Some of the students from the Wesley Hall Junior School getting an opportunity to pose with Phil Heath along with promoter of the Darcy Beckles Classic, Roger Boyce (second from right); George Pilgrim, General Secretary of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP); and Henderson Williams (right), DLP Candidate.
Some of the children could not believe Phil Heath’s muscles were that big and had an opportunity to touch his massive biceps.
Phil Heath pays a visit to Wesley Hall Juniors
Phil “The Gift” Heath, the bodybuilder who won his seventh Mr Olympia title recently, is in Barbados and paid a visit to Wesley Hall Junior School yesterday.
The 37-year-old, who has won the title since 2011, is in Barbados to guest pose at the Darcy Beckles Bodybuilding Invitational Classic today at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre at 5 p.m.
After speaking to the children and getting up close with the young inquiring minds, Heath will be hitting the stage today.
Heath said that he will be up on stage striking some poses for the fans, but it will be a lot different from what one saw on the Mr Olympia stage.
Though not in the same condition as he was for the show, Heath said that fans will still get to see a round physique and be able to see the definition and symmetry.
He said he hopes the fans like it as he hopes to get people excited about competing and extend his poses with the fans.
Always being a critic of himself has been one of the hardest parts of his journey. “Even when the competition is over, I am still my worst critic, even this weekend.”
However, he has slowed down his hectic schedule and has been able to hang out with his parents and his fiancée’s parents.
His advice for anyone looking to get started and further themselves in the sport is to get a foundation from books written by doctors and sports science literature, which have been around before the Internet.
“Anyone who is interested in the sport, learn to get valuable information and not just off the Internet. There are numerous books, muscle literature written by real doctors and exercise science and physio guys. Read books (on) biochemistry, read anatomy.
“Because when you are reading labels on product, it is very unclear if it is true or not what is in the product. But if you understand how your body works with normal nutrients and how your blood works that will teach you more about you than anybody else can teach you.”
After building the foundation with the books, he said then one can start looking online for information. Heath said he is continually learning about himself and the sport is more than just about lifting weights.
With degrees in Information Technology and Business Management, Heath said one of the myths which he would like to dispel is that bodybuilders are not educated or they are not intelligent.
He said it may be because of their own insecurities, but what he does is speak clearly and “being much less introverted than the average bodybuilder and wanting people to ask me questions and engage... I think that will change the perception”.
After Barbados, the champion bodybuilder plans to take a holiday for Thanksgiving and then he’s off to China where he will be conducting training seminars for just over two weeks.
In 2018, he plans to “kick a lot of butt in the gym and on stage”.