50 Legendary Tips
WE SURVEY THE FIRST HALF-CENTURY OF MR. OLYMPIAS WITH TWEETLIKE ADVICE FROM THE WINNER OF EACH CONTEST
On September 19, 1965, a standing-room-only crowd of 2,500 rabid fans in the Brooklyn Academy of Music screamed as Larry Scott was (literally) crowned the first Mr. Olympia. Only 13 men have won the coveted Sandow to date. In their honor, we’ve assembled advice from the victor of each contest—from Scott’s initial two to Phil Heath’s five. Like tweets, no tip is longer than 140 characters, and affixed to each are hashtags regarding that year’s Olympia—its location and major story lines. This invaluable guidance from bodybuilding’s legends as well as the hashtag history lesson demonstrates that some things have changed while others have stayed the same over the Mr. Olympia’s first 53 years.
LARRY SCOTT | '65, '66
1965: When curling, a bench locks your arms in place. I do preacher curls with a barbell and dumbbells in every biceps workout. #1stOlympia #26yrsold #NYC
1966: I eat a lot of beef, cottage cheese, and eggs. And I drink a lot of milk. Year-round, I don’t eat many carbohydrates. #Retirement #NYC
SERGIO OLIVA | '67, '68, '69
1967: Back squats and front squats built my legs. I go as heavy as 3 reps when squatting, but then finish with a set of 20. #Poole-Wins1st Ballot #Re-vote #NYC
1968: My favorite shoulder exercise is the press-behind-the-neck. I do 5 sets x 5 reps. Sometimes I supersetted them with upright rows. #Unopposed #NYC
1969: I eat 6 meals daily with lots of tuna, egg whites, and milk. I also eat steak, chicken, rice, oatmeal, and vegetables. #ArnoldDebut #Arnold2nd #NYC
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ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER | '70, '71, '72, '73, '74, '75
1971: I train calves every day, at least 10 sets x 10 reps with heaviest possible weights. I gave calves a special focus for years. #Unopposed #Paris
1972: Barriers are placed not by your muscles but by your mind. I never want to visualize what’s been done before. I want to go beyond. #Controversy #Lineup:4MrOs #Sergio2nd #Essen
1973: I like the basics for biceps: barbell curls and dumbbell curls. I always supinate when I do dumbbell curls. #Domination #Columbu2nd #NYC
1974: Dumbbell pullovers at the end of my chest routine and before my back routine tie my chest and back together and stretch my rib cage. #Domination #2Classes #ColumbuShortWin #NYC
1975: Arnold presses are dumbbell presses with a twist. Go from palms back, elbows forward at bottom to palms forward, elbows out at top. #6inaRow #PumpingIron #Retirement #2Classes #ColumbuShortWin #Pretoria
1976: If I did no other exercise for chest, I would always do the bench press. Nothing is better for chest thickness. #2Classes #WallerTallWin #Shortest:5'5" #Retirement #Columbus
1977: I cycle my carbs when dieting. I go low carbs for 3 days and higher carbs on the 4th day. The higher day boosts my metabolism. #Aesthetics #2Classes #RobinsonTallWin #Columbus
1978: A lot of people undertrain delts. Think of each delt head as a distinct, small muscle and do 10–12 sets for each head. #Aesthetics #2Classes #RobinsonTallWin #Columbus
1979: Bulking was a disaster. So I stay within 5% of my contest weight year-round. And I use photos to measure progress, not the scales. #Aesthetics #2Classes #MentzerTallWin #Columbus
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ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER | '80
1980: Sometimes I superset a chest exercise with a back exercise. Neither robs strength from the other, and the upper-body pump is fantastic. #Record7 #ChampLoss #Controversy #Comeback #Retirement #Lineup:4MrOs #Dickerson2nd #Zane3rd #Sydney
FRANCO COLUMBU | '81
1981: I train abs every day at the end of my workout with crunches, Roman chair situps, and hanging leg raises. #Controversy #Comeback #40yrsold #Retirement #Dickerson2nd #Columbus
1982: Do very strict, full calf movements, exaggerating the stretches. Vary exercises and toe positions: in, out, straight. #Oldest:43yrsold #1&Done #Zane2nd #Bannout4th #London
1983: I never lock out hack squats or leg presses until I need a break on the final reps. I want to keep constant tension on my quads. #1stProWin #1&Done #Makkawy2nd #Haney3rd #Zane4th #Munich
LEE HANEY | '84, '85, '86, '87, '88, '89, '90, '91
1985: My split is 3 on, 1 off. Day 1: Chest and arms. Day 2: Legs. Day 3: Back and shoulders. Day 4: Off. Then start over. #Domination #Beckles2nd #Oliva8th #Brussels
1986: I never get away from the basics for back: barbell rows, T-bar rows, cable rows, pulldowns, and pullups. #Domination #Gaspari2nd #Columbus
1987: I train abs in every workout. I usually do hanging leg raises, incline situps, and seated leg raises, 4 x 15- 20 for each. #Domination #Gaspari2nd #Gothenburg
1988: This is a typical post-workout meal: chicken or fish, spinach, rice or noodles, 5 oz pineapple, 2 slices whole-wheat toast, water. #Domination #Gaspari2nd #LA
