Who is Lee Haney?

In the world of bodybuilding, a decade of intensive training is often necessary to become a professional. Most athletes start competing in their first competitions around the age of 30. By winning the first of his 8 Mr. Olympia's at just 24 years old, Lee Henay has made history in her sport. Discover the early and dazzling career of this bodybuilding legend.

The story of this American bodybuilder

A well-filled list of awards

Lee Haney was born on November 11, 1959 in Fairburn, a small town located in the southern United States, more precisely in the state of Georgia.

Like a certain Ronnie Coleman, Lee Haney dreamed of playing American soccer at the professional level. Legend has it that he started playing bodybuilding after breaking his leg twice on the soccer field in high school.

This was followed by a busy bodybuilding career. The Lee Haney's track record is particularly impressive.

In 1979, he won one of his first competitions, the Teen Mr. America. 3 years later, he finished first in the amateur world championships, which allowed him to turn professional the following year, in 1983.

Nicknamed TotaLee Awesome, Lee Haney began to perform well. He finished second in the Swedish and English Grand Prix, and won the Las Vegas Grand Prix, as well as the Night of Champions organized in New York.

That same year, he took third place in the Mr. Olympia, an edition won by the Lebanese participant Samir Bannout.

Lee Haney's reign began in 1984. When he was only 24 years old, the American bodybuilder won his very first Mr. Olympia. He will win 7 others consecutively, to bring his total to 8 victories between 1984 and 1991.

At present, only the legendary Ronnie Coleman managed to match this performance, with 8 titles won consecutively between 1998 and 2005.

Lee Haney retired from the bodybuilding world in 1991, after his last victory against Dorian Yates (who will succeed him in the competition), while he was still at the top of his art.

The second life of Lee Haney

After his retirement from sport, the American athlete quickly turned to other activities.

With the help of Joe Weider opened several gyms and started a new career as a sports coach. He has, for example, coached stars such as Dwayne Johnson "The Rock" or the professional boxer Evander Holyfield, multiple world champion in his discipline.

Lee Haney was also named chairman of the Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, a government organization attached to the White House, whose mission is to promote physical activity in the United States.

In parallel to these activities, the ex-culturist created with his wife, Shirley, a charitable association in 1992. Named Haney's Harvest HouseIt aims to raise funds to support young men in their construction.

The physique of this eight-time Mr. Olympia

Let's go back to Lee Haney's sports career, and more specifically to his exceptional physique.

He is 5'10", and his weight averaged 113 kg during competition (118 kg off-season). His upper body was particularly developed, with huge pecs, an incredible back and massive shoulders.

The measurements of Lee Haney were as follows:

• chest size: 142 cm
• neck size : 51 cm
• arm circumference : 53 cm
• waist size : 83 cm
• calf size: 51 cm

Lee Haney's training and diet

To obtain such a muscular physique, the American champion trained 6 times a week. In his early days in the bodybuilding world, Lee Haney was accompanied by Rich Gaspari, a former bodybuilder of renown in the early 1980s.

TotaLee Awesome trained each muscle group twice a week. Her weekly schedule was organized as follows:

• Monday: pectorals and arms
• Tuesday: legs
• Wednesday: back and shoulders
• Thursday: rest
• Friday: pectorals and arms
• Saturday : legs
• Sunday: back and shoulders

For the pectoral muscles and arms, he favored exercises such as the bench pressThese include the incline press, push-ups, pulley splits, dumbbell curls (standing or seated incline), concentrated curl and pulley triceps extensions.

For the back and shoulders, the bodybuilder enjoyed the chest press, the vertical pull, the one-armed dumbbell pull, the military press and the lateral raises.

Finally, to build lower body strength, Lee Haney focused on the squat, thigh press, Romanian deadlift, leg extension and leg curl.

His abs were trained almost every day, with exercises such as leg raises and bench crunches.

To match his success, Ronnie "Big Ron" Coleman was even inspired by Lee Haney's training method.

As for food, the native of Fairburn consumed 5 meals a day in order to ensure a sufficient supply of proteins, essential for the development of his muscle mass :

• meal 1: 8 egg whites + 2 egg yolks + 150 g oatmeal + 100 g pineapple + 1 cup of coffee
• meal 2: 250 g chicken cutlet + 250 g potatoes + 100 g pineapple + spinach
• meal 3 : pancakes + 1 cup of coffee
• meal 4: 250 g chicken cutlet + 250 g rice + 100 g pineapple
• meal 5: 200 g of oatmeal + fruit

Conclusion

With his 8 victories at the prestigious Mister Olympia contest, Lee Haney is considered one of the best bodybuilders of all time. A particularly precocious talent, he quickly reached the top before retiring and fully succeeding in his professional reconversion.