Even though he’s not preparing for a Mr. Olympia contest, Phil Heath still wants to maintain his swole physique at the age of 44. In a recent YouTube video shared on August 21, 2024, Heath walked fans through his tip-filled arms workout, where he offered guidance on building muscle with technique, tempo, and time under tension.
Phil Heath is a seven-time Mr. Olympia winner. Like a sculptor, he carved his physique carefully with countless hours of hard work and specialized training. His ‘3D’ muscle volume was his calling card, and the details combined with the fullness of his physique made him near-impossible to overcome during his prime years.
Holding the Sandow trophy from 2011-2017, Heath was the last dominant champion that stood atop the Men’s Open class. Since his reign, the title picture has turned into a game of hot potato, as gold has switched hands five times (Shawn Rhoden, Brandon Curry, Mamdouh ‘Big Ramy’ Elssbiay, Hadi Choopan, and Derek Lunsford). Although Heath hasn’t competed since 2020 at Olympia in third place, his training approach is highly respected within the industry.
Phil Heath’s Workout and Tips for Building Huge Arms
Check out Heath’s exercise selections below:
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- Cable straight bar triceps pushdown
- EZ bar cable curl
- Machine triceps extension
- Machine preacher curl
- Machine alternating triceps extension
Cable straight bar triceps pushdown
Normally, he uses a rope attachment for triceps pushdowns but opted for a straight bar to keep his body guessing.
“Right now, I’m doing some triceps extensions. I got this right here, I usually will use a rope but I’m trying something different today. I’m going to do triceps, biceps, triceps, biceps, triceps, biceps, and I’m starting here and then going over to do some curls and you’ll see the rest.”
He advised lifters to not hunch over the machine; instead, stand straight while pulling the bar straight down.
“I see this all the time, they come in elbows flared out and they’re pushing down like this [hunched over]. Now, I’m not going to sit here and say you can’t get a good workout from it, a good pump from it, but what I like to do is actually come closer.”
“I like to do it the way it’s instructed right here [on the machine]. He’s not hunched over. He’s actually standing straight up and pulling that straight down.”
EZ bar cable curl
When it comes to EZ bar cable curls, Heath says stricter form will produce greater results. Above all else, he prioritizes the right technique, time under tension, and the proper tempo.
“A lot of y’all are doing that shit. Try to do it more strict. You may have to lower the weight but who cares? You’re going to have some big guns if you do it correctly. With actual detail because that’s what we want. We want all these different fibers to be moving. Can you get big? There’s plenty of guys. You guys see them, you can shout them out if you want to. Oh this guy does a full stack and this and that, do they have this shit? Probably not.”
“What it really is is having the right technique, the right time under tension, and the right tempo, that’s what it is.”
Machine triceps extension
So he doesn’t lean forward during machine triceps extensions, Heath makes sure he’s comfortable, in position, and doesn’t press the weight too hard.
“What makes this tricep machine really awesome is that there’s a foot lever down on the floor right here. That level actually makes this pad go forward.
So, when I get comfortable, and I have my arms right here, I can press on it however, if I press on this too hard, it’s going to shoot forward. So what you want to do is lean back into it, press it, and then it moves you forward.”
Machine preacher curl
Heath explains that he doesn’t fully descend his arms during sets of machine preacher curls to protect his joints from pain.
“Why isn’t he going fully down? I’m not trying to have pain in here. I don’t want pain in there. I used to listen to a lot of these guys online earlier in my career talking about oh you need to go all the way down, but this part always ends up hurting. So what I’m doing here, see how my arms are right here [not hunched over the machine], this is where I’m still getting tension so I want constant tension.”
Machine alternating triceps extension
While performing machine alternating triceps extensions, Heath says he can adjust his sitting position to add extra tension to his sets.
“Last but not least, with regards to triceps, the ultimate arm extension,” says Heath. “You can see this thing called the joint center, that’s where you want your elbow joint to be.”
Building massive arms is always on Heath’s to-do list. He recently walked through how to properly execute incline dumbbell curls for bigger biceps. Heath underlined how important it is to achieve a strong mind muscle connection for optimal results.
Having reached the highest of highs throughout his bodybuilding tenure, there is plenty we can take away from Heath’s training guide. The next time you tackle the gym, try incorporating some of his tips for bigger arms.
RELATED: Bodybuilding Legend Phil Heath Shares 3 Tips for Growing the Chest With Cable Crossovers
Watch the full video from Phil Heath’s YouTube channel below:
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