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* This article by Strength Oldschool was initially written on Dec 3, 2016. It has now been updated as of 8 March 2021. * Please watch the video first before reading the article - The video only goes up to 2016 and does not contain footage of later Mr Olympia winners. In these modern times the ‘Mr Olympia’ is considered the KING of ALL bodybuilding contests. Who ever wins the Mr Olympia is simply known as the best bodybuilder on the planet. It’s a title that every single heavyweight competitive bodybuilder hopes to win. Before the Mr Olympia contest was created, bodybuilders back in the early days entered the ‘Mr America’ and ‘Mr Universe’ contests which were highly respected. If a bodybuilder won those contests you were considered the best. However in 1965, Joe Weider decided to create a contest that would bring together Mr America and Mr Universe winners to determine the greatest bodybuilder in the world. That contest became known as the Mr Olympia and to date, there have been only 16 winners. When it comes to ‘How to Judge a Physique’, everyone is different. But you need to ask yourself what are you looking for when it comes to an Olympian Physique. In my opinion, I’m looking for mass with aesthetic appeal i.e. Broad Shoulders, V-Taper, Tiny Waist, Big Arms, Medium to larg-ish legs (not too big), Big Chest & Back and no glaring weaknesses. If a lifter has an extremely poor body part, i.e. their calves…they do NOT deserve to be awarded the title of Mr Olympia. Everything needs to be in proportion. I have included a list of all the winners below – have a read and see if you agree with my own thoughts. Please respond back with any comments you have. Thank you. 1. Larry Scott Larry Scott (12 Oct. 1938 - 8 March 2014) won the contest twice (1965 & 1966). Tremendous physique. Arms and shoulders were out of this world and would even do damage still in today's contests. Larry was the first ever winner of the Mr Olympia contest. He unfortunately passed away back in 2014 but right up till his death, he continued to train and maintain a fantastic physique and still had incredible arms. He was genetically blessed with god given muscle insertions. His only real weakness was his clavicle length which he managed to overcome by developing one of the greatest shoulders in history. Superb at posing, he created many distinct artful poses. He carried mass with class as he developed and maintained an aesthetic physique. Larry Scott at 70 years old training... 2. Sergio ‘The Myth’ Oliva Sergio Oliva (4 July 1941 - 12 Nov. 2012) was known as "The Myth" for good reason – He was scary big with full, long muscle bellies all over. He had no weak points. It’s common for black bodybuilders to have poor calf development but Sergio’s calves were huge, taped at 20″!! Sergio won the Mr Olympia three times (1967, 1968 & 1969). It could be argued that he deserved to win a lot more times given his god given physique. Personally I think he could have easily won the contest another two times i.e. 1970 and possibly 1972 in my opinion. Maybe 1971 as well but not sure as Arnold looked massive in ’71. Sergio was definitely robbed of his prime bodybuilding days by Joe Weider as Joe banned him from competing at the 1971 Mr Olympia and then again in 1973 onwards! The battles that Arnold and Sergio could have had would have been tremendous. Sergio began as a weightlifter in Cuba but soon went AWOL to become a bodybuilder in Chicago. His proportions were out of this world with arms bigger than his head!! He oozed perfection and combined HUGE MASS with AESTHETICS. His forearms were bigger than most people’s legs! Larry Scott retired after winning the Mr Olympia in 1966 after seeing the rise of Sergio – Sergio was that good. He was incredibly wide, massive arms, huge chest and back, gigantic thighs but had the most tiny waist ever for a man of his proportions. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger has stated that Sergio Oliva had the better physique. Sergio in my opinion will go down as the Top Two Greatest Bodybuilders Ever! Check out these fantastic videos on the legend... Sergio also had to battle serious injuries throughout his life from a bad tricep tear to being shot! Check out this footage... Check out the following article links on Sergio Oliva: 2001 Interview with Sergio Oliva By Brian D. Johnston How Sergio Oliva and Victor Richards Built Their Physiques by Jeff Everson Biscuit Oliva - Baki the Grappler - Based on Bodybuilder Sergio Oliva 3. Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Schwarzenegger (30 July 1947 - Present), even from a young age, was simply destined to become one of the greatest bodybuilders ever. He was blessed with the right genetics for bodybuilding, especially in the arms and chest department. Some people will argue that he was top heavy and had no legs or calves but in my opinion that’s bulls**t! In his early days his calves were relatively poor but he later changed that by training them harder. His calves improved so much that some bodybuilders believed he got implants!! Utter nonsense. One famous bodybuilder who did get calf implants later in life and competed with them was Lou Ferrigno! (Why Joe Weider allowed Lou Ferrigno to compete with calf Implants I do not know!?) Arnold always enjoyed life to the full but was extremely driven and focused and had his mind set on becoming the best bodybuilder in the world. If he had weak areas, he worked hard on those to bring them up. He had the mindset to do that, which not many people have. Arnold built a HUGE physique which at one point amassed over 250 lbs but still had a relatively tight, small waist which you don’t see in bodybuilders today. Even though he carried a lot of mass, he still looked athletic and graceful on stage while posing. Aesthetics is everything when it comes to bodybuilding but for some reason, in today’s contests, mass seems to be prevailing over aesthetics which is a shame. For more of my thoughts on "Old School vs Modern" click here. Arnold won the Mr Olympia seven times (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975 & 1980) which in those days was unheard of. He also holds the record as being the youngest ever Mr Olympia winner at 23 years old. In my opinion, if Arnold hadn’t retired, he could have easily won right up to 1980 and beyond. That would equate to TEN Mr Olympia titles!! He had the genetics and mind blowing physique to easily do so. There was no competition for him as Sergio Oliva had been banned from competing in the IFBB. Arnold has done more for the sport than anyone else and in my opinion, Arnold along with Sergio Oliva are the Top Two Best Bodybuilders of all time! Some days I consider Arnold to be the best ever, other days I think it’s Sergio. I always seem to change my mind because every now and again I’ll come across a rare photo online showing Sergio or Arnold posing and I’ll be blown away. Check out these fantastic videos on Arnold... For true information on how Arnold Schwarzenegger really trained click here! 4. Franco Columbu Franco Columbu (7 Aug. 1941 - 30 Aug. 2019) was a powerbuilder. By that I mean he always trained heavy and was known for his strength. As a competitive Powerlifter he was much stronger than Arnold in the gym and pound for pound he became one of the strongest bodybuilders ever. It was Arnold that convinced Franco to try his hand at bodybuilding as that was where the money was to be made. Franco became one of the best bodybuilders ever winning the Mr Olympia contest on two occasions (1976 & 1981). He was extremely muscular, famous for his split upper chest development. For a short guy, his muscle insertions were unfortunately just as short. He did build an incredible physique but poor arm genetics meant that he was never going to have arms like Arnold. A well known and respected bodybuilder by the name of Danny Padilla also was short in height, probably was about the same height as Franco, maybe even a tad shorter. However Danny’s physique was miss-leading. Standing on his own, you would never think of Danny being so short. This was due to his long, full muscle insertions. But Franco on the other hand didn’t have these magical muscle insertions. However, he did build a solid, strong, muscular physique which in his prime, looked tremendous. His chest, abs, shoulders, especially his back were simply out of this world. His arms, even with his short muscle insertions, still looked fantastic as his biceps genetically peaked high. Franco Columbu demonstrated just how strong he was by competing at the 1977 World's Strongest Man contest which unfortunately resulted in Franco obtaining a serious injury which took many years for him to fully recover. His comeback at the 1981 Mr Olympia which resulted in him winning may have been controversial but given his serious "sport career ending" injury fours years earlier, in 1977, it was flat out amazing for Franco to be walking again, let alone training and competing! 