The 9 best and most successful bodybuilders of all time

This time I decided to write an article about a completely different topic than we usually deal with. In this article I would like to introduce you to the best and most successfulbodybuilders who have also had one of the greatest influences, both on the development and promotion of modern bodybuilding.

Who was behind making bodybuilding famous in the first place?

But first I would like to briefly introduce, just to get you started, three personalities who were basically behind the building and making bodybuilding as such famous.

The first of these is Eugen Sandow, the German bodybuilder and showman who is nowadays referred to primarily as the "father of modern bodybuilding". It can be said that he was the first ever to focus on the development of strength, along with the development of individual muscle parts. His goal then was to achieve a perfect and harmonious physique. He was a pioneer of bodybuilding, and in his memory, the trophy from the Mr. Olympia competition has a statue with his likeness on it.

Another important name is Steve Reeves. He was the first big bodybuilding star. His perfect physique made him the ideal of male beauty. He gained a huge fan following all over the world and made bodybuilding famous in every possible way. He held the titles of Mr. Universe and Mr. America, and in addition to bodybuilding, he was also an actor.

The last named must be none other than Joe Weider. He was a publisher of bodybuilding magazines, a manufacturer of supplements and gym equipment. Above all, however, he was the man behind the birth of the entire IFBB federation, and he is also the founder of the prestigious Mr. Olympia competition. Thus, he significantly influenced the development of bodybuilding and helped with the development of the entire fitness industry.

9 most successful bodybuilders of all time

And now to the individual personalities of the sport who, in my opinion, are the best and most successful bodybuilders of all time. They are also bodybuilders who have greatly influenced the direction and development of bodybuilding as a sport. I have ranked them purely from a chronological point of view. That way, it may already be pretty clear to you who will be first on this list.

1. Sergio Oliva

The first on this list is of course the legendary three-time Mr. Olympia champion Sergio Oliva, also known as "The Myth".

Sergio was born in Cuba and fled to America as a young man in search of a better life. Here he was finally able to start his bodybuilding career. He can be considered as the first bodybuilder who introduced volumes and amounts of muscle mass never seen before. He possessed amazing genetics and physique. His greatest assets were his huge arms, massive chest, broad back, and especially his very narrow waist. The pose with his arms raised above him is still legendary today and absolutely unbeatable in his performance.

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In 1967, he won his first Mr. Olympia title. A year later, he even competed there himself, simply because no one could match him. That's why he was nicknamed "The Myth". Then in 1969 he won his third and final Mr. Olympia title, beating the equally legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger. Sergio is one of only three bodybuilders ever to beat Arnold. However, Arnold returned the favor a year later and took the Mr. Olympia title from him.

Sergio's bodybuilding career was then largely influenced by politics and disagreements with Joe Weider, the founder of the IFBB federation. These disagreements even resulted in Sergio stopping competing in IFBB competitions for a period of time, including the Mr. Olympia contest. However, he did not stop competing in other federations and won what he could. In addition to the Mr. Olympia titles, he can also boast titles such as Mr. Universe, Mr. Galaxy, Mr. America and Mr. Olympus.

In 1984 and 1985, after a break of more than a decade, Sergio returned to the Mr. Olympia stage for his fourth title. Both times, however, he finished eighth. However, his comeback to the podium of this competition was absolutely amazing for all bodybuilding spectators and Sergio looked fabulous even at the age of 44.

Of course, Sergio doesn't just do bodybuilding for a living. Once he moved to America, he worked in a steel mill. Then he became a police officer in Chicago, which he was for almost 30 years.

There is no doubt that Sergio Oliva was a legendary bodybuilder and personality. He left an indelible legacy in the sport and will forever be remembered as a legend and one of the best bodybuilders of all time.

2. Arnold Schwarzenegger

Sergio Oliva's successor was none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger himself, nicknamed the "Austrian Oak". I would say that no one has contributed as much to the popularization of bodybuilding as Arnold. The holder of seven Mr. Olympia titles and five Mr. Universe titles is still one of the biggest personalities bodybuilding has ever had.

At the age of 18, he managed to win the Mr. Europe bodybuilding contest. Two years later, he became the youngest ever winner of the Mr. Universe contest.

Arnold has always possessed, above all, a massive chest and great biceps tops. He was able to captivate with his perfect posing and highlight his assets perfectly. One of his iconic poses was the side chest pose.

