Measure
While we all thrill to see a bigger number for an arm measurement, Phil reminds us that this number never tells the whole story. “A lot of what makes arms great is the separation and the freaky details, those striations.” Obviously, you would need to be at an extremely low body fat level to see all that cool shit. “Don’t get obsessed with measurements,” Phil reminds us. “A big fat arm isn’t nearly as impressive as a lean, somewhat smaller arm.”
Forget Low Reps
I often questioned the wisdom of going so heavy on arm exercises that you’re only able to complete four to six reps, as some in the past have advocated, and I was glad to see Phil agreed with me. “I stick to 10 reps per set for biceps, and for triceps I will go a little higher, usually in the 12-15 rep range. I’ve never felt the need to go so heavy on arms that I can’t get 10 reps. That’s just opening yourself up to injuries that can throw off all your upper-body training. Be smart and be careful.”
Switch Things Up Often
Many of you have experienced steady gains in arm size for weeks or months, only to hit a plateau where it seems no further growth is occurring in spite of your most valiant efforts. This is perfectly normal, and Phil has a solution. “Always keep mixing things up,” he suggests. “Using a variety of movements is important for growth.” Just to add to that, if you have found a certain exercise or two that you seem to have a superior mind-muscle connection with, or a routine that is delivering results, don’t change a thing until you see that progress has stalled. In other words, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But of course, if what you’re doing isn’t working anymore, do something else!
‘Heath Curls’
Long before most of you were born, even me in this case, the first Mr. Olympia, Larry Scott, gave credit to preacher curls for his astonishing biceps development and was so fond of them that they became known as “Scott Curls.” Phil has put his own twist on the old standard alternate dumbbell curls that some fans have dubbed his version “Heath Curls.” As Phil explains: “When doing dumbbell curls, I don’t alternate reps – I alternate every five reps.” He will do five reps on the right side, then five on the left, and repeat for a total of 10 reps per arm. “That way, each side gets a longer rest during the set so you can get a couple more reps. Also, by not alternating every rep, you can focus more on each individual arm.”
If you try Heath Curls, you will also be pleased to see that your form is probably better than when you alternate arms every rep, as you tend not to lean your torso over toward the working arm during the set.
Biceps Routine
EZ-Bar Curls 3 x 10-12
Alternate Dumbbell Curls 3 x 10
OR
Hammer Dumbbell Curls 3 x 10-12
Spider Curls 3 x 10-12
Concentration Curls 3 x 10-12
Triceps Routine
Rope Pushdowns 3 x 12-15
Dumbbell Extensions 3 x 12-15
Bar or Machine Dips 3 x 12-15
Training Split
Monday: Shoulders
Tuesday: Legs
Wednesday: Back
Thursday: Chest
Friday: Legs
Saturday: Arms
Sunday: Off
Shawn Rhoden
Mr. Olympia 2018
Pre-exhausting for the Win
Rhoden typically began each workout with an isolation exercise rather than a compound movement. His shoulder routine started with seated dumbbell laterals to target his medial deltoids before moving on to presses and upright rows. He kicked off his arm attack with rope pushdowns, an exercise some might consider a “finishing move.” Leg extensions were how he started his leg workouts, isolating his quads before moving on to the compound lifts: front squats, leg presses and hack squats. “It’s a way of pre-exhausting the targeted area,” Rhoden, who passed in 2021, told MD, “and it also can be sort of a working warm-up. For example, the leg extensions warm up my knees before moving on to the heavier lifts.”
Drop Sets and Supersets to Turbocharge Intensity
Shawn did mostly straight sets, but he did employ two techniques to boost intensity. One was supersets. Most bodybuilders superset two very different exercises, such as flyes and presses for chest. Rhoden preferred to pair up two similar exercises. On chest days he often supersetted dips and push-ups. On back days, he liked to superset two types of pulldowns, such as behind-the-neck and underhand with a Hammer Strength machine. For shoulders, he was known to combine two types of rear laterals: one with dumbbells lying facedown on an incline bench and the other using a rear lateral machine.
