Top 15 Biggest Bodybuilders of All Time (And Why) – UPDATED 2023

Feeling sluggish to hit the gym?

Here, the Top 15 Biggest Bodybuilders of All Time can give you some inspiration.

Whether you want to improve fitness or get into a bodybuilding competition, everyone has a hard time. In such cases, the biggest bodybuilders can resolve your doubts.

Having the best physique isn’t the course of a single day. It takes long-term commitment and dedication for real results.

Reading the journey of the mega bodybuilding titans can provide the right guidance. Of course, you don’t want the shortcomings to take over you. You don’t want to give up midway.

Let’s begin the story of the Top 15 Biggest Bodybuilders 2023…

Top 15 Biggest Bodybuilders Ever

Top bodybuilders of all time serve as real inspiration in the fitness world.

Whether you are a beginner or a professional, going through experience can help achieve your goals.

Let’s begin our blog about the top bodybuilders in 2023…

1) Ronnie Coleman

Ronnie Coleman is the biggest muscle gainer of the era. Ronnie Coleman’s natural physique is hard to achieve without hard work.

With competition weight ranging around 300 pounds, it makes him stand among the top bodybuilders.

Indeed, judges have his as a favorite pertaining to size rather than bigger muscles. His off-season weight goes to 320 found. His bodybuilding career had a spike with the IFBB pro card and uncountable competition titles.

When he finally lends farewell to bodybuilding, his house is flooded with titles and trophies. This won’t be the case with others.

He is the only person to conceal  Schwarzenegger’s seven-title-plunder with a mind-whopping eight-time victory equal to Lee Haney’s record .

Certainly, his name “The King” goes with Ronnie Coleman’s style.

Apart from this, he had the most wins by a single IFBB professional. This continued until Dexter Jackson got 29 titles against Coleman’s 26 wins.

2) Lee Haney

Lee Haney is synonymous with GOAT. He is the only bodybuilder to get eight peats in IFBB history.

This makes his place among the strongest bodybuilders of all time.

Indeed, the fitness world witnessed how eight-time MR. Olympia, Ronnie Coleman tied to Haney’s eight-title haul.

However, his slow rise was nothing in comparison to the impressive feat of Lee.

The Orlando bulking champ became serious about bodybuilding at the age of 16. By the age of 23, his professional career went on full pace.

Surprisingly, he is among the few bodybuilders bagging a ‘win’ in their pro debut entrance. He became Avant grade by winning Mr. Olympia on his second appearance.

By the time he became 31, he had already won eight times before finally announcing his retirement. This made his name a top pick among the Top 15 Biggest Bodybuilders of All Time.

3) Arnold Schwarzenegger

“Arnold best bodybuilder” is a term all-time trending in the fitness world. You can call him by many names Arnie, “Australian Oak,” or “The Governator.”

When it comes to bulking, the Hollywood actor and action star is a prime figure in the fitness world.

The American bodybuilder has impressed with his action moves in films. However, Arnold Schwarzenegger bodybuilding workout career is no less an inspiration.

His passion for fitness and physique began at an early age. This is one of the key secrets behind his successful professional bodybuilding career.

His noteworthy five times wins of Mr. Universe contests are most impressive. On the other hand, he has seven pro titles in the Mr. Olympia contest.

Indeed, he became a crowd favorite not in vain. The Terminator star was among the top bodybuilders of the classing Golden Era.

Post-retirement from professional bodybuilding, his acting career is in full bloom. He even had his hand in politics. Famously, he even became the 38^th Governor of California at some point.

Irrespective of his professional and personal life, he still follows routine fitness exercises for muscle gain and an impressive physique.

4) Dorian Yates

Yates impresses with a competition weight of 275 pounds, whereas an off-season weight of 310 pounds.

At 5ft 10in height, he smashes all his competitors making way among the top 10 bodybuilders in the world in 2023.

His physical attributes disappoint in terms of symmetry and aesthetics.

However, his conditioned body and rock-solid mass impress in every area. He knows only one thing—the bigger the better.

He first stepped on Mr. Olympia’s stage in 1991. Even after being the biggest muscular man, he won the runner-up spot to Lee Haney.

The loss at his first IFBB professional bodybuilding competition wasn’t a loss.

Eventually, he came back and improved at the 1992 Mr. Olympia stage. Indeed, he ended up winning six Olympia titles consequently from 1992 to 1997.

He won the prestigious competition five times equalling himself to Phil Heath, Lee Haney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Ronnie Coleman.

5) Paul Dillett

The list of Top 15 Biggest Bodybuilders of All Time is incomplete without Paul Dillett.

He was the biggest rival to Dorian Yates and Ronnie Coleman during the golden age of bodybuilders.