5. Frank Zane Frank Zane (28 June 1942 - Present) was incredible. He won the Mr Olympia contest three times (1977, 1978 & 1979). Compared to the likes of Arnold and Sergio who were mass monsters (In a good way), Frank competed at a much lighter bodyweight and to this day he holds the record for the lightest man to ever win the Mr Olympia contest. Frank was like Greek sculpture, carved out of stone. His famous vacuum pose remains one of the most memorable classic bodybuilding poses ever. This is a pose that many current Mr Olympia competitors could probably not do due to the extreme mass they carry in the wrong areas i.e. belly and waist. Frank Zane really has inspired many millions of people across the world to get in shape. His physique signifies a body that natural lifters could aspire to achieve. 6. Chris Dickerson Chris Dickerson (25 Aug. 1939 - Present) is a one time winner of the Mr Olympia contest having won in 1982 at the age of 43. At that time, he became the oldest ever Mr Olympia winner. To date, that record was broken by Shawn Rhoden winning the 2018 Mr Olympia contest at the age of 43 years and 5 months. Chris Dickerson in my humble opinion, is not one of my personal favourites, but definitely not the least, to have won the Mr Olympia title. I do not believe he should have won in 1982 given his serious elbow problem. That's not to say he should never have won the title, he could have possibly won the Mr Olympia in 1980 or 1981 as I feel his physique was much better then. From an aesthetic point of view, Chris was incredible. He always had that V-Taper look and his legs were amazing especially his calves. Chris has said many times that he didn’t really need to do much for his calves as he was genetically blessed in that department. Some people are lucky that way. He was always conditioned for competition, never looked bloated and was very muscular. As I’ve said, his legs were one of the best back in the day but he clearly wasn’t blessed genetically in the chest and arm department. I always thought the shape of his chest looked odd. Compare his chest to that of Steve Reeves, and you'll understand what I mean. His arms were also too small for his frame. His biceps did not impress me one bit and I feel his arms in particular let him down. But what can you do with poor genetics? A Mr Olympia contender in my opinion must have great arms. If the arms are poor, their chances of winning should be minimum. Now I’m not saying that any competitor with great arms could be Mr Olympia - I believe that a Mr Olympia winner should not have any glaring weaknesses whatsoever. If a body part clearly stands out as a glaring weakness, then no, they should not be awarded the title. This is why Arnold and Sergio were so ahead of their time. They had no glaring weaknesses, if any, and every body part of theirs looked tremendous. Chris Dickerson had a superb lower body but unfortunately never had the upper body genetics to match. His back was tremendous no doubt but chest and arms were a major let down for him. I'd be curious to know what caused Chris Dickerson's elbow to become so large? I've read that's a side effect of abusing "Growth Hormone" but I'm not an expert. 7. Samir Bannout Samir Bannout (7 Nov. 1955 - Present) won the Mr Olympia title in 1983. He was simply the complete package. No glaring weaknesses and exceptional strong points such as arms, chest, back and legs. I always liked Samir’s arms, probably one of the best ever after Arnold, Larry and Sergio. His conditioning was exceptional in ’83 and he oozed aesthetics. Aesthetics is something that old school bodybuilders had in abundance. They carried so much muscle but still looked athletic and appealed to the public. They looked like athletes. I remember the first time I came across Samir, I was watching the DVD, ‘Arnold – Total Rebuild’ which was based on Arnold Schwarzenegger's return to competition for the 1980 Mr Olympia. Samir wasn’t as conditioned for the 1980 contest as he was for ’83 and sadly didn't place well. To read about the 1980 Mr Olympia and Mike Mentzer's comments regarding that contest click here. Overall, Samir Bannout developed an outstanding physique which will go down in history as one of the best ever. His back development was exceptional and has always been a focal point for Samir. 8. Lee Haney Lee Haney (11 Nov. 1959 - Present) was truly the last Mr Olympia to carry so much mass with great aesthetic appeal. Possessing wide shoulders with an even greater wider and thicker back, tiny waist with massive legs, everything in proportion (well mostly). Haney won the Mr Olympia eight times (1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990 & 1991). That was a record eight wins but not just eight wins….8 consecutive wins!! To this day, only one other bodybuilder has tied that record. However, Haney retired undefeated which remains a record itself. Does eight straight wins make Lee Haney the Best Ever Mr Olympia? Before Haney came along, Arnold held the record at six consecutive wins then retired undefeated (In Mr Olympia competition that is) to pursue Hollywood. If Arnold had chosen to continue to compete for the next several years up to 1980, he would have easily achieved 10 Mr Olympia wins as Sergio Oliva, his only real competition wasn't around to compete, due to being BANNED from the IFBB by Joe Weider. Haney’s record however was equaled back in 2005 by a bodybuilder called Ronnie Coleman. Unfortunately Ronnie did not manage to break the record in 2006 due to losing to Jay Cutler. Lee Haney competed at a massive 250 lbs bodyweight and developed one of the best physiques in history. He was known for his huge, wide back development. He always competed in superb shape, shredded to the bone. My only flaw with Lee Haney was his arms. I always felt his arms were genetically poor from a purely aesthetic point of view. If you were comparing Arnold’s arms with Haney’s, Arnold wins hands down, EASILY!! Haney’s arms were big and always looked great in photos when performing curls etc but when posing for a front double biceps shot, you could see the weakness lay in his arms. There was no good shock value when he flexed during a front double biceps pose, like you would see if Arnold flexed. Lee will forever remain one of the best bodybuilders to compete at the Mr Olympia. I do not see anyone beating Lee Haney / Ronnie Coleman’s 8 consecutive wins record for many years. I believe that record will continue to stand for years to come. 9. Dorian Yates With the arrival of Dorian Yates (19 April 1962 - Present) came ‘MASS MONSTER’ status!! Yates won the Mr Olympia in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 & 1997 equaling Arnold’s winning streak. Dorian ended up retiring due to injuries, but winning six consecutive Mr Olympia titles had propelled him into the history books. He was known as a hard trainer and believed in the training method of H.I.T. (High Intensity Training) which was the complete opposite of how other bodybuilders trained at the time i.e. "Volume Training". Photo below: A young Dorian Yates. In his first couple of Mr Olympia wins he was big but still remained tight with a relatively small waist. It was during the last few wins that Dorian packed on the BEEF competing close to 260 lbs!! His waist though in my opinion looked big and bloated. It seemed aesthetics were slowly going out the window during Dorian’s reign and that MASS status was prevailing. Photo below: A bloated Dorian Yates! Dorian was known for complete development - Chest, Forearms, Legs, Calves, Back etc, you name it. He was big and shredded all over during competition (well most). He was known for his rock hard dryness like he was carved out of stone and developed one of the best backs in bodybuilding history. During the mid to late 90's bodybuilders were obviously taking advantage of newer drugs and consuming far more than what previous generations took. Insulin and Growth Hormone were key drugs taken by the likes of Yates to become even bigger but unfortunately so did the bellies! Physiques were changing in the late 90's moving into the 2000's and not for the better. Dorian's reign ended on a bad note due to retiring from injuries. He was actually fortunate (due to bad judging / possible fixed contests) to achieve six Mr Olympia wins as he won two Mr Olympia's with a physique that lacked aesthetics due to a bloated belly and torn muscles. Like Lee Haney, I always felt Dorian’s arms were weak from a front double biceps point of view. There was no WOW factor like Arnold’s. Sure Dorian had the mass and the "Pop-Eye" forearms but his biceps lacked any aesthetic appeal. 