The other technique he often employed was drop sets. “Drop sets let me go beyond failure,” he explained. “I’ll do them on the last set of an exercise. So on my last set of seated laterals, I’ll get eight to 12 reps and then grab a pair of lighter dumbbells and get another eight or so, and then I’ll grab even lighter dumbbells and get as many as I can again.”
Chest Workout
Incline Barbell Bench Press 5 x 8-12
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 4 x 10-15
Shrug Machine Bench Press (lying on floor) 4 x 10-15
Dumbbell Chest Flyes (lying on floor) 4 x 10-15
Hammer Strength Bench Press 5 x 8-12
Leg Workout
Seated Leg Extensions 3 x 10-15
Cambered Bar Squats 5 x 8-12
Leg Press 5 x 6-12
Single-leg Leg Press 4 x 10-15
Hack Squats 5 x 8-12
Hip Adduction Machine 4 x 10-15
Shoulder Workout
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press 5 x 6-12
Seated Barbell Overhead Press 5 x 6-12
Reverse Dumbbell Flyes 5 x 10-15
Barbell Delt Raises 5 x 8-12
Standing Machine Shrugs 5 x 15
Dumbbell Front Raises 5 x 10-15
Arm Workout
Seated Alternating Dumbbell Curls 4 x 10-12
Cable Triceps Pushdowns 4 x 10-12
Incline EZ-Bar Skull-crushers 4 x 10-12
Single-arm Machine Preacher Curls 4 x 10-12
EZ-Bar Forearm Curls 4 x 10-12
Back Workout
Bent-over Barbell Rows 4 x 8-12
Incline Machine Rows 5 x 10-15
Close-grip Cable Pulldowns 5 x 10-15
T-Bar Rows 4 x 8-12
Wide-grip Machine Pulldowns 5 x 10-15
Close-grip Seated Cable Rows 4 x 8-12
Brandon Curry
Mr. Olympia 2019
How Much Ya bench? Who cares?
Brandon came from a strong athletic background of gymnastics followed by high school and college football. As such, even as he transitioned to bodybuilding, he still saw himself as an athlete first and foremost. “I couldn’t be all show and no go,” he explains. “Being big and muscular wasn’t important unless I could also perform, which in this case meant I had to be strong also.”
Though he never competed in powerlifting, Curry nonetheless insisted on building up to being able to bench press more than twice his bodyweight, and get triple his bodyweight on both the squat and deadlift. He accomplished all that, and since we are talking about chest, you should know he pressed 500 pounds for two reps at a bodyweight of 205. Still, in spite of being able to move some impressive weights in those key power lifts, he wasn’t seeing the development he expected in his chest, back or legs.
“At a certain point, it became clear to me that if I wanted to be a better bodybuilder, I had to throw my determination and love for performance out the window,” he says. “It doesn’t matter how much you can lift if your physique doesn’t show it.”
He was able to learn better mind-muscle connection first with his back, which he then applied to other muscle groups with success. Coupled with his discovery of a more productive range of motion in which he never locked out the arms and maintained tension on the pecs, finally Brandon started seeing chest growth from bench presses. Around that time, he found that dips gave him a much deeper feeling and connection in the muscle fibers than the bench press did.
“My gym had one of those old Nautilus chin/dip machines with a weight belt connected to the weight stack, and that thing burned my pecs down to the sternum,” the Schiek athlete tells us. “My sternum would actually get sore!”
Eventually he abandoned the flat barbell bench press, as he saw too many bodybuilders tearing pecs on it. Dumbbells also fell by the wayside in time. “The problem with dumbbells is that once you get very strong, it takes more work getting those really heavy ones off the rack, into position for every set, and then putting them back on the rack. That’s valuable energy you’re wasting that should be going into your sets.”
Chest Workout
Incline Press With Kadillac Bar* 5-6 x 12-20
Arsenal Strength Incline Press 4 x 12-20
Floor Press on Arsenal Multi Flex 4 x 12-20
Arsenal Strength Incline Flyes+ 4 x 12-20
Pec Deck 4 x 12-20
*Unique bar by Kabuki Strength that allows for multiple grip and width choices.
+Brandon likes to perform a superset with this machine, doing 10-12 reps in more of a pressing motion, then switching to a flye motion.
