Phil Heath: nutrition principles, menu examples and favorite dishes

Biography of the titled athlete

was born in December 1979 in Seattle. Children's hobbies are team sports, especially basketball. After school, he was accepted into the University of Denver, which became the first step on the path to a stellar sports career. In the basketball team of the educational institution, due to his short stature, Phil Heath got the role of a shooter (thrower), where he proved himself to be a great player who knows how to obey the rules of team play. Phil soon became one of the leaders.

The boys had a dream to play in a basketball league. She inspired the guy to hone his throwing skills. He spent hours throwing the ball into the hoop, perfecting the biomechanics of his movements. The first results appeared a year later - the team won the student division championship, and Phil was given a sports scholarship.

First steps in professional sports

In 2002, the guy graduated from the university and with it his career as a basketball player, realizing that he had no prospects in this sport. However, Heath's motivation for the sport remained the same, and he plunged headlong into bodybuilding. By this time, he had already managed to pump up his muscles and gain a little mass. A novice bodybuilder turned to a professional trainer for help, who helped him create a regimen and adjust his diet. He later admitted that although he was no stranger to discipline, eating by the hour turned out to be a problem for him.

Phil Heath's principles of nutrition for gaining muscle mass

Despite the fact that Phil’s entire diet, like that of all pros, is based on scientific data (as is the case with most pros), it would be more correct to describe it as “metaphysical” than strictly scientific.

Phil is not one to count every gram of protein, carbohydrates and fat he eats; he feeds more instinctively. Yes, he weighs food, but mostly only meat, so that he knows exactly the amount of protein.

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As a source of protein, Phil prefers red meat and its lean parts.

“I eat a lot more red meat between competitions than when preparing for them. I like red meat because it really helps you gain muscle mass. I don't know if it's creatine, B vitamins or zinc, but it helps me grow. My body responds very well to it.”

“I remember once I had a barbecue in my yard, and there were a lot of bodybuilders visiting and I treated them to hamburgers. They all asked me: how much fat is in them? I answered: they are absolutely harmless! Just because it’s a hamburger doesn’t mean it’s fatty and forbidden.”

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“If it’s me or my girlfriend cooking, I know for sure what goes into my food.”

Besides red meat, he loves fish, especially when wrapped in rice and seaweed.

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“I'm a sushi fan. I can eat a lot of salmon rolls throughout the day.”

He also eats salmon steaks. Salmon is healthy due to its high levels of omega-3s, one of the essential fatty acids.

Essential fatty acids are used to treat almost everything from arthritis and heart disease to allergies and asthma. They also help prevent the breakdown of muscle tissue and are beneficial for weight loss.

Directly during preparation for competitions, Phil Heath replaces salmon with leaner types of fish, and uses omega-3 in capsules.

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Chicken breasts are also sometimes on the menu, but not as often as many other athletes. He just doesn't like them.

Egg whites, usually for breakfast, are another source of protein and he prefers them along with... semolina porridge.

“I don’t understand why more bodybuilders don’t eat this delicious thing. I love semolina porridge!”

The first place among carbohydrates in Phil Heath's diet is oatmeal, but not the last.

He typically eats about 600 grams of carbohydrates per day.

“I know a lot of people are disgusted to hear this, but I'm one of those guys who stays ripped when I eat a lot of carbs. My body survives on them.

They keep my muscles full and round so I can eat as much as I want in the off-season. But I mean complex carbohydrates, not simple sugar, which easily destroys the relief.”

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Phil doesn't measure the exact amount of fat he eats between competitions. Most of it enters the body with beef and salmon steaks.

According to his calculations, it is very rare that the amount of fat in the diet exceeds 100 grams per day.

Considering that there are 9 calories in one gram of fat, 100 grams of fat is 900 calories. If you add the calorie content of 600 grams of carbohydrates and 400 grams of protein, the total calorie intake per day is approximately 5,000 calories.

“I could occasionally indulge in fast food and other unhealthy foods during the off-season to bulk up,” says Phil.

“But bodybuilding is my job, which I take seriously. I find it easy to eat healthy all year round and I feel and look much better.

Therefore, there is no need to eat unhealthy food, even while gaining muscle mass.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oXEjE0DwtE

“That’s why, during the off-season when I’m bulking, I don’t have to deal with bloating, stomach cramps, or be forced to roll around on the kitchen floor in the fetal position in a semi-conscious state.

Probably the diet I’m on now is the next wave of fashion in sports nutrition.”

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Phil Heath's training strategy

Having adapted to the new conditions, the 23-year-old bodybuilder began serious preparation for the Northern Colorado Championships. At that time, with a height of 175 cm, he weighed 84 kg. To prevent delays in the development of muscle groups, he filmed himself every day. The chosen strategy for training and nutrition allowed him to increase his weight to 96 kg and reduce his body fat to 6%. According to the athlete, he achieved such indicators thanks to hard work and genetics. The efforts were not in vain - he won a prestigious tournament in his home state, beating the famous Darragh Charles. In a matter of weeks, Mr. Colorado consolidated his success and became the winner of the New York Pro.

Phil Heath's nutritional philosophy

There was a time when one of the most important daily tasks of professional bodybuilders was to eat to the point where it was simply impossible to fit anything else into them.
Burgers, pizza and ice cream were well received... and of course ice cream. The result of such a “gluttonous” existence was pathetic semblances of physical fitness standards with beer bellies, signs of difference from the crowd in which were detected only by their proud gait.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F6L7iYotVc

Against this background, professional bodybuilding competitions looked from the outside as the aspirations of ordinary “men” who were tired of drinking beer, to prove to the whole world that they were still something of themselves.

But that's the past.

Today, it is becoming more and more fashionable among pros and amateurs to abandon the practice of bulking in the off-season and maintain a lean form every day throughout the year.