10. Ronnie Coleman Ronnie Coleman (13 May 1964 - Present) won the Mr Olympia in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 & 2005. An incredible eight consecutive wins tying Lee Haney’s record. This record will not be broken in my opinion for a long time, especially when bodybuilders these days aren’t maturing to Mr Olympia level status until close to their 30’s if not older. In comparison you have to think about how young Arnold was when he won his first Mr Olympia at only 23 years old! He almost won it at 22 but Sergio Oliva put a stop to that. So given today’s radical drug regime and the fact that bodybuilders who are competing in the Mr Olympia in this day and age are in their 30's compared to how young Arnold was – what's the likely hood of a competitor winning eight times or more? With the heavy drug regime and training, can bodybuilders really compete into their 40's and still win Mr Olympia shows?....Of course but will they break Haney's or Coleman's record....Highly unlikely. Ronnie Coleman didn't start out as a "MASS MONSTER", he grew into that status. Early 90's up to 1997, he built an incredible physique which resembled more of an "Old School Bodybuilder" than a "Modern Mass Monster". He had a crazy V-Taper, wide shoulders, massive arms and a tiny waist. The only exception was calves as he was genetically poor in that area but everything else above looked amazing. Ronnie's "Old School" physique though wasn't winning shows (for some crazy reason) and it definitely wasn't placing him high at the Mr Olympia contests each year. So for 1998, he added size and at this point it wasn't too much but was enough to make an impact on the bodybuilding world and take his first steps towards "MASS MONSTER" status. I actually preferred Ronnie's physique before he won the Mr Olympia contest in '98. A lot of fans regard Ronnie's physique that year as one of his best, however, photos show that he suffered bad gyno which makes it more amazing that he won the Mr Olympia that year. Only two bodybuilders in history have won the Mr Olympia displaying gyno and they are of course Ronnie and Franco Columbu back in 1981. From the early 2000's onwards, Ronnie just kept playing the size game and piling on the beef becoming a true MASS FREAK. His waist grew as a result. Ronnie was also one of the strongest bodybuilders ever as he had a passion for lifting ‘Heavy Ass Weights!’ It’s a shame to see the way Ronnie looks now. I think all the years of heavy lifting and steroid abuse has taken a massive toll on his body. You can see the damage done to his arms and more. Ronnie will forever go down in history as one of the greatest bodybuilders ever… but does owning eight Mr Olympia titles make him the greatest? 11. Jay Cutler Now we come to a bodybuilder whom I have never been a fan of….Physique wise. Jay Cutler (3 Aug. 1973 - Present) won the Mr Olympia contest in 2006, 2007, 2009 & 2010. In 2008, he lost to Dexter Jackson. Jay holds the record for being the only Mr Olympia winner to have lost the title and then regain it back. In my opinion Jay Cutler has always displayed a boxy, thick waist type physique. Like Ronnie in his later years, Jay played the size game to battle Ronnie on stage and unfortunately didn't display much aesthetics but rather produced an ugly type physique. But as judging standards were poor and rewarded the mass monsters with bloated bellies it's not surprising that he won a number of Mr Olympia titles given that Ronnie Coleman's body was already in the process of breaking down from 2005 onwards. 12. Dexter Jackson Dexter Jackson (25 Nov. 1969 - Present) won the Mr Olympia contest back in 2008. He is one of those competitors who maintains aesthetics over mass which is great to see but believe it or not I’m still not a fan of his physique although I do prefer it over the current bloated, Mass Monsters of today. Dexter came close to winning the 2015 Mr Olympia contest which was good to see. He has officially retired now as of 2021. Dexter was always consistent and showed up in great condition for contests. His physique overall was very pleasing and athletic looking but certain things about his physique always bothered me...His calf genetics were poor (nothing can be done about that). His biceps to me always looked suspicious of synthol abuse. They just had that unnatural, bloated shape about them. Hard to describe and I'll admit, I could be completely wrong. So I'll say this, his biceps were not aesthetically pleasing. Another thing which gradually got worse over the years was his stomach. No where near as bad as the likes of Jay Cutler, Ronnie Coleman etc but at several Mr Olympia competitions, it was clear he could not hold his stomach in which protruded at times. This is not something you would see from back in Arnold's prime years but obviously Dexter had been using different drug concoctions which were far more advanced compared to the drugs available in Arnold's day. Dexter's abs would later look like a "Turtle Shell" and unfortunately become the focus / distraction of his overall pleasing physique. Despite the negative comments regarding Dexter, he still led the way and promoted the "Old School" type bodybuilders body compared to anyone else. I just think the type of drugs he must have been using including his advanced age (mid to late 40's) would have been detrimental to his physique. 13. Phil Heath Phil Heath (18 Dec. 1979 - Present) won the Mr Olympia competition seven consecutive times (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 & 2017) but narrowly lost to Shawn Rhoden in 2018 and thus wasn't able to tie the record for the most Mr Olympia wins with Lee Haney and Ronnie Coleman. After taking a couple of years out he returned to the stage set for taking the title back in 2020 but lost, finishing 3rd place behind ex-champion, 2019 Mr Olympia winner, Brandon Curry. I've never been a fan of Phil's physique. He carries a lot of mass in his freakish arms and shoulders but for me overall, his bodyparts just don't flow nicely as early Mr Olympia winners such as Arnold and Sergio Oliva, etc. When Phil is relaxed, his arms look incredible. When you see him in the gym training, his arms are mind blowing but when flexed in competition on stage, his front double biceps pose for me provides no WOW factor at all. I can only describe this as similar to Serge Nubret whose arms looked magnificent when down and relaxed by his sides but once they were flexed overhead, nothing would happen. Photo below: Phil Heath most muscular at the 2020 Mr Olympia contest. Due to the immense size of Phil's shoulders he did have a nice V-Taper, but another pet hate of mine regarding Phil is his chest. His arms and shoulders seem to dwarf his chest. His chest actually reminds me of Chris Dickerson, it has a similar weird shape which isn’t aesthetically pleasing. But again, nothing can be done about that as its genetics. Phil's stomach in later years became a serious problem and that was why he lost to Shawn Rhoden back in 2018. Dexter Jackson was the same and if you don't believe me, feel free to check out the 2015 Mr Olympia online and watch the individual posing round. The whole point of bodybuilding is to build a beautiful physique in proportion, not have stomachs hanging out!! It’s disgusting to look at. Even when bodybuilders are back stage at a contest, they still need to control their abs as they are still being photographed and filmed. Heaths 2020 Mr Olympia comeback (photos below) proved unsuccessful and again, it was the result of his gut protruding! Heath was lucky to have finished in 3rd place. He also looked small compared to the winner, Mamdouh Elssbiay (big Ramy) and if Phil does decide to come back again in 2021, he'll need to pack on some more size to stand a chance against Big Ramy, but packing on more beef for Phil won't be a good thing if it goes to his stomach! 