Shoulder Routine
Active warm-up: Rotator cuff exercises, cable upright row/external rotations/press
Overhead Press 4 x 10-12
Sideways Lateral Raises 4 x 10-12, each arm
EZ-Bar Upright Rows 4 x 10-12
Facedown Rear Laterals 4 x 12
Dumbbell Front Raises 4 x 10-12
Brandon’s Training Split*
Day 1: Chest and triceps
Day 2: Back and biceps
Day 3: Shoulders
Day 4: Legs
Repeat
*The schedule is usually followed straight through, with only Fridays being taken off to rest. Workouts are usually split into two per day.
Mamdouh Elssbiay aka Big Ramy
Mr. Olympia 2020-2021
How to Perfect Your Bench Press Form
The bench press is the exercise that is most often done incorrectly in the gym, advises the Schiek athlete. The reason, ironically, is often because people think that it is simple and natural. As a result, they don’t see the need to learn proper technique the way they would with a squat or deadlift. That is a big mistake!
The first thing to understand about bench press form is that you need to pull your shoulder blades together and tuck in the latissimus dorsi. This is based on Newton’s Law that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. So, when you press the bench press bar, that bar is also pressing back on you. To get the maximum force transfer, you need to get as much of your back as possible on the bench.
Ideal Setup
• Lie on the bench with a flat back, with minimal back arch.
• Place your feet flat on the floor and directly under the knees.
• Draw the shoulder blades together and down, expanding the rib cage and placing more of the lats on the bench.
• Your eyes should be directly under the bar with your hands slightly wider than shoulder level.
• Before unracking the bar, take a deep breath to maximize the amount of tightness in the body. This also helps to transfer force from the feet to the hands.
• Hold the bar with a “thumb over the bar” grip.
Ideal Performance
• Unrack the bar and position it over your eyes.
• Draw your shoulder blades back and down.
• Tighten the lats and lower body by squeezing your glutes and legs.
• Try to pull the bar apart as you lower it to your chest. This will maintain the tightness of the upper back and lats.
• Drive your heels into the floor and press the bar up as forcefully as possible.
Big Ramy’s Top Training Tips
Always Warm Up With Cardio
Even when I’m bulking, I always do a few minutes of cardio to warm up. This helps prevent injury and facilitates blood flow to the muscles.
Listen to Music
Hard training isn’t easy, and the right music can help you get fired up for a big lift or help you push through a brutal workout. I personally like rock and heavy metal. You’ll always find Metallica, Tool, System of a Down and Korn on my workout playlists.
Set Goals
I didn’t get to the size I am by walking into the gym and winging it. I always set goals for myself to ensure I am getting stronger and making progress. Setting a realistic goal like adding 30 pounds to your bench, squat or deadlift in 12 weeks is a good way to ensure that you keep making progress.
Remember to Train Your Legs
If trained properly, the legs can be the largest and strongest muscle group in your body. Because of this, squats and other heavy leg exercises will release massive amounts of testosterone and growth hormone. As a result, not only will your legs benefit, but your other muscle groups will as well.
Stick to Free Weights
Even though the modern gyms are full of complex, high-tech machines, they will not help you build a solid foundation of muscle mass the same way that free weights will. Dumbbells and barbells are the best when it comes to building muscle, especially for a beginner.
Prioritize Sleep
One of the most essential bodybuilding tips for building muscle is to allow your body time to recover. Aim for 8-9 hours of sleep each night. If you have trouble falling asleep, try settling into a nighttime routine or try a natural sleep supplement.
Change Is Good
It’s good to change up the way you’re doing stuff in the gym (stance, grip, angles, exercise variations, sets/reps, technique, etc.). You’ll always need to do the basic exercises, but the way that you execute them needs to include variations. This is an excellent tool for progression in your training and overall physique.
Find a Coach/Training Partner
The biggest improvements in my career occurred while training with people who were more knowledgeable or stronger than me. There’s always something new to learn or a new way to improve, so find someone knowledgeable and make them your coach or training partner.
Fuel Your Workouts
Eat protein before and after weight training. Protein consumed 60 minutes before you train will help induce a muscle-building effect following training. Consume the same amount of protein within 30 to 60 minutes after your workout combined with some carbohydrate – and creatine if you decide to take that.