In 1970, he won his first Mr. Olympia title when he defeated the reigning champion, Sergio Oliva, to avenge his defeat the previous year. He remained undefeated for the next five years, winning a total of six Mr. Olympia titles in a row.

After that, Arnold decided to end his bodybuilding career and try to break into the film business. After a couple of mediocre films came starring roles in Conan the Barbarian and The Terminator. Both of these films were a huge success and made Arnold a movie star. He then returned to bodybuilding in 1980 and controversially won his seventh Mr. Olympia title.

READ: The most controversial Mr. Olympia win

Arnold was interested in politics, among other things, and even served as governor of California from 2003-2011. He also published several biographies of himself, the most famous of which is probably the book "Total Recall", which takes its name from the film of the same name in which Arnold played the lead role.

Even nowadays he is still very active in terms of bodybuilding, politics, social networking and movies. His bodybuilding contest, the Arnold Classic, has even become the second most prestigious bodybuilding contest, after Mr. Olympia. I dare to say that he is the one who makes bodybuilding so popular nowadays. For many people around the world, he is still the best and most successful bodybuilder of all time and I firmly believe that his name will never be forgotten.

3. Frank Zane

Another bodybuilder is still considered by many to be the so-called "King of Aesthetics". This is of course the legendary Frank Zane, three-time Mr. Olympia winner also known as "The Chemist".

However, the beginnings of his bodybuilding career certainly did not suggest that he would become a legend of the sport in the future. In his first contest, in 1961, he even finished in last place. However, he gradually improved and in 1965 he managed to win the Mr. Sunshine State contest. In the following years, he also won the Mr. World and Mr. Universe competitions, making him one of the world's top competitors. In 1969, he even beat Arnold Schwarzenegger at the Mr. Universe contest, becoming one of only three bodybuilders, along with Sergio Oliva, to ever do so.

In 1977, after several unsuccessful attempts, he finally managed to win the Mr. Olympia title. The following two years he defended his title again and became a three-time Mr. Olympia winner, just like the previously mentioned Sergio Oliva.

His victory was of great significance for the future of bodybuilding because it clearly showed thatthat perfect conditioning and aesthetics can often play a more important role than muscle mass and volume. By comparison, the likes of Arnold weighed approximately 25 kg more than Frank. What made Frank so unique was his aesthetics. He had an incredibly aesthetic physique, was always in great shape, and could pose famously. Above all, his vacuum pose was, in a word, phenomenal. Thanks to all these aspects he was able to defeat much bigger and heavier opponents.

Unfortunately, in 1980, when he took to the stage of the Mr. Olympia competition as a three-time champion, he only finished in third place. At that time he had suffered a serious injury and was not in nearly as good a shape as in previous years. In addition, Arnold returned to the competition after a five-year hiatus and won, albeit very controversially, his seventh Mr. Olympia title. Frank then failed to win his fourth title and after several unsuccessful years he retired.

Many people would be surprised at how educated Frank really is. He has two bachelor's degrees in science and a master's degree in experimental psychology. He even taught high school math and chemistry for 13 years.

Today, like Arnold, he is still very active in the bodybuilding world. He has also published several very popular books on training and diet. For many fans and bodybuilders, he is still considered the "King of Aesthetics" and he has definitely contributed to the evolution of the sport with his uniqueness.

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4. Lee Haney

Next on the list is eight-time Mr. Olympia winner Lee Haney. Unfortunately, Lee is often unfairly forgotten. Yet it was he who first broke Arnold's record for the number of Mr. Olympia titles won.

Lee became a professional bodybuilder at the age of 22 when he won the 1982 NPC Nationals. After several first and second place finishes in smaller competitions, he managed to win the 1983 Night of Champions competition. This victory was a huge achievement for him, as as a complete novice among the pros, he was able to beat bodybuilders like Albert Beckles and Danny Padilla. That same year he also competed for the first time in the Mr. Olympia, where he finished in a respectable third place, even beating three-time holderFrank Zane, who finished fourth in the competition and subsequently decided to call it a career.

Then a year later, Lee, aged just 24, won his first Mr. Olympia title. He dominated the competition for the next seven years. He repeatedly defeated legendary bodybuilders like Lee Labrada and Rich Gaspari. Lee Haney was characterized above all by his perfect physique, narrow waist, broad back and V-shaped torso.

At the age of 31, after his eighth consecutive victory, he decided to end his bodybuilding career. He ended his career as an undefeated, eight-time Mr. Olympia titleholder.