14. Shawn Rhoden Shawn Rhoden (2 April 1975 - Present) was the 2018 Mr Olympia champion defeating Phil Heath. It was a close contest but due to Phil's protruding stomach, Shawn was declared the winner which was heart breaking for Phil. Rhoden became the oldest competitor to capture the Mr. Olympia title last year at age 43 taking the record away from Chris Dickerson who won in 1982. Even Shawn Rhoden at past contests has had trouble holding his stomach in. However, in 2018, he brought back the athletic, classic lines of an "old school" bodybuilder displaying broad shoulders and a tight waist. Shawn winning in 2018 was a step in the right direction for the sport of bodybuilding as it promoted bodybuilders with classic lines and no protruding gut. Since winning the 2018 Mr Olympia, Shawn has been troubled with personal problems accused of raping a female bodybuilder in a Utah hotel room on Oct. 12, 2018. He was charged with felony rape, felony object rape and felony forcible sexual abuse. He has always denied this, pleading not guilty and allegedly passed two "Lie Detector Tests". He has since been banned from competing until the case is resolved. However, there are rumours that he may be preparing for a comeback at this years Mr Olympia contest but who knows? 15. Brandon Curry Brandon Curry (19 Oct. 1982 - Present) brought home the Mr Olympia title in 2019 at 36 years old. It was an interesting Mr Olympia as past winners Shawn Rhoden and Phil Heath were absent from the competition. Brandon in my book displayed an outstanding physique and was a worthy winner. Great arms, thin waist, excellent abs, no protruding gut at any time, he represented old school bodybuilding for me and easily was the clear winner. Unfortunately he wasn't able to retain the title last year in 2020 finishing in 2nd place. Personally I had him in first place. I just hope in the pursuit of more mass to compare better with Big Ramy, that he doesn't go down the wrong path and develop a "bubble gut" so to speak. He remains a definite contender to reclaim the Olympia gold in the near future. 16. Mamdouh Elssbiay (Big Ramy) Mamdouh Mohammed Hassan Elssbiay (16 Sept. 1984 - Present) is an Egyptian bodybuilder, known as "Big Ramy" who made history by defeating two past champions to become the 2020 Mr Olympia winner. I made the following video back in 2015 on Big Ramy... Big Ramy has always had the potential to win the Mr Olympia, he's just never showed up in condition until 2020 that is. Even at his massive size he still displayed a rather small waist which was controlled, no gut protruding. He dwarfed his fellow competitors so I think in 2021, if other bodybuilders such as Brandon Curry don't add more size and Ramy shows up conditioned still looking much bigger than his competitors, then I think it will be lights out and another easy win for Ramy. BEST MR OLYMPIA EVER? So who do I think is the best Mr Olympia ever?....It's a toss up between two bodybuilding legends... 1. Arnold Schwarzenegger 2. Sergio Oliva Their physiques from head to toe were perfection and they both easily dominated other bodybuilders within there era. Even to this day, their physiques would beat the current crop of bodybuilders in my opinion. The biggest bodybuilder should win but only if they still have aesthetics i.e. shapely lines, body parts which flow well together and no bloated gut! A Mr Olympia winner should not have any glaring weaknesses to his physique. Who do you think is the Best Mr Olympia Ever and why? Who didn’t deserve to win a Mr Olympia Title? Who should have won at least one Mr Olympia title? Here are some comments from people to the above questions... The Horror Kid stated... Big Bob stated... Mark stated... * Do you agree with the above comments? Voice your opinions below! * Please note: The "text content" of the above article is copyrighted and may not be used on another website! 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* Written by Ray Nobile with assistance from his beautiful wife Marion and Magnus. * This promotional article has been edited by Strength Oldschool. NOTE by Strength Oldschool: Ray Nobile has a new ebook out which I highly recommend all serious bodybuilding and strongman fans read! As a teaser guests can read Chapter 1 and Chapter 5 below for free to get a taste of what the book entails. To purchase this eBook, at the cost of only 5 Euros, (price may be subject to change) please contact Ray Nobile directly at the following email address: raynobile@gmail.com. INTRODUCTION: Have you ever wondered what it feels like to be a worldclass powerlifter? Or a European champion bodybuilder? How about a world record breaker in strongman competition? My name is Ray Nobile and I have been there, done that and got the t-shirt as the saying goes in ALL THREE!! Join me on a journey through the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s as I lift, hold, carry and flex my way through my iron game career. Meet the super-strong highlander who gave it up for love while still in his prime! See the eccentric lifter who raised 700lbs with the help of a foot pump (or did he?)! How about the giant lifter who ran away... from an oily salad? And much more! Meet legends of lifting that became friends of mine, and experience what it was like to compete against them. Stories from my life PLUS chapters featuring Marion my wife and her record breaking success, PLUS various training routines and diets I have used over the years. More than 100 pages of drama, laughter, tragedy and entertainment awaits you within this e-book from a former topflight competitor in the iron game…enjoy! CONTENTS: Chapters / Page No. Foreword by Strength Oldschool – Page 3 1: My first 5 years in the Iron Game: 1965 -1970 – Page 6 2: 1970-1980: From powerful-looking to powerlifting champion – Page 15 3: 1976 – 1980: Power, politics and personalities on my way to the top – Page 25 4: 1977-1980 Worlds to conquer and Battles to the Finnish and Swedish – Page 37 5: 1979-1980 Winning, whingeing and record breaking strong men! – Page 51 6: 1981 to 1985: Big totals, Strongman titles and bowing out of plifting! – Page 65 7: 1986 to 1999: Bodybuilding, gym owner and fire-fighting games! – Page 76 8: Marion tells Magnus about her own career in the iron game – Page 90 9: Some of my training routines – Page 105 10: Dedications and Thanks – Page 112 CHAPTER 1: My first 5 years in the iron game: 1965-1970 Hello Iron Game brothers and sisters, I am very glad you decided to read my story and I will do my best to entertain you along the way. If you don’t know anything about the iron game and it’s all new to you welcome anyway, I will try to explain things and make it entertaining for you as well. I have been living in Bulgaria for about a decade along with my beautiful wife Marion who is a strength athlete and title winner in her own right. Even though I am now over 60 years of age we train hard 6 days a week and eat a disciplined diet, maintaining bodybuilder physiques that are pretty good, even if I do say so myself! We have come a long way from where we started and experienced great triumphs and the odd loss along life’s highway, but here and now I would like to take you back in time and tell you how it was in my early days. I started life’s journey in April 1951, living in a village in South Lanarkshire in Scotland called Bothwell which is roughly 12 miles south-east of Glasgow. The river Clyde runs through Bothwell and the remains of a castle sit on Bothwell Bank. There is a lot of history tied up in this place but when I started training I never imagined at all that one day it would be me making history myself. I was lucky to have inherited good genetics for the iron game which became evident when I was very young. In fact when I was 3 years old I was spotted by a man who was in town with the circus as I ran along the seafront in Largs with my parents. This man offered to buy me from my parents, saying that he had never seen such a well-developed child before and I would make a very good circus performer as I grew up. Luckily for me my parents decided not to take the money! At 13 years of age I started working weekends and school holidays at my father’s hairdressing salon, learning how to deal with ladies hair under the direction of my uncle Adam who managed that side of the business. At 15 years of age I left school and worked full-time hairdressing and attended Stow College of Hairdressing on a day release scheme, picking up my diplomas in tinting, perming and other hairdressing skills. While I was taking my apprenticeship I became inspired to become a bodybuilder when I was 14 years old as I watched the Hercules movies that starred the legendary Steve Reeves and Reg Park, and Gordon Scott as Tarzan. At 14 I possessed a well-proportioned but wiry physique and I thought these guys had incredible physiques. There was even a muscle control act on the talent-spotting TV programme called Opportunity Knocks. A guy called Tony Hollands performed muscle control routines to music, and I just had