Top 5 physiques to ever grace the Olympia stage!

In honor of the 51st Mr.Olympia, we bring to you the Top 5 physiques to ever grace the Olympia stage! These physiques not only defined bodybuilding but also created different era’s in bodybuilding.

1. Dorian Yates

The shadow comes at number 5 and rightly so. Not only did Dorian’s training style of short sets and high intensity reps cause a stir in the bodybuilding community but the way he gained size olympia-to-olympia caused a lot of controversy in the bodybuilding community. He is particularly important because the sheer size he bought drifted the bodybuilding era from aesthetics to mass monsters, whether that was good or not is up for debate. A six time Mr.Olympia and the only one to speak against the infamous Arnold, the Shadow creates controversy wherever he goes!

2. Frank Zane

Frank Zane defined bodybuilding like few others could ever do. Having a slender frame, he prioritized aesthetics over mass and thus became the only Mr.Olympia to win just with aesthetics. His six pack is the stuff of legends and we have yet to see a more proportionate physique in any era! Plus honestly speaking a physique like this is quite attainable naturally rather than enhanced.

3. Ronnie Coleman

Ronnie Coleman, career wise is the greatest bodybuilder than ever lived. Period. An 8 time Mr.Olympia, Ronnie’s not only won the Olympia most number of times, alongside Lee Haney, but also pushed the boundaries of what any normal man could achieve. His numbers speak for themselves. He was 295 pounds with 3-4% body-fat. He squatted 800 pounds, deadlifted the same and leg pressed an unbelievable 1043 kg, thus making him one of the strongest bodybuilders of all time. So revered is King Ron that there has yet to be a mass monster today that can reach what he did but like he said ‘Aint nothin but a peanut baby!’

4. Arnold Schwarzenegger

Okay. I know you’re surprised. Arnold! He’s god. He put bodybuilding on the map! He won the Mr.Olympia 7 times. If this were a list of most influential bodybuilders, then Arnold would be on the top. Nothing even comes close to what Arnold has done for bodybuilding. It’s because of him and watching his movies, we even understood what weight training is and what weight training does. Arguably having the greatest chest of all time in any era, his V-taper is nothing short of legendary. Arnold’s physique stands alone and can only be rivaled by one.

Arnold has actually been quoted in his autobiography, the education of a bodybuilder, by saying ”It was as jarring as if I’d walked into a wall…He was so huge, so fantastic! There was no way I could even think of beating him. I admitted my defeat and felt some of my pump go away”. Bodybuilding’s master of psychological tactics, the man who scared off Lou Ferrigno and countless others was quaking in his boots! For that, Sergio Oliva stands alone at the pinnacle of bodybuilding perfection.

5. Sergio Oliva

The only bodybuilder to ever scare Arnold was the Myth himself, Sergio Oliva. What some believe to be the most genetically gifted bodybuilder of all time, Sergio is top of the list not only for beating the legendary Arnold at his own game, winning Mr.Olympia in 1967, but also not really giving a damn, which also makes him the coolest bodybuilder of all time. Sergio never practiced his posing and just did what he felt like. He also, unlike everyone on this list, wasn’t particularly in Joe Weider’s good books, which never allowed him to place competitively in the Olympia. Besides this we have NEVER seen a bodybuilder with such muscle insertions and such arms that he had to cut his sleeves to allow his biceps enough room! Olivia was so legendary and scary that he won the Mr.Olympia in 1968 by default because no one dared challenge him!