Can Phil Heath Be Beaten?

As the 2018 Mr. Olympia draws near, the question on everybody’s mind is, will Phil Heath continue his reign as the champion and bring his tally of wins to eight to tie the record held jointly by Lee Haney and Ronnie Coleman? Or will one of the hungry challengers like Ramy or Bonac topple him from his throne? One way to objectively answer this question, at least in theory, is to break down the attributes that professional bodybuilders are judged on and determine who possibly possesses the best total package in comparison to the seven-time and reigning Mr. Olympia.

Mass

Phil Heath appears even bigger than his stats of 5-9 and 250 pounds thanks to his small joints and round, flowing muscle bellies. Another man with larger joints and lacking that fullness to the muscle bellies could weigh 20 pounds more at the same height yet fail to overpower Heath in terms of mass. That being said, there is one man contending for the Olympia title this year who does out-size Phil: Big Ramy. At the same height as Phil (though I have been around Ramy and think he may be a bit taller), Ramy won the Arnold Classic in Brazil in 2015 at a reputed 310 pounds. This is the absolute biggest bodybuilder ever seen. Only Lou Ferrigno at the 1993 Olympia weighed a bit more, but Louie was 6-5. Ramy only came in that heavy once. Last year he was around 290 when he took second place to Phil. But mass is just one component the IFBB judges are looking at.

Structure

Much has been made in past years about Phil’s ‘narrow’ clavicles. In truth, they aren’t narrow, but they aren’t as gifted in span as in some others. Structure is about the total proportion of the bones, as in shoulder to hip ratio, torso length, and limb length. If you purely look at those factors, several men in the lineup have superior structures to Phil, including Ramy, Roelly, Shawn Rhoden, Cedric, and Nathan. All technically have a better frame to work with. But Phil has done an incredible job of building up his shoulders and upper back width to the point where he creates the illusion of possessing a better structure than he actually has. The illusion falls apart when he stands next to men who are much wider, like Ramy. But Phil’s shape and structure were critical in beating the deadly Kai Greene three years in a row. Kai’s short torso hurt him in various poses against Phil.

Condition

Who beats Phil on condition? Honestly, no one competing today. Phil shows up grainy and dry, with clear separations and striations from head to toe. Ramy is touted as Phil’s biggest threat by some, but this is where Heath utterly destroys him. Some definitely come close to Phil’s condition, such as Dexter or Bonac when they are peaked perfectly. But Phil is so consistent that even when he is a tiny bit off his best, as he was last year, he’s still in better shape than just about anyone else on that stage. Don’t count on Phil being off, especially after him having to hear about his ‘looking like crap’ last year. Odds are that he will repeat the insanely crisp condition he showed in 2011 when he won for the first time.

Balance and proportion

This category is often falsely referred to as ‘symmetry,’ yet symmetry only describes a balance of left to right. Balance and proportion encompasses upper to lower body, and balance among bodyparts. Is the man’s chest too small in relation to his shoulders and arms? Does his upper body overpower his legs? Phil represents the ideal or very close to it, with zero weak bodyparts and nothing out of proportion. Earlier in his pro career, his shoulders and arms were dominant, but he has brought all his other bodyparts up to match them. In terms of overall balance, Phil is untouchable at the present time.

Total package: Heath

The winner of any bodybuilding competition, be it your local city championships all the way up to the Mr. Olympia, is ostensibly the man with the best total package. That means the biggest man won’t win if he lacks condition or has a funky structure. The most ripped man won’t win if he lacks mass or has weak bodyparts, and so on. The man with the best combination of everything the judges look for in a physique is who they determine as the winner, and right now no man comes close to Phil Heath’s total package of mass, structure, condition, balance, and proportion. For that reason, I personally don’t see anyone standing in his way of Mr. Olympia win number eight.

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