to build some muscle for myself after seeing all of these bodybuilders. My father bought a Weider barbell set and with little more than the instruction leaflet that came with it I trained in my bedroom for a year. Then at 15 years of age I joined a gym and finally started learning much more about how to train properly. The year was 1966 and the Koby Osaka gym was situated above a Judo studio in Glasgow which had a tremendous reputation in the Judo world due to it being owned and run by a guy called Tommy Morris who, if I remember correctly, was the first man in the UK to attain a 10th Dan grade. Training became more advanced now as I followed routines pinned to the walls of the gym and also sought advice from the more experienced guys that trained there. It was also the gym where I met Robin Love who became my training partner for five years and also became a great friend, more than once being my best man. Thinking of Robin reminds me of one occasion when we went to Blackpool for the weekend and created a bit of chaos in Woolworths while we were there. We went in and told the girl at the counter that we were making a special visit to test the hot water bottles that they were selling there. She said “what do you mean, test them? ” We explained we were checking for leaks and she proved to be a practical jokers dream as she asked if we wanted all of them. She must have been either a new member of staff or a ‘weekend girl’ because she was so gullible she accepted everything we said without question. We settled on one each and after removing the packaging took a count of three then started blowing them up. In next to no time a crowd gathered to watch us and we had the bottles about halfway there when the manager came storming into the room accompanied by a couple of staff members, shouting “what the hell is going on here? ” Robin let his bottle go and it shot up to the ceiling then bounced down onto shelving sending things flying. I was still determined to burst my bottle but was grabbed by the elbows by members of staff and they were forcing me towards the exit. Before we got there Robin dead-panned “here, unhand that man he is not finished yet, the bottle is about to burst so let him continue.” At this I burst out laughing and the bottle took off like a bat out of hell straight into the baby food shelves. We were then booted out onto the street and while we were walking away an old man who looked about 90 called after us “come back lads, you are not well, you need treatment,” but we just kept walking and laughing. Back to the gym and training moved up another notch. I then went on to follow Reg Park’s Bulk and Power routine, which was based on all the basic lifts worked for 5 sets of 5 reps each exercise. Yes young guys, there are 5 x 5 routines by Madcow, Stronglifts, Bill Starr etc. these days, some of them talk as though they invented 5 x 5, but Reg Park was training this way in the early 1950s. And Reg got so strong he set many official British weightlifting records including becoming the second man in history to bench press 500 pounds! I also followed routines from the magazines, especially those created by John McCallum in his ‘Keys to Progress’ series of articles that were published in Bob Hoffman’s Strength and Health and Muscular Development magazines. Years later Randall Strossen of Ironmind reprinted John’s entire series as a book. If you want good advice and funny entertaining articles you cannot do better than to get a copy and read about John’s quirky characters and his admiration for real guys such as the Canadian Hercules Maurice Jones and of course Reg Park. Anyway, I am getting a bit ahead of myself. Let’s go to the first contest I ever attended (as a spectator) which was the Mr Hercules organised by Bob Sweeney who was the owner of the Olympic Health Studios chain of chromed and carpeted health studio gyms spread throughout Britain. The winner of this contest was Bernard Bradford who went on to be runner-up in the Mr Britain contest. The junior division of this contest was won by Dave Caldwell. This would not be the last time I came across Dave at a contest! The icing on the cake was the guest poser, none other than Larry Scott (pictured above), fresh from his Mr Olympia victory! Although he seemed to be somewhat shy off stage, when he posed on stage he just exuded charisma from every pore, no wonder Ricky Wayne (pictured below) raved about him in Joe Weider’s Muscle Builder magazine. And the strange thing was in the pictures we saw of Larry he looked quite smooth, but in the flesh he was not just cut, he was ripped to shreds (cut and ripped means the muscles stand out and are highly visible). I said I was just a spectator at this contest but I did get up on stage and compete but not as a bodybuilder. The Milk Marketing Board held an audience participation contest during the break and I won it. What did I do? I had to eat a pie, drink a pint of milk and blow up a balloon until it burst. I had to take two buses to get home from Glasgow and I received some funny looks from other travellers as I carried my prize home, as I had won 12 pints of milk, 12 pies, 24 cartons of yoghurt and a packet of balloons! Not long after I entered my first competition in Glasgow in November 1966. The contest was the junior Mr Caledonia and I placed third. The winner was Dave Caldwell (photo above) who then went on to become runner-up in the junior Mr Britain that year. Later Dave turned to powerlifting like me, and he went on to become European and World champion. Also at this contest I met Rick Wayne who was both a great bodybuilder and possibly the best writer and contest reporter on the bodybuilding world ever. Ricky said I had great potential and would go far in bodybuilding, and was extremely surprised to hear that I was only 15 years old at the time as he thought I was around 17. Over the next few years I competed in bodybuilding I won the junior Mr Scotland 3 times, junior Mr Caledonia twice, the junior Mr Edina (Edinburgh) and the junior Mr Fitness and Health. I also competed in the junior Mr Britain in 1970 and was a finalist, competing against teenage phenomenon young Bertil Fox (photo below). When I turned 18 years of age one of the girls at my father’s salon decided to go it alone and set up her own business, and she asked me to work for her. I decided ‘why not’ but unfortunately she had a jealous husband and after seven months I had to leave. I fancied a change from hairdressing so I went to work the summer season at a Butlins holiday camp, but only worked there for three weeks because John and Andy who trained at the same gym as me set up a new gym in the heart of Glasgow and asked me to be an instructor there. They named it the Nordic Health Studios and were hoping to have the same success that Bob Sweeney had with his chain of Olympic Health Studios. During this period of time in my life I met many great iron game competitors and here I would like to say a few words about some of them: Frank Richards: (photo above) Mr Britain winner in 1968 who was a straightforward, down to earth character who, even when he was competing or guest posing, could always be found in the bar or pub both before and after the competition, as he liked his drink! Frank later trained with guys like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Franco Columbu at the original Golds gym and also suffered a very bad accident in his work that almost ended his career but he made a comeback some years later and did very well. John Citrone: I first met John in 1967 at a competition where he guest posed. As well as posing he performed a strength act, part of which was to lift an anvil in one hand and an anchor in the other and hoist them overhead. The anvil had a handle welded on which made it even more awkward to lift. He challenged anyone in the audience to replicate this feat, but despite many very strong men from this era trying no one ever succeeded. John also included his wife, who was a Miss Britain winner, in this act by lifting her overhead with one arm, but unfortunately for the audience‘s strongmen he never invited anyone to try and match that feat! John’s strength was all the more impressive because he was not a huge man by any means, yet he could out-do men that were quite literally twice or even three times his size!! Paul Wynter: (pictured below) A multi NABBA Mr Universe winner who also included strength feats in his act. In those days show promoters got more value for their money as most of the physique stars were more versatile and included strength acts with their posing routines. Paul was strong but was best known for his