The Phil Heath Workout and Diet Program

Explore the Phil Heath workout and diet program, including his training split, favorite exercises, sample diet, and bodybuilding lessons.

Phil Heath was the first Mr. Olympia I really “grew up with.”

Of course, I knew about Arnold, Dorian, Lee Haney, Ronnie Coleman, and the legends who came before him. But Phil competed during the period when I was most interested in bodybuilding.

I remember him turning pro, the hype around “The Gift,” the anticipation for his Olympia debut, and watching him go from a highly touted prospect to the best bodybuilder in the world.

Phil eventually won seven consecutive Mr. Olympia titles from 2011 through 2017, putting him in rare company among the greatest bodybuilders of all time. At his best, he also had one of the most impressive physiques of the modern era.

His muscle bellies were unbelievably round and full. His arms were historically good. And when his conditioning was on point, the separation and three-dimensional look of his physique was hard to match.

Obviously, Phil had elite genetics. There is a reason they called him “The Gift.” But genetics only explain part of the story.

After transitioning from college basketball to bodybuilding, Phil eventually teamed up with coach Hany Rambod, and as they say, the rest was history.

He trained hard and used plenty of weight, but he did not turn every exercise into a strength test. The goal was always to make the target muscle do the work. That meant controlled reps, smart exercise selection, high-quality volume, and a strong emphasis on muscular tension and the pump.

It was bodybuilding in the purest sense of the word.

And while Phil’s genetics were unique, many of the principles behind his training and nutrition are still useful for anyone trying to build more muscle.

Let’s take a closer look.

The Phil Heath Workout Split

Phil Heath typically followed a traditional bodybuilding split, training one major muscle group per day.

Like most advanced bodybuilders, the exact structure changed depending on what he needed to bring up. He sometimes trained back twice per week because he considered it a weaker area earlier in his career. Legs were also frequently split into separate quad and hamstring sessions, which allowed him to give each area more attention.

Phil worked with coach Hany Rambod from relatively early in his career, and Rambod played a major role in shaping his training. Their approach combined moderate-to-high volume, controlled execution, short rest periods, and plenty of machine and isolation work.

A typical Phil Heath workout split looked like this:

• Monday: Shoulders and Traps
• Tuesday: Quads
• Wednesday: Back
• Thursday: Chest
• Friday: Hamstrings and Calves
• Saturday: Arms
• Sunday: Rest

This is about as classic as bodybuilding programming gets: high training frequency across the week, plenty of specialization, and enough recovery time between sessions for each muscle group.

The Phil Heath Workout Program

One thing to keep in mind with Phil Heath’s training is that the exact workouts changed fairly often.

Unlike someone like Dorian Yates, who became closely associated with a relatively fixed group of exercises and a very specific training style, Phil rotated movements more often depending on the training phase, available equipment, and what he and Hany Rambod wanted to emphasize.

The exercises changed, but the system stayed mostly the same.

Phil generally used moderate training volume, controlled reps, short-to-moderate rest periods, and a mix of free weights, machines, and isolation exercises. He also frequently finished (or started) muscle groups with higher-rep pump work, especially when using Rambod’s FST-7 methods.

The workouts below represent how Phil trained during his competitive career.

Monday: Shoulders and Traps

It’s Monday, and we’re training shoulders with Phil Heath.

The first thing you notice is that the atmosphere is probably a little different than you would expect from a seven-time Mr. Olympia. Phil is laughing, talking basketball, cracking jokes, and probably taking a shot at Kai Greene somewhere along the way.

Then the set starts, and everything tightens up.

We open with seated Smith machine shoulder presses. Phil was never interested in getting extra credit for making an exercise harder than it needed to be. The Smith machine lets us lock into position, drive through the delts, and push the weight without worrying about balancing a barbell.

Next are seated dumbbell lateral raises. Sit down, take the momentum out of it, and make the side delts work. Phil had ridiculously round shoulders, and this type of precise isolation work was a big part of his training.

EZ-bar front raises are next before we head over to the reverse pec deck.

Now things get uncomfortable.

Seven sets of rear delts with short rest periods. The first couple feel fine. By sets five, six, and seven, your shoulders are on fire while Phil is probably still talking like nothing is happening.

