After teaming up with Arnold Schwarzenegger in August 2023, Ronnie Coleman trained with Phil Heath in December last year. Despite retiring from competitive bodybuilding, Ronnie Coleman’s relevance in the sport hasn’t faded. Hence, Heath felt honored to train with The King.

While Heath never matched Ronnie Coleman’s Mr. Olympia record, he became the most prolific champion after Coleman. With Heath’s seven titles, the pair share 15 Sandow trophies between them. When the two bodybuilding icons met in December, they discussed how their mindset helped them dominate the competition.

Actions speak louder than words for Phil Heath

While discussing the explosion of bodybuilding content on social media, in the current era, Heath talked about how people often make montages of old and current footage. These montages often compare Mr. Olympia winners with other fan favorites.

They also often show how these contenders might have looked bigger than the reigning champions. While there are always underdogs, Phil Heath believes winning is the ultimate answer. It’s the champion’s mindset and hard work that helped him and bodybuilding legends like Ronnie Coleman win repeatedly.

“I’m like, the thing that’s going to make you look bigger is winning, that’s it. You don’t have to say a damn thing,” said The Gift. The man who equaled Arnold Schwarzenegger’s record recalled watching the 2005 Olympia in person and being in awe of Coleman.

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While challengers like Gunter Schlierkamp, Jay Cutler, and the late Gustavo Badell tried to one-up Coleman, he felt they lacked the sheer will. “I’m thinking to myself they ain’t like that now, they’re scared,“ Phil Heath told The King. While Heath has formed the opinion through his experience and watching Coleman compete, he isn’t the only one who has spoken about the champion’s mindset being the x-factor.

Dorian Yates on outworking everyone

Founding Father Benjamin Franklin said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Champions like Ronnie Coleman, Phil Heath, and Dorian Yates prepared so diligently that they felt invincible on stage. Six-time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates has discussed his brutal training in several interviews. Yates said that even people who followed his exercise philosophy couldn’t beat him because of his mindset to push harder than his greatest challengers.

Every time The Shadow stepped on stage, he had immense confidence because he believed no one trained as hard as he did. The Gift and The King also shared this similar trait. Heath trained alone in the gym, pushing his body with every workout. Meanwhile, Coleman became famous as the strongest bodybuilder of his time.

Their hard work in the gym was also reflected in their attitude on stage. While the Olympia doesn’t crown victors based on self-confidence, Phil Heath, Ronnie Coleman, and other Mr. Olympia winners believed they were unbeatable before they became unbeatable.

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