classical shape, possessing a physique similar to Steve Reeves. Len Sell: (pictured below) Another multi Universe winner, Len was a very small man with a very unusual physique. He also promoted the Bullworker isometric training device, but despite being paid well to do this he would openly tell people that it was rubbish and weights were the one and only truly effective equipment to train with! Louis Martin: (pictured below) A star in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, between 1959 and 1965 was world champion 4 times and won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympic games in 1964 when Russian Trofim Lomakin showed up in top form and beat Louis. I met Louis when we toured Scotland together with Precious McKenzie, Dave Prowse and David Webster. Dave Prowse stood around 6 feet 7 inches and later became the Green Cross Code man on TV then Darth Vader in Star Wars, but at this time he competed as a bodybuilder and Olympic weightlifter and was British heavyweight weightlifting champion twice. He also succeeded in lifting the famous ‘unliftable’ Inch dumbbell that had beaten all other contenders during Thomas Inch’s strongman career! Drifting off the subject there, let’s get back to Louis Martin. Louis was a genial sort of guy who liked to read poetry and possessed an amazing physique for an Olympic lifter as he had started out as a bodybuilder in Jamaica before settling in England. He told me that after every training session he would drink a pint of Guinness with a couple of raw eggs mixed in it. I asked him if this helped with his strength and muscle development and he replied that he didn’t know for sure but it certainly kept his muscles happy! Magnus tells me that years ago in Portugal they called Guinness stout beer and raw eggs a ‘drink for tired horses,’ but lots of people also drank it as a tonic. Louis was by far the most successful Olympic lifter that represented Britain internationally that we have ever had. Don Dorans: In 1968 I met Don at a competition and he took me under his wing, organising my training routines and giving me advice about contest prep, diet, posing etc. His routines were very quirky but effective, and he was way ahead of his time with regards to nutrition. We became really great friends when he moved to Scotland, and I used to visit him every couple of weeks and he would introduce me to the latest piece of training equipment that he was designing. Quite a few of the standard pieces of gym equipment that all gyms have these days came from Don’s highly eccentric but also amazingly active and inventive mind. Don was also a very good cyclist for his age at that time (60 years old). I remember one time when I went to visit him and he had just returned from a 10 miles time trial which had been accomplished in 23 minutes. When he told me he was going out again to repeat the 10 mile trial I had to ask why. He explained that he was conducting a nutritional experiment on himself to see if vitamin E would be effective for his endurance, and had just taken 4,000 IU’s of E before going out again. He told me he would be back in 23 minutes but made it in 22 minutes 30 seconds, so had knocked 30 seconds off his time despite being more fatigued on the second time trial, proving that it was effective. One of the routines Don came up with for me was very effective at adding size and strength – see the last chapter for some details about it. Anyway, going back to competitions, things were very different to today’s shows. Now we have contests with lots of classes thrown in such as Miss Figure, Miss Bikini, Mr/Miss Fitness which are nothing to do with bodybuilding and really belong in aerobics shows. Also there are many different bodybuilding federations. Compare that with the 1960s when everything was far simpler and there were only 2 organisations. In the shows there were only the men’s classes, the juniors and the Miss. Everyone was also much more friendly back then, and approachable and pleasant when asked questions. Most of the top guys felt it was their duty to help the novices in the sport. Also there were no prima donnas throwing temper tantrums on stage and smashing trophies if they failed to win. Magnus asked me if I had an outstanding memory from my first 5 years in the sport that stood out from everything else that had taken place. Well yes I do, it was when I had won the Mr Fitness and Health which was staged by David Webster (photo above). I was invited to join a tour of various competitions in the company of Louis Martin, Precious McKenzie etc. (as I had mentioned earlier), and listening to the stories these guys could tell was riveting stuff to a fan like me. There was one thing that partly spoilt it, this was of course when I first found out that Webster was only really involved in it for himself as he always took advantage of us. I was promised that I would be paid for the tour as Louis, Dave etc. were being paid to be a part of it. When the tour ended and I asked for my money, Webster said the fact that expenses incurred such as food, hotel bills etc. had been paid by him, and that this was my payment and there was no cash forthcoming. This was despite numerous newspaper and TV interviews which Webster was paid for but we weren’t. This was my first experience of many with him over the years that followed where he constantly manipulated situations to suit himself. Generally though, I was very happy with my achievements and met many interesting and famous people, and really enjoyed the experience of it all. If you told me I could live my life over again, and could change anything in those 5 years, I think I would be happy to do it all again exactly the same, yes even if I had to put up with David Webster’s interfering involvement. Okay, that brings us to the end of my first 5 years in the iron game, after which life changed. I still trained but only competed occasionally as my new career as a fireman, getting married and starting a family occupied most of my time. Then in 1976 I took up powerlifting which was a new beginning that led to some of the biggest achievements in my life, and eventually took me all over the world…..and I will be telling you all about it in the chapters that are coming up! CHAPTER 5: 1979-1980 Winning, whingeing and record breaking strong men! Hello again and welcome to chapter five! With apologies to fans of spaghetti westerns you could say in this chapter I remember some guys that were good, at least one bad (although I hear he has mellowed with age! ), and occasionally the ugly happenings and behaviour of people from my career in strength. This time the action overlaps with chapter four as it is squeezed into the end of the 1970s and the start of the 1980s; a time when my powerlifting prowess kept on growing up to some of my best-ever results and other opportunities to compete in strength-based competitions appeared: I am of course talking about strongman contests. Back in the 1970s strongman contests were rare and the competitors even rarer. Unlike today with their Grand Prix events, prize money and professional competitors that train specifically for strongman contests, there were no professional strongmen (other than circus and vaudeville type performers). A TV programme called ‘World’s Strongest Man’ was created by Transworld Sports in 1977 but it wasn’t very worldwide at all as all the competitors were Americans (except for Franco Columbu who lived in America anyway). * 1977 Worlds Strongest Man contest - Franco Columbu and Paul Anderson The TV producers looked around for guys known to the public for their strength and invited them to compete. Guys like WWF (now WWE) wrestler Ken Patera who had been America’s strongest Olympic lifter and had lifted in the 1972 Olympic games in Munich; Bruce Wilhelm the current strongest lifter at the time in America; Lou Ferrigno, at that time the world’s biggest bodybuilder and newly famous on Television as green-skinned The Incredible Hulk; George Frenn a hammer thrower and record-breaking powerlifter from the original Westside Barbell club run by Bill ‘Peanuts’ West; bodybuilder and strongman Mike Dayton who was the first to sell a training course that put the focus on mind control. Using his techniques Mike used to break real police handcuffs in his escapology act! American Football player Bob Young was the big brother of world champion powerlifter Doug Young, then came Jon Cole who was well past his best (Jon had been a fantastic powerlifter and Olympic lifter), and of course Franco Columbu 1976 Mr Olympia (and later 1981 Mr Olympia). And that was it – 8 competitors only. Wilhelm won the contest and