Phil Heath: nutrition principles, menu examples and favorite dishes

Phil Heath is an American professional bodybuilder, seven-time winner of the Mr. Olympia title. He has held the palm at prestigious bodybuilding competitions for almost a decade. Naturally, it is interesting to look into the secrets of his life philosophy to broaden your horizons on how to eat properly to gain muscle mass.

As part of the Motivation section, we will introduce you to Phil Heath's nutritional principles, talk about how he manages to stay in shape every day for a year, and for a snack we will share some recipes and an example of a weekly menu.

Phil Heath: “I eat about 400g of protein per day”

Phil loves red meat and feels that he gains muscle mass largely thanks to it; for nutrition he chooses lean parts

For many years, Phil eats only home-cooked food, almost never fast food.

Phil usually eats egg whites with semolina porridge for breakfast.

The most important carbohydrate in Phil's diet is oatmeal; sugar destroys the relief very easily

Loves fish, sushi; during preparation for competitions - low-fat types of fish

Total caloric intake each day ~5000 Cal

Phil Heath: “... the diet I follow is the next wave of fashion in sports nutrition... there is no need to eat unhealthy food, even at the stage of gaining muscle mass”

Did you know that 240 grams of beef contains 50 grams of protein?

We recommend : Arnold Schwarzenegger's Nutrition Principles

Biography

Phil Heath was , 1979 in Seattle, USA. His real name is Phillip Jerrod Heath. As a child, he was an active boy and loved team sports, especially basketball. After graduating from school, Phil entered the University of Denver in 1998, where he began playing on the basketball team as a shooter, as he was short. Everything worked out for Heath with basketball - he played great, he was respected by his teammates.

Even in basketball, Heath was known for practicing the hardest. After practice, he stayed and threw balls for a long time, honing his skills. Phil wanted to get into a real basketball league, and to do that he had to play even better. A year later, the team won the student cup, and he earned a sports scholarship.

In 2002, the future bodybuilder abandoned his hobby. But basketball taught the guy a lot. He already knew what discipline was, his goals and the ways to achieve them.

Anthropometric data of Phil Heath

• Body type : ectomesomorph
• Height : 176 cm
• Weight : off-season - 130 kg, competition - 114 kg
• Biceps : 58 cm
• Hip : 81 cm
• Calves : 51 cm
• Waist : 73.5 cm
• Neck : 47 cm
• Years of experience : since 2002
• Nickname : gift
• Genetic strong muscle groups : arms

Anthropometric data of Phil Heath

Body-building

Phil's first bodybuilding competition was the 2003 Northern Colorado Championships. The set goal, namely to become the winner of my category, was achieved. Many were surprised, because the athlete had never performed before. Fate brought together two future good friends - Phil Heath and Jay Cutler. Jay posed as a guest at this tournament, and after the tournament Phil became interested in him, thanks to which they met, became friends, and Jay soon became his mentor.

A year later, Phil became the owner of the title “ Mr. Colorado ”, and after another year he won the 2005 Junior Nationals tournament and the US Championship, becoming a professional. Having not lost a single competition, he received the nickname “The gift”, i.e. "Gift".

Two athletes trained in the same gym, who in the future became each other's main rivals, somewhere, perhaps, enemies, but at first very good friends - Phil Heath and Kai Greene. Both athletes always listened to Jay Cutler's advice, which helped them progress.

In 2008, Phil took part in his first Olympia. He took third place, his teacher was in second. Jay understood that his student was about to become his good opponent. However, already in 2011, Phil still beat his friend and teacher Jay Cutler, taking 1st place, thanks to his brilliant preparation. Kai Green took 3rd place.

Childhood

Since childhood, he was fond of basketball (he was a good thrower), dreamed of getting into the professional champions league, and was distinguished by his diligence and perseverance in training. Even at a young age, he had a fairly beautiful figure, with a minimal percentage of fat and lean muscles .

Phil Heath in his youth

In 1998 he entered the University of Denver , whose honor had to be defended in a basketball battle until 2002.

Along with graduating from university, Phil Heath’s career as a basketball player ended, and a crazy successful career as a performing bodybuilder began.

Phil himself notes that the sport of basketball gave him such important personal qualities as discipline, perseverance , zeal to achieve his goals, perseverance, which in the future helped him become a 7-time Mr. Olympia.

Achievements

In 2005, Phil Heath became the absolute champion of the US Junior Championships, and also the absolute champion among amateurs. 2006 was very successful: Phil won two serious competitions (Colorado Pro and New York Pro). In 2008, he became 3rd at the Olympia, 2nd at the Arnold Classic and 1st at the IronMen Pro tournament. Phil finished fifth at the Olympia the following year. Having improved his form, he took second place at the 2010 Olympia and the same place at the Arnold Classic. Naturally, Phil Heath’s main achievement was winning the Olympia, 5 years in a row (from 2011 to 2015)!

Personal life

In his youth, Phil married an African-American girl named Jeni, who was diagnosed with cancer in the 2000s. The athlete was worried about his wife’s well-being, but this did not stop him from pursuing his career.

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A post shared by Phil Heath (@philheath) on Dec 5, 2022 at 9:47pm PST

Phil Heath and his wife Shuri
As it turned out later, in the absence of children together, he did not disdain diversity in his personal life and, after waiting for news of a possible cure, he immediately filed for divorce.

