Reaching the top of the sport with meticulous preparation and work ethic, Phil Heath remains one of the most successful figures to compete in the IFBB Pro League. In a recent interview with Piers Morgan, Heath discussed trans athletes in bodybuilding and opened up on how he biohacked his Mr. Olympia routine to win a total of seven titles.
Having claimed gold at every Mr. Olympia competition from 2011-2017, Heath cemented himself as an all-time great with three-dimensional muscle volume and freak factor. Matching Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s seven Sandow trophies, many consider Heath to be one of the best bodybuilders of this era.
His career was defined by a handful of pivotal moments, including his back-and-forth rivalry with ‘The Predator’ Kai Greene. Having stepped away from the bright lights, Heath hasn’t forgotten the winning formula that turned him into a bodybuilding star.
Phil Heath Discusses Trans Bodybuilding and His Mr. Olympia Routine: ‘Everything Is About Biohacking”
According to Heath, transgender athletes should compete in their own league.
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“I think that they should just have their own league. Don’t make it so confusing. I guess for me, I don’t care. Live your life. These are things I just — I want everybody to live their life no problem.”
Heath adds that if he were transgender, he would want to compete against other transgender athletes.
“It’s a form of cheating though, isn’t it [trans competing in sport]?” asks Piers Morgan.
“I think so. I think so,” says Heath. “But I don’t understand why you wouldn’t want to as a competitor, I’m thinking I’m a very competitive person, right, well just say, ‘I’m trans, I want to go against trans people.”
Looking ahead, ‘The Gift’ contends that we might see trans divisions or a trans league in our lifetime.
“I think maybe we do see that in our lifetime but I think it’s just all fresh. It’s all new. It brings out better conversation but I think even having this discussion has been even beneficial to me because I don’t hear this very often.”
“I think anyone that is considering to transition and wants to compete in sports, what was the swimmer, [Lia Thomas], I just want to maybe understand the psyche.”
Just like it was yesterday, Heath had no problem recounting his Mr. Olympia diet and training routine, which starts with 45 minutes on the step mill. Everything is about biohacking for Heath, and he follows up his morning cardio with time in the hyperbaric chamber and infrared sauna.
“You’re waking up at 4:45-5:00 am doing cardio for 45 minutes. Drinking something, you drink some water, bring some water with you to the cardio machine. Luckily I had one in the house. I’d do that, I’d do the step mill for a good 40-45 minutes. Hopped out of that, I have a Vitaeris 320, that’s a hbot machine, a hyperbaric machine. Hopped in that, did that for 45 minutes. Came out, did a shake, then do 35-45 minutes of infrared sauna treatment.
Then I get my first meal in. Thereafter, I’m either doing neuromuscular massage or PEMF because I want to remove all the EMFs around me and stuff like that. I have one of those mats, the grounding mats and stuff. Everything is about biohacking,” states Phil Heath.
During his prime, Heath consumed five to seven meals a day. Aside from breakfast, his meals typically included 300 grams of steak, chicken, or fish.
“Five to seven meals a day plus two shakes,” said Heath. “Two and a half cups of egg whites, two egg wholes, 200 grams of oatmeal or farina, and then, you’re doing 300 grams of steak, chicken, or fish. Five times a day.”
Even though rice is seen as a bodybuilding staple, Heath preferred sweet potatoes as his go-to carb source.
“It depends you’re doing carbs, different starches. I like rice but I actually like sweet potato a lot better for my physique. I would try to rotate different carbs and different proteins and just try to gauge how my body is digesting those protein and carbs. The avocado for healthy fats. As far as vegetables are concerned, I’m doing zucchini, squash, sauteed spinach, the normal thing.”
Transgender athletes have been attracting attention in sports outside of bodybuilding as well. Recently, the USA Powerlifting Federation (USAPL) was involved in a court hearing about its transgender inclusion policy in Minnesota. As a result of the court case order, the USAPL was ordered to cease business dealings after it barred transgender females from competing with other women.
“As many of you know, USA Powerlifting is involved in litigation in Minnesota involving the appropriate and fair inclusion of transgender athletes. The judge assigned to this case has ordered us to cease doing business in Minnesota even though we complied with an earlier court order by submitting a revised policy concerning male to female transgender athletes,” reads the USAPL statement.
Other notable names in fitness like Dan Bilzerian have been less tolerant of transgender athletes competing in sporting leagues without restrictions.
“I don’t care if you want to dress like (the other sex) or whatever. I don’t give a sh*t. BUT like competing against women from the bone structure, hormone standpoint, makes no f* sense. But everybody is so worried about being politically correct that they can’t see things that on the surface are so blatantly obvious.”
As the sports world evolves and changes, Phil Heath supports the idea of trans people having their own league to compete in. He believes this approach respects diversity and ensures a fair and even playing field for athletes regardless of gender.
RELATED: Ben Fordham Blasts Transgender Olympian Getting ‘Sportswoman of the Year’ Award
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