won again in 1978 then retired. Going back to the 1977 contest, Franco lost his balance running with a 420 lb (190 kg) refrigerator on his back and wrecked one of his legs. This came back to haunt him when he took the 1981 Mr Olympia title with thighs that looked untrained and (oh no! There goes Magnus on his rant against the 1981 Olympia result again! Better change the subject fast! ) caused a storm of controversy. Anyway, you get the picture – guys were invited to compete simply because they were known to the public and usually when they tackled the strongman events they had never done them before, so records back then were much lower than today but injuries were much more common because they did not know the best techniques to use when performing these events. My first invitation to compete in strongman came in January 1979, and what I am going to tell you next will probably make you think I was crazy to accept. A powerlifting meet was being organised by Gus Rethwisch who had finished in fifth place in the 1978 Worlds Strongest Man (years later Gus played ‘Buzzsaw’ in Arnold’s movie ‘The Running Man’). The meet was by invitation only and would feature world champions and world record holders from all over the world, and it was going to be held in Hawaii. ‘Fantastic’ I thought, ‘who would not want to go to Hawaii?’ I was all set to go when a completely unexpected letter from Wally Holland who was president of BAWLA dropped through my letterbox. It said that I had been selected to compete in Britain’s Strongest Man which was being organised and would be shown on TV by Transworld Sport. The contest was going to take place in Woking, Surrey at the same time as the Hawaii trip. Now let’s see – Woking or Hawaii? With apologies to Woking, I think most people would have taken the Hawaii trip but I settled on the Woking contest (the Hawaii event went ahead without me and became an annual fixture in the powerlifting calendar) instead! There was a lot of prestige involved in this strongman contest. I had been selected as a European champion powerlifter along with Andy Drzewiecki (pronounced drev-e-at-ski), British 110 kg class Olympic lifting champion. In earlier days Andy had been a regional discus and shot put champion and won a bronze medal lifting in the 1978 Commonwealth Games. He also finished in tenth place in the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Andy was a very strong guy, regularly clean and jerking overhead 185 kg (407 lb) in competitions. I was not sure what to expect in the contest but was ready and eager to go and do my best. I travelled down to the contest with Bill Anderson and Grant Anderson (not related despite their surnames), but both of them were Highland Games legends, especially Bill. And Bill gave me some advice about how to deal with David Webster (remember him from the first chapter in my life story? ). Bill was also involved with Webster, appearing in contests and shows for him and, as a canny Scot of more mature years than I was at the time, he told me that whenever Webster arranged anything for Bill to do Bill would insist on being paid up front. He also gave me good advice, saying “don’t do anything for nothing! You are the champion in your chosen sport you have put in the time, effort and money to get where you are, so always insist on payment off anyone you deal with.” As the contest got under way I assessed my competitors, two of them in particular standing out from the rest in size – Geoff Capes (pictured above) the 6 foot 6 inch 22 stone (140 kg) International shot put competitor, and just a fraction shorter but lighter at roughly 19 stone (121 kg) professional wrestler Pat Roach. Similar in size they may have been but as the competition progressed I found they were almost opposites personality-wise. Pat Roach (pictured above - 3rd from left) became famous for his role as Bomber in the much-loved TV series ‘Auf Wiedersehen Pet,’ and much like the character he played was a quiet, genial gentleman who worked hard to stay in shape for wrestling, not only going to the gym but also doing hundreds of bodyweight-only squats throughout the day no matter where he was. Pat also appeared in lots of movies. Ironically he usually played the bad guy heavy roles, but in real life Pat was most definitely a good guy. To read more of this chapter and the rest of the chapters on ‘Ray Nobile – My Life in the Iron Game’ contact Ray Nobile at raynobile@gmail.com to purchase this eBook, at the cost of only 5 Euros! (price subject to change). NOTE by Strength Oldschool: A fairly recent Interview with Strongman Geoff Capes can be viewed below...

I have collected first-hand accounts on how Arnold Schwarzenegger really trained including info on his diet. I'm a massive fan of Arnold, but let’s face it, there’s a ton of bullshit information out there online, in books, in magazines etc which makes it difficult knowing what to believe. Well here’s first hand accounts taken from people who have trained with Arnold and observed him training in real life. FIRST HAND ACCOUNTS David C New mentions: Dan Brillantino's response to David C New: For anyone who is not familar with Dr. Michael Walczak... Dr. Michael Walczak (photo below) was a sports nutritionist and helped bodybuilders such as Arnold Schwarzenegger early in their career. He was a judge at bodybuilding competitions and had a front row seat on most competitions where he photographed the competitors. Jerry Brainum mentions: Dan Brillantino's response to Jerry Brainum: Jerry Brainum's response to Dan Brillantino: Dan Brillantino's response to Jerry Brainum: Jerry Brainum's response to Dan Brillantino: Some info on Rheo H Blair and his special protein mix by Montague: * Part of the article below displays information on bodybuilding legend Larry Scott taking Rheo Blair's protein supplements. More info on Rheo Blair's Protein. Nathan Pearl responds to Jerry Brainum: Ric Drasin (RIP) talked to Jerry Brainum to discuss how Arnold Schwarzenegger really trained [The video could not be embedded - Click on Ric's name to watch the video]. Another video of Ric talking to Jerry about how bodybuilders like Arnold really trained back in the day. Arnold's Steroid Cycle If you have an opinion on how Arnold really trained, add your comments below. Take care, Keep training hard, Strength Oldschool

Back in Aug 7, 2014, Bodybuilding Legend Bill Grant reported the following... * Photo above: Harold Poole at 18 Years Old BRIEF BIO ON HAROLD POOLE Harold Poole (Dec. 25, 1943 - Aug. 7, 2014 ) was a former AAU, IFBB and WBBG professional bodybuilder. Poole's athleticism was apparent very early on. He was quarterback on his football team at Shortridge High School in Indianapolis, placed fourth in the state high school wrestling championships, ran 440 yards in 50 seconds and put the 12 pound shot 55 feet. In 1960, Poole entered the AAU Mr. America and, at the age of 16, took 18th place. His final AAU teen opportunity came in June 1963, where he won most muscular, but was the runner-up to Vern Weaver. Three months later, Poole switched to the IFBB and, at age 19, he won the Mr. Universe. In 1964, he became the first African-American to be named IFBB Mr. America. Starting in 1965, Poole became the only man to compete in the first three Mr. Olympia contests finishing runner-up to Larry Scott in the first two Olympias. * Photo below: 1963 Mr Universe - Harold Poole Wins at 19 Years Old * Photo below: 1966 Mr Olympia - Chuck Sipes - Sergio Oliva - Harold Poole He retired from bodybuilding competition following the 1982 IFBB Night Of Champions, where he placed outside the top 10. He lived in Florida, where he continued to train with weights and practice martial arts until the end of 2010, when he moved to New York City. He was inducted to the IFBB Hall of Fame in 2004 and the WBBG Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2008, Poole was voted the Greatest Teenage Bodybuilder of All-Time. COMPETITION / AWARDS HISTORY 1960 Mr America - AAU, 18th Mr Mid-America - AAU, Most Muscular, 2nd 1961 Mr America - AAU, 4th Junior Mr America - AAU, Overall Winner 1962 Mr America - AAU, Most Muscular, 1st Mr America - AAU, 2nd Mr North America - AAU, Winner 1963 Mr America - AAU, Most Muscular, 1st Mr America - AAU, 2nd Teen Mr America - AAU, 2nd Universe - IFBB, Tall, 1st Universe - IFBB, Overall Winner 1964 Mr America - IFBB, Tall, 1st Mr America - IFBB, Overall Winner 1965 Mr. Olympia - IFBB, 2nd 1966 Mr. Olympia - IFBB, 2nd 1967 Pro Mr America - WBBG, Winner Mr. Olympia - IFBB, 2nd 1968 Pro Mr America - WBBG, Winner 1971 Mr USA - IFBB, Tall, 1st 1972 Mr World - IFBB, Tall, 3rd 1980 Night of Champions - IFBB, 12th 1981 Grand Prix California - IFBB, 7th Grand Prix New England - IFBB, 9th Night of Champions - IFBB, 6th Canada Pro Cup - IFBB, 8th 1982 World Pro Championships - IFBB, 9th 2004 IFBB Hall of Fame 2007 WBBG Hall of Fame timfogarty states... Vince B states... Harold Poole used to work as a bodyguard for the first ever supermodel, Twiggy. * Photo below: Twiggy, Harold Poole and Denie Walters (far right). Other two men I don't know. * Photo above: Michael Guibilo, Twiggy, Harold Poole, Denie Walters. Man on far right, not sure. A friend of Harold's stated the following... Richard Young stated... TheSpritz0 stated the following... Michael Mavroudes response to TheSpritz0... There are stories of Harold being a "bad ass" and suffering mental issues... John Backos stated... Jason Allen stated... NYC girl stated... Robert Mansfield stated... Tony Estrada stated... Some older photos of Harold before he passed away... * Photo below: Harold Poole at 66 years old. * Photo below: Harold Poole from around 2008 looking big. RIP Harold Poole. Watch the following video to hear Leroy Colbert's opinions of Harold Poole... If anyone would like to share stories on Harold please comment below.