Ron Harris got his start in the bodybuilding industry during the eight years he worked in Los Angeles as Associate Producer for ESPN’s “American Muscle Magazine” show in the 1990s. Since 1992 he has published nearly 5,000 articles in bodybuilding and fitness magazines, making him the most prolific bodybuilding writer ever. Ron has been training since the age of 14 and competing as a bodybuilder since 1989. He lives with his wife and two children in the Boston area. Facebook Instagram
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COUNTDOWN TO THE OLYMPIA
Training Secrets of the Mr. Olympia Champions!
By Ron Harris
The Mr. Olympia title represents the pinnacle of achievement in the sport of bodybuilding. Beginning in 1965, one man was chosen to represent the absolute best in muscular development in the entire world. It’s only natural that bodybuilders around the world, seeking to improve their own physiques and aspiring to greatness, would look to these men as role models on how to sculpt their own bodies and bring them closer and closer to perfection. This month, as the 58th annual Mr. Olympia is just around the corner, we pay tribute to the event and its legendary champions. We’ve gathered a slew of excellent training tips from the six most recent Mr. Olympia champions with a total of 16 Mr. O titles between them. Take their combined wisdom and use it to forge your own destiny in iron and muscle!
Jay Cutler
Mr. Olympia 2006, 2007, 2009-2010
Back. “Plain and simple, chin-ups is the best exercise you can do for your back, in my opinion. I was quite humbled at how bad I was at pull-ups when I tried them again after years of not including them. It's not so much a strength issue, because I can pull a ton of weight on a lat pulldown any time. But with chins, or pull-ups, there's a technique to it that requires a bit of a learning curve and a good deal of practice before you get it down. I do them at every back workout now.
“Back is one muscle group where too many guys get all hung up on how much weight they use. They think because Dorian rowed over 400 and Ronnie was doing 500 in his video, that's what they should use to get a huge back. But 99 times out of 100, these guys are just yanking the weight up and letting it drop, and getting almost no stimulation in the lats at all. They would be so much better off forgetting about how many stupid plates are on the bar and focusing on what they feel in their backs during the set.”
Shoulders. “Many times, I do lateral raises first on shoulder day to get a good pump going in the medial heads of my delts as well as for a pre-exhaust effect. I really believe that a pumped muscle responds better to heavy weights, and that you'll feel the compound movement that much better if you do an isolation movement first.
“Fully developed rear delts are a little-known secret for having very impressive shoulders. Whenever you're seen from the side in the quarter turns or the side chest or triceps poses, that extra development in the rear delts adds a whole other level of impressiveness to the shoulders that most bodybuilders are too blind to realize.”
Jay's Back Workout, Circa 1992 - Age 18
Lat Pulldowns to Front 4 x 10
Pulldowns Behind Neck 4 x 10
Close-grip Pulldowns 4 x 10
Seated Cable Rows 4 x 10
One-arm Dumbbell Rows 4 x 10
Barbell Rows 4 x 10
T-Bar Rows 4 x 10
Jay's Back Workout as Mr. Olympia
Lat Pulldowns (standard or reverse-grip) 3-4 x 8-10
Deadlifts* 4 x 8-10
One-arm Dumbbell Rows 3 x 8-10
Barbell Rows** 3 x 8-10
T-Bar Rows 3 x 8-10
Seated Cable Rows 4 x 8-10
Standing Cable Pullovers Using Rope (FST-7 “Sevens”) 7 x 8-10
*Done at every other back workout.
**Alternates overhand and underhand from workout to workout.
Legs. “I really don't think high reps are the best way to build mass in the legs. I've seen the best results by sticking with 8-12 reps, but doing a lot of overall volume. Your legs can take a lot of abuse. You walk around on them all day. You want to challenge yourself with the weight, and don't be afraid to do a lot of sets. It takes me two hours to train quads and hams, and I don't rest much at all. I want to keep the blood flowing and a pump going that whole time.
