Top 10 Bodybuilders of All Time

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The best bodybuilders in the World, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Frank Wheel, are the solid rock example of human strength and dedication who have successfully defined the masculine abilities of a human body. We will be discussing, in this listicle, the top 10 bodybuilders of all time. 

When we talk about “Top Bodybuilders,” whose image pops up in your mind? I am sure you remember Our Terminator, Arnold! Am I right? 

body building
Body Building (Source: usatoday.com)

Well, what does it take to get such an aesthetic body? You would say hard work.

But bodybuilding requires much more than that. It’s about the right mindset and consistency.

Rome wasn’t built in a day. Likewise, the greatest of bodybuilders have given their sweat and blood in the process.

We are going to discuss the top 10 best bodybuilders history has ever witnessed. Did your favorite bodybuilder make it to our list? Find out below! 

Top 10 Bodybuilders of All Time

The following list of male athletes is based on their achievements and overall influence in bodybuilding.

      Top 10 Body Builders   Countries 
1. Flex Wheeler USA
2. Arnold Schwarzenegger Austria
3. Shawn Ray USA
4. Dorian Yates UK
5. Kevin Levrone USA
6. Dexter Jackson USA
7. Lee Haney USA
8. Ronnie Coleman USA
9. Phil Heath USA
10. Frank Zane USA

1. Flex Wheeler

First on our list is Kenneth Flex Wheeler, who is also regarded as ‘Sultan of Symmetry.’ He’s a 58 year old guy who received 17 expert titles during his career. 

He has by no means received Sandor and has fallen at the back of the Olympic champion three times. However, for plenty of bodybuilders and athletes, Flex is simply the most pleasant bodybuilder ever.

Flex-Wheeler
Flex Wheeler (Source: Fitness-Volt)

Additionally, Arnold Schwarzenegger defined Wheeler as one of the best bodybuilders he had ever seen. In addition, he received the Arnold Classic 4 times.

He has won the France Grand Prix, South Beach Pro Invitational, Night of Champions, Hungarian Grand Prix, and the Ironman Pro 5 times.

In addition, Ronnie Coleman even showed that Flex Wheeler is his closest pleasant bodybuilder. With these, he’s simply the satisfying frame within the frame.

2. Arnold Schwarzenegger

Today, maximum humans recognize Arnold Schwarzenegger as an actor and politician. However, in reality, he’s very famous in the bodybuilding world.

He’s 76 years old at the time. But, it has to be stated that earlier in the 1990s, maximum bodybuilders confirmed higher health and mass than Schwarzenegger in competition.

Arnold-Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger (Source: GettyImages)

By brand new standards, Schwarzenegger would not be capable of competing. However, during the early years of his lifestyle, he possessed a well-proportioned, developed, and honestly colossal physique.

Additionally, he’s taller than maximum bodybuilders with a 6’2″ tall frame. His lifestyle is full of ideas and fulfillment as he seeks and achieves his goals.

At the age of 19, Arnold was crowned as “Mr. Europe.” He won five Mr. Universe titles and seven Mr. Olympia titles.

He maintained this record until Lee Haney earned his eighth straight Mr. Olympia championship in 1991.

With that being said, despite having men larger or higher than Arnold, he is, in reality, one of the all-time greatest.

3. Shawn Ray

Named in The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding by Bill Dobbins and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Shawn is 58 years old bodybuilder.

Ray, at 5’5″ and 210 pounds, was nicknamed a “Giant Killer” and has appeared in six documentary films.

SHAWN RAY
Shawn Ray posing in the stadium (Source: M&F)

Even if he would not identify as Mr. Olympia, he’s considered one of the most inspiring bodies in the bodybuilding industry.

In addition to the well-proportioned discern that surprised many judges and fans, he confirmed a variety of muscles, which allowed him to rank 5th in the Mr. Olympia competition consistently.

Ray defeated every opponent he faced on stage at least once throughout his career, except 8-Time Mr. Olympia Lee Haney and 6-Time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates.

He is an extraordinary breed in the bodybuilding industry, mainly because maximum people nowadays are the most effective of weight rather than extended frame symmetry.

4. Dorian Yates

Moving on to next, Dorian Yates, the six-time Mr. Olympia (from 1992 to 1997), is one of the finest bodybuilders of all time, having many fans. 

Dorian Yates is 5’10” tall with an aggressive weight of 262 lbs. It makes him a pressure to be reckoned with. It desires to be taken into account in the bodybuilding world.

Dorian-Yates
Dorian Yates (Source: Amazon.com)

Moreover, his achievements, notable frame and physique, and painting ethic have impacted and surprised many fans.

He stated he is devoted to training each day at some stage in the year. His workout habitually includes challenging and brutal exercising plans.

His automatic recognition of schooling and unwavering determination for his career paved the way for him to compete and win.

At the same instance, there have been notable bodybuilders like Ronnie Coleman and Paul Dillet.

5. Kevin Levrone

Mr. Levrone, 59 years, is considered by way of means many to be one of the maximum underrated bodybuilders of all time.

He maintains to affect fanatics together along with his incredible-fashioned hands and deltas and chiseled abdomen. It gave him the nickname “Maryland Muscle Machine.”

Muscle machine, Kevin Levrone
Muscle machine, Kevin Levrone (Source: Youtube)

Although he didn’t earn the coveted identity of Mr. Olympia, he was undoubtedly one of the first-class bodybuilders of all time. As in Mr. Olympia’s opposition, he constantly finished runner-up four times.

Not to mention, Levrone has received more than 23 expert display titles.

In 2016, at 51, Kevin returned to Mr. Olympia’s opposition and repeatedly performed the championship battle, where he received the sixteenth place in the sport.

