It doesn’t matter what time of year it is for the seven-time Mr Olympia winner because even in retirement, every day is a chance to become huge. Try ‘The Gift’s’ Phil Health Back and Biceps Blast Workout for yourself, and you’ll be sure to find your pump.
“This is one of my favorite workouts,” explains the big man in a recent Instagram post for his 4.4 million followers. “The goal is to maintain muscle activation and once you feel that peak contraction, repeat it!”
Phil Heath’s Back and Biceps Workout
Perform 3 Sets of 8 to 12 Reps for each exercise:
- Iso Lateral High Row
- Standing Bicep Curl
- Seated Low Row
- Single Arm Seated Biceps Curl
Phil Heath’s Advanced Tips: “Try and hold each rep for 1-3 seconds on your last set. That will get you some major gains.”
Phil Heath’s Back and Biceps Workout Breakdown
The machine that Heath is using has three grip variations for targeting different parts of the back, but you can replicate The Gift’s super high reps with the iso lateral high row machine. You’ll be taxing your latissimus dorsi; the large muscle that covers the side of your torso, along with the trapezius (neck, shoulders, upper back) and the smaller muscles in the back and even your biceps. The Gift grabs a handle and performs each set as single arm exercise. This is great for making sure each arm is pulling its weight.
For his standing bicep curls, Heath uses a Panatta machine with a cambered bar. This takes some of the load off the lower body, but if you don’t have access to this type of equipment you can stand using a traditional EZ bar. “I alternate from close to wide grip on this to ensure I hit different parts of my bicep,” he explains. Notice how Heath keeps his body as still as possible, isolating his arms as much as possible.
Heath explains that the low row can be performed as a single arm exercise or together, but either way he implores that you should “focus on the upper back,” for gaining thickness. To finish is the seated single arm bicep curl. “Focus on the squeeze at the top of the movement and also on the eccentric (in this case, lowering) part,” says the bodybuilding legend. “Don’t just let the weight drop, you need to control it.”
Got that? Good! “Time to get huge!” encourages the Olympia icon.
For more workouts from “The Gift” follow Phil Heath on Instagram