“Guys get caught up all the time with using as much weight as they can, but they usually end up either not using a full range of motion, cheating the weight up, or both. It really doesn't matter how much weight you use. It's about getting nice, full contractions and stretches on all your reps. That's why I'll do things like pause in the hole when I squat for a second or two before driving back up, and slowing my negatives down so I feel the quads or hams stretching as I lower the weight. You recruit a lot more muscle fibers this way, and you make sure the muscle is doing the work and not momentum. I don't use more than 405 on squats, which some people like to knock me for, but I get a lot out of every rep. If you're using a ton of weight but not feeling the quads and hams work and you don't get a pump, you're not getting much out of your leg workouts.”
Jay’s Leg Routine
Leg Extensions 4 x 12 (as warm-up)
45-Degree Leg Press 2 x 12-15 (warm-up), 4 x 10
Hack Squats 4 x 10
Leg Extensions 4 x 12
Smith Machine Squats 4 x 10
Vertical Leg Press 3 x 10
Seated Leg Curls 4 x 10
Single Leg Curls 4 x 10
Lying Leg Curls 4 x 10-12
Stiff-leg Deadlifts 4 x 10
Jay’s Chest Workout
Incline Dumbbell Press 2 warm-ups 12-15, 3 x 10-12
Flat Smith Machine Press 3 x 10-12
Incline Dumbbell Flyes 3 x 10-12
Decline Barbell Press 3 x 10-12
Dumbbell Pullovers 3 x 12
Chest. “I've always done dumbbell pullovers, all these years. I really do believe they can help stretch out your chest and allow for more growth if you do them with a good pump in your pecs.
“Two major technique adjustments helped me improve my chest thickness. One was to keep an arch in my back when I did any type of press. I found that I had to get my chest up higher than my shoulders or else my delts would always take over the movement. I would say to myself, chest high, chest high, as a reminder of the position I needed to maintain during the set. The other adjustment was limiting the range of motion a bit on presses. When I used to touch the bar to my chest I could feel my shoulders and triceps working to get it moving back up again, not my chest. I found that if I stopped short an inch or two, I could keep the tension on my pecs and I felt them doing a lot more of the work.”
Dexter Jackson
Mr. Olympia 2008
“There are a few guys who can get away with terrible form and still manage to grow. But they are the exceptions, not the rule – most guys will just look like crap training that way. When I've done most of my reps in really nice form, I will loosen up the form a little to get a couple more. Cheat reps should help you work the muscle harder by continuing the set, not make it easier because you're jumping and swinging around and using every other muscle group except the one you're supposed to be training.”
Arms. “The arms are a smaller muscle group than something like back or legs, but you still see so many guys doing as much if not more for them. Arms are fun to train, and since few of us are satisfied with the biceps and triceps we see when we flex them in the mirror, it's natural to want to do more. More is not better. Not counting warm-ups, you shouldn't need any more than 8-10 sets total for the biceps, and the same for triceps. Hit them hard and be done with it.
“You have to switch up the exercises you do for arms on a pretty regular basis to keep seeing results, and you can't avoid exercises just because you don't like them. There are definitely exercises I don't care for, like straight bar curls, that I still throw in there once in a while because I know they deliver good results. Staleness in training is one of the silent killers of muscle gains.”
Chest. “Even if f your upper chest isn't weak, you should still start with incline presses every other workout. But if it's weak, of course you should always start with inclines! Why wouldn't you? You're fresh in the gym and you can push as much weight at that time. Another thing I tell guys who need more upper chest is to lower the bar higher up on the chest near the bottom of your throat instead of down close to the nipple line. That puts more stress on the upper chest.”
Back. “Some body parts might respond even with crappy form, but back isn’t one of them. Forget about heaving, snapping or jerking the weight. Think stretch and squeeze with every rep you do, and make sure you feel your lats contracting. If your back never gets a pump or sore, you can be pretty sure your form sucks. Use less weight and do it right.
“Some guys think it’s macho to never use straps on back day; I think it’s stupid. Look at how big and powerful the back is, then compare it to your hands and forearms. They are a weak link. Your grip will always give out before your lats are truly done. I use Versa Gripps and have for years. You can say whatever you want about straps; my back development is proof that I made the right choice.