Surprisingly, his mind-whopping size made a milestone in the early 90s bodybuilding world.  At that time, you needed to have a mega monstrous muscular shape to land on the Olympia stage.

Dillett was a familiar face for the competition from 1993 to 1999. The 6ft 2in tall man had a freaking size with 285 pounds mass. This impressed the judge after all.

Ultimately, with his monstrous weight, his name went into the top five list.

The retired bulking champ has many noteworthy wins.

• 1st place at the 1992 NPC North American Championships
• 4th place at the 1994 Mr. Olympia
• 3rd place at the 1996 Arnold Classic
• 2^ndplace at the 1996 Ironman Pro Invitational
• 1st at the 1999 night of champions

Certainly, Dillett’s bodybuilding career is a living inspiration for all in the fitness world.

6) Lou Ferrigno

The youngest man to conquer the IFBB Mr. Universe competition twice inspires many.

The bulking physique got the sports icon the famous name “The Incredible Hulk.” Best known for is the 1977 much-admired docudrama Pumping Iron, the weightlifter impresses with his fit physique till date.

The film had the famous Lou Ferrigno face off against Arnold Schwarzenegger for the title of Mr. Olympia.

His physique no doubt was impressive. However, in respect of symmetry, physique, and muscle proportionality, Arnold wins.

Though he lost the face off against the Terminator star, various movies depicted him as a smashing muscular star.

Certainly, it is why he is one of the most famous bodybuilders in 2023.

He played Bruce Banner’s alter ego in The Incredible Hulk. It gave his career and mindset a real boost after losing successive Mr. Olympia competitions. The best part is this was just the beginning of his fantastic film career.

7) Jay Cutler

The IFBB Pro has many impressive titles.

Along with this, Jay Cutler’s chest workout routine helps you to build a ripped and bigger chest.

The list includes three-time Arnold classic win and four-time Mr. Olympia titles. He was among the few who debut in second place and established an amazing professional bodybuilding career.

The 5ft 9in bodybuilder star weighs 310 pounds off-season and an eye-popping competition weight of 280 pounds.

Indeed, the figure represents the decisive physique Cutler has.

Jay Cutler has made big in various competitions thanks to his bigger muscle proportion and massive physique.

Undoubtedly, the 3^rd richest bodybuilder has a similar bigger net evaluation.

8) Big Ramy

Egyptian IFBB professional bodybuilder Mamdouh Elssbiay aka “Big Ramy” is the latest Mr. Olympia winner.

Nobody can forget his epic 2020 win. In the huge list of the biggest bodybuilders line-up, he was the crowd’s fav.

By having a constant on-stage weight of 300 pounds and an impressive physique, he got such big wins. Of course, his jaw-dropping size got his first professional bodybuilding competition top spot.

To our amazement, it was his debut at the New York Pro Championship in 2013. The second win was the following year on the same stage.

On top of that, he won the Arnold Classic Brazil 2015 and even Europe 2017.

Though his debut at the Olympia stage in 2013 was the 8^th place, his successive career is still an inspiration. His 2020 Sandow is evident proof of never giving up.

9) Günter Schlierkamp

The German IFBB professional bodybuilder has earned 10th place from the time he stepped onto Mr. Olympia’s stage.

For this impressive consistency, Günter Schlierkamp has earned a respectable spot in the professional sport.

People undermined his partnership with the legendary personal trainer Charles Glass.

Eventually, he proved everyone wrong with this famous 2002 GNC show of strength. He won by dethroning the mega monstrous muscle man, Mr. O, Ronnie Coleman.

10) Greg Kovacs

The list of Top Bodybuilders of all time is incomplete without Greg Kovacs.

The famous Canadian professional bodybuilder is known for his stronger and massive physique.

At 6 ft 4 in height, his amazing 330 pounds competition weight and off-season weight of 420 pounds, impressed the crowd. Still, in his professional bodybuilding career, he remained underrated.

The peak point of his sports career was a debatable 13 at the 2004 Arnold Classic. However, he was the crowd favorite irrespective of the main verdict.

After retiring from his professional career in 2005, he stepped up with a job as a coach and professional trainer. He continued exploring the new arena until he died due to a stroke in 2013.

11) Markus Ruhl

A little downside in terms of proportionality, still he was among the biggest bodybuilders of all time. “The German Nightmare” was named so not in vain.

However, the 5ft 10 in bodybuilder with a competition weight of 280 pounds was never the judges’ fav.

In contrast, he always remained the apple of everyone’s eye. He was loved by the crowd for his mega-monstrous gains.

He mentioned in some interviews about his childhood. Back then he never imagined himself as a bodybuilder or something nearby. Instead, he was into football, but his knee injury changed the whole course of his life.

That’s how the amateur football player turned to the fitness world. Ultimately, getting his spot among the best bodybuilders of all time.

