Phil Heath, "The Gift", is the greatest bodybuilder of all time whose shoulders, forearms, and arms have not been matched.
He has the best arms in bodybuilding, achieved from numerous hours of training in the gym.
As a fitness trainer, I went through Phil Heath's workout plan, interviews, and Youtube videos to learn how he trains his arms.
In this article, I will detail my findings on Phil Heath's arm workouts, his diet, and the supplements he uses for his extraordinary physique.
Quick Summary
- Phil Heath works out his arms once a week with high-volume bodybuilding-style exercises.
- Some workouts include the rope pushdown, incline two-dumbbell extensions, spider curls, concentration dumbbell curls, and machine dips.
- Heath occasionally uses a curling machine or cable but prefers free weights most of the time.
Celebrity Stats/Career Highlights
- Age: 43 years
- Height: 5ft 9in
- Weight: 245 - 255 lbs
- Waist: 29in
- Chest: 54in
Arm Workout Routine

Phil Heath's upper body training program is constructed in a way that is suitably challenging for him.
As a result, he can make excellent growth. Let's take a look at Heath's arm exercise routine.
Bicep Workouts
- Seated curl machine: Heath begins with a full warm-up on the seated curl machine with single and dual-arm curls, attempting to maximize blood volume by limiting resting intervals.
- Standing concentration cable curl: Heath moves from the seated curl machine to the cable machine, setting the grip at roughly hip height. He bends forward as he stands to the side of the cable machine, then takes the handle and curls his arm over his body till his fist touches his opposite chest.
- Preacher curls on the cable machine: Heath then uses a rickety preacher curl bench with a cable machine and EZ curl bar extension.
- Standing high cable curls: After a few rounds on the preacher curl machine, he moves on to standing curls. Heath visualizes himself hitting the back or front double biceps shot, constantly supinating his wrists to obtain a more noticeable biceps peak.
- EZ bar curls: Heath returns to the preacher bench to pound his biceps with narrow and wide grip curl supersets.
- Seated dumbbell curls: Beginning with double-biceps-arm curls as his biceps are pumped, he progresses to single-arm seated curls. He suggests taking this bicep exercise as a baseline and experimenting with the speed, sets, and alternate reps.
- Seated hammer curls: Heath smashes his biceps with this last exercise, passing the weight back and forth between both hands as he progresses to the next set. He maintains this level of effort until he is entirely drained.
Related: Best Long Head Bicep Exercises For Massive Arms
The Biceps Routines
Warm-up:
- 2 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions of high cable biceps curls
- 2 sets of 10 repetitions of concentration curls
Working sets and repetitions:
- 3 sets of 10 repetitions of preacher curls (superset wide and narrow grip of the same exercise)
- 3 sets of 10 to 12 repetitions of seated dumbbell curls (first set both arms; the next sets single arm curls)
- 4 sets of 10 repetitions of seated hammer curls
Tricep Workouts

- Rope pushdowns: Heath starts his triceps workout with rope pushdowns, which target the triceps lateral heads. Tricep pushdowns improve muscular endurance and strength by working the core, shoulders, and back. Don’t let the weight pull your arms up.
- Incline two-dumbbell extension: From the triceps pushdown station, Heath then moves to the incline two-dumbbell extension to isolate the triceps. He takes the dumbbells from the top class dumbbell rack and does the exercise to expand the range of motion, allowing him to acquire a greater stretch on the triceps at the bottom of the action.
- One-arm cable extension: After completing the sets of the incline extension, Heath then attaches a single grip handle to the pulley for the one-arm cable extension. This exercise targets the medial head and provides continuous tension to build muscular and bigger triceps.
- Machine dips: Phil feels the ideal end to his tricep training is dips. Dips are an excellent compound tricep exercise to execute after the triceps are pre-exhausted with isolated exercises since they involve the delts and pecs.
Related: Best Tricep Cable Exercises to Build Strength and Muscle
The Triceps Routines
- 3 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions of rope pushdowns
- 3 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions of incline two-dumbbell extension
- 3 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions of one-arm cable extension
- 3 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions of machine dips
Arm Workout Principles

