Our translation of a lengthy interview with 8-time Mr. Olympia title winner, the legendary Lee Haney.

There have been quite a few outstanding athletes in the history of bodybuilding. One of the most famous is Lee Haney . The athlete was born in Fairburn, November 11, 1959, Georgia. He studied at Spartanburg Methodist College. As for his specialty, he trained as a child psychologist. Speaking of sports preferences, Lee was a member of his college football team.

Biography

Since childhood, Lee Haney has been actively involved in sports. At first he was interested in football, but then he decided to not just be in good physical shape, but to become really big and strong. Lee Hein never spoke publicly about why he chose bodybuilding, but even if at first it was a simple hobby, it later grew into a lifelong pursuit. When he turned nineteen, he became the winner among young men at the Mr. America tournament. The bodybuilder’s family was religious, and at the age of seventeen, Lee fully believed in the existence of a higher power. It was at this age that he asked God to accompany him in victories, and in return the young man promised to devote himself to serving him.

The guy had good luck in bodybuilding. His first tournament, where he competed in the youth category, brought Haney victory. The national competition is followed by the Mr. Universe competition, where Lee again comes out on top, earning one of the most coveted titles for any bodybuilder. Haney believed that he owed his success entirely to God, thanks to whom he was able to achieve such impressive victories in tournaments. After two successful performances, he became a complete believer. Lee took religion seriously and decided to take the path of a true Christian.

Hayne became a professional bodybuilder in 1983. He managed to take third place at Mr. Olympia. For many, this result seems quite impressive, given the fact that he performed for the first time. It seemed to Lee that this was not enough. To feel confident, he needed to win first place in every competition. For the next seven years, Hayne truly became the best in every tournament. From 1984 to 1991, the bodybuilder became invincible. When he won in 1990, Lee wanted to retire from performing. The reason for this is his admiration for Arnold Schwarzenegger, the best bodybuilder in the world and owner of seven Sandow statuettes, whose fame he did not want to encroach on. But, having decided to compete, he won in 1991. Lee later marveled at how easily he managed to climb to the top of the podium.

Haney ended his professional career as a competitive bodybuilder at 32 years old. He decides to devote himself to business. Lee acquires first one and then another fitness center. His business is going well. This is evidenced by the refusal of the titled bodybuilder to participate in Mr. Olympia, to which he was invited as a participant in 1995. According to Haney, winning the tournament would in no way make him more popular, since he is quite famous. In addition, the size of the prize money, ranging from 100,000 to 150,000 dollars, was not at all interesting to him. The business brought in much more money. A larger sum could have changed Haney's decision. If we were talking about 400,000 or half a million dollars. Li cannot be called a selfish person. He created a special village. It houses children who, for various reasons, were left without parents. He spends the lion's share of his income on it. Children live in good, comfortable houses, have excellent nutrition, study, and play sports. They live the life they would lead in a prosperous family.

What Lee Haney looks like now: 8x Mr. Olympia

There is not a lot of information on the Internet about Lee Haney, who is an eight-time winner of the Mr. Olympia title, a man who harmoniously combines both mass and aesthetics. He was never a “media” personality; in addition, he ended his career at 32 years old. Judging by current standards, this is far from the potential peak. Lee Haney: the path to bodybuilding

As we study his biography, we are only convinced that he is a unique athlete. Haney not only wrote his name in history in just 13 years of his career, but also made his debut on stage as a 16-year-old boy. In his youth, he was inspired by the form of Robbie Robinson and Tom Platz, the charisma of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Haney had good data, but victories did not come immediately. He won his first title in 1979, becoming the best teenage bodybuilder in the state. During his career, he never finished lower than third. In the early 80s he took the amateur world championship, national tournaments in the USA and several PRO tournaments. At the 1984 Olympia, Haney won his first Mr. Olympia title. As a deeply religious person, on the stage itself he thanked the Almighty for such a rapid rise. A few years ago he competed with amateurs, and already at the age of 24 he took Olympia gold. This was just the beginning. This was followed by another plus 7 victories in a row until 1991. What Lee Haney looks like today: career, family By the time he left bodybuilding, Haney had already managed four fitness gyms and was now able to give motivational lectures, speak to believers like himself, host his own shows on television and radio, as well as train elite athletes like Evander Hollifield.

Lee now conducts various seminars, has written several books, was a member of the International Federation of Bodybuilding and was chairman of the President's Council on Sports Development under Bill Clinton. Lee Haney's main achievement after retirement was the Harvest House project, created back in 1992. This is a village for children abandoned by their parents. He wanted to create a place where accomplished professionals could mentor young people, teach them life skills, how to start a family, raise children, and manage money wisely. At the same time, all project participants grew up in an atmosphere of courage, kindness and respect. According to Haney, this is exactly what is needed.

