Legendary bodybuilder Lee Haney carved out his own space in the sport as the most decorated Olympian of all time. In a recent RxMuscle interview, Haney shared important advice for up-and-coming bodybuilders and fitness fans, asking them to be more careful about the information they get from the internet.
Former IFBB Pro Lee Haney is widely regarded as one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time. He was at the height of his powers from 1984 to 1991, securing eight consecutive Sandow trophies and leading the list for the most wins in the competition’s history along with fellow eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman. During his career, he went up against the likes of three-time champion Frank Zane, six-time winner Dorian Yates, and Hall of Famer Lee Labrada. He’s one of the few athletes who retired on the top following his final Olympia win in 1991.
Although he moved on from professional competition decades ago, Haney did not lose his passion for the sport. In Oct. 2021, Haney took issue with the evolution of the Men’s Open division, which he helped set the golden standard for many years. He acknowledged the humongous size of the modern mass monsters but bashed the lack of muscle maturity and separation. He pinned the blame on training systems devised by coaches who never stepped on the stage.
A month later, Haney talked about the mental issues he faced himself and called on the contenders to be more open about the mental challenges they may be going through. The message came in the wake of Luke Sandoe’s death.
Haney believes the Mr. Olympia contest, considered to be the most prestigious show in the sport, has lost its way following the passing of founder Joe Weider in 2013. He recalled the previous editions and claimed the event may have been over-commercialized.
Ahead of the 2022 Mr. Olympia, Lee Haney gave his breakdown of the top contenders. He argued the only way to dethrone former two-time victor Mamdouh ‘Big Ramy’ Elssbiay was to out-condition him instead of trying to outsize him. His prediction came true when Hadi Choopan won the show last December.
Haney stressed the importance of prioritizing longevity by giving examples of Frank Zane and Robby Robinson. He drew a comparison between them and Coleman to reinforce the costs of becoming a mass monster.
Lee Haney shares crucial advice for bodybuilders to be cautious on the internet
In a recent YouTube video, Lee Haney shared an important tip for competitors and fitness fans to take the information they get on the Internet with a grain of salt.
“So much is on the internet now,” said Haney. “Every now and then I would get an athlete reach out to me and ask about training systems, carb loading, carb depleting, last minute contest prep. I always emphasize that you gotta be careful with what you hear on the internet.
“A lot of these, you got a lot of coaches out here. A lot of them are great but then you have some who really are not qualified to do that. So, you got to be careful of what you hear.”
Lee Haney shared some guidelines for safe contest prep. He warned the contenders about the risk of dehydration and following inexperienced coaches. Most importantly, he urged them to stay consistent and not to annihilate their physiques with extreme training and diet protocols.
Last month, Haney urged the athletes and judges to revamp the judging criteria due to a dangerously high requirement of conditioning. He believes it to be a leading factor in the rise of deaths in the sport in recent years.
You can watch the full video below.
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