Bodybuilding as a sport has been around for a long time, and despite the changes that have taken place in it over the years, the big biceps is still an essential part of the athlete’s image. Someone takes aesthetics, someone – size, and someone manages to combine both.
Today we will talk about the biggest biceps in the world, remembering the great athletes of the past and present. Obviously, muscles of this size have been pumped up with the help of pharmacology, the harm of which is difficult to deny, but such is the world of bodybuilding.
- 10. Lee Haney, 52 cm
- 9.Larry Scott, 54 cm
- 8. Dorian Yates, 54 cm
- 7. Sergio Oliva, 54 cm
- 6. Phil Heath, 56 cm
- 5. Jay Cutler, 57 cm
- 4. Arnold Schwarzenegger, 57.6 cm
- 3. Ronnie Coleman, 63 cm
- 2. Gregg Valentino, 71 cm
- 1. Mustafa Ismail, 79 cm
Table of Contents
10. Lee Haney, 52 cm
Lee Haney grew up in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Graduated from Spartanburg Methodist College, where he received a degree in youth counseling. He began his career with his 1979 debut with Teen The America. Later, in 1979, he participated and performed in Teen Mr. America and managed to become the first in the competition.
In 1982 he became the champion of the national competition in the heavyweight division and in the absolute category. In 1982, he took part in the World Amateur Heavyweight Championship and became the champion of the tournament. 1983 was an incredible year for him: he performed and managed to win several championships.
In 1983, he took part in the championship of Mr. Olympia and managed to take the third position in the tournament, after which a series of victories began: he shares the record for the number of Mr. Olympia titles with Ronnie Coleman. He retired after participating in the 1991 championship, while remaining in the sport: he often attended events and tried to popularize bodybuilding.
9. Larry Scott, 54 cm
Larry Scott , one of the most famous bodybuilders of the Golden Era, was initially considered to have little potential due to his narrow shoulders. Without listening to anyone’s opinion, he began training intensively at the age of 16, and by the age of 20 he won his first bodybuilding tournament – Mr. Idaho, 1959.
He quickly moved to California, won the Mr. California competition in 1960, and the rest is bodybuilding history.
Larry Scott has won many other titles in his career and was nicknamed “The Legend” and “The Golden Boy”. His bodybuilding titles include Mr. Pacific Coast 1961, Mr. Universe 1964, and Mr. Olympia 1965 and 1966.
When he won the first ever Mr. Olympia competition, he was crowned. In the second Mr. Olympia competition, he won $ 1,000. Narrow shoulders, which were considered his weak point by nature, did not prevent him from pumping 54 cm biceps, which was an incredible result for the 60s.
8. Dorian Yates, 54 cm
Long before he won his first Mr. Olympia title in 1992 (one of six he eventually won), Dorian was a thinking bodybuilder. After reading all the available teaching, nutrition, and psychology literature on improving performance, he became known in bodybuilding circles as “The Shadow” (partly because of his ability to come out of nowhere) and “The Monster from Britain ” (based on his wild approach to training , perseverance and killer instinct in the gym).
Today, Dorian Yates is teaching other bodybuilding candidates everything they need to know in order to unleash their genetic potential. With his uncompromising attitude, combined with intelligence and insight rarely found in elite-level sports, he pioneered and revolutionized bodybuilding training, setting previously unheard-of levels of muscle mass and fitness to become the standard bearer for extreme size, proportion and shape. Indeed, it can be said that two periods define the modern era of bodybuilding: BD (before Dorian) and AD (after Dorian).
7. Sergio Oliva, 54 cm
Oliva , three times Mr. Olympia, died on November 12, 2012 at the age of 71. The legacy he left confirms his status as an immortal god of the Golden Age.
In 1967, Oliva became the second bodybuilder to win the prestigious Olympia. He was the only person to ever defeat the seemingly undefeated Arnold Schwarzenegger at Olympia (1969). Oliva also won the 1968 competition because no one dared challenge him.
Sergio may have had the best bodybuilding genetics of all time. His contributions to the culture of iron and exercise are immeasurable.
6. Phil Heath, 56 cm
Phil Heath is an American professional bodybuilder of the IFBB and a seven-time Mr. Olympia. He won first place in the competition annually from 2011 to 2016. Phil Heath entered the bodybuilding world in 2002. In 2005, he managed to win the overall title at the US NPC Championship, earning the right to serve as an IFBB professional.
In 2007, he finished fifth in the Arnold Classic. In addition, he also won the 2008 Iron Man Show and finished second to Dexter Jackson at the 2008 Arnold Classic.
In his Olympia debut in 2008, he won the third position but dropped to fifth in 2009. He finished second in 2010 and went on to win the title in 2011. Since then, he defended the title every year, not least thanks to an impressive 56 centimeters bicep.
5. Cutler, 57 cm
Jay Cutler is the one who, with blood and sweat, earned his place in the bodybuilding hall of fame. For much of the 2000s, he was one of the most recognizable faces in the professional world, winning several titles.
And even if he did not reach the greatness of Phil Heath or Ronnie Coleman, his contribution to culture is enormous. If it were not for the crazy competition that was in bodybuilding when he performed, then he probably would have managed to reach much greater heights.
4. Arnold Schwarzenegger, 57.6 cm
The iconic actor and governor of California began his journey as a bodybuilder, becoming the best in this sport, and more than once. His form is still considered the benchmark, and how much he made to advance bodybuilding makes him the greatest figure in the history of the sport.
Many great athletes came to the hall thanks to Arnold Schwarzenegger , who demonstrated excellent form not only on stage, but also in the cinema.
3. Ronnie Coleman, 63 cm
Coleman’s first win came in 1990 at the Mr. Texas competition. The very next year at the World Amateur Championship, he took first place in the heavyweight category.
The first victory in the Mr. Olympia competition in the biography of Ronnie Coleman took place in 1998. He has won seven more times since then, becoming the second bodybuilder to win Olympia eight times from 1998 to 2005. In December 2007, Coleman got married, has two daughters and continues to work actively with iron.
2. Gregg Valentino, 71 cm
Gregg Valentino did not aspire to titles in the sport, but tried to set a record for the size of his hands. Many bodybuilding fans shout “synthol!” when they see old footage of Gregg with his massive biceps. But to this day, Gregg denies this, which, frankly, looks pretty ridiculous. Gregg pumped 71 cm biceps with a growth of only 168 cm.
1. Mustafa Ismail, 79 cm
The bodybuilder, nicknamed “Popeye,” has been pumping iron for over 15 years and credits chicken, not spinach, with his enormous mass of arms. He said compliments from other bodybuilders helped him develop biceps.
“ My friends at the gym just couldn’t believe how much my arms were growing, so I really started to concentrate on getting bigger ,” Mustafa Ismail told The Sun
“ Exercise improves my mood. You are just concentrating. And I love that in this sport you can see how you improve your form , ”he said. Of course, he is silent about how much synthol it took to make the largest biceps in the world.