“You should always be aware of your posture, but especially if you’re doing things like barbell rows or deadlifts. Never, ever let your lower back round and go convex. Always keep a slight arch in it and your shoulders up and back. I’ve never had a serious lower back injury, but plenty of guys I know have, and it makes life miserable. One of the reasons I always wear a belt is because it’s an unconscious reminder to never let my back round out.”
Warm-ups, reps. “Things like pec and rotator cuff tears happen because guys don't warm up enough, they go way too heavy, and they don't use proper form. I never jumped into a heavy weight on the bench press right away, that's insane. Instead I would start with 135 for 15, then 185 for 12, 225 for 10, then start my work sets. My reps were never under eight, and mostly right at 10. You got to remember you're doing this exercise to build your chest, so focus on good contractions instead of worrying about being the guy at the gym who can bench press the most.”
Phil Heath
Mr. OIympia 2011-2017
No Secrets, But Plenty of Great Tips
Phil is one of those rare examples of someone who never had to struggle to develop a certain body part, yet is still able to impart useful advice to us regular mortals. Here are some techniques he used to build his sensational arms.
Sevens
Phil’s success and popularity helped spread the word about his coach Hany Rambod’s FST-7 Training system to the bodybuilding world. At the core of the program are “Sevens,” which are seven sets of the same exercise with the same weight, with only 20-30 seconds rest between. The weight won’t seem too challenging for the first two to four sets, but the cumulative effect of lactic acid and trapped blood make it a real struggle to finish the reps on the final set or two.
“To assure you get a great pump, end your biceps and triceps routines with Sevens,” Phil advises. Sevens have been the saving grace for many who were previously unable to achieve a meaningful pump in the arms, and there are also more than a few who swear it was the key to seeing new growth in arms that hadn’t budged the tape measure in years.
The Arm Blaster
Barbell curls can be an incredibly productive basic movement for the biceps, yet many use cheating form to heave up heavier weight, in the process working more lower back and shoulders than biceps. “One of the best ways you can ensure you’re using good form is to get one of those Arm Blasters. That thing will keep your elbows pinned right to your sides and make 50 pounds feel like 100 pounds,” notes Phil. Note: a quick search showed you can pick one of these up for anywhere from $25 to $40 – a small price to pay if they can fix your form on barbell and EZ-bar curls and pack some meat on your bi’s!
Don’t Just Go by the Tape Measure
While we all thrill to see a bigger number for an arm measurement, Phil reminds us that this number never tells the whole story. “A lot of what makes arms great is the separation and the freaky details, those striations.” Obviously, you would need to be at an extremely low body fat level to see all that cool shit. “Don’t get obsessed with measurements,” Phil reminds us. “A big fat arm isn’t nearly as impressive as a lean, somewhat smaller arm.”
Forget Low Reps
I often questioned the wisdom of going so heavy on arm exercises that you’re only able to complete four to six reps, as some in the past have advocated, and I was glad to see Phil agreed with me. “I stick to 10 reps per set for biceps, and for triceps I will go a little higher, usually in the 12-15 rep range. I’ve never felt the need to go so heavy on arms that I can’t get 10 reps. That’s just opening yourself up to injuries that can throw off all your upper-body training. Be smart and be careful.”
Switch Things Up Often
Many of you have experienced steady gains in arm size for weeks or months, only to hit a plateau where it seems no further growth is occurring in spite of your most valiant efforts. This is perfectly normal, and Phil has a solution. “Always keep mixing things up,” he suggests. “Using a variety of movements is important for growth.” Just to add to that, if you have found a certain exercise or two that you seem to have a superior mind-muscle connection with, or a routine that is delivering results, don’t change a thing until you see that progress has stalled. In other words, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But of course, if what you’re doing isn’t working anymore, do something else!
‘Heath Curls’
Long before most of you were born, even me in this case, the first Mr. Olympia, Larry Scott, gave credit to preacher curls for his astonishing biceps development and was so fond of them that they became known as “Scott Curls.” Phil has put his own twist on the old standard alternate dumbbell curls that some fans have dubbed his version “Heath Curls.” As Phil explains: “When doing dumbbell curls, I don’t alternate reps – I alternate every five reps.” He will do five reps on the right side, then five on the left, and repeat for a total of 10 reps per arm. “That way, each side gets a longer rest during the set so you can get a couple more reps. Also, by not alternating every rep, you can focus more on each individual arm.”
