15 Biggest Bodybuilders Ever To Walk The Planet 2024

In a world of human evolution, pushing the boundaries of what was previously thought possible requires extraordinary things. In the bodybuilding world, we can apply the same rationale. 

Look at a bodybuilder and you’ll often find yourself wondering how a physique like that is possible. As years pass by, bodybuilders continue to push the adaptive limits of the human body. 

It takes years of extreme dedication in the kitchen and on the gym floor to even come close to them. Whether it’s performing an Arnold split or something more traditional, the picture remains the same.

With so many huge athletes gracing the bodybuilding stage, which ones are the biggest, and what makes them special? In the list below, we look at the biggest bodybuilder ever to have walked the planet.

15 Biggest Bodybuilders Ever 

The bodybuilders listed below have walked onto the stage and shocked the world. These are the 15 biggest bodybuilders ever to have lived, pushing the limits of what’s humanly possible.

Phil Heath

Phil Heath, also known as the Gift, was born and raised in Washington, America. Growing up, he was an athletic child, playing basketball to a high level before developing a passion for bodybuilding. While training to improve his basketball skills, he became inspired by the hard work he saw in the gym.

While he isn’t the biggest bodybuilder on our top 15 list, he isn’t small. At 240 pounds on stage, he carried about 270 pounds of muscle around in the off-season.

He’s number one on our list for a simple reason — he has seven consecutive Mr. Olympia wins from 2011 to 2017. Because of this, he’s widely regarded as one of the best bodybuilders of all time.

His physical statistics include a 54-inch chest, 23-inch arms, and 32-inch thighs. With this, he’s one of the biggest bodybuilders ever to have walked on the stage.

Ronnie Coleman

Regarded by many as the greatest of all time, Ronnie Coleman came from a rough upbringing. At times, he often struggled to find enough money to eat, working multiple jobs growing up to try to get by. After being offered a free gym membership at Metroflex Gym, his love for bodybuilding began.

With eight Mr. Olympia titles to his name, Ronnie Coleman is cemented as one of the most successful bodybuilders. He is perhaps most well-known for his insane feats of strength in the gym. Alongside this, many of his training catchphrases are still used today.

With a 58-inch chest and 24-inch pair of arms, he deserves a place on our top 15 list. On top of this, he had 36-inch thighs and 22-inch calves, 

Markus Rühl

Markus Rühl is a German bodybuilder who started life by playing professional football. After suffering from a knee injury, he began training in the gym as part of the recovery process. Following this, he decided to start bodybuilding after enjoying the changes in his physique.

The knee is one of the most commonly injured body parts when weight training, accounting for 4.6% of injuries. The shoulders account for the most injuries at 7.4%. 

He is well-known throughout bodybuilding for having one of the most impressive sets of shoulders ever to be on stage. During his professional career, he placed well in several well-known bodybuilding competitions. Because of his sheer size, he is considered one of the biggest bodybuilders of all time.

In his prime, he boasted a 60-inch chest and 24-inch pair of arms in the off-season. His reported off-season weight was 285 pounds.

Lou Ferrigno

Lou Ferrigno, also known as the Hulk, is an Italian-American bodybuilder and actor. He initially rose to fame for his role as the Hulk in the movie, showcasing his impressive shape and size. Like many of the other bodybuilders, he had a difficult start to life, being bullied at school and home.

At 6 feet 4 inches, he is also regarded as one of the tallest professional bodybuilders of all time. Since starting as the Hulk, he has starred in several notable television roles and movies. This included staring alongside his rival Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie known as Pumping Iron.

He was well-known for having a huge 59-inch chest and 22.5-inch pair of arms. With 29-inch thighs and a 34-inch waist, he was certainly a big bodybuilder in his prime.

Jay Cutler

Jay Cutler, real name Jason Isaac, began working as a construction worker at the age of 11. Because of the physical work required, he naturally developed a muscular physique. Following this, he began training in the gym at 18 years old. 

After training daily and making serious progress, he quickly became noticed in his local area for his big physique. In his professional career, he left the sport as a legend after winning the Mr. Olympia title four times. In this, he is most famous for his rivalry with Ronnie Coleman.

His physical characteristics include a 58-inch chest, 21-inch arms, and 30-inch thighs, Because of this, he’s one of the biggest bodybuilders ever to have lived.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger is perhaps the most famous bodybuilder in our top 15 list. Alongside his hugely successful bodybuilding career, he is a well-known action movie star and American politician.

During his early years, he competed in several Olympic weightlifting and powerlifting competitions. He found success in both of these, winning multiple titles before switching to full-time bodybuilding. With seven Mr. Olympia titles, he’s one of the most successful bodybuilder movie stars to have lived.

With a 57-inch chest and 22-inch pair of arms, he’s up there with the biggest bodybuilders on our list. Despite this, he is probably most well-known for the shape and size of his chest and arms. This is probably part of the reason why he had such a successful acting career. 

Paul Dillett

Paul Dillett is a former professional Canadian bodybuilder who is the founder of the World Beauty Fitness and Fashion brand. This is a bodybuilding competition regarded by many as one of the best in the world. After playing football at a high level, Paul began training and later earned his pro card.

In his professional career, he took part in over 40 competitions, finishing in the top three in most of them. He was known as Jurrasic Paul for his large size and striking proportions. 

Competing at 285 pounds, Paul was often seen walking around at 330 pounds in the offseason. With numbers like this, he gets a spot on our top 15 list.