Lee is still considered to be the last Mr. Olympia winner who relied more on aesthetics than muscle volume. With the arrival of his successor Dorian Yates, an era of massive and huge bodybuilders began, lasting essentially to this day.

Even after his bodybuilding career ended, Lee is still interested in sports and healthy living. He even, for a time, held the position of chairman of the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition. He also still tries to educate people on both sports and healthy eating, and in 2018, he published a book called "Fit at Any Age." Lee has achieved success in bodybuilding like few others, and his record for the number of Mr. Olympia titles he has won is still unsurpassed. Therefore, he will always be known as an undefeated, eight-time champion.

5. Dorian Yates

The successor of Lee Haney and also the bodybuilder who started the era of massive and huge bodybuilders is the unique, six-time Mr. Olympia, Dorian Yates, also known as "The Shadow".

His bodybuilding career has had quite a rapid course. Dorian hails from England, where, after several smaller English competitions, he managed to win the prestigious British Championships in 1988. Then in 1990 he competed for the first time in America, at the Night of Champions competition, where he finished second behind Mohammad Benaziza. A year later he returned to the competition and dominated it with ease. In the same year he also competed for the first time at the Mr. Olympia, where he finished in a great second place, just behind the legendary Lee Haney, for whom it was his eighth win in a row. Lee, however, decided to retire from bodybuilding that year, which meant that Dorian was no longer hindered in his journey to the absolute top. In 1992, he won his first Mr. Olympia title. He repeated this victory five more times in a row and in 1997, after his sixth victory and winning the Mr. Olympia title, he retired.

Dorian never possessed a beautiful or aesthetic physique. His main dominating features were his brutal bulk and great preparedness.

Dorian was also always known for his extreme workouts. I definitely recommend a documentary called "Blood and Guts" in which these workouts are shown. Dorian relied on the "heavy duty" training method made famous by Mike Mentzer. This method consisted of one work set for each exercise, performed with maximum effort until complete exhaustion. However, due to his extreme methods and training, he suffered a number of injuries, including torn triceps or biceps.

Dorian is one of the top holders of the Mr. Olympia title. He brought massiveness to bodybuilding and started an era of giant bodybuilders that basically lasts to this day. His extreme ferocity and incredible training methodologies made him one of the best bodybuilders of all time despite his poor physique. He currently has his own brand of supplements called "Dorian Yates nutrition" and has also published several autobiographies and documentaries about his journey to the top.

6. Ronnie Coleman

Next up is an absolute legend and icon of the sport, without whom this list would make absolutely no sense. He is the eight-time Mr. Olympia title holder, Ronnie Coleman. Ronnie is considered by many, including myself, to be the greatest bodybuilder of all time. He is also the strongest Mr. Olympia title holder, and one of the strongest bodybuilders of all time.

Ronnie, unlike most of the aforementioned bodybuilders, started his bodybuilding career relatively late, at the age of 26. At that time, the owner of Metroflex gym, Brian Dobson, noticed his potential and offered to train him for free in his gym. So under Brian's supervision, Ronnie won the Mr. Texas amateur competition in 1990, and a year later turned pro by winning the World Amateur Championships.

Surprisingly, his first few years among the pros did not go well at all. In 1992, at the Night of Champions competition, he finished 14th and in the same year, at Mr. Olympia, he didn't even place at all. It wasn't until the 1995 Mr. Canada Pro Cup that he won for the first time. Then in 1997, at the Mr. Olympia, he finished a respectable ninth. It was also during this event that he first came to the attention of the public and other competitors. A year later, quite unexpectedly, he won his first Mr. Olympia title, which he went on to defend seven more times in a row. Ronnie went on to win a total of eight consecutive Mr. Olympia titles, tying Lee Haney's record. Even though Ronnie was a multiple Mr. Olympia champion, he worked steadily as a police officer until 2000. Ronnie is also the first bodybuilder to win both Mr. Olympia and the Arnold Classic in the same year, 2001 to be exact. For a time, he also held the record for the most professional contests won, managing to win a total of 26 professional contests in his career.

I dare to say that with his incredible physique, he took bodybuilding even further than his predecessor Dorian Yates. Ronnie possessed incredible volumes of muscle, but at the same time he did not lack sharpness and readiness. Especially in the back stance, he literally rolled his opponents. It was unbelievable how much mass he could get on him. His uniqueness is also confirmed by the fact that he competed in an era full of legendary bodybuilders. So he regularly defeated legends like Flex Wheeler, Kevin Levrone, Shawn Ray, Lee Priest, Jay Cutler and many others. It was Jay who then finally managed to dethrone Ronnie in 2006. Ronnie then went on to place fourth in this contest a year later and decided to end his rich, and most importantly long bodybuilding career.

