In this article, we will discuss the top 15 bodybuilders of all time. These bodybuilders are an inspiration for young athletes today. Fitness enthusiasts can look up to them and follow in their footsteps.
We are neither claiming that they do natural bodybuilding nor that they do steroids. We are just pointing out that they are the biggest of the biggest.
Top 15 Bodybuilders of all time
Here is the list of the biggest bodybuilders in the world.
- Greg Kovacs
- Big Ramy
- Ronnie Coleman
- Günter Schlierkamp
- Lou Ferrigno
- Paul Dillett
- Markus Rühl
- Zack Kahn
- Nasser El Sonbaty
- Jean-Pierre Fux
- Roelly Winklaar
- Dorian Yates
- Jay Cutler
- Dennis James
- Denis Wolf
Now, let’s discuss all these bodybuilders in detail. Continue reading…
Top 15 Bodybuilders of All Time
Here are the stats of all these bodybuilders.
1. Greg Kovacs
- Height – 6’4” (6 ft 4 in)
- Weight – 330 lbs
The number one in our list of top 15 bodybuilders of all time is Greg Kovacs.
Gregory Mark Kovacs or Greg Kovacs was born on December 16, 1968, in Canada. He died on November 22, 2013, due to heart failure, at the time he was just 44 years old.
Greg was an IFBB pro bodybuilder from 1996 to 2005. He retired from bodybuilding in 2005.
Although his career wasn’t as best as other bodybuilders, he was undoubtedly the biggest bodybuilder ever.
In 2004, he got the 13th spot in Arnold Classic. This was his highest placing professionally in any bodybuilding competition.
It was believed that during the offseason, Greg’s weight used to go up to 420 lbs. This is twice as much as an average man weighs.
He looked like a giant due to his overall size. His chest was 70″, arms were 27″ and legs were 35″. Also, he was a very tall man. All of this made him the biggest bodybuilder in the world.
2. Big Ramy
- Height – 5’10” (5 ft 10 in)
- Weight – 316 lbs
Mamdouh Elssbiay a.k.a Big Ramy was born on September 16, 1984, in Egypt. He is an IFBB professional bodybuilder.
Big Ramy started training and lifting weight in 2009 with a dream to be a successful bodybuilder in the future. In 2012, the Amateur Olympia competition was held in Kuwait City, that was when he got his pro card.
Then in 2013, he participated in the New York Pro and won that competition. It was his debut as a professional bodybuilder.
After that win, Ramy’s bodybuilding career took off at full speed. He went on to compete in two of the biggest competitions:
- Mr. Olympia
- Arnold Classic
In 2017, won the Arnold Classic Europe and got 2nd place in Mr. Olympia. In 2020, Big Ramy became the winner of the Mr. Olympia title.
The reason behind his nickname “Big Ramy” is that his competition weight is over 300 lbs which is a rare case for other bodybuilders.
3. Ronnie Coleman
- Height – 5’11” (5 ft 11 in)
- Weight – 300 lbs
If you know anything about bodybuilding then you would have heard about Ronnie Coleman. He is a retired IFBB pro bodybuilder.
Ronnie was born on May 13, 1964, in the United States of America.
He is a legend because he won the Mr. Olympia title 8 times. It’s super difficult to win it even once and Ronnie won it 8 times.
He took up bodybuilding initially because there was a free gym membership. But that actually gave the world one of the biggest bodybuilders ever.
Coleman is very similar to Dorian Yates as he was also like a mass monster. His muscle mass and size were just incredible.
In fact, he had one of the biggest backs among all of his competitors and his legs were unmatched. His amazing bodybuilding career helped him get a spot in the top 20 richest bodybuilders in the world list.
In 2009, Ronnie retired from bodybuilding at that time, he had a record for the most number of victories under his name. He won a total of 26 titles as an IFBB pro.
4. Günter Schlierkamp
- Height – 6’1″ (6 ft 1 in)
- Weight – 297 lbs
Günter Schlierkamp was born on February 2, 1970, in Germany. He is a retired IFBB pro bodybuilder.
Although, he is retired now, in his prime days his physique was that of a show-stopper.
During the offseason, he would easily go up to 330 lbs and he was definitely on the biggest bodybuilders of his time.
From 1990 to 2006, he competed in many bodybuilding championships and that helped him earn the nickname “The Gentle Giant” by his fans.
In 2005, he got his biggest victory in a bodybuilding competition. It was Mr. Olympia and he won the 4th position.
At the time, however, a lot of people criticized this decision as they wanted Schlierkamp to be placed higher. According to them, the top 3 competitors were not as good as Günter Schlierkamp.
