Bodybuilding legend Phil Heath remains a student of the sport despite stepping away from the bright lights. In a recent Bradley Martyn’s Raw Talk Podcast, Heath opened up on a potential comeback and discussed the rematch between Derek Lunsford and Hadi Choopan expected at the 2024 Mr. Olympia competition.
Since Hadi Choopan lost his title to Derek Lunsford at the 2023 Olympia, he has been fixated on redemption. Even though he faced visa issues, Hadi Choopan shined in Columbus, Ohio at the 2024 Arnold Classic, defeating Samson Dauda by 10 points with trademark conditioning. Veterans of the sport have labeled this package one of Choopan’s most dangerous of his illustrious career.
In the same month, Choopan traveled overseas where he rematched Dauda on UK soil. In the end, Choopan emerged victorious, establishing himself as the 2024 Arnold Classic UK winner. With momentum swinging in his favor, Choopan will rematch Derek Lunsford for the Mr. Olympia title this October.
Heath, who has served as the commentator for the marquee event, previewed the action in an early look. Considering Heath was guided by Hany Rambod — the coach of Lunsford and Choopan, he brings unique insight into their competitive rivalry. In addition, he laid out some of his own thoughts on returning to the sport.
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Phil Heath Says He ‘Could Come Back Now,’ Breaks Down Derek Lunsford vs Hadi Choopan 2024 Mr. Olympia Rematch
With Arnold Schwarzenegger raising the 2025 Arnold Classic Men’s Open prize money to $500,000, Heath underlined that the sport’s popularity is not waning.
“Arnold put up $200,000 extra grand for Open, so it ain’t dying,” said Heath about bodybuilding. “Open is still the king. It will be. Case in point, if you took Cbum out of it, would you still have the excitement? But you don’t talk about him. Take him out of it. Dino’s great but Dino lost last week. There’s new people.”
After witnessing Choopan’s physique in Columbus, Ohio, Heath was blown away and couldn’t contain his excitement for 2024 Mr. Olympia.
“Hadi Choopan looked sick. I think him and Derek are going to, I’m very excited for the 60th, let’s put it like that,” said Heath. “Oh, it was probably lymph nodes or something [Lunsford’s pointy lats], probably had swelling, part of the game, I guess.”
Looking back on 2023 Mr. Olympia, Bradley Martyn asked Heath why Derek Lunsford had pointy lats.
“I was like, what the fu**, is this oil,” says Bradley Martyn.
“You ask yourself, because I did, there’s no way you can — right, you don’t have to, he already has great development. I think it’s just lymph nodes.”
Heath believes the sport has become even more challenging because fans can slow down videos and pick apart significantly higher-quality images.
“You are on display in 4K, people will slow it down, freeze it, and circle your shit. They are really good [cameras]. Yeah, they are out there. It makes the competitors better. Who knows if it makes them more depressed or not or more narcissistic you know, because you got to be a little bit crazy to just accept that reality of people always freeze-framing your shit.
They don’t freeze-frame your shit, when you’re in the gym doing your thing, they aren’t going to be like, ‘Oh, this is where his forearm doesn’t look the same as the other one,'” shared Phil Heath.
As for a potential return to the sport, Phil Heath mentioned that he could ‘come back now,’ but ‘what fuc**ng for?’
“Recovery is just… you know, it was painful for me. I could still come back now but… yeah,” said Heath. “Yeah, I could [still compete at Mr. Olympia-level] but, yeah, easily, it’s just what fuc**ng for? Some things you just have to let go, you know.”
According to ‘The Gift,’ he still has the Olympia-winning formula, as he understands the modalities and medications required to compete at the highest level.
“There will be somebody, ‘No, he couldn’t.’ If you lived in this body you would be like yeah because of the fact that I know what modalities work, I know what medications work as well. I have the data to prove what works. Then, it’s just like what’s the purpose, what’s the drive, what’s the end goal?
You got to have an end at some point. You have got to say goodbye and that’s where I feel like a lot of athletes, especially in bodybuilding, they don’t know when.”
Phil Heath hasn’t been the only bodybuilding mastermind to break down the Hadi Choopan-Derek Lunsford showdown. Expert coach Chris Aceto also gave his thoughts on Choopan’s future following his recent pair of Arnold Classic victories. When assessing the field of Open threats, Aceto believed that only Derek Lunsford or Andrew Jacked could stop Choopan later this year.
While Phil Heath appears content with his bodybuilding accomplishments, he refuses to shut the door on a comeback completely. Nevertheless, he anticipates a close affair between Lunsford and Choopan when they take to the stage on the weekend of October 10-13 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Watch the full video from Bradley Martyn’s Raw Talk channel below:
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