GymTraining
🇺🇸 Phil Heath
Reign: 2011–2017
Biography
American IFBB Pro League bodybuilder known as "The Gift" for the natural proportions he showed from his very first seasons. He won seven straight Mr. Olympia titles from 2011 to 2017, tying Arnold Schwarzenegger for second on the all-time list behind Ronnie Coleman and Lee Haney. His years at the top were defined by a long rivalry with Kai Greene. Heath was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame in October 2024.
Training approach
Heath deliberately stayed away from maximal weights: the heavier you lift, the higher the risk, and he preferred loads he could control while keeping tension on the muscle. His sessions ran three to five exercises per body part with form as the priority. The method most associated with him is FST-7, developed by his coach Hany Rambod — seven sets of an isolation movement as a finisher with only 30–45 seconds of rest, aimed at blood flow and stretching the fascia. Rambod warned against using it on heavy compounds like squats and deadlifts.
Prize money from titles
- 2011$200,000
- 2012$250,000
- 2013$250,000
- 2014$250,000
- 2015$400,000
- 2016$400,000
- 2017$400,000
Total for first places$2,150,000
Counts winner's prizes only; payouts for second and third place in those years were not published.
Olympia appearances
Shared the podium with
Photo: Entilzha (uploader); photo by Sergi Albir · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons