We have to know how to eat right, train right, and take the right over-the-counter supplements.
Phil Heath
If you want something you've never had before, you gotta be willing to do something you've never done before.
Do cardio throughout the year at least three days a week for at least 30-40 minutes, whether it be first thing in the morning on an empty stomach or after a post-workout protein shake. Cardio won't kill your gains as much as you think; you'll see how much muscle you really have.
When it comes to personal appearance, people are quick to cast judgment on people who look better than them. It's part of the human inferiority complex.
Every so often, I'll look at myself in the mirror and go, 'You're a bad mother,' you know? Like, 'You're a bad dude, man, and you're gonna show the world who you are when the time is right.'
My first bodybuilding competition was the 2003 NPC Northern Colorado, where I was a light-heavyweight weighing in at 192 lbs. I was very nervous, as it was my first real-life experience being a bodybuilder.
We all go through things in life, and it's just how you deal with it. Try to stay positive throughout the worst.
To keep winning, I have to constantly outdo myself.
I'm not trying to be average.
I grew up playing basketball in the inner city of Seattle, and by the time I was a senior, I earned a full scholarship to the University of Denver.
If you can get to the gym 4-5 days a week, that would be perfect. You can still do chest/tri's, back/bi's, legs, shoulders, and make the fifth day a cleanup day, meaning focus on body parts you may be weaker in.
I want people to realize bodybuilders are athletes. We have a very meticulous philosophy on how we are able to gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously.
I see guys who are in the gym all the time, but their bodies are not a reflection of that. They look the same from year to year, and that has to do with the fact that they're not evaluating the effect of their efforts.
You can give me credit on a skilled sport - golf, basketball - but when it comes to someone's appearance - how often do guys compliment another man on anything? They find it feminine.
People in Colorado are resilient.
If you've noticed that dumbbells work better than barbells for you on the bench press, then why change that?
I think I was one of those kids that, at the age of 13, start filling out a little bit: I was the kid that had the chest, the arms, the calves, especially, with these big legs like an adult.
I stick to bread-and-butter bodybuilding. I hit my muscles from various angles, work on bringing up any weaknesses, and design workouts that are always challenging and helping me progress.
I eat seven, if not eight, times a day. Every two hours, I'm usually eating.
Constant tension should be applied to the last five reps of every working set, meaning, do the first 5-6 reps normal tempo, and the last few reps should be held for at least two seconds at the peak of the contraction. This allows your muscles to have more time under tension, and you work different muscle fibers.
Most people don't do front squats because they're uncomfortable, and there are easier alternatives, but to really add size to the quads, they're a must.
Prior to stepping on stage, I prefer to continue being myself, whether that is making jokes with others, talking about other non-bodybuilding topics, or just sitting around listening to music.
I went from 185 lbs to 285 lbs, became a 7X Mr. Olympia, tying Arnold Schwarzenegger, and competed against the most determined and fittest athletes in the world. This took hard work, tremendous dedication, and knowing what, how, and when to train.
There are days when I don't count sets at all, but then there are some days when I have to realize that I don't want to overwork because I still have an hour of cardio ahead of me or another training session later that day.
For me, I've always tried to be a stand-up individual.
My goal every year is to be bigger and better than I was the year before. The competition just keeps getting better, and the pressure just gets hotter. Nothing gets easier.
I've actually read that isolation is the enemy, so why do that to myself?
There's no way in hell I could have achieved what I have without being a good student and listening to the wisdom of others who have been doing this a lot longer than I have.
I believe you need to take enough rest to lift heavy weights, but if it takes you 5-10 minutes to rest and get psyched up for a big lift, I don't know if that's going to be good.
I believe that if you're able to eat as much as a bodybuilder is supposed to, you're probably not going to overtrain.
I received a lot of criticism early in my career, but people didn't realize that I'd only been training for three years when I turned pro.
I've done, on video, 150-pound dumbbells in each hand -I think it was, like, twenty two reps - on an incline.
When I started out in the industry, I turned to magazines like 'Flex' and 'Muscle & Fitness' - the people on their covers were my inspiration.
Gifted Nutrition was able to show me that they had FDA-compliant ingredients in their supplements. I thought that was really huge, especially when you are trying to show people that you are a natural athlete.
When I decided to become a bodybuilder, I actually marked down a date. It was Oct. 8, 2002. The rest is pretty much history. It was an amazing feeling to know that I had the potential to become a champion.
This sport has given me so much. It has taught me to be strong emotionally and physically.
It can be 10 people or thousands of people: I want them to see something special. I want them to say, 'I saw the best in the world at something,' and maybe that will inspire them to go do something in their life with the same vigor.
All the normal lifts that bodybuilders do, we didn't do them in basketball.
I never thought I could win Mr. Olympia when I started my career in 2002.
Front squats have really helped my quad development, especially when I was preparing for the Ironman.
I train as smart as I can. I'm not concerned what others think. I do what works for me.
There were actually a couple of times I fell asleep at the gym on accident after a workout, but it was still late enough, so I went home and caught some sleep.
I definitely stay on top of my Vitamin C.
You can't be around people who appease you all the time.
I began bodybuilding shortly after I watched a couple friends compete at a state show and thought it would be cool to try.
I would probably lose my mind if I wasn't busy. There's only so many video games I can play.
When you see me at the show, I'm smiling because I want you to know I can do this all day.
As Mr. Olympia, I have to go above and beyond. It's more than just showing muscle.
It's not that I don't want big triceps, but the truth is, I've never had much difficulty adding mass to them.
You win the Mr. Olympia, you are the best in the world. There is no better than that. Some people will think back prior to the 1950s, where Mr. Universe was the top guy. They say, 'Are you Mr. Universe?' 'No, I'm Mr. Olympia, which is the best of all.'
