7x Mr. Olympia Phil Heath Shares His 'Off-Season' Bodybuilding Training Cycle

Phil Heath is a seven-time Men’s Open Division Mr. Olympia champion. He stepped away from the competition in 2020, but that did not stop him from pumping iron and ensuring that he maintains his physique.

As he’s not preparing for any competition, his bodybuilding cycle has changed. However, his cycle had to be such that it allowed him to maintain his detailed muscles along with the incredible size he has built.

Recently, there were rumors of Heath returning to Mr. Olympia soon, but those were shot down by Jay Cutler. Nevertheless, the physique Heath has maintained would never be an obstacle if he wants to return to the stage.

During a YouTube video, Heath explained what his off-season bodybuilding cycle is and what medications he uses during this time

“Doing, DHEA, Prednisolone, I’m doing my Dihexa in the morning along with a little bit of T3 because my thyroid was low. Also, the BPC 157, Thymosin beta 4, now, TB 500, they took it off the market, so I have to do that. Every now and then I run a little HCG, and then what else, oh, Tesamorelin and Ipamorelin at night."

He continued:

"It’s more of a GH Serotone. So, it gives me that response but there’s something that I notice since we were talking about Growth. Growth puts on a lot of water to whereas this doesn’t, initially.”

It goes without saying that every bodybuilder has their own cycle. More often than not, the industry discusses the effects of a minimal and intense cycle.

Some bodybuilders such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chris Bumstead, Tom Platz and others have often spoken about how a minimal cycle of a two-compound cycle gives the best results (according to them).

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Phil Heath gives his opinion on Peptides

During the same YouTube video, the bodybuilding legend talked about his experience with peptides and the advice he has for anyone using the same:

“With peptides one thing I have noticed — because I never really got into that as a Pro other than Growth, is when it comes to these medications it takes like two or three months to see some effects."

He continued:

"So the average person is like, ‘I want to see it tomorrow,’ no man. You’re going to see some results after a month. Come month two you’re going to see more and month three and beyond, you’re going to see a ton.”

Phil Heath has strong advice for anyone who decides to take on the bodybuilding cycle, regardless of whether it’s during the season or off-season.

He believed it’s not something a bodybuilder needs to do, but it's something that has become protocol over the years.

“It’s to get you on a path where you could take this for however long you want without damaging. It’s not like you have to cycle on cycle off some of these medications. That’s really the protocol right now,” Heath said. “And Glutathione injections. Those are so freaking important especially in today’s society, just trying to keep your immune system up.”

Currently, it’s unknown if he wants to return to Mr. Olympia any time soon. The two bodybuilders with more titles than him are Lee Haney and Ronnie Coleman. It would require Heath to bring a physique that has never been seen before to win his eighth Mr. Olympia title.