Ronnie currently owns his own brand of supplements. There have also been countless documentaries made about him, of which I can definitely recommend the 2018 documentary titled "Ronnie Coleman: The King". Rapper Quan then even composed a song for him called "Flexin on Them". Videos of his brutal workouts are now legendary, as are the catchphrases "Yeah buddy!" or "Light weight baby!".

But Ronnie's incredible strength training has taken its toll. He has now had countless spinal surgeries, and even just walking causes him enormous difficulties. But he has no regrets. He has dedicated his entire life, including his health, to bodybuilding. He did it all because he loved it, and he did things that no one will ever be able to overcome. Ronnie will always be an absolute icon of the sport. He is also still considered by many to be the best bodybuilder of all time.

7. Jay Cutler

Four-time Mr. Olympia title holder Jay Cutler, is still an extraordinary figure in the bodybuilding world today. It was also he who managed to dethrone the legendary Ronnie Coleman.

Jay started training in the gym on his 18th birthday. In 1993, after only a year of training, he then managed to win his first amateur bodybuilding contest, Teen Nationals. This victory motivated him a lot and he started training even harder than before. Thanks to hard training and great genetics, he improved very quickly. Then in 1996 he finally managed to become a professional, thanks to winning the NPC Nationals competition.

His professional career was full of ups and downs from the very beginning. At his first professional competition in 1998, he finished as high as 11th place. In 1999, however, he celebrated success when he managed to place a great fourth place at the prestigious Arnold Classic. In the same year, he also competed for the first time at the Mr. Olympia competition, where he failed to finish in 14th place. A year later, however, he managed to improve significantly at this competition, finishing eighth.

In 2001 he came second for the first time, behind the legendary Ronnie Coleman. That year, in fact, began the greatest and most famous rivalry in the history of bodybuilding. Jay finished second three more times at Mr. Olympia, behind Ronnie.

But 2003 was an absolutely fantastic year for Jay, winning five pro competitionsincluding the Arnold Classic, which he went on to win three times. In 2006, he finally managed to beat Ronnie and became the holder of the Mr. Olympia title, which he was able to defend a year later.

In 2008, however, he lost the title when it was taken from him by the then perfectly prepared Dexter Jackson. But Jay never gave up and trained harder than ever. In 2009 he returned to the Mr. Olympia stage in the form of his life and managed to win the title back. This makes Jay the only Mr. Olympia title holder to lose the title and then regain it. In 2010, he won his fourth and final Mr. Olympia title.

Jay is still very successful and active in the bodybuilding world today. He has his own brand of supplements and clothing, is active on social media, and noand frequently travels around the world just to meet his fans at various trade shows and seminars. He is constantly trying to promote bodybuilding and even at the age of 46, he keeps himself in great shape. Jay is definitely one of the best and most successful bodybuilders of all time.

8. Dexter Jackson

Not to be missed on this list is Dexter Jackson, the unique 2008 Mr. Olympia titleholder, also known as "The Blade". Dexter is particularly special because he has been competing among the pros for over twenty years and still looks absolutely fantastic.

His bodybuilding career began in 1992, at the NPC Southern States Championship, where he finished third. He then made his professional debut in 1999 at the Arnold Classic where he finished a respectable seventh place. That year he also competed for the first time at the Mr. Olympia competition, where he placed ninth. He repeated this position a year later. In 2001 he improved one place.

His first professional victory came in 2002, when he won the Grand Prix of England. In 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007 he finished third and fourth twice at Mr. Olympia. His first really big victory came in 2005, when he won the Arnold Classic for the first time. He managed to win this competition a total of five times, which no one else has ever managed to do.

However, his biggest success came in 2008 when he finally managed to win the Mr. Olympia competition. In addition to Olympia, he managed to win four other professional competitions that year, including the Arnold Classic. He is thus one of only three bodybuilders who managed to win both the Mr. Olympia title and the Arnold Classic title in the same year. However, he was never able to repeat his Mr. Olympia victory.

To date, Dexter has won an incredible 29 professional competitions. It was he who broke Ronnie Coleman's record for most professional contests won. In addition, Dexter is the only bodybuilder besides Chris Dickerson to win both the Mr. Olympia and Masters Olympia titles.