Casey Viator Talks Arms By Doris Barrilleaux Doris: How big were your arms when you began training? Casey: When I started training I had about a 17 1/2 inch arm. Doris: Along with the methods you use today, what were some of the methods that worked for you in your early years of arm training? Casey: I used to use a lot of heavy, heavy movements, barbell curls, heavy lying tricep extensions, heavy dipping and chinning. Everything was done pretty strong. I moved slowly so I've never had elbow or knee problems. I did this without thinking. Arthur Jones later contributed because he brought all this to light. I now understand what it takes for intensity in each set. Doing high intensity sets in the beginning, I didn't quite understand what I was doing. I was doing multiple sets - 8 sets for my biceps in one movement. I was sacrificing my recuperative power, my ability to recuperate from one exercise period to the next. * Arthur Jones (Inventor of Nautilus) using his Nautilus Pullover Machine Doris: How powerful are your forearms, biceps and triceps? Casey: I'm doing 225 pounds on a wrist curl, biceps 225 pounds strict curl (see photo above), and triceps - I do 300 pounds lying tricep extensions. NOTE: * Casey Viator compares forearms with bodybuilding legend, Gunnar Rosbo Doris: How big do you think it's possible to build an arm? Casey: There is so much lying in the books. I think a 21 inch arm would be freaky and scare people. I don't think anyone in the field has 20 inch arms. Doris: On the stage one time they asked Boyer Coe (see photo below) what his measurements were and he said he didn't know what they were and he didn't care. He said people can lie. It is how you look that's important. Casey: That's exactly how I feel about it when people ask me about my measurements. I don't care what my measurements are as long as I look good. Doris: Who's arm impressed you most during your early career? Casey: Larry Scott all the way. I think Robby Robinson has a nice arm as far as peak. * Larry Scott at Robert Nailon's gym in 1978. Doris: What do bodybuilders do wrong in their arm training? Casey: They train too much. And they quit right when they are starting to warm up that muscle. They quit at 8 reps when they should go on. I personally think the maximum you can do is 6 sets for both biceps and triceps and still get maximum gains with intensity. 6 sets of 10 - 15 reps progressive. Repetition, you know, also contributes to all these injuries from doing many sets. Your elbows and knees just have so much lubrication. Doris: I read an article on a woman bodybuilder that said she does 20 or 30 reps. How do you feel about that? Casey: She can do that, but the thing is she has to save herself. If she'd do 2 sets all the way to failure, she'd accomplish a lot more. When you try to do too many reps, you're saving yourself for the next set. Doris: Do you have any comments on arms and overall physique symmetry? Casey: WOW! That's going to take some time. I think arms are my best asset. I think if you can display them right it is one of the basic things to win a physique contest. Proportions mean so much. You have to have everything balanced, that's what the problem is with professional bodybuilders today. There's not a balanced physique. Well, Zane has it but he's not big enough. * Frank Zane - 1966 Mr Olympia Contest Doris: Do you think size is that important? Casey: Definitely! If you're symmetrical. Zane has come as close as possible because his calves are proportioned to his thighs and he is cut up and can display his physique well. Doris: What do you think about women and bodybuilding? Casey: I think it is beautiful, a beautiful healthy sport. I just hope the money starts rolling in for you people and things start coming on strong. * Female Bodybuilder Lisa Lyon Doris: You say you think a man's arms are his most important part, right? On a female anatomy do you think the upper or lower body is more important? Casey: I think the lower body is more important as far as calves, buttocks, lower back and abdominals. I think the upper body is last. Doris: That's the way I feel. I think the lower part is most important and the rest should be in proportion. So many women are now going into the bulky look. Casey: I've never seen a woman's calves too big. The Europeans have a standard there that's very good. They keep their calves up. All the Europeans believe in the calves and lower body. Few own cars, so they get a lot of exercise. * Cory Everson Doris: Do you have any amusing stories from your training career? Casey: When I first came down from Louisiana to work with Arthur (see photo below) I was living at his house with his son Gary. Arthur was into making him protein milk shakes. He thought up one made with peaches and fried chicken livers. He mixed it up in a blender and handed it to his son and said; "Drink it." Gary sniffed it and said; "Dad, I just can't do it." Arthur became very obnoxious demanding that he drink it. They argued back and forth, and when Gary took a sip he gagged. Arthur snatched it from him saying; "Give me that damn thing! " He took a whiff of it and said; "WOW, that does smell bad! " and he poured it down the sink. He also used to make the same kid that we're talking about squat, (he had a squat rack in his living room) squat until he'd - how shall I say - put dropping in his pants and pass out! EDITOR'S NOTE Arthur Jones is a staunch realist in all things. He believes to grow fast, hard and strong --- that means training to failure. I've personally witnessed a bodybuilder retching from going to the maximum in a 'Nautilus' style leg routine under Jones' scrutiny. Jones can get a trainer to achieve more in one set that most men can get out of 4 or 5 workouts. To him, intensity is everything. The 70's were his - rather, the 'Nautilus Decade'. * Deland Florida - Arthur Jones [pictured centre] (1971) * Info on Nautilus Gym Equipment * "Jones patented the Nautilus machine and introduced it to the public in 1970 - First to a weight lifting convention in Los Angeles, California. He would hold demos on how the machine worked (The Blue Monster - pictured in Iron Man magazine Nov. 1970). This is the machine Arthur hauled out to California. In 1975 Dr. Michael O'shea opened his facility, Sport Training Institute in New York City, and offered only Nautilus Equipment. It was the advent of Nautilus machines that made resistance training appealing to the general public, fueling the fitness boom of the 70's and 80's and resulting in Nautilus gyms in strip malls across America. They could use the nautilus name for branding as long as they ran their business in an ethical manner and only offered nautilus equipment with the exception of utility benches etc. There were no franchise fees to use the nautilus logo all you had to do was buy the 12 piece circuit, this did get the nautilus name out across the country but it also posed a problem for Arthur to protect the rites of his brand. Jones sold Nautilus in 1986 and founded MedX where his aim was to perfect the testing of human strength, endurance, and range of movement." ~ CyberPump.com Casey Viator now lives in California and trains with Mike Mentzer. As this goes to press, he has just won his first IFBB Pro Grand Prix contest. Nine years after winning the AAU Mr. America, Casey Viator is finally getting the credit and publicity his greatness deserves. * Mike Mentzer - Samir Bannout - Casey Viator