Australian bodybuilding veteran Lee Priest made a name for himself with his insane conditioning levels and longevity. He’s one of the few competitors who continued to perform even after stepping away from professional competition. In a recent video uploaded on YouTube, Priest shared the changes in his training and diet from when he was in his 20s to now that he’s in his 50s.
Lee Priest started his career in the IFBB Pro League as a Men’s Open contender in 1989. He became one of the youngest athletes to earn a Pro Card at the age of 20. Boasting gigantic arms with razor-sharp muscle detail, he worked his way up the ranks with frequent contest appearances. He secured an invite to the Mr. Olympia competition in 1997, where he placed sixth in his debut.
Priest was a regular feature of the Olympia shows with six participations between 1997 and 2003. While he did not win the Sandow trophy, he went up against the likes of eight-time champ Ronnie Coleman, six-time champ Dorian Yates, Shawn Ray, and four-time victor Jay Cutler. He scored his biggest win at the 2006 Ironman Pro and made his final IFBB appearance at the 2006 Grand Prix Australia.
Lee has not lost his passion for working out and maintains a high level of personal fitness. He opened up about taking Deca (Nandrolone) in his teenage years to build muscle and how he’s managed to retain it despite facing health challenges such as a neck injury last November. Then, he offered his expertise on performing the decline bench press for optimal chest muscle growth. He cautioned his fans against loading up too heavy as the decline motion could increase the risk of injuries.
Earlier this year, Priest gave fans a look into building gigantic forearms. He revealed he never trained the muscle group suggesting his refined forearms were down to genetics and overall training. He listed eight exercises that could help grow weak forearms. The 50-year-old went on the offensive against the Men’s 212 division a few months ago. He believes the 212 competitors could hold their own against some of the freakiest mass monsters of the Men’s Open class if they brought their best package.
Following the announcement of the returning 2023 Masters Olympia, Priest expressed a desire to complete the show had it not been for his chest atrophy. Two months ago, Priest laid out tips for effectively using preacher curls to maximize biceps gains and pump.
Priest weighed in on the Minnesota court’s ruling permitting transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports weeks ago. He bashed the decision for being unfair to women and urged the females to go on strike in protest.
Lee Priest reveals changes in his diet & training from his 20s to his 50s
In a recent YouTube video, Lee Priest shared how his training and diet protocols have changed over time from when he was in his 20s to now that he’s entering his 50s.
While he continues to train in a similar fashion, he needed to make some adjustments due to his injuries.
“The only thing that’s probably changed now is the weights,” said Priest. “Until I had this or the neck injury from the car accident, exactly the same. I’d still go as heavy as I could because I get good heavy days. But now with injuries I just gotta work around things. But overall still exactly the same as when I started really.”
“It’s good to focus on your form and also seated you can’t cheat as much and you can’t go as heavy. If you do have a back problem it’s probably easier to do it seated as well rather than just bending over but whatever feels comfortable for you. Don’t be one of those people where they go well he does them seated I have to do them seated when you could feel it better standing up. Everyone’s going to be different because their limbs are longer or shorter. That’s fine what works for you. I say do both if you can.
“[Recovery is] about the same really. I sometimes go sort of hard on leg still but not as heavy. I do a good amount of weight higher reps but really focus on the quads and it still might be sore for two or three days at the most after but still recover pretty quick as long as I’m getting the sleep, the food in. I can still train and not eat a lot of food and not sleep well and feel like sh*t.”
He theorized burning fat might be tougher but he manages to stay in good shape with cardio while being around 211-213 pounds currently.
“Now, maybe burning body fat gets harder as you get older. Metabolism might slow down but I still do lots of cardio so it’s good for burning fat and keeping healthy.”
“2 hours minimum of cardio. An hour in the morning and another in the afternoon. Then I’ll walk the dogs as well so anywhere between two to three hours a day.”
“I’m sitting around 96-97 kilos (211-213 pounds). It’s a comfortable weight. I’m not force feeding myself. Sometimes I only have two meals a day so I could probably go heavier but I can’t be bothered.”
Lee Priest voiced his disapproval of the qualification requirements for the 2023 Masters Olympia last month. He encouraged the organizers to raise the age criteria from 40 to 50+ with the condition that the athlete did not compete for at least two to three years.
Based on the latest update, it’s evident Priest continues to enjoy working out and leading a healthy lifestyle even without competition.