5. Lou Ferrigno
- Height – 6’4″ (6 ft 4 in)
- Weight – 285 lbs
Lou Ferrigno was born on November 9, 1951, in the United States of America. He was such a huge bodybuilder that his fans gave him the nickname “The Incredible Hulk”.
Lou Ferrigno is a retired IFBB pro bodybuilder. Currently, he is working as an actor, a fitness consultant, and a physical trainer.
He debuted professionally in 1972 at the NABBA Mr. Universe contest. That was just the beginning of his competitive career.
He participated in several bodybuilding competitions all over the world. Some highlights from his career are winning titles like the IFBB Mr. Universe, and IFBB Mr. America.
After having a successful bodybuilding career, Lou moved to work in Hollywood as an actor.
In 1977, he got the lead role in the famous film “The Hulk”. This was the reason why he got his nickname.
He looked very convincing in the role of Hulk due to his amazing physique.
6. Paul Dillett
- Height – 6’1″ (6 ft 1 in)
- Weight – 285 lbs
The sixth position in our top 15 bodybuilders list goes to Paul Dillett. His nickname is “Jurassic Paul”.
Paul Dillett was born on April 12, 1965, in Canada. He was an IFBB pro bodybuilder but now he has retired from this profession.
He had a very impressive physique among all the bodybuilders of his time.
In 1993, he debuted professionally at the Arnold Classic championship. After that in 1999, he won the title of the Night of Champions.
He had a long-running bodybuilding career, spanning over 20 years.
During all these years, he competed in:
- Mr. Olympia – 5 times
- Arnold Classics – 4 times
- Night of Champions – 3 times
- Iron Man Pros – 3 times
His biggest achievement was winning 4th place in the 1994 Mr. Olympia competition.
It was a common thing was Dillett to bulk up to 330 lbs during the offseason. He was so good that right before competitions he would shed off all that excess weight and get back to 285 lbs.
7. Markus Rühl
- Height – 5’10” (5 ft 10 in)
- Weight – 285 lbs
Markus Rühl was born on February 22, 1972, in Germany. He did not have the dream to be a pro bodybuilder until he got a knee injury while playing football.
After that accident, his doctor advised him to train so that he can recover. He started training at the young age of 18, and this became his first step to bodybuilding.
He participated in his first competition after training for just five years. This led him to became one of the biggest bodybuilders in the world.
Rühl was a regular participant in Mr. Olympia championship. His biggest achievement was in 2004 when he got fifth place in Mr. Olympia.
Earlier in 2002, he won the Night of Champions and in 2003, he got 3rd position in Arnold Classic.
8. Zack Kahn
- Height – 6′ (6 ft)
- Weight – 280 lbs
Zack Kahn is one of the biggest bodybuilders in the world. Even after being so huge, he is highly underrated, still, his fans have given him the nickname “King”.
Usually, when people talk about mass monsters, they mean the biggest bodybuilding stars like Ronnie Coleman, Paul Dillet, or Dorian Yates.
They don’t even think about Zack Kahn. When in reality, he is so freakingly huge that it’s unbelievable.
In 2009, Zack became an IFBB pro. However, he had an injury that delayed his professional debut on stage till 2013.
Unfortunately, this was his first injury, and many injuries followed after that. Due to this, he has not been very active as a pro bodybuilder.
Still, he could easily be called one of the top 15 bodybuilders of all time.
9. Nasser El Sonbaty
- Height – 5’11” (5 ft 11 in)
- Weight – 279 lbs
Next on this list of the top 15 bodybuilders is the late Nasser El Sonbaty¹.
Sonbaty was born on October 15, 1965, in Germany and died on March 20, 2013, in Egypt. He was just 47 when he died.
When he was alive, his physique so big that he looked like a beast.
In 1983, he began bodybuilding seriously and participated in his first professional championship in 1985.
His debut in Mr. Olympia was in 1994 and he got the 7th spot. This was just the beginning as he continued participating in many pro competitions after that.
He continued participating in the IFBB pro championships. In fact, he participated in approx. 53 competitions in total.
Nasser was famous for his fashion sense too. His “round spectacles” became his trademark style while training in the gym or even while posing for the camera.
He was also nicknamed “The Professor” by his fans. This could be due to the fact that he could speak many languages fluently.
Sonbaty used to bulk up to 330 lbs during the offseason and then during competitions he would cut back down to 279 lbs.
10. Jean-Pierre Fux
- Height – 5’11” (5 ft 11 in)
- Weight – 275 lbs
Jean-Pierre Fux was born on November 5, 1968, in Switzerland. He is a retired IFBB pro bodybuilder.
However, just because he is retired, it doesn’t mean that he should not be on this list of the top 15 bodybuilders of all time. He is definitely one of the best.
He first became famous after participating in international bodybuilding competitions in 1996.