Arnold was one of the first to popularize this principle, and Phil Heath also adheres to it. And, judging by the numerous awards at prestigious competitions, he succeeds.

Of course, not without the help of sports pharmacology (all professional bodybuilding is hooked on the needle). But any pharmacology without proper nutrition and exercise is nothing.

Therefore, there is a lot to learn from Phil Heath.

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Phil Heath's nutritional philosophy is expressed by the following four postulates:

• you always look cool: “My profession is a professional bodybuilder, so I have to live up to my title not only for two weeks during the competition, but all year long.”
• you always feel great: “When I have a lot of fat, I am slow and lethargic. A little body fat is good for extra energy during a workout, but too much of it can make you feel like a lazy fatty.”
• you are always in work uniform: “Now that I’m a professional, I can be invited to guest pose at any time. The better I look, the more likely I am to be invited again.”
• preparing for competitions is much easier: “It’s much easier to get into competitive shape when you have 5 kg of fat to lose than when you have 25.”

"Yes, I did it"

Every year the muscle mass, victories and awards became more and more. Over the next 3 years, the athlete did not lose a single competition, became famous and received the nickname “The Gift,” which translated means “gift.” In 2005, he performed at Olympia Weekend with a weight of 100 kg, repeating the exercise 46 times. He then took 2nd place at Jeramy Freeman with a 183kg bench press and 12 lifts.

The last event turned out to be significant, because at the competition he met Jay Cutler, who was delighted with the guy’s potential and discipline. The American bodybuilding star later became his best friend and mentor. Before the 2006 Olympia, he was already trained by Cutler.

Fit realized that in order to rise to the next level, he needed to work hard. He said that 20 years later he would be proud to tell children that he was trained by Mr. Olympia. At the same time, his coach himself made a lot of efforts to defeat his main rival Ronnie Coleman, who still failed to move onto the podium.

Phil Heath training program

At first glance, the system was no different from others. The principle was based on pumping 5 different zones on certain days:

• on Monday the bodybuilder worked on his torso;
• on Tuesday I pumped my hips and legs;
• on Wednesday - back;
• on Thursday I trained the shoulder girdle;
• on Friday - biceps and triceps.

The bodybuilder included exhausting cardio with 100 push-ups in the program. The training was supplemented by arm extensions in a block machine and with apparatus.

• At first he performed these exercises 10 times.
• Then repeated with a barbell, increasing the weight (30x3).
• At the end I finished off the muscles with dumbbells from different angles.

Between competitions I did cardio for 30 minutes 3-4 times a week, before the tournament I increased the interval to 1.5 hours. 2 months before the tournament I worked morning and evening for 40 minutes.

The athlete has never worked with exorbitant weights , explaining this fact by the fact that he is young and intends to build a career gradually, without complicating his life with injuries.

Working weights:

• bench press - 150-160 kg;
• Bent-over deadlift is 10 kg less.

Sample meal menu for 1 day from Phil Heath

Phil's typical off-season diet is one for building tons of muscle mass while maintaining definition.

The diet is fairly standard: no bad carbohydrates, lots of protein, six meals.

The only thing you should pay attention to (this is especially important for beginners): Phil takes only one protein shake during the day. The main sources of protein are natural products. It is important to remember this, since there is often an opinion that it is impossible to build muscle mass without sports nutrition.

Sports protein is simply convenient and doesn't require much preparation.

How did your career develop?

In 2008, at the Olympia, the athlete rose to third place, losing second to his coach. The following year at the championship he took 5th place. At the Weider brothers tournament in 2010, the bodybuilder rose to second place.

If at first he was compared to Dennis Wolf, the 2005 world bodybuilding champion, after these victories he was recognized as an accomplished bodybuilder with a unique gift. In 2011, all previous failures were compensated by receiving the title - Mr. Olympia. In 2012, the collection of awards was replenished with silver won at the championship.

Bodybuilding career

Phil Heath began preparing for his first bodybuilding tournament in his life - the Northern Colorado Championships 2003. Life taught Heath to take any business seriously and bodybuilding was no exception. Phil was determined to become an outstanding bodybuilder at all costs. And the first thing that had to be done on this path was to win the tournament in Colorado. Heath bought himself a camera and filmed himself from different angles every week. This way he could see which muscles were lagging behind in development, which ones needed additional load, and how he was progressing.

The 2003 Northern Colorado Championships not only brought Phil his first victory as a bodybuilder, but also brought him together with rising bodybuilding superstar professional bodybuilder Jay Cutler, who was invited to make a guest appearance at the tournament. Jay was surprised by the newcomer’s success and decided to talk to him personally after the performance. This is how Phil Heath met his future friend and mentor.

The following year, Heath becomes Mr. Colorado, and a year later he wins Junior Nationals 2005

and the United States Heavyweight Championship and turns professional.

In three years of performances, Heath did not suffer a single defeat. He rose to professional status as quickly as anyone had ever done before. The entire sports world is beginning to talk about the success of the 25-year-old athlete. In the world of professional bodybuilding, many bodybuilders have nicknames received for some merit, and Phil Heath was immediately given one - “The Gift” or “The Gift”, which clearly spoke of the exclusivity of his body. [2]

Heath's iron grip and willpower

Having reached the pinnacle of fame, the athlete continues to progress in sports and take care of the perfection of the body. In a 2020 interview, Phil explained to reporters that “he gets a kick out of the process.” Since 2016, he has mobilized to win the Sandow statuette at the 52nd tournament and become Mr. for the 7th time. Olympia. “I’m doing great and I can’t wait to catch up with Schwarzenegger.” In September, in free weight, the bodybuilder again climbed to the top step of the podium and received $400,000.