The Top Twenty Bodybuilders of All Time
December 30, 2008 | Posted by billspaced Like what you see here? Become a subscriber today and get a ton of free stuff!. Thanks for coming back!
Who are the top bodybuilders of all time? How does one decide? Is it based subjectively on who has the best body? Or is it based on titles, influence, or fame?
I’ve taken on the task to assemble my list of the best bodybuilders of all time. I won’t divulge all of my criteria, but I will tell you that this list is for the men only (a best women of all time will come!) and that EVERY Mr Olympia will be on here.
So, without further delay, here’s my list, in order of who I think the best bodybuilder of all time is.
- Arnold. Mr O 7 times, six of them in a row. Fame, fortune, show business, politics. He’s done more to raise the awareness of bodybuilding as a viable sport than anyone. Plus, his body was the best amongst his peers for a very long time.
- Franco Columbu. Great “short man.” Strength was his most incredible asset, but I’ll never forget him in the WSM, obliterating his knee, and then coming back in ‘81 to win the O again. Won Mr Olympia twice.
- Frank Zane. To me, pound-for-pound the body I most want to look like. Just exquisite symmetry and definition. Won Mr O 3 times in a row
- Lou Ferrigno. This guy looks better now than he did in 1975. Phenomenal. Movie star and Incredible Hulk. Probably best-known of all bodybuilders, other than Arnold, of course. Never won an O, but he was competing against Arnold. And, he’s gotten bigger and better since.
- Larry Scott. Those arms! First Mr Olympia (won twice).
- Sergio Oliva. Biggest and baddest 3 years in a row.
- Ronnie Coleman. Won Mr O 8 times in a row.
- Dorian Yates. 6-time winner. Huge.
- Tom Platz. Never won an O, but once his upper body matched his incredible lower body, he became all-world. I’d love to see this guy do a leg routine!
- Samir Bannout. Best-built after Zane. Great symmetry and proportion. Won in 1983.
- Chris Dickerson. Won the O in 1982. Short biceps detracted from overall physique, but maybe the best calves in the game. Ever.
- Steve Reeves. First “mainstream” bodybuilder with mass appeal.
- Bill Pearl. Best of his era.
- Lee Haney. Won the Mr O 8 times in a row. First truly huge bodybuilder I remember.
- Jay Cutler, two time winner.
- Dexter Jackson, latest winner.
- Tim Belknap. Diabetic high intensity trainer. Never did much as a pro, but he was perhaps the best amateur I’ve ever seen. Thighs second to Platz, in my opinion.
- Mike Mentzer. Never won an O, but placed in the top 3 several times. Hard as nails. Proponent of High Intensity Training. Great proportion and an excellent trainer.
- Bertil Fox. Massive. Never won an O because he never peaked on time, but pound for pound one of the most muscular men on the planet.
- Mohamed Makkawy. Never won an O, but he was darned good in the 80s, always losing out to Haney. But he did put together some pro wins. He trained under Vince Gironda, too. Great overall body symmetry and proportion, right up there with Zane and Bannout and Mentzer. Maybe the best forearms ever.
There you have it. My Top 20. It’s a personal thing. I’m obviously biased toward the 80s bodybuilders. I think the ’90s marked a turning point from symmetry, balance, proportion, and definition to mass. But that’s just me.
Tell me what you think in the comments. (I’ll put up some pix of each of these superstar bodybuilders in an edit of this post later on.)
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Categories: bodybuilding | 
Tags: bodybuilders, bodybuilding, Mr Olympia | 
23 Comments »
I don’t think this list will change from person to person. Anyhow my top 20 is also the same.
I think there will be a tight fight when you start to consider the bodybuilders after 90s.
Looking forward for that list too with eagerness.
I’ll make a concerted effort to rank the bodybuilders of the 90s and 2000s. Thanks for the comment!
I agree with you when you say that the bodybuilders of earlier times were in better proportion than more recent times. There are guys now whose thighs must chafe like mad when they walk. (Ronnie Coleman springs to mind). From a female perspective, I much prefer the classic looks of guys like Bill Pearl and Johny Weismueller (in his Tarzan loincloth, naturally!)
Rosie Peters’s last blog post..Ripped Abs, Strong Core, Burn Ab Fat
I totally agree. Coleman immediately comes to mind for me, too! How do you feel about Frank Zane and Steve Reeves?