1989: Don’t start messing around with all the little details until you know what you’re doing. Master the basic, compound exercises. #Domination #Labrada2nd #Rimini
1990: I always end my shoulder workout with upright rows (4 sets x 6-10) to tie my delts and traps together. #Controversy #Trailing AfterPrejudging #Labrada 2nd #Chicago
1991: I use a high-potency multivitamin/mineral supplement daily. Closer to a contest I take more B-complex and C to aid recuperation. #Record8 #Retirement #BiggestLineup:27 #Yates2nd #Orlando
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DORIAN YATES | '92, '93, '94, '95, '96, '97
1993: I train rear delts after lats and before lower back with machine and dumbbell rear laterals, 1 set x 8–10 of each. #Domination #Bigger #Wheeler 2nd #Atlanta
1994: I do 2 sets for calves once per week: standing calf raises and seated calf raises, 10–12 reps each. The key is full ranges of motion. #Domination #Ray2nd #Atlanta
1995: My first meal is: 100g oatmeal, 2 whole eggs and 6 egg whites, 2 slices whole-wheat toast, 1 banana, water. #Domination #Injury #Levrone2nd #Atlanta
1996: Sleep is crucial to recuperation and growth. I usually sleep 8 hours at night plus another 90–120 min. nap in the afternoon. #Controversy #Injury #Ray2nd #Chicago
1997: I usually do only 1 working set per exercise, but I may do 1–3 pyramided warmups before the working set. #Controversy #Injury #Retirement #6inaRow #ElSonbatty2nd #Coleman9th #LA
RONNIE COLEMAN | '98, '99, '00, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05
1999: I rarely change exercises. But I alternate 2 different workouts for each body part, so I never do the same workout twice in a row. #Domination #Wheeler2nd #Vegas
2000: In my first meal after a workout, I almost always have 2 chicken breasts and a baked potato. #Domination #Levrone2nd #Vegas
2001: I did those heavy, single-rep lifts for the video camera. I use big weights, but I always aim for 10–12 reps in my workouts. #Controversy #TrailingAfter Prejudging #Cutler- 2nd #Vegas
2002: One back workout is for thickness and has deadlifts and rows. The other is for width with 2 types of pulldowns along with rows. #Controversy #Smaller #Levrone2nd #Vegas
2003: I do 6 exercises for triceps each week, 3 per workout. One routine ends with close-grip bench presses. The other starts with skullcrushers. #Domination #Bigger #Cutler2nd #Jackson3rd #Vegas
2004: When you do ’em right, walking lunges work because they’re hard. Lunges add quality muscle and lines to my quads, hams, and glutes. #ChallengeRound #Heaviest:297lbs #40yrsold #Cutler2nd #Vegas
2005: For squats to be effective you need to stay as upright as possible and get down to at least parallel. #Record8 #HaneyTie #41yrsold #Cutler2nd #Vegas
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JAY CUTLER | '06, '07
2007: A typical meal for me in the offseason is 10 oz of beef, buffalo, or steak and, to keep my calories high, 2 cups of white rice. #Controversy #Martinez2nd #Jackson3rd #Coleman4th #Vegas
DEXTER JACKSON | '08
2008: I end my chest workout with machine presses that are like a press and flye combination. It’s a real inner-pec burner. #ChampLoss #1&Done #Cutler2nd #Heath3rd #Vegas
JAY CUTLER | '09, '10
2009: I’ll sometimes do rest-pause for calves. I’ll stop when I reach failure, rest for a few seconds, and then get a few more reps. #ChampLoss #Domination #Warren2nd #Jackson3rd #Heath5th #Vegas
2010: I do cardio on the StepMill for 40 min. first thing in the morning. I’ll do a second session later if needed. #4thWin #Heath2nd #Vegas
PHIL HEATH | '11, '12, '13, '14, '15, '16, '17
2011: When I go heavy on stiffleg deadlifts, I feel them too much in my back. Stay light and focus on the stretch, maintaining constant tension. #ChampLoss #Domination #Cutler2nd #Greene3rd #Vegas
2012: Don’t do extreme low-fat and low-carb in the off-season. Instead, focus on getting enough protein and calories to grow. #Greene2nd #Vegas
2013: I don’t do any wrist curls. I’m lucky that my forearms grow enough from biceps work, especially hammer curls. #Greene2nd #Cutler6th #Vegas
2014: The most important thing for gaining size is patience. The journey is long. Stick to the program, eat right, and train right. #Greene2nd #4inaRow #CutlerTie #Vegas
2015: Be better than your previous self, but always know that it's going to take time, time and more time. #StriveforFive #PhilKnows #MrO
2016: Training after shows provides a great rebound if you are eating somewhat clean and staying hydrated. #Posing #ChampionStyle #MrOlympia #LE6ACY #Complete
2017: Look at yourself in the mirror and ask, "Am I doing enough?" If the answer is "no," then it's time to get your ass up and get to work! #ChampionMindset #EmotionalIntellligence #MentalToughness #LetsBeGreat
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