famous bodybuilders

talk to you about famous bodybuilders supposes, inevitably, to do it from the contest Mr Olympia since it is the most important in the world in this discipline. It has been held since 1965 and its first two editions were won by the North American Larry Scott. Shortly after, the reign of a bodybuilder destined to make a career in the world of cinema would come.

As you may have imagined, we are talking about Arnold Schwarzenegger, who obtained the recognition seven times, six of them consecutively between 1970 and 1975. However, the athlete who has won it more times has been Ronnie Coleman, with eight titles. But, without further ado, we are going to show you our list of famous bodybuilders who, by the way, have nothing to do with the strongest men in the world.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

There is little we can tell you that you do not already know about this famous actor. But, perhaps, you do not know what nation in Austria in 1947. Before emigrating to the United States, he had already achieved the title of Mr. Universe. And, later, in the North American country, she obtained the recognitions of Mister Olympia that we have told you about.

Thanks to them, he entered the world of cinema. His first film, very appropriate and that nobody remembers, was Hercules in New York and was listed in the credits as Arnold Strong. But the film that catapulted his acting career was Conan el Bárbaro, from 1982. After reincarnating the character in Conan the destroyer, began to succeed in the cinema. Then would come the unforgettable saga of Terminator, which would end up raising it.

But, going back to the world of famous bodybuilders, which is what concerns us here, Schwarzenegger is also a legend. Not in vain, he was the participant younger in winning the Mister Olympia contest and, in addition, he repeated another six times, the last in 1980.

Dorian Yates

After Schwarzenegger, the bodybuilding career of this Briton born in 1962 has been. But it has also been brilliant, since he won Mr Olympia six times in a row, between 1992 and 1997. And maybe he still would have won more titles if he hadn't had to retire due to injuries.

He has been one of the athletes who revolutionized training in his time. He took advantage of the teachings of Mike Mentzer, another famous bodybuilder, to create his own style of training and nutrition. Precisely, after retiring from it, he participated in several food companies for bodybuilders. And he has also published books on the subject and a documentary about his sports career.

Ronnie Coleman, the famous bodybuilder with the most titles

This North American bodybuilder still holds the record for the most consecutive titles won. He got eight times in a row the recognition of Mister Olympia, between 1998 and 2005. It was not his only record. He also had the most wins as a professional of the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness until he was beaten by his compatriot Dexter jackson.

Perhaps for all this, it is considered by many experts, the best bodybuilder of all time. Retired for years, he has dedicated himself to giving courses and seminars all over the world. He has also posted numerous videos and launched his own brand of nutritional supplements.

Lou Ferrigno, another bodybuilder turned famous actor

Now we come to another of the famous bodybuilders who also succeeded as an actor, it is true that not as much as Schwarzenegger. We are talking about Lou Ferrigno, which, perhaps, does not sound familiar to you. But, if we tell you that he was the protagonist of the mythical television series The incredible Hulk bringing the green super hero to life, you are sure to fall for it.

Born in New York in 1951, he started bodybuilding at the age of thirteen. But he would not start competing until he was of legal age. Already in the seventies he twice obtained the title of Mr Universe. However, although he also participated, he never won the Mr. Olympia. In 1974 he was second, just behind Schwarzenegger, and a year later he was third.

Perhaps he never made it because he started early in the world of cinema. Already in 1978 he was chosen to play Hulk due to his great corpulence (then, he weighed 138 kilograms and was 196 centimeters tall). However, after the series ended in 1982, her film career fizzled out. As a curiosity, we will tell you that in the two most recent film versions of the superhero Ferrigno appeared, but not as the Hulk, but playing a security guard.

Jay Cutler

Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1973, he began bodybuilding in college while studying criminal science. Heavily influenced by the bodybuilder Chris Dickerson and by the nutritionist chris aceto, achieved success in 2006 by proclaiming himself the winner of Mr Olympia. He took over, precisely from Ronnie Coleman, which he had won in the previous eight editions.

Since then, things haven't gone bad either, as he repeated the title in 2007, 2009 and 2010. Previously, he had won three titles in the Arnold Classic, competition created by Schwarzenegger and James Lorimer. It was in the 2003, 2004 and 2005 editions. At that time, she weighed around one hundred and twenty kilograms for a height of 173 centimeters.

Cutler is the only bodybuilder in history to win back the Mr. Olympia award the year after losing it. He went, as we have told you, in 2009 and defeated another great figure in this sport: branch warren, who also won the Arnold Classic twice.

Phil Heath

Born in Seattle, Washington, in 1979, he was going to be a basketball player. But, unable to get into the NBA, he decided to focus on bodybuilding. And his decision was correct, because in this discipline he has obtained seven times The title of Mr Olympia. It is therefore after Lee haney y Ronnie Coleman, who has achieved it the most times tied with Arnold Scharzenegger.

He has also taken advantage of his physical appearance for professional wrestling. He has accompanied figures such as The BroMans in some of his fights. But, as could not be less in the world of bodybuilding, he has also dedicated himself to publishing videos and other works on this discipline or on crossfit.

shawn roden

It was precisely this one who snatched the title of Mr Olympia to the previous one in 2018. It thus became the oldest bodybuilder who got this awardWell, he was already 43 years and five months old. He was born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1975.

After earning his degree, he was involved in a rape scandal in the state of Utah. Due to this, the Mr. Olympia organization banned him from participating in the 2019 contest. Roden died in November 2021 from a heart attack.

Mamdouh Elssbiay

We end our tour of famous bodybuilders in this Egyptian born on September 16, 1974. Before dedicating himself to professional bodybuilding, he was a fisherman and is also known by the nickname of "Big Rammy". He became known in the discipline by winning the New York Pro Championship of 2013.

Later he would win the Mr. Olympia contest two years in a row, in 2020 and 2021. With this, he became the great dominator of bodybuilding in recent times. In addition, he has obtained other awards such as the Arnold Classic Europe, the EVLS Prague Pro or the IFBB Kuwait Pro.

In conclusion, we have shown you some of the famous bodybuilders who have obtained the main awards in this discipline worldwide. But, inevitably, we have left others in the pipeline. For example, we have only mentioned you in passing to the pioneer Larry Scott. And we don't want to forget the Cuban Sergio Oliva or from Italian Franco Columbu. Don't you think they are figures that have marked an era in bodybuilding?