10 Best Bodybuilders In The World

10. Franco Columbu

He was born on August 17, 1941 and is an Italian actor apart from being a marvelous bodybuilder. His height is 5 feet 5 inches and according to some sources it is reported to be 5 feet 3 inches, but his miniature structure was not a hindering factor for Franco at all. He won the title of Mr. Olympia in 1976 and 1981. He also competed in the World’s Strongest Man competition but was not able to win the title, rather he ended up in a dislocated leg. Columbu received $1 million as a compensation for that. He was light in the legs but has tremendous back and delts.

9. Flex Wheeler

His original name is Kenneth Wheeler but is commonly known as Flex Wheeler. He was born on August 23, 1965 in California, United States. He started his career as a police officer but then left this job and determined to become a professional bodybuilder. He won the first award at the NPC Mr. California Championships in 1989. He was a Iron Pro winner for 5 times, enjoyed tremendous victories in France Grand Prix and he is also the 4-time Arnold Classic winner. Wheeler had a great back and 17 inch arms. His height was almost 5 feet 8 inches.

8. John Grimek

He was born on June 17, 1910 in New Jersey. He cemented his place in various bodybuilding articles and magazines and was the symbol of outstanding bodybuilding in his times. He represented United States in weightlifting at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. Grimek was also very magnificent gymnast and his win in a Mr. Universe contest in London is conspicuous of this fact. He died on November, 1998 at the age of 88.

7. Steve Reeves

He was born on January 21, 1926 in Montana, USA. He was great bodybuilder as well as a good actor. He was the highest paid actor in Europe during the peak of his career. He had a phenomenal physique and set the standard of a ideal figure for the years to come. He had a narrow waist, wide shoulders and a narrow hip. His height was 6 feet 1 inch and was incredibly handsome and good-looking. His short history of bodybuilding awards is; 1946 – Mr. Pacific Coast, 1947 – Mr. Western America and 1948 – Mr. World. He died from complications of lymphoma.

6. Reg Park

He was born on June 7, 1928 in West Yorkshire, England. He was a multi-dimensional person was a businessman, actor and a bodybuilder at the same time. Although at the start, he was more into playing football than lifting weights but at the age of 16, after meeting a famous muscleman David Cohen, he got himself into bodybuilding. His height was 6 feet 1 inch and had a behemoth arm of 20 inches. He had an attractive figure and starred in many films also. He died on November, 2007 with metastatic melanoma, a form of skin cancer. He achieved many awards some of which are Mr. Britain 4th (1946), Mr. Universe –NABBA- overall winner (1951), Mr. Universe – NABBA- overall winner (1965).

5. Bill Pearl

He was born on October 31, 1930 and was a stunning American bodybuilder during 1950’s and 1960’s. Apart from achieving phenomenal success in the field of bodybuilding, he was also the first professional bodybuilder to author bodybuilding training courses. Overall, he had a real huge size but where he lagged behind was his ineptitude to cut his thighs. Some of his bodybuilding career achievements are 1956 N.A.B.B.A., Mr. Universe, Professional, Tall Man’s Class (London, England), 1952 Mr. San Diego, 3rd place (San Diego, California), 1952 Mr. Oceanside (Oceanside, California) and 2006 PDI Night of Champions Lifetime Achievement Award.

4. Ronnie Coleman

Ronnie Coleman, nicknamed Big Ron, was born on May 13, 1964 at Louisiana. He is an American national and has had the honor of winning 8 straight wins as Mr. Olympia. He has a B.S in accounting degree to his credit and after graduation served as a police officer. He joined a gymnasium called Metroflex and after training won first place in Mr.Texas competition. He has a gigantic arm and a perfect back muscle. He has a behemoth structure and more than 270 pounds. He won many titles as 1990 Mr. Texas (Heavyweight & Overall), 1996 Canada Pro Cup, 2000 Grand Prix England, 2001 Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic and 2005 Mr. Olympia etc.

3. Dorian Yates

He was born on April 19, 1962 in Staffordshire, England. He won 6 Mr. Olympia titles consecutively in a row and is known for his thickness. His height is 5 feet 10 inches and has got a huge arm of 20 inches. Currently, Yates is the CEO of his own global supplement company called DY nutrition. His career titles are 1985 World Games, 7th (amateur), 1992 Mr. Olympia, 1st, 1995 Mr. Olympia, 1st, 1996 English Grand Prix, 1st and 1994 Spanish Grand Prix, 1st etc.

2. Arnold Schwarzenegger

He was born on July 30, 1947 and is an Austrian-American professional bodybuilder. Along with being a bodybuilder he is also a fabulous actor, politician and businessman. He has written myriad articles on bodybuilding. Arnold was the 38th governor of California and was succeeded by Jerry Brown. He belonged to the Republican political party. He has won the Mr. Olympia award 7 times whereas he won the first one at the age of 20. He started his training at the age of 15. He remained a under the spotlight in the career of bodybuilding for a much longer duration.

1. Sergio Oliva

He was born on July 4, 1941 in Cuba. The nickname of Oliva is “The Myth” and if you want to know why then see him at the 1967 Montreal World’s Fair. A sun worshipper coaxed him into this field of bodybuilding and he is the only bodybuilder to ever defeat Arnold in a Mr. Olympia contest, 1969. He is the second bodybuilder to win Mr. Olympia contest. Peeping a little into his personal life, he got shot by his then-wife Arleen Garrett and sustained 5 bullet wounds but The Myth survived that because he is a myth. His height is 5 feet 9 inches and has got a 20 inch arm. Although some of you might consider Arnold to be at the top spot but I will back my ranking by the statement of Joe Weider as he said to Oliva that when he was in his best shape, no one could stand parallel to him. The numerous title won by Oliva are 1965 Junior Mr. America – AAU, Most Muscular, 1966 Mr. World – IFBB, Overall Winner, 1966 Mr Universe – IFBB Winnera and 1985 Olympia – IFBB, 8th etc.