Frank Zane is a legend. He beat Arnie! (I just popped over to look at his website – he’s still involved in the sport). Steve Reeves was the ultimate mesomorph, apparently – fantastic shape all over. Just to add to my list, I like very much the look of Franco Columbu and I happily watch re-runs of Planet of the Apes to see a naked (but obscured a bit by bushes) Charlton Heston.
Rosie Peters’s last blog post..Don’t Like Exercise? Do it anyway & burn that waist fat
Frank Zane is my fovourite one. He has a great shape and he is chic too.
I would like suggest you two things.
What do the 20 persons in the list do now? acting? governor?
Why don’t we list the top female bodybuilders too?
@ Bodybuilder actor, yeah, Zane is classic. He’s my favorite, too, most simply because he and I share the same type of frame.
I’m writing up bios on the top 20 male bodybuilders on my site, Muscle Build; it’s a work in progress, but you’ll see the details there soon. There is a little bio on Arnold here, as an example.
As for future posts, I’ll be putting together a “top” list for bodybuilders of the 90s, 2000s, and women too.
Thanks very much for the suggestions!
Thank you, this is really interesting. Can’t wait to try it!
How does anyone have a discussion about symmetry and omit the name Lance Dreher? Perfect symmetry and the greatest arms of all time! If he hadn’t dissed Joe Weider (politics), in other words if he had sold out to Weider, he would have been acknowledged as the greatest bodybuilder of all. It is time for people to give him his due.
Yeah, you’re right! Lance was simply spectacular. Thick, dense, symmetrical. There’s probably more than just Lance who got nowhere after not towing the line with Weider. Seems like anybody who’s anybody in bodybuilding had to “join” the “Weider Union.”
I’m glad there is someone else who has observed the same thing I have. Look at how the media destroyed Jose Canseco and Barry Bonds while Arnold, who was the father of steroid use, went unscathed b/c of his Weider politics. Nooo, politics aren’t part of bodybuilding! I know a little bit about lifting, I just recently set a world record at 62 years old. At 198 lbs I benched 360 lbs RAW. Go to youtube and put in Keith Harmon powerlifting. I’m still in love with the sport but despise the unfair politics of it. Maybe this contributed to Paul De Mayo’s demise?
@Keith WOW. 360! Way to go. That’s awesome. It is a rough sport. Gotta pretty much totally sacrifice the body and the soul to get anywhere.
I have some of the guys in different order, but overall – a very good list. I probably would’ve dropped both Lee Labrada as well as Shawn Ray in the Top 20 simply because both men had long careers placing very high in the top events. And, for his time, Dave Draper was the face of bodybuilding for Weider Publications before Arnold came along. That should probably account for something.
@Jagster, Yes, I agree. Draper, Ray, and Labrada all should be on the list. Obviously, they’re not in my top 20, but they’d definitely be in the top 25! So, add I will do!!!
I’m still working on fleshing out this list (adding bios) over at Muscle-Build.com…bear with me.
By the way, I may have some really cool info coming down about somebody on the list! STAY TUNED.
.-= billspaced´s last blog ..Muscle-Building Resources I Have Found To Be Helpful =-.
I am 54, and have followed bodybuilding for over 30 years, I enjoyed your list with just a couple of exceptions, I dont see how Lee Haney with 8 Mr. O’s could possibly be 14th on the list and I dont believe Lou looks better now than he did years ago like in the movie pumping iron, although he has remained in great shape.I was there in Columbus in 81 to see Columbo win the Olympia. Have been in to bodybuilding myself my whole life, never competed, but still train constantly. Also Mentzer was underrated,should have won in Austrailia.
,[...] blog.muscle-build.com is other must read source on this subject,[...]
Great list, I agree for the most part though think Zane should be #2 and Yates above Coleman. Mr. O has been a popularity contest more than one about body composition for a long time in my opinion so number of Mr. O wins, though a factor isn’t everything. Doing the same type of list but for powerlifters would be interesting.
@Doc, great idea on the powerlifting list! Plus, if truth be told, Zane is my favorite of all time. Nearly perfect in my opinion.
Thanks for the comment!
.-= billspaced´s last blog ..High Intensity Training (HIT): Maximizing the Muscle! =-.
Very nice site!
So who would be your top 10 bench press guys? Squat? Deadlift? Total? Best powerlifters of all time?
.-= Bench Press Blueprint´s last blog ..Using Chains to Improve Your Bench Press =-.
Enjoy the idea. Perhaps bodybuilding supplements source would help someone there.