Levrone now likes other sports such as tennis and golf after retiring from the competition. He has been in several films and is also a musician.

However, many fanatics and athletes consider him one of the actual winners of the sport because he suggests a first-class body at this age.

6. Dexter Jackson

Next on our list is 54-year-old Dexter Jackson, who has participated in Mr. Olympia numerous times. 

After keeping the pinnacle for many years, Dexter Jackson eventually tasted it while gaining the Olympic Games in 2008.

Dexter_Jackson
Dexter Jackson (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

In addition, he’s famous withinside the discipline of bodybuilding for his deep abs. Because of his sharp blade and specific bodily condition, he’s nicknamed “Blade.”

Dexter Jackson gained the Arnold Classic 5 times and broke the document because he’s the simplest bodybuilder to do this.

He additionally holds a twenty-eighth IFBB expert bodybuilding championship title.

7. Lee Haney

Lee Haney is currently 64 years old. Despite his aggressive document and the pioneering mixture of muscle and mass, Haney gained tremendous popularity.

Lee Haney became the primary character to convey frame length and patience in bodybuilding.

Lee Haney
Lee Haney (Source: Reddit

He has groundbreaking muscle tissues and a remarkable frame shape. With his impressive physique, he is the handiest bodybuilder who has received Mr. Olympia and in no way misplaced the title.

At his peak, Haney became taller than his competitors, weighing nearly 250 pounds.

After prevailing eight consecutive Mr. Olympia titles, he got retired. Although earning Mr. Olympia 8 times., many bodybuilding fans stated that Haney knew he might lose to Dorian Yates at the top of his career, so he said goodbye to bodybuilding.

8. Ronnie Coleman

Ronnie Coleman is in this listing because he set a brand new fashionable bodybuilding. He weighs three hundred pounds, which many bodybuilders strive to acquire today.

Ronnie Coleman gained his first Mr. Olympia championship in 1998, while Mr. 6X Olympia Dorian Yates retired and greatly surprised the bodybuilding industry.

Ronnie earned the title of “Mr. Olympia” for eight years and was considered “the greatest” of all time.

During this time, Coleman’s career had reached a peak, accomplishing a stage that no person can fit.

Ronnie-Coleman
Ronnie Coleman (Source: Pin Interest)

Because of this, he became capable of stealing Olympia from Sean Ray, Nasser El Sambati, and Kevin Lefroni.

Coleman virtually had the whole lot within the early ranges of his career, together with length and details.

However, maximum bodybuilders will agree that there’s nothing more remarkable than his back.

Even state-of-the-art satisfactory bodybuilders like Phil Heath can not fit Coleman’s early stomach and well-proportioned figure.

9. Phil Heath

Phil Heath, born in 1979, made his expert debut in 2006. He observed bodybuilding in 2002.

Health is an American bodybuilder who gained seven consecutive victories from Mr. Olympia from 2011 to 2017.

His super body has honestly paved the manner for him to win those consecutive victories for seven successive years.

However, at maximum these days, Shawn Rhoden turned into dethroned Olympia Champion. He has quads, a massive, clean back, and fingers larger than top people’s legs.

PHIL HEATH
Phil Heath exposes his muscles (Source: Wikimedia)

On the pinnacle of that, Heath has a nearly ideal body, with a micro-waistline, toned muscles, and toned abs.

Combining those records along with his excellent conditioning, it is no wonder that he is genuinely one of the first-class. Consequently, he’s nicknamed “The Gift.

While a few might also disagree that he seems too tight, many agree that Heath’s body is first-class within the bodybuilding world.

[If you want to know about the top 10 female bodybuilders, click the link]

 15 Greatest Female Bodybuilders of the Current Year.

10. Frank Zane

In the golden age of bodybuilding within the 1970s, Frank Zane (81 years old) became well-known with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Franco Columbus.

Frank is an American bodybuilder who commenced as a math and chemistry teacher. Zane seemed in this listing because, inside the bodybuilding industry, he essentially created the period “Zanelike” and the cultured motion in bodybuilding.

Thus, the “Zanelike” frame or period was born, which essentially approaches that your slimness is described with the aid of using the hundred ninety frames stimulated with the help of Zane’s physique.

Frank-Zane
Frank Zane (Source: MuscleProd.com)

Due to his physique, even though he misplaced 60 kilos in weight, Frank Zane defeated Arnold Schwarzenegger and received the identity of Mr. IFBB Global in 1968.

In addition, because of his efforts, he received the identity of Mr. Olympia for three consecutive years from 1977 to 1979, gaining the best of 185 kilos and 18 inches of arms.

However, his waist circumference reached an unparalleled 29 inches. If anyone has a VTaper, it’s Frank Zane.

[Guess who are the wealthiest bodybuilders in the World! Click the link below to find out]

 Top 20 Richest Bodybuilders in the World

Conclusion

Bodybuilding is becoming a source of attraction for youngsters. It introduces new athletes every year and sets new milestones to achieve.

Every record is meant to be broken sooner or later. So let us acknowledge these legends.

Our list of top 10 bodybuilders of all time concludes here. What do you think about this?

Please let us know if we have forgotten any top bodybuilders in the comment section.

Sanjib Sah
Sanjib Sah
Sanjib Sah is an engineer and content writer passionate about sports and athletics. With a background in engineering and a love for all things active, Sanjib brings a unique perspective to the world of sports writing. Whether he is covering the latest trends in sports technology or sharing tips on improving your game, Sanjib's words are always rooted in a deep appreciation for players' hard work and dedication everywhere. In his free time, you can find him hitting the courts or hitting the trails, always looking for new ways to challenge himself and improve his skills.

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