Roelly Winklaar

Roelly Winklaar, nicknamed The Beast, is a Dutch bodybuilder who is well-known for his huge size and freaky conditioning. Growing up, he only started pursuing a career as a bodybuilder after surviving a near-fatal car accident.

After earning his pro card in 2010, he competed in Mr. Olympia every year before stopping in 2016. In this off-season, Roelly was known to reach up to 320 pounds. At 5 feet 8 inches, this is hard to believe. 

For this reason, many people were worried about his size and health. Following this, he reduced his weight massively and backed off from competing. 

He has some of the biggest arms in bodybuilding, with a measured size of 24 inches. With a pair of 29-inch thighs and 22-inch calves, his legs aren’t exactly small either.

Dennis Wolf

Dennis Wolf, nicknamed the Big Bad Wolf, is a German bodybuilder standing at 5 feet 11 inches. He started training at the age of 18 after taking inspiration from pictures of Arnold Schwarzenegger. After years in the gym, he decided to start competing and quickly earned his pro card.

In his professional career, some of his notable placings include the top three in the 2013 Mr. Olympia. Before this, he won several shows around Europe after starting competing at just 21 years old.

In the off-season, he was known to reach around 275 pounds. With a 56-inch chest, he is widely regarded as having one of the biggest ones of all time. Alongside this, he had 22-inch arms and a 29-inch waist.

Dennis James

Dennis James, also known as The Menace, is a professional German bodybuilder. He is well-known throughout bodybuilding circles for being sponsored by Trifecta and training Mamdouh Elssbaiy. During this, he gained popularity for using different coaching strategies to help him win his first Olympia title. 

After taking part in junior competitions, he earned his pro card at 33 years old and entered the big leagues. Following this, he would go on to compete in seven Mr. Olympia competitions, coming in 4th place in 2003. Furthermore, he has been featured in many well-known bodybuilding magazines.

At 5 feet 8 inches and over 300 pounds in the off-season, he was certainly a sight to behold in his prime. His physical measurements include a 56-inch chest and 32-inch waist.

Greg Kovacs

Greg Kovacs was a professional Canadian bodybuilder born and raised in Niagara Falls, Ontario. In his early life, he studied electrical engineering and played hockey and football before switching to full-time bodybuilding.

At 6 feet 4 inches, Greg was one of the tallest professional bodybuilders ever to have competed. Because of this, he reached a staggering 420 pounds in the off-season. In competition, he would drop almost a quarter of this to come in at 330 pounds. 

With statistics like this, he might be the biggest bodybuilder ever to have walked on stage. Whether he is or not, he certainly belongs on our top 15 list. 

Dorian Yates

Dorian Yates, known as The Shadow, earned the name from his mass which was said to block out the sun. In his youth, he spent time in a detention center, often getting in trouble for not following the law. Following this, he found his passion for bodybuilding which led him down a better path.

With six Mr. Olympia titles to his name, he remains an icon of the bodybuilding industry. Dorian Yates’ exercises remain some of the most popular to perform after receiving his backing.

He is also well known for having huge forearms without ever directly training them. Unfortunately for him, his bodybuilding career was ended prematurely due to injury.

At 310 pounds in the off-season, he would cut to 260 pounds before stepping on stage. He boasted a 56-inch chest, 20-inch arms, and 20-inch calves. Impressive statistics for a bodybuilding legend.

Jean-Pierre Fux

Originally from Switzerland, Jean-Pierre Fux started bodybuilding at a young age. After competing in multiple Mr. Olympia competitions, he was seen as having a promising future. Despite this, his bodybuilding days would be cut short when he tore his quadricep squatting during a photo shoot.

At 5 feet 11 inches and 275 pounds during competition, Jean-Pierre was known by some as the most muscular bodybuilder ever. Even with his short career, he’s still on our top 15 list due to his sheer size. 

Lee Haney

Lee Haney is an American bodybuilder who is widely regarded as one of the most successful athletes of all time. His bodybuilding journey began by using a pair of sand-filled dumbbells from his local department store. Following this, he cemented his bodybuilding legacy by winning eight Mr. Olympia titles in consecutive years. 

If it wasn’t for Phil Heath, Lee Haney would take the award for the smallest bodybuilder on our list. His eight Olympia titles are living proof that you don’t have to be the biggest to be the best.

At 255 pounds on stage, Lee would only gain around 10 points in the off-season. This is a much smaller amount than most bodybuilders on our list. With 20-inch arms and a 31-inch waist, he belongs on our top 15 list.

Mamdouh Elssbiay

Mamdouch Elssbiay, known by many as Big Ramy, is an Egyptian Bodybuilder famed for his huge size and crazy proportions. At a young age, he spent many years working on the water in Kuwait before joining Oxygen Gym. After starting training, he quickly realized his genetic gifts and decided to compete with some encouragement from his friends.

One of the most surprising things about Big Ramy is that he became a pro after just three years of training. Nowadays, he can reach around 310 pounds in the off-season, competing at around 295 pounds. 

Big Ramy remains one of the biggest current bodybuilders to still compete. While he may be last on our top 15 list, he is one of the biggest ones to walk on stage.

Conclusion

Now you’ve seen the top 15 biggest bodybuilders of all time, you probably won’t look at normal people the same. Pushing physical limits that far isn’t without its risks which are taken into account by each of these individuals. However, it doesn’t take away from the sheer impressive size of the men above. 

Next time you walk into your local gym, take a look at the people around you and see if any of them match up. Do this a few times and you’ll appreciate the size of the people on this list above even more.

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