Finish with four sets of heavy dumbbell shrugs and call it a day.

Not a complicated workout. No circus exercises. Just good bodybuilding performed with enough weight, clean execution, and a lot of quality reps.

The Workout:

• Seated Smith Machine Shoulder Press: 4 sets x 8-10 reps
• Seated Dumbbell Lateral Raise: 4 sets x 10-12 reps
• EZ Bar Front Raise: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Reverse Pec Deck: 7 sets x 12-15 reps
• Dumbbell Shrug: 4 sets x 8-12 reps

Tuesday: Quads

Tuesday is quad day, and this one starts with a bad sign: leg extensions.

Not as a warm-up. Seven working sets FST-7 style.

Phil liked using leg extensions early to fill the quads with blood before moving into the heavier compound work. By the time we get to the Smith machine squat, your legs are already pumped, and you haven’t even started the hard part yet.

The leg press follows three hard sets of squats.

This is where Phil’s athletic background starts to show. The workout is hard, but it still has a competitive feel. He talks between sets, reminding you of the Sandow trophies he has at home, and probably letting you know if your set isn’t quite up to standard.

Then it is over to the hack squat for another three sets of 10-12 reps.

At this point, the quads are cooked.

Unfortunately, we are not done.

Grab a clear stretch of floor because we are finishing with walking lunges. Three sets of 20-30 steps sounds reasonable on paper. It feels much different after leg extensions, squats, leg presses, and hack squats.

By the last trip across the gym, the conversation has probably stopped.

Five exercises. Nothing special or fancy. Just a lot of quality quad work stacked together until even walking out of the gym becomes the hardest part of the workout.

The Workout:

• Leg Extension: 7 sets x 10-12 reps
• Smith Machine Squat: 3 sets x 8-10 reps
• Leg Press: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Hack Squat: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Walking Lunge: 3 sets x 20-30 steps

Wednesday: Back

Wednesday is back day, and Phil is a little more serious here.

Back was one of the body parts he was always trying to bring up, especially when he knew he would be standing next to guys like Jay Cutler and Kai Greene.

We start with pull-ups. Nothing fancy, just three to five sets of clean reps to open everything up and get the lats working.

Then the real work begins.

Underhand-grip barbell rows followed by old-school t-bar rows, and now the workout starts to feel heavy. Phil still keeps the reps controlled, but this is not lightweight pump work. There is plenty of load on the bar, and every set is about driving the elbows back and making the entire back work.

From there, we move to one-arm dumbbell rows and seated cable rows.

Then comes the finisher.

Seven sets of straight-arm pulldowns.

The weight is lighter, the rest periods are shorter, and the goal is simple: stretch the lats, squeeze hard, and keep going until the entire back feels swollen.

The Workout:

• Pull-Ups: 3-5 sets x 10 reps
• Underhand-Grip Barbell Row: 3 sets x 8-10 reps
• T-Bar Row: 3 sets x 8-10 reps
• One-Arm Dumbbell Row: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Seated Cable Row: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Straight-Arm Pulldown: 7 sets x 10-15 reps

Thursday: Chest

Thursday is chest day, and Phil makes one thing clear pretty quickly: we are not ignoring the upper chest.

That was always a big emphasis in his training. A full upper chest helps everything look thicker and more complete from the front, so Phil spent a lot of time pressing and flying on an incline.

We start with the incline Hammer Strength press.

Heavy, stable, and easy to load without wasting energy balancing the weight. Phil can lock in, drive through the upper chest, and focus on getting strong contractions without turning the movement into a circus act.

From there, we hit the pec deck before going right back to incline work with dumbbell presses and incline dumbbell flyes.

By now, the upper chest is fully loaded with blood.

Only after all of that do we move to the flat dumbbell press. That tells you a lot about the priority here.

Then we finish with seven sets of cable crossovers.

Short rest periods, constant tension, hard squeezes, and a ridiculous pump to finish the session.

Phil’s chest training is a good example of specialization without overcomplication. If you want a body part to improve, sometimes you just need to put it first, attack it from multiple angles, and keep the execution tight.

