Peak week is in full effect for bodybuilders headed to 2023 Mr. Olympia in Orlando, Florida, where they intend to present their best conditioning possible. With that in mind, Lee Haney took to a recent Rx Muscle interview to share a secret he learned from Albert Beckles for drying out without dangerous diuretics.
Lee Haney is tied with Ronnie Coleman for the most Mr. Olympia victories in history at eight. He took the crown from Samir Bannout in the mid-1980s and cemented his legacy for almost a decade with jaw-dropping title defenses, regularly besting names such as Rich Gaspari, Lee Labrada, and Mohamed Makkawy.
Having watched the sport evolve over the years, Haney grew increasingly concerned with how athletes prepare for contests. In the past, he’s taken issue with the obsession of size and overeating in the Men’s Open class. He argues that athletes are currently 60 pounds overweight in the league. In his latest effort, Haney opened up about drying out practices used today versus when he was champion.
Lee Haney Shares Albert Beckles-Inspired Drying Out Technique Without Diuretics
Haney explained that the week, night, and day before a contest, he would perform bodybuilding’s mandatory poses three times for 30 seconds each inside a dry sauna. He repeated this process up to three times in 24 hours to dry out his physique naturally.
“Several of them you know they may miss their peaks or come in holding fluid and have that little skim between the muscles and the skin that they didn’t get rid of and all of a sudden the day after the show bam! They look great. So one of the things I teach when I have athletes reach out to me to help them with contest prep or help them with training systems.”“The week of the show, the night before the show or the day before the show during the day you need to hit a dry sauna and go through your mandatory poses at least around three times holding each mandatory pose for about ten seconds then pop out, cool the body down and go back in for a second time. Do it at least three times. Once in the early part of the day and do it again twice later in the day around 8 o’clock that evening.”
He said this technique helped him wring out the little film of water that athletes often struggle to shed in the final moments before show day.
“By doing so, you’re getting rid of that little film of water. So the next morning before the show bam! You hit the sage you’re tight instead of having the wait till the evening, you know. Well, you know something, I can’t say it was just mine. I learned that from Albert Beckles and all the guys.”
Haney always advises safe practices in bodybuilding, and stresses that drying out can be achieved “without starving yourself and depriving yourself of water.”
“That’s one of the things I would always do. If I didn’t have a dry sauna I would put tiles under the bathroom floor and turn the hot water on so it would get steamed up. That was one of my secrets and that’s what I press upon these athletes that I work with. So there’s way to do it without starving yourself and depriving yourself of water. Your muscles got to have water. You go into a show with a cotton mouth, then guess what, that’s not correct. That should never happen. It never happened to me,” shared Lee Haney.
Instead of using dangerous diuretics, Haney opted for natural methods such as vitamin B6 and hot tea. He also wore heavy sweatshirts and created a sauna suit by cutting up trash bags to wear.
“When I do, I used hot tea and B6 which is a natural diuretic. Then, the last week or so I train with a heavy sweatshirt on and sometimes I cut a garbage bag out, cut the neck out, garbage bag, the arms out, put it on, then I put the sweatshirt on top of that.Now I do the same thing for the legs. I sweat the water out without – I don’t stop drinking water. I never stopped drinking. I would use tea which is a diuretic but then I also made sure I include magnesium at least around 500-1000. You know, 500 in the morning, 500 in the evening. So the muscles hold on to the necessary fluids so I don’t cramp while I’m on stage because I had that happen at my first Olympia and that never happened again.”
After suffering from cramps at the 1983 Mr. Olympia, Haney said that was the last time he tried a “slight diuretic.”
“I used a slight diuretic in ’83 and that’s why I ended up cramping. I was never big on diuretics,” Haney shared. “That’s very dangerous so as I’ve said, I learned to use B6 and tea. That’s something I learned from Albert Beckles.”
This wasn’t Haney’s first attempt at warning modern competitors about dehydration. In February, the credentialed Pro cautioned athletes against enlisting unqualified coaches who push dangerous practices. To remedy this problem, Haney offered his guidelines for carrying out a safe and effective bodybuilding contest prep.
The highly awaited 2023 Mr. Olympia contest is almost here as athletes ready their physiques for the November 2-5 spectacle. As for Lee Haney, he just wants to see competitors dry out and achieve shredded conditioning safely and healthily.