These days, Lee Haney looks fit and in good shape. And he is already approaching 60. To confirm this, we will attach photos taken in 2016-217: Photo. What Lee Haney looks like now He is now the TV presenter of one of the religious programs on the Trinity channel. He also hosts a TV show on fitness and bodybuilding. These days, Lee is in demand on television and in the press as never before. He conducts many seminars; the entire bodybuilding community considers him a professor. Related article: What does Frank look like in old age? Zane Haney emphasizes at every turn and in all interviews the importance of healthy eating, exercise and diet. Motivates young guys to play sports. He is now a member of the International Association of Sports Sciences. As for family life, Haney is married to his classmate, whom he met at the age of 6, while still at school. Lee Haney sends greetings to his fans from Russia

Best achievements

Haney, without exaggeration, is one of the most titled and famous bodybuilders. Each of those who are seriously involved in bodybuilding knows his name. He won the Mr. Olympia tournament eight times. As a competitive bodybuilder, Lee took part in twenty-two competitions. He never fell below the top three. He won his first significant victory in 1982. He became the first at the amateur world championship, performing in the heavyweight category. At the next Nationals competition, he becomes first in two categories at once - absolute and among heavy weight. Lee achieved a similar result at Junior Nationals. Next year he takes part in eight competitions at once. At the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Haney becomes first, but second at the English Grand Prix tournament. Already performing as a professional, he participates in his first Mr. Olympia. He was in great shape, but other bodybuilders also wanted to win, and therefore were quite strong and determined. Haney failed to become the best. He took third place. Following these tournaments, he becomes second at the Swedish Grand Prix and the World Cup Grand Prix, third in Switzerland. This busy year has shown Lee himself that he still has something to work on. The posing was especially noteworthy. His main goal was to win the championship at Olympia in 1984. Haney had a lot to achieve in just twelve months. He succeeded and it was simply impossible to stop the bodybuilder. He not only became Mr. Olympia, but also won this title eight times. In addition, he took part in the Grand Prix held in Germany in 1984.

ALL 9 OLYMPICS OF LEE HAINEY! HISTORY OF THE LEGEND.

Lee Haney's Training Principles

The award-winning bodybuilder has always adhered to high-volume training, since such loads allowed him to achieve the best shape. When Lee first started bodybuilding, he experimented, tried a variety of systems and principles to find exactly the scheme that suited him best. He did not share the views of Yates, who argued that you need to train only to the point of failure. The bodybuilder considered this approach detrimental to muscle tissue, which simply “burns” with such an approach.

Haney preferred pulleys and machines over free weights. The use of assistive devices allowed him to fully control and feel his muscle groups, being able to work on one in isolation. This did not mean that he worked exclusively with blocks and machines. He also included free weights in his classes. There were training sessions when he did a huge number of approaches, or rather up to thirty-five, for a certain muscle group. In total, he did 8-10 such sets, but the emphasis was placed not only on the number, but also on the intensity. The latter, of course, was high. Otherwise the lesson would last for hours. This could be avoided by resting between approaches, ranging from 45 to 60 seconds.

Haney, being a professional bodybuilder, did not receive a single serious injury, since he was very responsible in choosing warm-up and working weights. He didn't do squats, deadlifts, or heavy, low-rep presses. Lee trained for three days, devoted one day to rest, and then again had three training sessions in a row. Particular attention was always paid to the abdominal muscles, and his favorite exercise was hanging leg raises.

The bodybuilder performed cardio training, his classes were always sorted, and his diet was perfectly selected and balanced. This allowed Haney to stay in excellent shape even during the off-season. This, of course, was not always the case. Sometimes his weight reached 140 kilograms, but with his tall stature he still looked very impressive. Another feature of Lee's training was the technical aspect. He always, regardless of the weight being lifted or the type of exercise, tried to do everything correctly. Only occasionally did he allow himself a little cheating. The rest of the time he was completely focused on technique and the muscle group being worked.

What else is useful to know?

By bending your elbow, you will engage your biceps. Therefore, try to imagine that you need to raise your elbow as high as possible, but you cannot move the elbow joint and hands.

Additionally, you can relieve the biceps with the help of wrist straps (if it is difficult to hold a dumbbell).

Thus, this exercise is one of the few that allows you to effectively develop the posterior deltoids and trapezius. The work of the latissimus dorsi muscles is practically eliminated; the target area, on the contrary, receives an isolated load.

However, it should be remembered that the key to success is following the technique as accurately as possible. Once you start bending your elbows or using “cheating,” the load will shift to other, more developed muscles, and your training will become ineffective.

Lee Haney Back and Shoulder Training Program

Back

1. Pulldowns to the chest – 4 sets of 8-10 reps.
2. Bent-over barbell rows with an overhand grip – 4 sets of 8-10 reps.
3. Sitting lower block rows to the waist – 4 sets of 8-10 reps.
4. Bent-over dumbbell rows – 4 sets of 8-10 reps.

Shoulders

1. Standing barbell press – 4-5 sets of 8-10 reps.
2. Standing dumbbell lateral raises – 4 sets of 8-10 reps.
3. Bent-over dumbbell raises – 4 sets of 8-10 reps.
4. Barbell rows to the chin with a narrow grip – 4 sets of 8-10 repetitions.
5. Shrugs for trapezius muscles – 4 sets of 8-10 repetitions.

The number of approaches and repetitions remains the same. The number of bench press sets can be increased by one more.

If you look at Lee's training plan, it becomes clear that all muscles are worked in a harmonious and balanced manner. This avoids unwanted imbalances.

Mr. Olympia Lee Haney training 1989 Bodybuilding

Igor December 28, 2010