Former Mr. Olympia Phil Heath sat down to honestly answer some rarely asked questions with LAD Bible the other day. The Gift sat in front of the camera and picked out folded pieces of paper containing random questions. One of the questions he got was something that all athletes mostly keep private. The question demanded clarification on whether bodybuilders stay away from s*xual activities during a prep.

As a seven-time champion of the Super Bowl of Bodybuilding, Heath is among the most experienced bodybuilders and has been part of multiple calculated preps each time he won the Sandow trophy. So, it made Phil Heath the perfect candidate to answer the question. Phil had just one word to say, “Yep!”

Although it was a straightforward answer to a straightforward question, The Gift also answered why. “Damn! Yeah, I’m pretty exhausted to be quite honest,” said Heath during the Honest Box interview, and he spoke for most bodybuilders. However, Heath also had his take on the subject.

“To be quite honest… I don’t think I’d be a very good lay at that moment in time. She deserves a lot better effort,” said the 44-year-old. He even said “sorry” to his wife, peeking beyond the camera. However, the seven-time champion’s honest confession didn’t just hold true for bodybuilders. Athletes from most other sports abstain from intimacy while preparing for a contest, as well.

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However, bodybuilders might have to refrain longer than other athletes. That’s because getting in competition-ready shape takes weeks of intense preparation. In fact, things get quite extreme in the final few weeks before stepping on stage.

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The extreme methods bodybuilders use to get shredded

Phil Heath’s Mr. Olympia predecessor, Jay Cutler, recently explained how bodybuilders dehydrate themselves before a show. Besides reducing calories and nearly eliminating carbs leading up to the competition, they also reduce water intake. While Cutler drank gallons of water during off-season training, he cut out half a gallon each day.

Finally, around 12 hours before the show, the four-time Mr. Olympia stopped drinking water. He only took “little sips,” to prevent muscle cramps. The Comeback Kid said the entire process was a “very, very taxing time,” for the bodybuilder. However, dehydration is a common practice among elite bodybuilders, and it completely depletes their body.

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Hence, Phil Heath’s admission of feeling too exhausted to get intimate holds up perfectly. Since bodybuilders are already depleting themselves leading up to a contest, it seems their bodies wouldn’t be able to keep up.