If you try Heath Curls, you will also be pleased to see that your form is probably better than when you alternate arms every rep, as you tend not to lean your torso over toward the working arm during the set.
Biceps Routine
EZ-Bar Curls 3 x 10-12
Alternate Dumbbell Curls 3 x 10
OR
Hammer Dumbbell Curls 3 x 10-12
Spider Curls 3 x 10-12
Concentration Curls 3 x 10-12
Triceps Routine
Rope Pushdowns 3 x 12-15
Dumbbell Extensions 3 x 12-15
Bar or Machine Dips 3 x 12-15
Training Split
Monday: Shoulders
Tuesday: Legs
Wednesday: Back
Thursday: Chest
Friday: Legs
Saturday: Arms
Sunday: Off
Shawn Rhoden
Mr. Olympia 2018
Pre-exhausting for the Win
Rhoden typically began each workout with an isolation exercise rather than a compound movement. His shoulder routine started with seated dumbbell laterals to target his medial deltoids before moving on to presses and upright rows. He kicked off his arm attack with rope pushdowns, an exercise some might consider a “finishing move.” Leg extensions were how he started his leg workouts, isolating his quads before moving on to the compound lifts: front squats, leg presses and hack squats. “It’s a way of pre-exhausting the targeted area,” Rhoden, who passed in 2021, told MD, “and it also can be sort of a working warm-up. For example, the leg extensions warm up my knees before moving on to the heavier lifts.”
Drop Sets and Supersets to Turbocharge Intensity
Shawn did mostly straight sets, but he did employ two techniques to boost intensity. One was supersets. Most bodybuilders superset two very different exercises, such as flyes and presses for chest. Rhoden preferred to pair up two similar exercises. On chest days he often supersetted dips and push-ups. On back days, he liked to superset two types of pulldowns, such as behind-the-neck and underhand with a Hammer Strength machine. For shoulders, he was known to combine two types of rear laterals: one with dumbbells lying facedown on an incline bench and the other using a rear lateral machine.
The other technique he often employed was drop sets. “Drop sets let me go beyond failure,” he explained. “I’ll do them on the last set of an exercise. So on my last set of seated laterals, I’ll get eight to 12 reps and then grab a pair of lighter dumbbells and get another eight or so, and then I’ll grab even lighter dumbbells and get as many as I can again.”
Chest Workout
Incline Barbell Bench Press 5 x 8-12
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 4 x 10-15
Shrug Machine Bench Press (lying on floor) 4 x 10-15
Dumbbell Chest Flyes (lying on floor) 4 x 10-15
Hammer Strength Bench Press 5 x 8-12
Leg Workout
Seated Leg Extensions 3 x 10-15
Cambered Bar Squats 5 x 8-12
Leg Press 5 x 6-12
Single-leg Leg Press 4 x 10-15
Hack Squats 5 x 8-12
Hip Adduction Machine 4 x 10-15
Shoulder Workout
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press 5 x 6-12
Seated Barbell Overhead Press 5 x 6-12
Reverse Dumbbell Flyes 5 x 10-15
Barbell Delt Raises 5 x 8-12
Standing Machine Shrugs 5 x 15
Dumbbell Front Raises 5 x 10-15
Arm Workout
Seated Alternating Dumbbell Curls 4 x 10-12
Cable Triceps Pushdowns 4 x 10-12
Incline EZ-Bar Skull-crushers 4 x 10-12
Single-arm Machine Preacher Curls 4 x 10-12
EZ-Bar Forearm Curls 4 x 10-12
Back Workout
Bent-over Barbell Rows 4 x 8-12
Incline Machine Rows 5 x 10-15
Close-grip Cable Pulldowns 5 x 10-15
T-Bar Rows 4 x 8-12
Wide-grip Machine Pulldowns 5 x 10-15
Close-grip Seated Cable Rows 4 x 8-12
Brandon Curry
Mr. Olympia 2019
How Much Ya bench? Who cares?