He's never had amazing volume. What he relied on was perfect conditioning and sharpness. Because of his amazing sharpness, he is nicknamed "The Blade".

Dexter celebrated his 50th birthday this year. However, he still competes in perfect form and is capable of beating bodybuilders more than 15 years younger. At this year's Arnold Classic he even managed to take a fantastic second place. This makes Dexter one of the best and most successful bodybuilders of all time, despite only winning the Mr. Olympia title once.

9. Phil Heath

Last on this list is seven-time Mr. Olympia titleholder Phil Heath, nicknamed "The Gift". Phil is either absolutely loved or absolutely hated by most fans due to his confident, often arrogant demeanor. In his defense, however, it must be stated that he could easily afford to behave in this manner in his position.

Phil was still exclusively a basketball player in college. Although he eventually preferred bodybuilding, he remained a basketball fan to this day. His bodybuilding career began in 2002. After several wins in amateur competitions, he managed to become a professional in 2005 by winning the NPC USA Championships.

The very next year he enjoyed his first professional victory, clearly dominating the Colorado Pro competition. That same year he also won the highly prestigious New York Pro. In his first year as a pro, he won two competitions. In 2008, he also won the Ironman Pro and came in a great second place at the Arnold Classic, just behind Dexter Jackson. Phil also made his first appearance at the Mr. Olympia competition that year, finishing an incredible third place. Then in 2010, he narrowly lost the title fight to Jay Cutler.

A year later, however, he was able to return the favor and won his first Mr. Olympia title. From 2011-2017 Phil dominated and won a total of seven Mr. Olympia titles in a row. He equaled the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger in the number of Mr. Olympia titles he won. Ironically, however, he never managed to win the Arnold Classic.

In 2018, he paid the price for his deteriorating midsection and lost the fight for his eighth Mr. Olympia title to the perfectly prepared Shawn Rhoden. A year later, he didn't participate in Olympia and it's not yet certain if he'll ever stand on the competition stage again.

Phil has been a very dominant bodybuilder throughout his bodybuilding career. And with every victory, he proved what amazing genetics he actually possessed. His muscles always created the perfect illusion of a 3D effect. He was unrivalled in backstands, just like Ronnie Coleman.

Phil is clearly one of the best bodybuilders of all time and in my opinion he still has what it takes to equal the record for Mr. Olympia titles held by Lee Haney and Ronnie Coleman.

And here ends the list of the nine best and most successful bodybuilders of all time. This list is, of course, purely my subjective viewpoint. So it's completely understandable that you may have completely different favorites.

The most successful Czech bodybuilders

Next, I would like to mention, at least marginally, a few currently very successful or hopefulCzech professional bodybuilders, who definitely also deserve our attention.

1. Lukáš Osladil

Lukáš Osladil is clearly our most successful bodybuilder of all time. Yet he is often unjustly forgotten.

In 2012, Lukáš managed to win the lighter weight category at the Toronto Pro. However, his biggest success so far came in 2018 when he managed to win the Arnold Classic South America. Then in 2018, he also won the Vancouver Pro competition. He has already managed to make it all the way to the Mr. Olympia competition several times. In 2019, he even made it to the top ten at this competition, finishing in a fantastic eighth place.

2. Milan Šádek

Milan Šádek is another very successful Czech bodybuilder who definitely has a lot ahead of him.

His biggest achievements so far include winning the 2017 Charlotte Pro. This win qualified him for the Mr. Olympia competition. At this year's Olympia, he placed sixth in the lighter weight class.

Then, among the "heavyweights," he had his most successful year so far in 2019, narrowly missing qualifying for Olympia. He finished third at the New York Pro and then narrowly missed out on victory at the Puerto Rico Pro.

3. Vojta Koritenský

Vojta Koritenský is also clearly a very successful and popular Czech bodybuilder who deserves to be mentioned here.

His biggest achievements so far include winning the lighter weight class at the 2016 Dallas Pro. This victory earned him direct qualification for the Mr. Olympia competition.

4. Pavel Beran

The last one is a very talented and promising Czech bodybuilder, only 26 years old Pavel Beran.

Pavel has only made his professional debut so far, but it was very successful. He did it at the Czech competition EVLS Prague Showdown in 2018. He finished in an amazing fourth place, clearly proving that he has what it takes to become a great bodybuilder.

Our tip! Pavel Beran is already selling his new book:

And that's really all for now. We hope you enjoyed this article and if you have any questions, definitely don't be afraid to ask in the comments.

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