Though he began his fitness career at a later age, his passion for fitness was prevalent at an early age. Of course, the challenging training demanded more from him.

Still, he continued his efforts to make his way to becoming the biggest bodybuilder on the Mr. Olympia stage.

His career has several impressive points and wins. Indeed, he got the best sport at the 2000 Toronto Pro, and at the 2004 Mr. Olympia, he got 5^th place.

12) Roelly Winklaar

The Dutch bodybuilder name is everywhere in the fitness world.

With a mega-muscular figure and a perfectly shredded body, he had a completely impressive physique.

His career went on the fast track with a 2009 win at the NCP Arnold Classic Amateur Championship. After that, he began professional bodybuilding in a full swing.

At the IFBB Arnold Classic, he got the 7^th spot. Of course, his surplus muscle mass and perfectly ripped physique got him some extra points.

Surprisingly, he got the advantage of the first-ever Mr. Olympia fan vote in his debut in 2018.

At the competition, he landed at the 3^rd spot losing to Jamaican Shawn Rhoden and American Phil Heath.

13) Dennis Wolf

Wolf always came with a noteworthy performance on the stage of Mr. Olympia.

Though his overall shape was impressive, inadequate muscle mass drops down his chances. Henceforth, he was always among the top six of the eight times in the ultimate sports contest.

2013 is the pinnacle of his bodybuilding career. People thought this year he would finally have one of Mr. O’s titles.

However, fate wasn’t in his favor. Even after having a mammoth size and incredible weight, the professional bodybuilder never got above 3^rd spot.

His career ended with a spinal injury. Earning ranks like the bodybuilding legends Phil Heath and Dexter Jackson, he is a necessary name on the list.

14) Rich Piana

Piana begins weightlifting at the young age of 15 to ultimately become the biggest bodybuilding legend in America.

When most children were ruining their time in video games, he was into professional bodybuilding. Surprisingly, he even participated in a few competitions.

The American bodybuilder competed on and off for the next 25 years in various state and national content. He landed with his best appearance at the NPC Mr. Teem California contest. Ultimately, he won the title of Mr. California in 1998.

The muscle giant is more known for its nutrition and health supplement ventures.

Indeed, his nutrition brand has a huge market value. According to users, it emancipates your bulking and bodybuilding processes multiple-fold.

He became the most controversial bodybuilder in the fitness world. It was after he admitted to steroid use. We need to appreciate him for his honesty.

15) Chris Bumstead

One of Canada’s numerous talents, Chris began his bodybuilding career in 2014 after being born in the heart of Ontario.

Replicating the golden age bodybuilders is what inspires him. Hoping to leave behind a legacy, he tightens his waist and core with lean muscle mass.

Chris Bumstead boasts an impressive competition history, leveraging his talent as a bodybuilder since his ascent to pro status at just 21, after winning the IFBB North American Bodybuilding Championship.

He has snagged a multitude of titles and accolades, establishing himself as a notable figure in the industry. In order to achieve his physique, Chris Bumstead attributes his accomplishments to his discipline in both his training and diet.

Further Chris Bumstead On Steroids Usage has also made it clear that he does not solely rely on his natural abilities but instead devotes himself to hard work and consistency.

Bumstead’s training method involves a mix of hypertrophy-intensive exercises and heavy lifting. By concentrating on compound movements like squats, bench presses, and deadlifts, he has established a formidable foundation.

To target specific muscles, he likes to create isolation exercises. Daily, Bumstead’s diet is meticulously monitored to achieve precision. The months leading up to the competition have him indulging in the same six meals a day with minor changes.

Adjustments made to gain his desired outcome are achievable through this process.

The assistance of dietary supplements such as testosterone, creatine, and BCAAs not to forget greens support, plus fat burners and whey protein are a part of his regimen.

CBum Fitness, a mobile app created by Bumstead himself, is one of many ways this fitness influencer inspires over 1 million social media followers and 500,000 YouTube subscribers.

His accounts share training tips, advice, and his personal fitness journey.

Bumstead’s fitness knowledge and empowering content have attracted a loyal fanbase who use his app to access his exclusive training programs and coaching services.

So, if you were looking for some motivation to begin your fitness journey the journey of Chris Bumstead is surely the one!

The list of Top 15 Biggest Bodybuilders of all time ends here. At last, let’s have a quick recap.

Quick Recap

Bodybuilding is a long-time commitment. Fitness doesn’t improve in a single day.

You need to work out in the gym consistently with dedication for years to prepare for bodybuilding competition. Along with that, you need to be attentive to your nutrition. This is the key to a successful bodybuilding career.

However, the most important tool is “never giving up spirit.” Remember success never arrives in a bunch. It comes in small bits and pieces.

Bring small changes in your routine daily to receive the biggest results.