Everyone focuses on the top two. What do you think about the other athletes?
ANSWER
It’s definitely not a two-man show. There are many great athletes out there. It’s my job to knock the up-and-comers down. I have to be ready to do the work, and it’s not easy because they all want to kick my ass out there. In the end, though, it’s not about beating the others. I have to respect myself, and I have to compete against myself. To win, I have to be better than Phil Heath.
QUESTION
How much longer do you think you'll be competing?
ANSWER
I figured out the other day that Ronnie Coleman won his first of eight Sandows at the age of 34. I won four by 34, and I’m 35 now. So I think I’ve still got time.
QUESTION
Which Olympia-winning version of Phil Heath do you think was your best?
ANSWER
Version 2013. I was 240 pounds, I had muscle maturity kicking in, and I was showing all-out conditioning because I was going to beat Jay Cutler and all the rest. That’s part of the plan for this year’s O—the goal is to build on what I did in 2013.
QUESTION
Was the controversy at last year's press conference hype or real?
ANSWER
Oh, yeah, it was real. The experience was real, and it was both good and bad to go through. I expected that something was going to happen because of the outcome in 2013 and because there’s always so much buildup of the hype anyway. For him, I think he was caught up in it and pushed things too far, but we got over it and moved on. That wasn’t about the sport of bodybuilding. That was a sideshow.
Watch the entire Olympia competition on a double-DVD set available through www.IFBBTV.com.
