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Phil Heath’s Arm Training Tips and Workout
Secrets to Guns of the Gift
By Ron Harris
Among the Best Arms of All Time
The list of the best arms of all time isn’t overly long, even in a sport well stocked with genetic freaks. Some champions were best known for their astounding biceps development, such as Larry Scott, Arnold, Robby Robinson, Albert Beckles, Ronnie Coleman and Mike Matarazzo. Others frequently come up in debates about the best triceps ever seen, like Kevin Levrone, Lee Priest and Roelly Winklaar. It’s rarer to see a man with both bi’s and tri’s that are inhumanly developed, which is why seven-time Mr. Olympia Phil Heath stands out in the crowd. A solid argument could be made that he possesses the best and most complete arms in the game. Twenty-three inches in the off-season and just under 22 in contest condition, they have served him well in his battles against formidable foes such as Jay Cutler, Big Ramy, Shawn Rhoden and Dexter Jackson – all of them also Olympia winners.
Ain’t No Secrets, Truth Be Told
If you rolled your eyes hard at the subtitle of this article, I don’t blame you. Phil Heath doesn’t have any “secrets” that would allow anyone to duplicate his results, unless you happen to be his long-lost twin brother separated at birth back in December of 1979. The Gift readily admits he had a profound genetic advantage. “My arms were already pretty well developed in high school and college, before I started training,” he says. “Playing basketball, my arms would definitely get blasted from all the dribbling and shooting. You’re working the forearms and triceps when you’re pushing that ball into the floor over and over.”
Many people who saw young Phil assumed he was training his arms religiously like many kids his age. Bodybuilding was never even on his radar until he saw a photo of Kevin Levrone on his friend’s laptop in college. It was actually a group photo of Kevin with Ronnie and Jay, but it was Levrone’s insanely full-blown triceps that impressed him the most. Finally, the guy most already thought lifted started lifting.
Phil’s early arm training reflected his newbie zeal. “It was tons of volume,” he tells us. “I did at least four exercises each for biceps and triceps with four or five sets each. You just have so much enthusiasm for training when you’re starting out and I didn’t really know what overtraining was.”
It was less than a year later that Heath knew he had been blessed in the arms department. Masters Mr. Olympia champion Claude Groulx was in Colorado to guest pose for a local contest, and Phil was able to meet him. Groulx couldn’t get over the fact that this kid who had yet to set foot on a contest stage and who claimed to have been training only a year had bigger arms than him!
No Secrets, But Plenty of Great Tips
Phil is one of those rare examples of someone who never had to struggle to develop a certain body part, yet is still able to impart useful advice to us regular mortals.
Sevens
Phil’s success and popularity helped spread the word about his coach Hany Rambod’s FST-7 Training system to the bodybuilding world. At the core of the program are “Sevens,” which are seven sets of the same exercise with the same weight, with only 20-30 seconds rest between. The weight won’t seem too challenging for the first two to four sets, but the cumulative effect of lactic acid and trapped blood make it a real struggle to finish the reps on the final set or two.
“To assure you get a great pump, end your biceps and triceps routines with Sevens,” Phil advises. Sevens have been the saving grace for many who were previously unable to achieve a meaningful pump in the arms, and there are also more than a few who swear it was the key to seeing new growth in arms that hadn’t budged the tape measure in years.
The Arm Blaster
Barbell curls can be an incredibly productive basic movement for the biceps, yet many use cheating form to heave up heavier weight, in the process working more lower back and shoulders than biceps. “One of the best ways you can ensure you’re using good form is to get one of those Arm Blasters. That thing will keep your elbows pinned right to your sides and make 50 pounds feel like 100 pounds,” Phil said. Note: a quick search showed you can pick one of these up for anywhere from $20 and $60 – a small price to pay if they can fix your form on barbell and EZ-bar curls and pack some meat on your bi’s!
Don’t Just Go by the Tape Measure
While we all thrilled to see a bigger number for an arm measurement, Phil reminds us that this number never tells the whole story. “A lot of what makes arms great is the separation and the freaky details, those striations.” Obviously, you would need to be at an extremely low body fat level to see all that cool shit. “Don’t get obsessed with measurements,” Phil reminds us. “A big fat arm isn’t nearly as impressive as a lean, somewhat smaller arm.”
Forget Low Reps
I often questioned the wisdom of going so heavy on arm exercises that you’re only able to complete four to six reps, as some in the past have advocated, and I was glad to see Phil agreed with me. “I stick to 10 reps per set for biceps, and for triceps I will go a little higher, usually in the 12-15 rep range. I’ve never felt the need to go so heavy on arms that I can’t get 10 reps. That’s just opening yourself up to injuries that can throw off all your upper-body training. Be smart and be careful.”
Switch Things Up Often
Many of you have experienced steady gains in arm size for weeks or months, only to hit a plateau where it seems no further growth is occurring in spite of your most valiant efforts. This is perfectly normal, and Phil has a solution. “Always keep mixing things up,” he suggests. “Using a variety of movements is important for growth.” Just to add to that, if you have found a certain exercise or two that you seem to have a superior mind-muscle connection with, or a routine that is delivering results, don’t change a thing until you see that progress has stalled. In other words, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But of course, if what you’re doing isn’t working anymore, do something else!
Some of Phil’s Favorite Exercises
‘Heath Curls’
Long before most of you were born, even me in this case, the first Mr. Olympia Larry Scott gave credit to preacher curls for his astonishing biceps development and was so fond of them that they became known as “Scott Curls.” Phil has put his own twist on the old standard alternate dumbbell curls and some fans have dubbed his version “Heath Curls.” As Phil explains, “When doing dumbbell curls, I don’t alternate reps. I alternate every five reps.” He will do five reps on the right side, then five on the left, and repeat for a total of 10 reps per arm. “That way, each side gets a longer rest during the set so you can get a couple more reps. Also, by not alternating every rep, you can focus more on each individual arm.”
If you try Heath Curls, you will also be pleased to see that your form is probably better than when you alternate arms every rep, as you tend not to lean your torso over toward the working arm during the set.
Concentration Curls
The humble concentration curl has been a staple in the biceps routines of champions since the Arnold days. Even in the modern era, top gunslingers like Phil utilize them to focus more on the midrange of the movement and bring out better peaks. “Steady yourself when doing concentration curls so the elbow of your working arm doesn’t move,” he instructs. You can brace that other arm on a dumbbell rack, or even on your own body while bent over as Phil does. While most of us do concentration curls seated, Heath prefers the “old school” style of standing and bending over to avoid cheating.
Incline Dumbbell Curls
One part of the range of motion many trainers miss out on when performing just about any type of curl is the bottom, because it’s tougher to start reps from a full stretch as opposed to reversing direction from about two-thirds or three-quarters of the way down. Incline dumbbell curls solve this issue by putting you in a position where all the reps start from a point of the biceps being fully stretched. It should go without saying that you always want to lower the dumbbells slowly and absolutely never rebound or “bounce” out of that full stretch to initiate a rep, even if you’re tired at the end of a set. That’s a good way to tear a biceps. Do your incline dumbbell curls with proper form and they can be a game-changer, especially if you’ve unwittingly been missing out on the stretch component of your curl movements.
Preacher Curl Machine
You might assume Phil would only do preachers with a bar, but he is partial to the machine version. “The technology of machines has improved a lot over the last 10 to 20 years, and some of them hit your muscles better than any barbell or dumbbell can,” he points out. The only problem he has with some of the models is that he’s too big to fit inside and do standard sets with both arms. In that case, he angles his body and does them one arm at a time.
