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. Based on their in-the-trenches experiences we’ve gathered 50 excellent training tips from six Mr. Olympia champions with a total of 34 Olympia titles between them. Take their combined wisdom and use it to forge your own destiny in iron and muscle! In the second part of a three-part series we focus on Ronnie Coleman and Lee Haney. Part 1 was posted on Monday, November 14, and the final part will be posted on Monday, November 21.
RONNIE COLEMAN
Mr. Olympia 1998-2005
Push yourself beyond limits, every day. “Mentally, I felt very strong throughout my career because I knew I was putting in the time and no one was working harder than I was. I didn’t cheat myself by slacking, ever, and that gave me a sense of security. I pushed myself beyond limits, every day. I loved being a champion and I didn’t want that to ever change.”
Train with a group or on your own? “Many times, I trained with three other guys all at the same time, all friends of mine. We all used pretty much the same weights and we always kept a good pace. When you train real heavy like we did, you don’t want to jump right into another set right away. You need to catch your breath and regroup, especially with stuff like squats and deadlifts that take a lot out of you. But it’s an individual thing. Some people like to move quicker, so for them training with no more than one person is probably the best way to go. A lot of people are probably better off training on their own. You have to figure that one out for yourself. I never had a problem training with a few people.”
Deadlifts, chins and barbell rows build a great back. “There are a couple reasons you don’t see too many great backs. One thing is, the exercises that work best for the back are all tough, tough exercises: deadlifts, chins and barbell rows. Most guys would rather just do lat pulldowns and seated cable rows, or some machines. Avoiding the harder exercises that give the best results is definitely one thing. Another reason most guys don’t have much back development is they just don’t do enough for it. They will work chest or arms for a couple of hours, once or twice a week, but if they even do back it’s just a few easy sets. I trained my back hard twice a week, with two different workouts, every week for almost 20 years. And last, I don’t think too many guys think they can even get a good back. It takes a long time and a lot of work to build one, and I think most guys give up and settle for a little bit of width and a tiny bit of thickness. I never gave up!”
I don’t care if you hate squats— do ‘em anyway! “I don’t know anybody who ever built huge legs without squatting. All of us guys with great legs— me, Branch, Jay, Kai, etc.— all put in a lot of hours over the years at the squat rack. It’s the toughest leg exercise and the most uncomfortable one you will ever do, but that doesn’t matter because it’s the most effective. Something about having that heavy barbell on your back and needing to keep it balanced makes the entire lower body work harder— not just the quads, but also the hams, glutes and even the calves. Show me a guy who works his butt off on squats for a few years, and put his legs next to a guy who doesn’t squat, and I bet you a Bentley GT the guy who paid his dues and busted his ass on squats will have legs that put the other dude’s to shame. I don’t care if you hate squats— do ‘em anyway!”
Train more than three days a week. “I don’t care whether or not you’re natural, three days a week is not enough training to build the physique of a bodybuilder. That’s more like what some guy who works 70 hours a week in an office— who barely has time to ever get to the gym— would do to try and stay in some kind of shape. I mean … it’s better than nothing. But even when I was natural, I still trained the same way I did later on— six days on, one day off (Sunday). Four days a week is a minimum, and five is probably even better if you’re a young guy trying to grow. The muscles need to be worked hard and often to become much bigger and stronger, and three days a week won’t cut it.”
LEE HANEY
Mr. Olympia 1984-1991
Basic chest exercises deliver gains. “The best mass exercises for chest will always be the same whether you’re an ectomorph, a mesomorph like me or an endomorph. You should do a flat press with either a barbell or dumbbells, an incline press with a barbell or dumbbells for the upper pecs, and dips for the lower pecs. That’s it! If you focus on just those three foundation movements and work hard for four work sets of eight reps, you can’t go wrong. Once you have some good mass in your chest, you can start adding in a shaping movement like flyes or a cable crossover. But generally speaking, where most guys go wrong is getting too fancy with their chest workouts by doing a lot of cables and machines, when they should be applying their energy to the handful of basic movements that are guaranteed to deliver gains.”
Great abs with quality gains, not quantity gains. “I believe the key to having great abs is consistency in training them, and keeping body fat under control at all times. If your goal is to add mass, always be mindful of quality gains instead of quantity gains. Keep my famous piece of advice in mind at all times: ‘If you can’t flex it, don’t carry it!’ If you gain 10 pounds and your abs are still there, that’s great. If your gain five pounds and can’t see abs, you’ve picked up too much body fat. That means it’s time to incorporate the treadmill, elliptical or speed walking to lower body fat. There’s a right way to put on mass without losing your abs.”
a.m. p.m.
Day 1: Chest Shoulders and triceps
Day 2: Back Biceps and calves
Day 3: Quads Hams
Day 4: Rest
I realize that not everyone can get to the gym twice a day, so in that case the two workouts can be combined.”
Do behind-the-neck presses. “The military press to the front was always my main foundation movement for shoulders. Behind-the-neck presses are a more awkward movement, but for complete shoulder development they are extremely valuable. Pressing to the front doesn’t activate as much of the medial delts as behind-the-neck presses. But because they are a less natural movement and they put your shoulders into a position of external rotation, I never went too heavy on them and they were always my second pressing exercise. You don’t want to do them when you’re fresh, and capable of handling maximum resistance.”
Start with a “bread-and-butter” movement. “It doesn’t take much training to stimulate growth, if you are specific in your exercise selections and make the most out of each set. For whatever body part you are training, you should always include a fundamental basic movement, what I like to call ‘bread-and-butter’ exercises. You start with that while your energy is fresh because it’s the most important part of that workout. After that, you add on your shaping movements.”
Cut back on your sets and reps. “I admit that I really only fine-tuned my training toward the very end of my competitive career. In 1991, while I was training for my last Mr. Olympia win, I cut back on the number of sets and reps I was doing overall. As a result, new life came back to muscles and I looked better than I ever had. Previously, my belief had been that the more training I did, the better I would look. I found that shorter, more intense and focused workouts were better.”
Bodybuilding is a 24/7, 365 endeavor. “We bodybuilders often use the phrase ‘off-season,’ but I feel that title is a bit misleading. ‘Off’ infers that we are resting or taking it easy, as many athletes in seasonal sports do. Bodybuilding is a 24/7, 365 endeavor. When we say ‘off-season,’ what we’re talking about is a shift in our style of training and the goals we are pursuing. This is when you should be decreasing the overall volume of your training, focusing on purely the basic, fundamental mass-building exercises, and taking more rest days to recover and grow.”