Heath last won the Mr. Olympia title in 2017.
The seven times Mr. Olympia Phil Heath discusses his most useful training tips gleaned from numerous hours spent in the gym.
"The most important thing I've learned is that you don't have to reinvent the wheel. You don't need to develop novel motions if what you're doing now is effective. The objective is to determine what works. There are days when I do not count sets at all, and then there are days when I remember I don't want to overload since I still have an hour of cardiovascular exercise or another training program later that day."
- Phil Heath, American IFBB Professional Bodybuilder
Heath works out under the supervision of Hany Rambod, the man of the FST-7 (Fascia Stretch Training) regimen. It refers to a workout regimen that maximizes hormonal response and muscle growth.
Phil works out three to five top exercises for each muscle group.
His exercises can go up to two hours. He admires numerous old-school bodybuilding icons, such as Ronnie Coleman and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and, like them, places a higher focus on workout technique.
Heath states that the field of professional bodybuilding is expanding and that he must overcome his weaknesses to maintain his top position.
He says he prefers to adhere to fundamental bodybuilding workouts rather than include too many fancy motions in his workout program.
Heath tackles every one of his muscle groups from various angles, which helps to improve his weaknesses on one hand while also working on his roundness on the other.
Phil says a big fat arm is not as impressive as a built lean smaller arm.
Related posts:
Diet Plan

Phil eats roughly 400 g of protein daily, 600 g of carbs, and 5000 calories.
During his pre-contest days, he reduces his calorie intake a bit.
Here's a look at Phil Heath's diet:
- Meal 1: 2½ cups of egg whites and 1 cup of oatmeal
- Meal 2: Steamed vegetables, 12 oz chicken breast and 1 cup of brown rice
- Meal 3: Medium-sized sweet potato and 12 oz beef tenderloin
- Meal 4: 12 oz beef tenderloin and Medium-sized sweet potato
- Meal 5: 1 cup of brown rice and 12 oz chicken breast
- Meal 6: 12 oz tilapia or halibut and Steamed broccoli
- Meal 7: Steamed broccoli and 12 oz tilapia or halibut
Diet / Nutrition Principles

Phill Heath's diet is high in whey protein and carbs. Phill eats about 400 g of protein and 600 g of carbohydrates daily.
Heath follows a high-calorie diet. This equates to 5,000+ calories daily during the peak training period, which is more than double the normal consumption.
He restricts his calorie intake throughout the days leading up to the competition.
Phil consumes very little fat, including beneficial fats from vegetables and seafood.
Supplements

Heath incorporates the following supplements into his arm workout to fuel his gains.
- Multivitamin: Phil uses multivitamins to get the nutrients he requires to regulate his body's energy levels for the day. Bodybuilding multivitamins are also beneficial for lowering stress and pressure on your body during training [1].
- Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA): Top class BCAA supplements have been shown to increase muscle mass, decrease fatigue, and reduce muscle soreness [2].
- Creatine: Good creatine supplement improves workout performance and recovery after intense training. It also reduces the severity of an injury and helps tolerate heavy exercise loads [3].
- Pre-workout: Pre-workouts help increase energy during a workout, stay focused, increase blood flow to muscles, enhance fat loss, and boost recovery [4].
- Whey protein: Whey protein includes various necessary amino acids that are easily absorbed. Studies demonstrate that it may assist you in growing muscle, boost your strength, and burn a considerable amount of body fat [5].
FAQs
How Many Hours Does Phil Heath Workout?
Phil Heath works out approximately 2 hours. Heath's workout consists of three to five movements per muscle group and persists for around two hours. He concentrates on the technical performance of the exercises, akin to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ronnie Coleman, both of whom have won Mr. Olympia several times.
How Do I Get My Forearms Like Phil Heath?
You get your forearms like Phil Heath by performing high-volume arm exercises and employing the time-under-tension approach. Some workouts include Heath curls, concentration curls, dips, rope pushdowns, and incline two-dumbbell extensions.
References:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8125933/
- https://www.webmd.com/diet/health-benefits-bcaas
- https://www.webmd.com/men/creatine
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27429596/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5537849/
About The Author
You May Also Like