Dumbbell Hammer Curls
Even when a man has some of the greatest arms of all time, it’s prudent to make sure all bases are covered. That’s why Phil keeps hammer curls in his program at all times. “The brachialis muscle between the biceps and triceps adds volume and helps the biceps pop up higher when fully developed,” he says. Heath prefers to do his one arm at a time to really focus on isolating this critical but somewhat obscure muscle.
Rope Pushdowns
The cable pushdown is one of the most versatile triceps exercises you can do, mainly because it allows for various grip attachments and hand positions. Phil happens to like the rope attachment. “I prefer to do pushdowns with a rope so I can separate the ends and get that strong squeeze,” he says. “It allows for a longer range of motion and better contractions.”
Though curls are where we often see the most cringe-worthy form, plenty of guys mess up on pushdowns too. “Don’t let the weight pull your arms up,” Phil notes. “Keep your elbows locked from the start of the set ‘til the end.” At Armbrust Pro Gym where he trains, Phil uses a triceps pushdown station that has a padded backrest. That forces him to stand up straight and not get sloppy.
Dumbbell Skull-Crushers
If you’ve ever done skull-crushers with dumbbells rather than a bar, you know they are humbling. Even very strong men have a tough time maintaining decent form with anything over a 30 to 40 pounds in each hand. Obviously, you can see Phil goes much heavier than that, but would you expect anything less from a man many feel has the best triceps a human being has ever built? He will go lighter with his older style, flaring his elbows out to the side, but keeping the dumbbells pressed together “unites” the two dumbbells into one unit, allowing for heavier weights.
Dumbbell Close-Grip Press
For many years, Phil’s go-to compound movement for the triceps was dips. They certainly served him well. More recently, he’s been switching up his training and has started to incorporate an alternate movement, one that might look familiar to MD readers. Juan “Diesel” Morel popularized an exercise he dubbed “chest busters,” which can best be described as a close-grip incline press using dumbbells pressed together. Morel used it for filling in his upper chest, particularly in the middle portion. It turns out that all it takes is a shift in elbow position to shift the focus onto the triceps. Phil angles his elbows slightly outward rather than tucked in close to his torso, effectively putting the brunt of the stress on to the triceps rather than the pecs. Just as a helpful tip, if you have access to rubber-coated dumbbells, they are much easier to keep pressed together without slipping as opposed to standard dumbbells with iron plates.
You’re Not Phil, But He Can Still Help You!
Phil Heath’s arm genetics are without a doubt among the most gifted I’ve seen, and I’ve seen many thousands of bodybuilders over the years. If you’re a Heath fan, you probably already know that he’s had to stop training them for periods because they were growing too fast and taking away from the proper balance with his shoulders and chest. Still, Phil is a thinking man’s bodybuilder with an analytical mind, and many of his techniques can be successfully utilized by those of us who do struggle with arm size. Put some of his tactics into practice, and get your own guns growing to their full potential!
Instagram @philheath
Biceps Routine
EZ-Bar Curls
3 x 10-12
Alternate Dumbbell Curls
3 x 10
OR
Hammer Dumbbell Curls
3 x 10-12
Spider Curls
3 x 10-12
Concentration Curls
3 x 10-12
Triceps Routine
Rope Pushdowns
3 x 12-15
Dumbbell Extensions
3 x 12-15
Bar or Machine Dips
3 x 12-15
Training Split
Monday: Shoulders
Tuesday: Legs
Wednesday: Back
Thursday: Chest
Friday: Legs
Saturday: Arms
Sunday: Off
Ron Harris got his start in the bodybuilding industry during the eight years he worked in Los Angeles as Associate Producer for ESPN’s “American Muscle Magazine” show in the 1990s. Since 1992 he has published nearly 5,000 articles in bodybuilding and fitness magazines, making him the most prolific bodybuilding writer ever. Ron has been training since the age of 14 and competing as a bodybuilder since 1989. He lives with his wife and two children in the Boston area. Facebook Instagram
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