Strength is relative, but it’s safe to say that bodybuilders are pretty strong. The world’s strongest men come from a variety of different backgrounds, but they all have one thing in common: hard work.
You might think that it’s just a bunch of steroid use, but the truth is that bodybuilding is a process that takes a lot of time and a lot of effort. Not only do bodybuilders train a great deal to get where they’re at, but they also have to follow a very strict diet plan. It depends on the bodybuilder’s preferences, but it usually end sup being very high protein, but also very low in fat. Carbs are kept to a minimum, but not in a crazy way — life without carbs tends to be a rather cranky experience, which can make it hard to really focus. However, it’s better to think about all of the other things that you will have going for you if you were to push forward on the plan.
Now, the rest of us…fitness might not be taken to this extreme. That’s why it’s nice to just step back and take a look at some famous bodybuilders and marvel at their level of dedication.
1. Gregg Valentino
Whoa! Check out Gregg Valentino. Now, Mr. Valentino is a bodybuilder that engaged in some dangerous practices to get so big — but even before he went down that road, he did manage to get a natural bicep of about 21″, which is pretty impressive.
However, years of injecting himself with steroids, he suffered a very bad infection that required major surgery. His biceps literally fought back at his efforts to make them bigger, and they “exploded”, filling with blood and pus. Valentino attempted to treat himself, but only ended up making it worse.
He regrets that he switched to using steroids when natural bodybuilding gave him the look that he truly loved.
2. Markus Ruehl
Have you ever wanted to get this buff? Well, if you don’t have the determination that Markus Ruehl had, then it’s definitely okay — we sure don’t. Still, we had to include Markus as his shoulders are some of the largest in bodybuilding history. They’re just massive — and he works very hard to keep it that way. Muscle does turn to fat if you don’t use it enough, and Markus trains hard to ensure that we will still admire him for many years to come.
3. Ronnie Coleman
Wow — just wow. If you really look at Ronnie Coleman’s pictures, you’ll be saying “wow” too. The man has eight straight wins as Mr. Olympia, which is one of the fiercest bodybuilding competitions around. It’s all about having a body that reflects the ancient Grecian ideal of what a man should look like.
Over the course of his career, he’s racked up 26 wins from other competitions as well. Today, Mr. Coleman is out of the bodybuilding competitions, but he’s moving on with his life — he pursued accounting at Grambling State University, and that should open doors that are a bit easier to lift — especially with all of that bodybuilding experience!
4. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Yes, we had to include Ah-nold in the list. Even if you’re not a fan of his movies, you have to admit that he’s definitely got a lot of bodybuilding history. He is the youngest person to win the Mr. Universe competition at just 20 years old — a truly impressive feat, no matter how you look at it. What was even more impressive is that he had just started weight-training at the age of 15. He didn’t stop at that — he also went on to win Mr. Olympia a total of seven times. Even though he’s long since retired from bodybuilding, he has written a lot of books on the subject, and is still admired by budding bodybuilders and veteran ones alike.
5. Johnnie Jackson
Mr. Jackson has an amazing bodybuilder’s physique — he’s very strong looking, with every muscle defined in all of its glory. Even though some would rank him lower on the scale, it’s the true presence of the man that really makes it worth adding him to the list. Johnnie Jackson has won the 2006 Montreal Pro as well as the 2001 NPC USA Championships.
Did you like this list? Did we leave off your favorite bodybuilder? Or maybe you were a fussy because we didn’t highlight some of the great female bodybuilders — don’t worry, we will correct our mistake and give you 5 of the world’s strongest women too — just because we like to keep it balanced around here! If we did leave off a great male bodybuilder that you want us to highlight, you just need to let us know in the comments. When we update our posts, we’ll be sure to include your suggestions — now get to commenting! 🙂