Renowned bodybuilding guru Hany Rambod has cemented his status as one of the greatest coaches in the sport. He boasts a stellar roster of athletes that have won nearly two dozen Olympia titles under his guidance. In a recent episode of The Truth podcast, Rambod shared his thoughts on how natural and enhanced athletes might differ in the off-season and cautioned against the constant use of PEDs performance-enhancing drugs).
Over the last two decades, Hany Rambod has helped shape top talent in multiple divisions such as the Men’s Open, Figure, and Men’s Physique. He guided the likes of Phil Heath and Jay Cutler during their days of professional competition. His unique training methods helped Heath become a dominant champion with seven Mr. Olympia wins in a row and also helped Cutler during his illustrious career.
In addition to the Open contenders, he assisted in Jeremy Buendia’s rise to the top of the Men’s Physique Olympia. He also played a role in helping Nicole Wilkins and Jenny Lynn win Figure Olympia.
Rambod presently serves as a coach for former 212 Olympia champion Derek Lunsford, four-time Classic Physique Olympia winner Chris Bumstead, and reigning Mr. Olympia Hadi Choopan. He gave fans a look into his signature FST-7 (fascia stretch training) style legs workout with Choopan in preparation for the 2022 Mr. Olympia last November.
Bumstead is one of the more recent athletes to join Rambod. He teamed up with ‘The Pro Creator’ after splitting with his longtime coach and Men’s Open contender Iain Valliere last season. Considering the incredible track record of Bumstead, many believed Rambod was under a ton of pressure to deliver results. In the end, Bumstead added the fourth title under his belt whereas Choopan won the Mr. Olympia while Lunsford slotted in second in his Open debut.
Following the event, Hany Rambod opened up on working with ‘CBum’ in the final stages of his preparations for about 12 weeks. He also stayed in communication with Valliere leading up to the contest. Over time, Cbum and Rambod built a close bond.
Rambod gave his take on training Choopan and Lunsford at the same time earlier this year. He compared the experience to the time he worked with Heath and Cutler in their heydays. To deal with the problem, he just focused on bringing the best out of both athletes as individuals.
Hany Rambod Talks Natural vs Enhanced in Off-Seasons
In a recent YouTube video, Hany Rambod shared his thoughts on the differences in off-season preparations for a natural and enhanced bodybuilder.
“When it comes to natural and unnatural, I think people try to break it down a little differently. The key is, off-seasons should be just dependent on what you are going through at the time,” said Rambod. “It shouldn’t be because you’re natural or not, it’s just that you gotta listen to your body. If you are an enhanced athlete, you’re going to go through a set time of off-season that usually has to do with either a training cycle or a PED cycle and you can’t just keep running PEDs forever.”
Rambod Torches PED Abusers: “For Those That Are, Shame on You”
Rambod warned those using PEDs and encouraged being conservative with protocols.
“For those that are, shame on you. You’re not doing your body any justice. You’re creating excessive wear and tear to your organs but you’re also not allowing your body to actually benefit from taking gear. That’s why it’s called a cycle. You don’t stay on it perpetually because if you do, you end up actually having reduced amounts of benefit from what you’re taking.”
He stressed the importance of balancing out PEDs and cautioned against their adverse effects.
“It’s an addiction to the look, the feel, the endorphins are heightened because of the hormones. So, know your place and know what these are for; recovery. When you’re doing PEDs and you’re balancing that out, you’re trying to get away with taking the least amount of gear to get the best benefit so that’s why you build sleep, supplements, diet, active therapy all around it. You don’t make your PEDs the base of anything. You just sprinkle it in like seasoning to help with recovery.
“If you do that you’re going to get the best out of your gains and being able to take the longevity of your body so you’re not going to have problems down the road with your kidneys, liver, and everything else that goes along with the destructive effect of PEDs.”
“What you need to do is balance things out and add in for additional recovery and not build it as the base foundation of any program,” he added. “The more that you do the lesser your career is going to last.”
Hany Rambod expressed his excitement for Lunsford’s guest-posing appearance at the 2023 Pittsburgh Pro last week. Lunsford left the fans stunned with his monstrous package on stage and goes into the upcoming 2023 Mr. Olympia as one of the frontrunners. Samson Dauda, who claimed gold at the March’s Arnold Classic is also considered a threat.
RELATED: Hany Rambod on Big Ramy’s 2022 Olympia 5th Place Finish: ‘His Physique Looked ‘Faded/Watery’
Rambod’s latest offering will certainly help educate fitness enthusiasts and competitive bodybuilders on the proper way to incorporate PEDs into their prep.