Brandon came from a strong athletic background of gymnastics followed by high school and college football. As such, even as he transitioned to bodybuilding, he still saw himself as an athlete first and foremost. “I couldn’t be all show and no go,” he explains. “Being big and muscular wasn’t important unless I could also perform, which in this case meant I had to be strong also.”
Though he never competed in powerlifting, Curry nonetheless insisted on building up to being able to bench press more than twice his bodyweight, and get triple his bodyweight on both the squat and deadlift. He accomplished all that, and since we are talking about chest, you should know he pressed 500 pounds for two reps at a bodyweight of 205. Still, in spite of being able to move some impressive weights in those key power lifts, he wasn’t seeing the development he expected in his chest, back or legs.
“At a certain point, it became clear to me that if I wanted to be a better bodybuilder, I had to throw my determination and love for performance out the window,” he says. “It doesn’t matter how much you can lift if your physique doesn’t show it.”
He was able to learn better mind-muscle connection first with his back, which he then applied to other muscle groups with success. Coupled with his discovery of a more productive range of motion in which he never locked out the arms and maintained tension on the pecs, finally Brandon started seeing chest growth from bench presses. Around that time, he found that dips gave him a much deeper feeling and connection in the muscle fibers than the bench press did.
“My gym had one of those old Nautilus chin/dip machines with a weight belt connected to the weight stack, and that thing burned my pecs down to the sternum,” the Schiek athlete tells us. “My sternum would actually get sore!”
Eventually he abandoned the flat barbell bench press, as he saw too many bodybuilders tearing pecs on it. Dumbbells also fell by the wayside in time. “The problem with dumbbells is that once you get very strong, it takes more work getting those really heavy ones off the rack, into position for every set, and then putting them back on the rack. That’s valuable energy you’re wasting that should be going into your sets.”
Chest Workout
Incline Press With Kadillac Bar* 5-6 x 12-20
Arsenal Strength Incline Press 4 x 12-20
Floor Press on Arsenal Multi Flex 4 x 12-20
Arsenal Strength Incline Flyes+ 4 x 12-20
Pec Deck 4 x 12-20
*Unique bar by Kabuki Strength that allows for multiple grip and width choices.
+Brandon likes to perform a superset with this machine, doing 10-12 reps in more of a pressing motion, then switching to a flye motion.
Shoulder Routine
Active warm-up: Rotator cuff exercises, cable upright row/external rotations/press
Overhead Press 4 x 10-12
Sideways Lateral Raises 4 x 10-12, each arm
EZ-Bar Upright Rows 4 x 10-12
Facedown Rear Laterals 4 x 12
Dumbbell Front Raises 4 x 10-12
Brandon’s Training Split*
Day 1: Chest and triceps
Day 2: Back and biceps
Day 3: Shoulders
Day 4: Legs
Repeat
*The schedule is usually followed straight through, with only Fridays being taken off to rest. Workouts are usually split into two per day.
Mamdouh Elssbiay aka Big Ramy
Mr. Olympia 2020-2021
How to Perfect Your Bench Press Form
The bench press is the exercise that is most often done incorrectly in the gym, advises the Schiek athlete. The reason, ironically, is often because people think that it is simple and natural. As a result, they don’t see the need to learn proper technique the way they would with a squat or deadlift. That is a big mistake!
The first thing to understand about bench press form is that you need to pull your shoulder blades together and tuck in the latissimus dorsi. This is based on Newton’s Law that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. So, when you press the bench press bar, that bar is also pressing back on you. To get the maximum force transfer, you need to get as much of your back as possible on the bench.
Ideal Setup
• Lie on the bench with a flat back, with minimal back arch.
• Place your feet flat on the floor and directly under the knees.
• Draw the shoulder blades together and down, expanding the rib cage and placing more of the lats on the bench.
• Your eyes should be directly under the bar with your hands slightly wider than shoulder level.
• Before unracking the bar, take a deep breath to maximize the amount of tightness in the body. This also helps to transfer force from the feet to the hands.
• Hold the bar with a “thumb over the bar” grip.
Ideal Performance
• Unrack the bar and position it over your eyes.
• Draw your shoulder blades back and down.
• Tighten the lats and lower body by squeezing your glutes and legs.
• Try to pull the bar apart as you lower it to your chest. This will maintain the...
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