The Workout:

• Incline Hammer Strength Press: 4 sets x 8-10 reps
• Pec Deck: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Incline Dumbbell Press: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Incline Dumbbell Fly: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Flat Dumbbell Press: 3 sets x 8-10 reps
• Cable Crossover: 7 sets x 12-15 reps

Friday: Hamstrings and Calves

Friday is hamstrings and calves, which means we are back to leg training, but the feel of the workout is completely different from Tuesday.

There is less loading for the sake of loading and a lot more emphasis on control, stretch, and contraction.

We start with lying leg curls, followed by single-leg standing curls. Nothing complicated here. Phil is just getting the hamstrings warm, full of blood, and ready for the heavier work.

Then come dumbbell Romanian deadlifts.

This is the one movement where you really have to slow down. Phil was not bouncing through reps or chasing a huge number on the dumbbells. Get a deep stretch, keep tension on the hamstrings, and come back up under control.

After that, we head to the seated leg curl for seven sets.

At first, it feels manageable. A few rounds in, your hamstrings are cramping, the rest periods feel way too short, and Phil is probably laughing because he has done this a thousand times.

Then we finish with calves.

Three sets seated, three sets standing. One hits the soleus a little harder, the other gives the gastrocnemius more work. Simple, old-school bodybuilding.

By the end, your hamstrings are tight, your calves are pumped, and stairs suddenly look like a bad idea.

The Workout:

• Lying Leg Curl: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Single Leg Standing Leg Curl: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Seated Leg Curl: 7 sets x 12-15 reps
• Seated Calf Raise: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Standing Calf Raise: 3 sets x 10-12 reps

Saturday: Arms

Saturday is arm day, which for Phil Heath almost feels unnecessary.

His arms were such a strength that Hany Rambod reportedly had him back off direct arm training at times so the rest of his upper body could catch up. That sounds like a nice problem to have.

Everyone wants bigger arms, but there is a point where they can start to overpower the physique. Phil was already flirting with that line.

We start with dumbbell curls, one arm at a time.

Phil liked to keep these strict and controlled. No swinging, no rushing, and no bouncing from one arm to the other. Finish the rep, squeeze the biceps, then switch sides.

From there, we move through concentration curls, hammer curls, incline curls, and machine preacher curls. The exercises are simple, but the rest periods are not generous.

About 60 seconds and we are going again.

By the time we get to triceps, the arms are already full.

Rope pressdowns get things started before we move into close-grip bench presses, machine dips, and overhead machine extensions.

At this point, Phil is probably looking at his arms in the mirror, talking trash about somebody, and acting like this is just another Saturday.

Meanwhile, your sleeves are getting tighter by the set.

No secret exercises here. Just a lot of basic curling and pressing, short rest periods, and enough volume to make one of the best pairs of arms in bodybuilding history even more ridiculous.

The Workout:

• Dumbbell Curl: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Concentration Curl: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Dumbbell Hammer Curl: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Incline Dumbbell Curl: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Machine Preacher Curl: 3 sets  x 8-12 reps

• Rope Pressdown: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Close Grip Bench Press: 3 sets x 8-10 reps
• Machine Dip: 3 sets x 8-12 reps
• Overhead Machine Triceps Extension: 3 sets x 10-12 reps

Phil Heath’s Diet

As with all bodybuilders, Phil Heath’s diet changed depending on whether he was in the offseason or preparing for the Olympia. That said, the overall structure stayed pretty consistent. You wouldn’t see him eating a bunch of junk in the offseason.

He consistently ate 6-8 meals per day, kept protein high, pushed carbohydrates hard around training, and relied mostly on predictable bodybuilding staples.

Think eggs, chicken, steak, fish, rice, oats, cream of wheat, and vegetables.

Nothing revolutionary.

The exact amounts would move up or down depending on the phase, but Phil was a big believer in eating enough food to support hard training while keeping the meals clean and easy to digest. Carbohydrates were especially important because they helped fuel his high-volume workouts and keep his muscles full.

Protein stayed high throughout the year, while fats were generally more moderate.

