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Top 10 Bodybuilders With The Greatest Pectoral Development

In both the 1974 and 1975 Mr. Olympia contests, four immortal chest masters Arnold Schwarzenegger, Franco Columbu, Serge Nubret and Lou Ferrigno–flexed on the same stage in what were arguably the most pectacular displays in bodybuilding history.

More than 30 years later, while assembling this list of the top 10 male chests of all time, it quickly became apparent that, more than any other bodypart, the standards for pectorals have changed the least over the past three decades.

 

Today’s typical Olympia competitors walk around on legs far superior to those of previous generations, but the top four finishers at the last Mr. O did not possess markedly better chests than the four legends listed above.

In fact, judging by pectoral size, proportion and details–with a few exceptions–today’s bodybuilding elite have lesser chests than the very best of the ’70s and ’80s. For that reason, only two current competitors made it to our top 10. Present professionals such as Johnnie Jackson and Branch Warren would have made a top 20, but so would lesser knowns from yesteryear such as Josef Grolmus and Tyrone Youngs.
So why were the top chests better in 1974 than in 2010?
In two words: free weights. Many current champs rely on machines for the bulk of their sets, but most of the pecs on our honor roll were built the old-fashioned way–with flat and incline barbell presses, dumbbell flyes and dips. Time has yet to improve on barbells, dumbbells and parallel bars for constructing a thick, powerful, finished chest.

10 Roy Callender

Underappreciated today, Callender won two IFBB pro contests in 1979 and placed fourth at the 1981 Mr. Olympia. His dense pectorals were slashed with fanlike clefts from his sternum to their rounded bottoms, and his keg-sized rib cage added to his nearly unbeatable side chest pose. Callender trained with very high volume, sometimes doing more than 50 sets per workout for chest.

9 Serge Nubret

From the front, Serge Nubret had one of the most aesthetically pleasing physiques ever, and his chest was a key factor in this assessment. The man who finished second in the 1973 Mr. Olympia lacked the pec thickness of others in our top 10, and yet his perfectly sculpted chest seemed to have been meticulously carved from marble.

Nubret mostly credits the bench press for his pec development.

8 Franco Columbo

Although Columbu stands only 5’5″, his pecs were not only stupendously thick, but, unlike others of his stature, they were also large from top to bottom and side to side, and they could have looked at home on 6’5″ Lou Ferrigno. Their most unique quality was the unparalleled cleft that segregated the upper region from the rest, as if the upper pecs were separate muscles (they’re not).

The two-time Mr. O (1976, ’81) attributes most of his size to barbell presses (flat and incline) and dips.

7 Gary Strydom

Strydom’s pecs were far from the thickest on our list, but their lower and outer perimeters were boldly delineated, and they were perpetually striated. At his best in the late ’80s, his flexed chest resembled two mounds of perfectly aligned spaghetti.

He utilized moderate volume and repetitions, as well as both compound and isolation exercises.

6 Ronnie Coleman

Two big reasons why Coleman will be trying for Sandow number nine on September 30 are his left and right pectorals. Throughout his reign atop the bodybuilding world, few challengers have been able to hang when he puffs up his pecs during side shots or when he induces a flurry of ridges by crunching out most-musculars.

Coleman goes as heavy as possible for 10-12 reps per set, and he built his chest primarily with barbell and dumbbell presses.

5 Markus Ruhl

The antithesis to Nubret is Germany’s Ruhl, for there’s nothing artful about Ruhl’s physique. It’s scary big and never more so than when he’s crushing most-musculars and his pecs are redolent of planets colliding.

Ruhl, who has won two IFBB pro shows, relies primarily on machine presses in his current chest training.

4 Bertil Fox

Currently serving a life sentence in prison for double murder, Fox was once one of the world’s best bodybuilders, finishing fifth in the 1983 Mr. Olympia. His pectorals–perhaps the thickest ever–made one wonder if three sets of pecs were grafted, one on top of the other, onto the originals. Fox built them via high volume, heavy weights and basic movements.

3 Lee Haney

Haney and Coleman share the record of eight Mr. Olympia titles. During his Olympia reign (1984-91), few came close to matching the size, shape and striations of Haney’s chest, and he used his pecs in poses such as the most-muscular, front lat spread and even the front double biceps to distinguish himself from his smaller challengers. Heavy pyramided pressing movements were primarily responsible for his pec size.