Nutrition

Phil eats 7 times a day, everything is strictly on schedule, no deviations from the schedule. Of course, he can afford some kind of cheat, but this is extremely rare, although in the off-season Phil Heath looks quite toned, some athletes try to stay in good shape even after competitions in the off-season. The amount of “junk” food in the off-season also depends on genetics (no matter how strange it may sound). If you have a fairly well-developed, fast metabolism, then you don’t have to worry about gaining fat mass.

1 meal.

To prevent catabolism as soon as possible, Phil takes some supplements in the morning (glutamine, vitamin C, multivitamins and unsaturated fats). For breakfast he eats oatmeal (250g) and egg whites (10-12 pieces) and drinks water (a lot).

2 meals.

Phil does not count the exact amount of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, etc. in the diet, but tries to minimize fat consumption. The calories increase gradually, but not so much that you have to sit for an hour at each meal. 300 g chicken breasts, 300 g rice (most likely wild or brown rice), glutamine and drink water.

Meal 3 (before training).

Finally, vegetables appeared in my meals. There is meat (steak), because... it contains creatine, which will provide some energy. 300g. steak, 300g. potatoes, 150 g broccoli, glutamine, BCAA, water. Heath also drinks an energy drink immediately before training.

4 meals.

Immediately after training, drinks a hearty protein-carbohydrate shake containing approximately 60 g of protein and 80 g of carbohydrates.

5 meal

. 300g. turkey cutlets, 300g. rice, 150g. broccoli, glutamine and water. Phil Heath drinks a lot of water. You can always see a bottle of water in his bag or car. He drinks water with every meal, as well as in between - this allows him to speed up his metabolism and keep his muscles in good condition and full.

6 meals.

As for sweets. Phil practically doesn't eat sweets. It can only be some kind of fruit or berries, in no case are it buns, pies, cakes, cookies, etc. 250 g fish, 250 g vegetables, glutamine, water.

7th meal.

Many people hope to see cottage cheese or just casein protein here, but no. 250 g steak, vegetables, glutamine and water. Phil doesn't eat carbohydrates before bed.

The total is: 450 g protein, 500 carbohydrates, 60 g fat.

Training program

This program was used by Phil until 2007.

Monday (chest, abs)

Well-known, common exercises for the pectoral muscles are used. At the end of the workout, Phil Heath worked his abs, but using his own method.

1. Incline bench press (30 degrees): 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps,
2. Barbell or dumbbell bench press: 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
3. Hand curls in the butterfly simulator. At the end point of the amplitude, Phil held the weight, maximizing the load on the muscles and feeling the peak contraction. The negative phase of the movement lasted approximately 5 seconds.
4. Crossover chest exercises.

Tuesday (quadriceps, hamstrings, calves)

Every week was different, i.e. If in the first week Phil Heath started with the hamstrings, then the next week he started with the quadriceps.

1. Back squats or Smith machine squats: 4-5 sets of 8-10 reps.
2. Leg press in the simulator: 4 sets of 8-10 repetitions.
3. Hack squats facing the machine: 4 sets of 8-10 reps.
4. Seated leg extensions: 3 sets of 20 reps.
5. Lying leg curls: 3 sets of 20 reps.
6. Standing single leg curl (in a machine): 4 sets of 8-10 reps.
7. Straight-legged deadlift: 4 sets of 8-10 reps.
8. Calf raises in the machine, 3 sets, performed to failure.

Wednesday (back)

1. Wide grip pull-ups: 5-7 rounds of 10-12 reps.
2. Bent-over dumbbell rows: 3 sets of 8-10 reps.
3. Bent-over barbell rows 3-4 sets of 20 repetitions (first with a straight grip 10, immediately 10 with a reverse grip).
4. Seated lat pulldown: 3 sets of 10 reps.
5. Pullovers (various options).

Thursday (deltoids, abs)

1. Seated dumbbell press: 5 sets of 10 reps.
2. Dumbbell lateral raises: 3-4 sets, performed to failure (weight increases).
3. Reverse peck-dec raises: 4 sets of 12 reps.
4. Lifting the barbell in front of you: 3-4 sets of 10 repetitions.

Friday (hands)

1. Standing dumbbell curls for biceps: 5 sets of 10-12 reps.
2. Smith machine barbell curl: 4 sets of 10 reps.
3. Lifting dumbbells for biceps while sitting on an incline bench: 3 sets of 10 repetitions.
4. Lifting the barbell for biceps (a kind of “21” method - the same thing, but only 30 repetitions).
5. Arm extensions from the upper block: 3-4 sets of 30 repetitions (10+10+10 weight decreased by 5 kg).
6. Overhead dumbbell extensions: 3 sets of 10-12 reps.
7. Concentrated dumbbell curls: 3 sets of 10 reps.
8. Dips or similar presses in a machine: 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions.
9. “Hammer”: 2-3 sets of 10 repetitions.

Abs workout

Phil uses the following scheme: Phil performs a so-called giant set, which includes regular crunches, lying leg raises, hanging leg raises and a scissors exercise.

Each movement was performed for 20-30 repetitions. In total, Phil did 3-4 such sets.