A typical day of eating might look something like this:

Sample Day of Eating

Breakfast

• Egg whites and whole eggs
• Cream of wheat or oatmeal

Snack

• 8 oz steak or lean ground beef
• 2 cups white rice
• Broccoli

Lunch

• 8 oz chicken breast
• 2 cups brown rice
• Asparagus

Post-Workout

• 2-3 scoops protein powder
• Around 150 grams of carbohydrates

Dinner

• 8 oz steak or lean ground beef
• 2 cups white rice
• Spinach

Snack

• 8 oz salmon
• Broccoli

Depending on the phase, Phil’s daily intake could land around 300-400 grams of protein, 500-600 grams of carbohydrates, and 80-100 grams of fat.

That is a massive amount of food for the average person, but it made sense in the context of a 250-plus-pound professional bodybuilder training at an elite level.

What We Can Learn From Phil Heath

• Traditional Bro Splits Work: Phil built one of the best physiques of all time using a traditional body-part split. You do not need to train every muscle three times per week for a program to be effective, especially if you are training hard and doing enough quality work in each session.

• You Do Not Need to Train Super Heavy: Phil was strong, but he was not obsessed with turning every exercise into a max-effort strength test. The goal was to challenge the muscle, control the weight, and keep tension where it belonged.

• Machines Are Useful Bodybuilding Tools: Smith machines, Hammer Strength presses, pec decks, leg curls, and other machines showed up constantly in Phil’s training. If the goal is muscle growth, stability can be an advantage because it allows you to focus more on the target muscle and less on balancing the weight.

• Moderate Volume, Moderate Intensity: Phil’s training lived in the middle ground. He used enough volume to create a strong growth stimulus and trained hard, but most sets were not all-out grinders with maximal weights.

• Hire a Coach: Even one of the most genetically gifted bodybuilders ever benefited from having Hany Rambod in his corner. A good coach provides programming, accountability, an outside perspective, and can often see things you miss when you are too close to your own training.

• Stick to Basic Bodybuilding Foods: Phil’s diet was built mostly around simple foods like eggs, chicken, steak, fish, rice, oats, and vegetables. Supplements can help fill gaps, but they should support the diet, not replace it. Most of your results will still come from consistently eating enough quality whole foods.

Phil Heath’s Legacy

Phil Heath finished his career with seven Mr. Olympia titles, tying Arnold Schwarzenegger and placing himself among the most accomplished bodybuilders in history.

What made Phil special was not just the number of wins. It was the look.

He competed in an era where mass still ruled bodybuilding. Guys like Ronnie Coleman, Jay Cutler, and other huge competitors had pushed the standard higher and higher, bringing overwhelming size to the stage.

Phil had plenty of mass, but his physique looked different.

He had narrow joints, a tight waist, round muscle bellies, full delts, and some of the best arms in bodybuilding history. At his best, he combined the size of a modern mass monster with a much more polished, aesthetic shape.

That combination made him incredibly hard to beat.

He could stand next to bigger-looking competitors without getting swallowed up because his proportions, muscle fullness, separation, and three-dimensional look made every body part stand out.

When his conditioning was right, there were very few weaknesses to expose.

That is why Phil belongs in any bodybuilding GOAT discussion. Whether you rank him ahead of Ronnie Coleman, Lee Haney, Dorian Yates, Arnold Schwarzenegger, or anyone else is subjective, but seven straight Olympia wins make the argument unavoidable.

His genetics earned him the nickname “The Gift,” but genetics alone do not win seven Mr. Olympia titles.

Precision, consistency, coachability, attention to detail, and years of high-level execution turned that potential into one of the greatest physiques and careers bodybuilding has ever seen.

If you enjoyed this article, check out some of my other bodybuilding profiles:

• Chris Bumstead Workout and Diet Program for 2024
• The Arnold Schwarzenegger Workout and Diet Program
• The Dorian Yates Workout and Diet Program
• The Mike Mentzer Heavy Duty Training Program
• The Ronnie Coleman Workout and Diet Program

Author: Kyle Hunt

Email: KyleHuntFitness@gmail.com

Hire Kyle as your coach: http://www.kylehuntfitness.com/services/

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If you want a complete step-by-step bodybuilding program, check out my ebook, Absolute Muscle.