Fux had an unreal-looking amazing physique that helped him gain a lot of attention from bodybuilding fans all over the world.
His potential was proved when he started participating against the top bodybuilders like Dorian Yates and Paul Dillet. Both these bodybuilders were mass monsters.
So, when Jean-Pierre Fux participated against them, he got a place in the top eight in Mr. Olympia competition during 1996 and 1997.
He continued as a pro bodybuilder till 2001. Unfortunately, his career had an abrupt ending because of an infamous accident.
11. Roelly Winklaar
- Height – 5’8″ (5 ft 8 in)
- Weight – 265 lbs
Roelly Winklaar is a Dutch bodybuilder, who was born on June 22, 1977, in Curaçao. He is an IFBB pro bodybuilder.
His fans lovingly gave him the nickname “The Dutch Beast”.
Bulking and Cutting was easy for him and during the offseason, he bulks up to 320 lbs like a beast. However, right before competitions, he cuts down to 265 lbs.
He has one of the biggest arms in bodybuilding and an amazing physique.
Winklaar has won several bodybuilding competitions and his biggest victory was the Australia Arnold Classic, where he won first place.
In 2019, he participated in the Mr. Olympia competition and got fifth place.
Earlier in 2018, Roelly won the peoples champion title in Mr. Olympia. This helped him gain a lot more fans from all over the world.
12. Dorian Yates
- Height – 5’10” (5 ft 10 in)
- Weight – 260 lbs
Dorian Yates is one of the most popular bodybuilders in the world and the list of top 15 bodybuilders is incomplete without mentioning him.
He is the original mass monster. Yates had one of the best physiques in bodybuilding and that helped him win the Mr. Olympia title 6 times.
He was nicknamed “The Shadow” by his fans because he would always stay away from the limelight throughout the year. But he would appear right before the competition and win it and take away the trophy.
Dorian is a British bodybuilder who was born on April 19, 1962.
He began weight lifting in 1983 and continued training for many years. After that, he debuted professionally in 1991 at the Newcastle Pro championship.
Yates had the reputation of winning all the titles of the competitions he participated in.
During the offseason, he would often go up to 310 lbs.
13. Jay Cutler
- Height – 5’10” (5 ft 10 in)
- Weight – 260 lbs
Jason Isaac Cutler a.k.a Jay Cutler is an American bodybuilder who was born on August 3, 1973.
He became the Mr. Olympia winner 4 times. Obviously, that is possible only if someone has the best physiques for a bodybuilder.
At the age of 18, he started training to build his body and gain muscles. By the time turned 23, he already became a pro.
Jay Cutler won the prestigious Mr. Olympia in the years 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010. His victory wasn’t very easy as he competed against Ronnie Coleman.
Ronnie won the Mr. Olympia title 8 times and Jay won against a legend like him.
14. Dennis James
- Height – 5’8″ (5 ft 8 in)
- Weight – 260 lbs
In comparison to most of the other bodybuilders, Dennis James is not very tall but weighs 260 lbs. This is why he looks so big and huge.
Dennis James is a German-American bodybuilder. He was born on May 31, 1966, in Heidelberg, Germany.
He started his bodybuilding career at the young of 18.
In the year 1985, he won his first bodybuilding competition and that was the beginning of his amazing journey.
Then in the year 2000, James participated in the Mr. Olympia competition for the first time.
After that, in 2003, Dennis won the fourth position in Mr. Olympia. This was his biggest victory in any high-level bodybuilding competition.
Another interesting fact about him is that during the off-season, his weight would go up to 300 lbs. But, during competitions, he would cut it back to 260 lbs.
15. Dennis Wolf
- Height – 5’11” (5 ft 11 in)
- Weight – 258 lbs
The last on this list of the top 15 bodybuilders of all time is Dennis Wolf.
Dennis is a German IFBB pro bodybuilder. He was born on October 30, 1978, in Kyrgyzstan.
At the young age of 15, he started training for bodybuilding, because he always wanted to compete. By the age of 21, he already started competing professionally.
In the year 2005, he became a pro. After that, in 2006 he debuted at the World Amateur Championship.
He is famously known as “Big Bad Wolf”. His passion for bodybuilding helped him gain this nickname (or title).
In the year 2014, Dennis Wolf won the prestigious IFBB Arnold Classic.
Then in 2015, he got the fourth spot at Mr. Olympia.
These two are the biggest bodybuilding competitions and every bodybuilder dreams of competing in them.
Wolf is also popular for his amazing physique. Even though he is one of the biggest bodybuilders in the world but still he has a small waist and an outer quad sweep.
Top 15 Bodybuilders of All Time – Summary
After researching thoroughly, this list was created. All the bodybuilders mentioned in this list truly deserved it. We appreciate their passion, hard work, and dedication to this sport.