July 2019 musculardevelopment.com MD 23Dude, Where’s My
Sandow?
I realize the oddness of that title. But just
this past weekend (at time of writing), myself
and my “Global Muscle Radio” co-host AJ
were summoned by the gods. Literally. OK,
maybe not literally, but Phil Heath, seven-
time Mr. Olympia, sent us both a message
asking if we would come and chill with
the champ over the weekend at the UK
BodyPower Expo. How could we refuse? Phil
has become someone that AJ and myself
really look up to. All seven Olympia titles
aside (which is truly incredible), we’ve really
formed a strong bond that for me transcends
his achievements; that’s how I feel, anyway.
Phil was our very first guest on “Global
Muscle Radio” back in December 2018, and
he was more than generous with his time and
positive energies (check it out, episode 1 of
GMR). And he came on at a moment’s notice
when we were unfortunately let down by
another guest (booo) for episode 9, literally
saving our asses. So, to refuse Phil just
wasn’t an option for us. Plus we like him. He’s
funny, honest, interesting— and also highly
intelligent.
The last time I was at BodyPower was in
2016 when working for Ronnie Coleman (and
his supplement company, Ronnie Coleman
Signature Series, for two years as his U.K.
Market Manager, a fantastic experience).
So, I went from one Mr. Olympia to the next
(with 15 Olympia wins between them). I
like to see what makes these champions
tick— and in both Ronnie and Phil I see those
similar qualities. The same iron mindset, the
inner confidence they both share, the will
to succeed and never give in. That’s very
fascinating to me. So, of course I’m sure
there’s one thing that most muscle fans will
want to know. Is Phil coming back to take
back his title this year? Well, I will say this—
Phil was 275 pounds over the BodyPower
weekend (second week of May), he was
training hard and he did say he was going to
ramp up the diet and meal frequency when
he returned home to Denver, Colorado. Of
course, seeing the Pittsburgh guest posing
was a big motivator for him. And his hernia,
he told us, healed even faster than he
expected after his surgery at the end of 2018.
So Phil is healthy, the stomach is FIXED,
he is looking SUSPICIOUSLY large for this
time of year— and whenever we asked him
straight if he was coming back, EVERY time
he smiled a big, big smile giving completely
different and hilarious excuses as to why
he couldn’t possibly answer. My thoughts?
Well, if you watch episode 20 of “MD Global
Muscle Radio” with Jay Cutler, he thinks Phil
can do what he did in 2009 and take BACK
the title this September in convincing form.
What an EPIC story that would be, right? Phil
does what Jay did in 2009 and also (kind
of) what Ronnie Coleman did in 2003 when
he got beaten at the post-Olympia 2002
Show of Strength by Günter Schlierkamp,
then returned with the true spirit of utter
vengeance at an insane 40 pounds heavier to
steamroll over all the competition. Come on
Phil, come back and take the eighth, mate. As
Bob Chick said in Global Muscle: “Phil, this
other guy is running around with your title,
my friend,” referring to current Mr. Olympia
Shawn Rhoden.Josh Lenartowicz Working
With Patrick Tuor
This was a pleasant surprise. Australian open
pro Josh made a comeback of sorts earlier this
year. Having not competed since the 2017 Olympia
where he placed ninth, little had been seen or heard
of Big Josh. We caught up with him in episode 9
of “Global Muscle Radio,” where he admitted that
even up until toward the end of 2018 he wasn’t 100
percent sure that he was going to ever compete
again. Good thing, though, that he never stopped
training. Then the love came back, the urge to diet
away all the fluff, step up the training and grind with
early morning daily cardio and go for a show. In the
run-up to the Arnold Classic, many of us expected
him to come back with an almighty bang, but that
was more of a plop, plop, fizzle. Eighth place at
the Arnold— not what we expected, or had hoped.
Then Josh followed that up with fourth at the ArnoldAustralia. Better, but still not what any of us really
felt was anywhere near his potential.
Make or break for Josh for 2019 came in a last-
minute entry at the Bigman pro show in Benidorm,
Spain on April 28th. One last all-out assault on the
Olympia qualification, or his comeback (of sorts) was
going to fall flat— and hard. On the Wednesday in
Spain, Swiss coach Patrick Tuor bumped into Josh,
and they got talking. Patrick took a look at Josh.
Patrick was concerned; he felt Josh wasn’t headed for
the convincing win that was expected ... and needed.
So, later that night, Patrick called Josh, offering to take
over his final four days of prep up until he stepped
onstage. Josh agreed. The end result was easily the
best version we had seen possibly since his San
Marino win at the end of 2016. Success! The goal now
for the new Tuor/Lenartowicz team is the Olympia.
Josh has placed ninth in both 2016 and 2017, now they
are aiming for top six. Josh is on the rise. Finally we
might see the best version of him in Las Vegas.