Bodybuilding legend Lee Haney has a message for the top contenders of the 2026 Mr. Olympia. He's shared some classic advice from none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger amied the new generation of champions.

"Arnold said to me after placing 3rd in my first Olympia, I needed to stand tall and pose big. I second this to Samson and Andrew as they're set to battle it out at the 2026 Mr. Olympia. Gonna be blood and guts everywhere," wrote Lee Haney.

After his clean sweep at the Arnold Classic, Ohio, and Arnold Classic UK, Chinedu Andrew “Jacked” Obiekea has established himself as the frontrunner for the 2026 Mr. Olympia title, to be held on

He became the first bodybuilder to win $1 million across Arnold Classics. Last year, he had to settle for a bronze medal behind winner Derek Lunsford and first runner-up Hadi Choopan.

However, this year he has already generated a lot of hype ahead of Bodybuilding's biggest contest set for September 24-27 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

While things have been tougher for Samson Dauda, he has already won the Olympia once. That being said, the former champion actually places behind Andrew Jacked in fourth in 2025.

How Lee Haney went from third to setting the benchmark

During an interview with Musclemindmedia, Lee Haney once revealed his secret to winning eight consecutive Mr. Olympia titles.

He revealed his mindset, saying once you win your first title, you don’t want to lose the spotlight, so you start thinking ahead of time.

"Let me look at this training, let me look at this nutrition, let me analyze this supplementation. Let me do all of those things, that’s gonna keep me on the top because when you’re on the top, there’s nowhere to go but down," said the record holder for most Mr. Olympia titles.

Since Haney's reign, only Ronnie Coleman has matched that feat, but not surpassed the record Haney set. However, it's clear from his advice that the former champion wishes the best for a new generation of champions.

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Written by

Ruwa Javed

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi