Most Massive Bodybuilders of All Time
Table of Contents
Introduction
Bodybuilding is a practice that rewards the body’s symmetry, strength, size, posing ability, definition, and proportion. However, people express their interest in bodybuilder’s sheer size, especially in Men’s Open Category. It amazes people how much muscle mass can be enclosed in the human body, as Ronnie Coleman’s and Dorian Yates physiques depict.
While many bodybuilders have achieved success in this industry, a few numbers go above and beyond their mission to claim titles, such as Mr. Olympia. This article dives into the world of bodybuilding to review the inspiring fitness enthusiasts who have had a lasting impact on this sport, with a focus on the largest bulk monsters to ever grace the stage. The list of bodybuilders discussed below has been collected from numerous sources around the web.
A list of the greatest bodybuilders of all time:
Below are the few greatest fitness figures of all time:
- Dorian Yates
- Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay
- Paul Dillett
- Ronnie Coleman
- Jay Cutler
- Rich Piana
- Lou Ferrigno
- Markus Rühl
Dorian Yates
The culture of bodybuilding sports was a bit different before the arrival of Dorian Yates in this industry. He was the one to flip the entire bodybuilding sport standards and then dominate it for seven long years.
Dorian Andrew Mientjez Yates is an English retired professional bodybuilder who won the Mr. Olympia title six consecutive times from 1992 to 1997. Moreover, Yates has the fifth-highest number of Mr. Olympia achievements in history, ranking behind Lee Haney, Ronnie Coleman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Phil Heath.
It’s not just his size, which was prominent back then, but he was well known for his muscular graininess, high-intensity training, top-level conditioning, and his wide, thick back. With his 5’10 height and weight of 265 pounds at his peak, it seemed like his muscle fibers had their own life. He has become a crowd favorite because of his transparency and openness with his followers. He does not hold back from sharing any fitness-related information that he thinks might benefit his fans.
Bodybuilding fans will never forget Dorain Yates as one of the great figures in bodybuilding history. With Yates, despite his size, his conditioning and definition have set a standard for many new bodybuilders. He has inspired the bodybuilding world!
Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay
Mamdouh Mohammed Hassan Elssbiay, also known as Big Ramy, is an Egyptian IFBB Pro professional bodybuilder. Being considered the biggest bodybuilder in the world right now, Ramy is a two-time Mr. Olympia champion, winning in 2020 and 2021.
Back in 2013, he initiated his journey and now he is the reigning Mr. Olympia fitness figure. He is consistent with improving his physique prior to every show. Trained as a fisherman, Big Ramy made the impulsive decision to visit Kuwait's oxygen gym. Soon after that, people around him started to notice his genetics were made for bodybuilding. After three years of training, he won Ramy won his pro card after competing in the 2012 Amateur Olympia in Kuwait City. Later in 2017, he was close to victory and almost beat Phil Health for the Mr. Olympia crown. Big Ramy secured sixth place in Mr. Olympia 2018 and won the show consecutively in 2020 and 2021. Mamdouh Elssbiay hails from Egypt and stands at 5’10” with off-season weight stats reaching 310 lbs.
Paul Dillett
Paul Dillett is a retired Canadian IFBB professional bodybuilder. Moreover, he is currently the owner and CEO of The World Beauty Fitness & Fashion Inc. (WBFF).
He was the real bodybuilder in his prime years. The specific feature of Dillett that made him the biggest bodybuilder of all time was his muscular mass and vascularity. Before initiating his career in the bodybuilding world, Dillett was one of the top players in the Canadian Football League (CFL). That was the only sport that built his interest in the bodybuilding world and helped establish the foundation upon which he later carved his physique.
As compared to Big Ramy, Paul Dillett was a bit bigger and taller; therefore, he got the nickname "Freak Einstein.". 2012 is the year in which he retired from the bodybuilding realm; however, he continued to work on his passion for bodybuilding by initiating his own personal training center.
Paul Dillet had couple of ups and downs in his bodybuilding career, With 6’2 height and a 320-pound weight in off-season he competed well in every competition he took part in. In the 1995 Arnold Classic show, Paul experienced an accident on stage where he froze while posing. The reason behind this accident was cramping from water retention and dehydration. Paul decided to take a break after that and come up with improvements and enhancements. In 1996, Paul proved himself by finishing in 3rd place at both the Arnold Classic and the Grand Prix in the Czech Republic.
Ronnie Coleman
Ronald Dean Coleman is an American retired professional bodybuilder with eight consecutive Mr. Olympia titles. He is widely considered either the greatest bodybuilder of all time or one of the two greatest, along with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Starting in 1998, Coleman set new standards every year for eight years while the bodybuilding community was still getting used to the new size requirements. He was not one of those “lift light weights with the right form” guys but he lifted heavy and was as muscular as he looked. His training videos are considered powerful pre-workout inspiration content. Therefore, Coleman achieved a spot on the greatest and biggest bodybuilders of all time list.
Here is a quick tip for you: if next time your trainer instructs you that lifting heavy does not build muscle, remind him of Ronnie’s golden words:
“Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but nobody wants to lift heavy-ass weights.”
Ronnie Coleman retired in 2007 due to an injury; however, his eight-year dominance has proved that he was up to the task and has the most dominant bodybuilding physique ever to grace the stage. Moreover, “The King” is distinguished for having the strength to match his big muscles—squatting 800 pounds. Coleman’s stats include weighing as much as 330 lbs. in the off-season, which is massive for his height of 5’11”.
Jay Cutler
Jason Isaac Cutler known professionally as Jay Cutler, is an American retired professional bodybuilder. An IFBB Pro League bodybuilder, Cutler is a four-time Mr. Olympia winner, having won in 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010; and a six-time runner-up, the most in history.
Jay Cutler beat Coleman to achieve his very first Mr. Olympia title in 2006. The size of the war between Dorian Yates, Ronnie Coleman and Jay Cutler was real. At the age of 20, in 1993, Jay Cutler initiated his bodybuilding career. In his first competition, he achieved two titles: the teen and men’s heavyweight divisions. After these achievements, he soon realized that he had potential in the bodybuilding industry so he pursued his passion for fitness. The competitor who unsettled Ronnie Coleman and claimed the Mr. Olympia title four times was Cutler. In addition, he is the only Mr. Olympia champion to win it again after falling to Dexter Jackson in 2018.
Jay Cutler has a total of four Sandow’s to dignify his trophy shelves. His impressive feature is his longevity, with 290 lbs. of weight and 5’9 height.
Rich Piana
The late Richard Eugene Piana was an American bodybuilder, youtuber and businessman. Piana was popular in the weightlifting domain for his bodybuilding triumphs, transparency about steroid use in bodybuilding and its associated consequences, and over-the-top, extroverted personality. Rich Piana was obsessed with getting his physique jacked and people considered him a freak of nature. Rich Piana competed in the bodybuilding field for 25 years; his shoulders, arms and back were massive and drew the attention of bodybuilding followers all over the world. The sole thing that he was open about was his steroid use. Piana gained notoriety for being candid about what occurs behind closed doors in the fitness industry.
With 6’2 in height and 315 lbs. weight during the off season, he appeared in documentaries and was involved in several controversies. He passed away in 2017, gone too soon but we will surely remember him for his efforts in the bodybuilding industry and for his insane physique.
Lou Ferrigno
Louis Jude Ferrigno Sr. is an American actor as well as a retired professional bodybuilder. As a bodybuilder, Ferrigno won an IFBB Mr. America title and two consecutive IFBB Mr. Universe titles. Moreover, he appeared in the documentary film Pumping Iron (1977). As an actor, he is best known for his title role in the CBS television series The Incredible Hulk (1977–1982).
As compared to Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ferrigno had a 40-plus-pound advantage over him. In 1975, Mr. Olympia, Lou Ferrigno, was considered one of the biggest bodybuilders of his time, although Arnold Schwarzenegger won that title.
With a 6’5 height and more than 295 pounds of weight, Lou Ferrigno was one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time with multiple talents that included acting and bodybuilding. Ferrigno was also the youngest and tallest man to win the IFBB Mr. Universe title twice.
People wonder how he explored his interest in the world of bodybuilding; it was because of his challenging childhood. His hearing loss motivated him to make his identity, and he then dreamed of being as strong as the muscular characters within. He certainly attained that goal with consistency.
Markus Rühl
Markus Rühl is a retired IFBB professional bodybuilder with a 5’10 height and 285 pounds of weight at his peak. Markus doesn’t have any plans on becoming a bodybuilder at his young age; he has a passion for soccer and has played for his team in Germany at the professional level.
Although Rühl only won two shows in his career, he is considered one of the biggest "mass monster" bodybuilders who ever competed. Marcus boasted one of the most jaw-dropping and magnificent sets of shoulders in bodybuilding history, which gets him a spot on the biggest bodybuilders of all-time list.
If you explore Mr. Olympia contest photos between 2000 and 2009, you will witness Markus dimming both Ronnie Coleman and Jay Cutler with his pure, sheer muscle mass. If Mr. Olympia judges followed the same criteria as us, Rühl would have at least one Mr. Olympia title to his name by now. It was his impressive shoulders that named him one of the best bodybuilders in sports history.
Outline
We hope you enjoyed reading our brief list and concise summary of the most massive bodybuilders of all time. Congratulations to all the bodybuilders on the list for giving inspiration to emerging fitness enthusiasts in the bodybuilding realm, as it is very challenging to reach the heights they have all achieved in their careers.
For more bodybuilding news and updates, click here.
Related contents:
What happens after stopping steroids?
