Bodybuilding Hall Of Fame

Phil Heath, aka "The Gift" has won the Mr. Olympia title the past six years, equalling Dorian Yates for fourth on the all-time list of Mr. O winners.Heath was a great high school and collegiate athlete, having been a star basketball player.In fact, he starred on the Division I University of Colorado - Denver as their starting point guard.He started bodybuilding [...]

From wikipedia: ChildhoodBorn in Glasgow, Montana, Steve Reeves moved to California at age 10 with his mother, Goldie Reeves, after his father, Lester Dell Reeves, died in a farming accident. Reeves developed an interest in bodybuilding in high school and trained at Ed Yarick's gym in Oakland. By the time he was 17, he had developed a Herculean build, long before the gener [...]

"The Myth," Sergio Oliva is a bodybuilding god. He won the Mr. O 3 times in a row (1967, 1968, and 1969) and finished 2nd to Arnold Schwarzenegger twice.Known for his mass, Oliva probably had the biggest arms of his era. His arms, if looked at from a front double biceps pose, were bigger than his head.Oliva was quite the character and had a very exciting life, even befo [...]

Samir Bannout was one of my favorite bodybuilders of all time. A bigger version of Zane, though not as aesthetic, in my humble opinion. That's not to say he didn't look damned good - I'm just comparing him to Frank Zane, my all-time favorite.Bannout won the Mr. O in 1983, succeeding Chris Dickerson and preceding the legendary Lee Haney.As far as I can tell, he's sti [...]

Ronnie Coleman won the Mr. Olympia title 8 times in a row, from 1998 through 2005, tied for the most wins of all time and in a row with Lee Haney.He's known for his aloof style, famous sayings, and for lifting absolutely gargantuan crazy weights.Coleman was a star athlete in college, playing for Grambling's football team (linebacker) under Eddie Robinson.He graduate [...]

Mohamed Makkawy was at the top of the bodybuilding world for a while in the late 1980s. While he never won a Mr Olympia title, he did win a good share of IFBB Grand Prix titles in 1982 and 1983. Known for impeccable symmetry, balance, and muscularity, the 5'4" Makkawy was the epitome of the well-rounded athlete: He was graceful, fluent in many languages, served in the military [...]

Mike Mentzer was one of those professional bodybuilders that inspired profound thought as much as - if not more than - jaw-dropping awe. He was the epitome of the cerebral strongman, in the same league as Frank Zane.Mike was not just an awesome bodybuilder; he was a gifted writer, too. I loved reading his articles about High Intensity Training (read one here - Part I: Actua [...]

Coming soon Return to Bodybuilding Hall of Fame from Lee Haney [...]

Lou started out as a very skinny 6'5" kid from New York. He began working out as a way to overcome a disability that he suffered as a toddler when he lost his hearing due to an ear infection.He basically stormed onto the bodybuilding scene as a 21-year-old prodigy, winning several Mr America and Mr Universe contests, then battling Arnold Schwarzenegger for the Mr Olympia in [...]

Jay Cutler is a 4-time Mr. Olympia winner. He's broad, tan, and ripped to shreds.I ran across him once at the Arnold Sports Expo quite a few years ago. He'd already won the Mr. O a couple times by then.He's not tall, but DAYUM he's wide.The man has some broad shoulders. And he's freaking huge!Read more about Jay here and here.Return to Bodybuilding Hall of F [...]

The winner of the first two Mr. Olympia's (1965 & 1966), Larry Scott is best known for those arms! He probably has the best bicep structure ever.Unfortunately, he's also known for wide hips and narrow shoulders. I'm not so sure I agree with Mr. Gironda about this, but that's the story.He also starred in movies, including Muscle Beach Party featuring  Frankie Avalon [...]

Harold Poole was undoubtedly the best teenage bodybuilder of all-time. He was also a phenomenal all-around athlete, winning his share of track and wrestling competitions.Harold had the classic lines that we all miss. He was like a '69 Camaro Z28 -- brutal power and elegant all at the same time.Here's Poole's workout routine back in 1962: 3 Sets Barbell Pr [...]

Frank Zane is my all-time favorite bodybuilder.Know why?Every man can aspire to be like him.Now, I'm not saying his achievements were easy. Or that building a body as complete as his was a walk in the park.No, not at all.It's just that he epitomized perfection.And he wasn't a steroid freak.His size is something that most men -- and women -- could look at with admi [...]

I've admired Franco Columbu since I first saw him in the 1977 World's Strongest Man competition.At 5'5", he is quite possibly the strongest bodybuilder ever. He most certainly is the strongest guy ever under five and a half feet.Franco started his athletic career as a skinny boxer; he routinely knocked out his opponents. After losing the boxing bug, he moved on to weigh [...]

Dorian Yates, in my humble opinion, ushered in the mass monster era of bodybuilding (the picture to the left is of an earlier version of Yates). He was a great champion, having earned the top spot in the Mr. Olympia six times in a row, from 1992 to 1997.Known as "The Shadow," Yates was a beast in the gym.His last win, and last competition, was the 1997 Mr. O, in which h [...]

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Chris Dickerson, best known for his incredible calves, won the Mr. Olympia in 1982. He also won a string of IFBB Grand Prix's in the 1980s.His career spanned 4 decades, beginning in the 1960s and culminating in a 1994 Mr. Olympia Masters win.Dickerson trained for most of his competitions with legendary Bill Pearl.Today Dickerson lives in Florida where he continues t [...]

Bill Pearl ushered in the modern era of bodybuilding, in my humble yet accurate opinion. He was the first really massive bodybuilder to experience a whole lot of success in the '50s and '60s.Pearl won the pro Mr. Universe 4 times and would likely have won the Mr. Olympia; however, that contest didn't exist during his heyday so he never entered it. In fact, by the time the f [...]

Bertil Fox was a phenom in the bodybuilding world in the mid- to late 70s and early 80s. Hailed as the next coming of Sergio Oliva, Fox never lived up to the hype.But he didn't do the hyping.He just brought the muscle mass! Arms, traps, delts, and chest - all top-notch. His legs and back left a little to be desired, but I think it was Bertil Fox who ushered in sheer mas [...]

Arnold Schwarzenegger is simply the best bodybuilder of all time! He completely DOMINATED his peers, winning the Mr. Olympia title an unprecedented (then) six consecutive times! He retired and came back in 1980 to win it again (albeit in a controversial way).Schwarzenegger then went on to become one of the most successful Hollywood action heroes, elevating the visibility of [...]

Tom Platz, aka "The Golden Eagle," was a very popular bodybuilder in the 1980s. He was a top ten Mr. Olympia several times, finishing as high as 3rd in 1981 (Franco Columbu finished first, Chris Dickerson finished second).Best known for his outlandish leg development, Platz was legendary when it came to training legs - he could squat 500+ pounds for over 20 reps.Wat [...]

In the annals of bodybuilding trainers, Vince Gironda has gone down as one of the most innovative pioneers the sport has ever known. He has trained numerous professional bodybuilders, Arnold, Frank Zane, and Mohammed Makkawi, who made his greatest gains under Gironda (whose moniker was "The Iron Guru").Among many of the controversial, yet effective, training methods Gironda [...]

Tim Belknap took the world by storm in the early '80s by taking first place in the AAU Mr America contest in 1981. A diabetic, taking insulin shots, he was an inspiration to a lot of folks.Tim was truly huge! He was made from the same mold as Tom Platz: Huge, vascular, cut, gigantic thighs.He had this phenomenal ability to bulk up his 5' 5" frame all the way up to over [...]