2 Lou Ferrigno

With size as the number-one criterion, it’s probable that no one before or since could match the chest of the Incredibly Hulking star at his best. His squarish thick-as-pie pecs and deep broad rib cage helped propel Ferrigno to two Mr. Universe titles (1973-74) while in his early 20s, and they were still tough to top when he returned to the Olympia stage in his early 40s.

Ferrigno pyramided his presses and stressed his chest from a variety of angles.

1 Arnold Schwarzenegger

There are a multitude of ways to assess Schwarzenegger California governor, superstar actor, business magnate and seven-time Mr. O but in evaluating his chest in the first half of the ’70s, his pecs were thick, broad and proportionately developed from top to bottom.

He favored relatively high volume, low to moderate reps and free-weight basics.

Author: Greg Merritt from Flex Magazine
References:

COPYRIGHT 2010 Weider Publications

COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning

SOURCE: simplyshredded.com

Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown

1. Sit down on a pull-down machine with a wide bar attached to the top pulley. Make sure that you adjust the knee pad of the machine to fit your height. These pads will prevent your body from being raised by the resistance attached to the bar.


2. Grab the bar with the palms facing forward using the prescribed grip. Note on grips: For a wide grip, your hands need to be spaced out at a distance wider than shoulder width. For a medium grip, your hands need to be spaced out at a distance equal to your shoulder width and for a close grip at a distance smaller than your shoulder width.


3. As you have both arms extended in front of you holding the bar at the chosen grip width, bring your torso back around 30 degrees or so while creating a curvature on your lower back and sticking your chest out. This is your starting position.


4. As you breathe out, bring the bar down until it touches your upper chest by drawing the shoulders and the upper arms down and back. Tip: Concentrate on squeezing the back muscles once you reach the full contracted position. The upper torso should remain stationary and only the arms should move. The forearms should do no other work except for holding the bar; therefore do not try to pull down the bar using the forearms.


5. After a second at the contracted position squeezing your shoulder blades together, slowly raise the bar back to the starting position when your arms are fully extended and the lats are fully stretched. Inhale during this portion of the movement.


6. Repeat this motion for the prescribed amount of repetitions.

Variations: The behind the neck variation is not recommended as it can be hard on the rotator cuff due to the hyperextension created by bringing the bar behind the neck.

V-Bar Pullup

1. Start by placing the middle of the V-bar in the middle of the pull-up bar (assuming that the pull-up station you are using does not have neutral grip handles). The V-Bar handles will be facing down so that you can hang from the pull-up bar through the use of the handles.


2. Once you securely place the V-bar, take a hold of the bar from each side and hang from it. Stick your chest out and lean yourself back slightly in order to better engage the lats. This will be your starting position.


3. Using your lats, pull your torso up while leaning your head back slightly so that you do not hit yourself with the chin-up bar. Continue until your chest nearly touches the V-bar. Exhale as you execute this motion.


4. After a second hold on the contracted position, slowly lower your body back to the starting position as you breathe in.


5. Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions.

Variations:

• If you are new at this exercise and do not have the strength to perform it, use a pull-up assist machine if available. These machines use weight to help you push your bodyweight.


• Otherwise, a spotter holding your legs can help.

On the other hand, more advanced lifters can add weight to the exercise by using a weight belt that allows the addition of weighted plates.

V-Bar Pulldown

1. Sit down on a pull-down machine with a V-Bar attached to the top pulley.


2. Adjust the knee pad of the machine to fit your height. These pads will prevent your body from being raised by the resistance attached to the bar.


3. Grab the V-bar with the palms facing each other (a neutral grip). Stick your chest out and lean yourself back slightly (around 30-degrees) in order to better engage the lats. This will be your starting position.


4. Using your lats, pull the bar down as you squeeze your shoulder blades. Continue until your chest nearly touches the V-bar. Exhale as you execute this motion. Tip: Keep the torso stationary throughout the movement.


5. After a second hold on the contracted position, slowly bring the bar back to the starting position as you breathe in.


6. Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions.

Caution: Avoid the temptation to use a weight so big that you need to start swinging your torso in order to perform the exercise.