You may have heard bodybuilding described as an art. This is no coincidence, because it is the only sport that combines sculpted muscles, sex appeal and a tan. Sculpting even the smallest muscle in the human body is a serious challenge, and these people deserve our utmost respect.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Flex Wheeler, Ronnie Coleman and Frank Zane are just a few of the big names in bodybuilding. As every year, 2019 added more names to the list of the best.
If you’re curious to find out who they are, this ranking will show you the top bodybuilders of the past year, from Bulgarian champions to the winners of the Mr. Olympia contest.
Nenko Andreev
2019 was a very successful year for bodybuilder Nenko Andreev. At the end of March, he won gold in the Men’s Physique category at a major bodybuilding contest in Dubai, where he was the youngest bodybuilder and the only European to compete. Despite this, he managed to beat all 22 other participants.
Just two weeks later, at the IFBB competition in Malmö, Sweden, he won all three titles in the Men’s Physique category: first place in the men’s division, first place in the juniors’ division, and the title of “overall champion” (champion of champions across all categories).
The wins continued at the competition in Malta on April 21. There, he placed first in the juniors’ division and fourth in the men’s division. On April 27, he won first place, the gold medal and the junior bodybuilding tournament title in Serbia.
Nenko Andreev has been an athlete since childhood. He has trained in tennis and volleyball. He has been working out for five years, but initially treated it simply as a hobby. He has been bodybuilding professionally for one year. The athlete, coached by Slavi Goranchovski, is only 20 years old, but that hasn’t stopped him from achieving impressive results.
Nikolay Nikolov
In 2019, Nikolay Nikolov won the national and overall bodybuilding titles at the national championship in Blagoevgrad. This was the bodybuilder’s first time competing in the under-90 kg category. He had previously won the under-80 kg category, where he became champion four times.
Nikolay Nikolov took his first steps in bodybuilding in 2010, when he met coach Dani Draganichki. Under his guidance, the bodybuilder won his first championship trophy. Nikolov is now coached by Martin Rusanov.
Nikolay Rashkov
2019 was also a very successful year for 47-year-old bodybuilder Nikolay Rashkov. He broke into the world PRO elite with an incredible performance at Wings of Strength Romania Muscle Fest Pro Am.
Rashkov has been training since he was 16, and his first competition was in 1996. He placed 6th in the under-80 kg category, then took second place at the 1997 national championship for students (men and juniors). This was followed by a long 11-year break from competing. In 2009, he placed first at the Odessa, Ukraine championship in the classic bodybuilding over-180 cm category, and third at the Balkan Championships in Bor, Serbia.
Brandon Curry
Brandon Curry, nicknamed “The Phenomenon” for his physical gifts, proportions and symmetry, has recently also been called Mr. Olympia. This happened earlier this year, when the most prestigious international bodybuilding competition, Mr. Olympia, named 37-year-old Curry the best of the best for 2019.
Brandon’s athletic nature showed itself in his youth, when he played football and took part in track and field and gymnastics. He discovered fitness at just 6 years old, when he received a pair of children’s dumbbells for his birthday. Inspired by the action heroes in G.I. Joe and by Sylvester Stallone as Rocky and Rambo, Brandon became passionate about fitness, wanting to become a mountain of muscle just like them. Over time, his passion grew, and he began building a career in the field.
In 2003, he entered and won his first bodybuilding contest. In June 2006, he became runner-up in the heavyweight division at the NPC Junior National Championships, weighing 86 kg. In 2008, now weighing 99 kg, he won first place at the NPC USA Championships, launching his professional bodybuilding career.
Over the next 9 years, Brandon competed in 24 professional bodybuilding contests. Some of his most notable results include 1st place at the 2013 IFBB Arnold Classic Brazil, 1st place at the 2015 IFBB Toronto Pro Supershow, 1st place at the 2017 Arnold Classic Australia, and victory at the 2019 Arnold Classic.
William Bonac
William Bonac won the prestigious second place at the 2019 Mr. Olympia contest. He earned the same distinction at the Arnold Classic Ohio, bringing his professional record to seven 2nd-place finishes out of 30 titles won since 2012. His record also includes four 3rd-place finishes and seven first-place finishes. His most recent victories came in 2019, when he won first place at the Arnold Classic Australia.
Flex Wheeler and Kai Greene are William Bonac’s idols, inspiring him to train harder and harder. Today, his physique is one of the best in the sport.
His successful performances in most of the contests he enters are down to his huge arms and legs, as well as his dedication to proper nutrition.
“I change my training routine once every three months, but I vary my exercises every week. For example, one week I work more with barbells and a machine, and the next week I focus on dumbbells,” he once explained, sharing the “secret” behind his training routine.
Hadi Choopan
The 2019 Mr. Olympia third-place winner, Hadi Choopan, is an example not only of an enviable physique, but also of an inspiring story of hard work and success.
The 32-year-old Iranian grew up in a poor family, which meant he had to start working at an early age. This, however, did not stop him from developing an interest in bodybuilding. He took his first steps in 2000, at just 13, mimicking famous bodybuilders’ poses in front of his family. But because he was relatively short, at 1.62 m, they made fun of him.
Despite this, Choopan managed to build muscle and become a true bodybuilder. He hired his first personal trainer in 2002, and just 3 years after entering the world of professional bodybuilding, he placed third in a national competition. From 2008 to 2013, Hadi won more national titles, as well as a silver medal at the WBPF World Bodybuilding Championships.
In 2013, Ali Nemati became his coach, and Choopan’s professional bodybuilding career flourished. For three consecutive years—2013, 2014 and 2015—he won gold at the WBPF World Championships. In 2017, he took first place at the amateur Mr. Olympia, and in 2019 he placed third at the Mr. Olympia contest itself.
Dexter Jackson
Dexter Jackson has won more titles than any other professional bodybuilder to date. At 50, he has an unprecedented 29 titles from competitions affiliated with the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness, despite starting his professional bodybuilding career in 1999.
He has competed in Mr. Olympia 20 times, placing fourth in 2019. In 2008, however, Jackson took first place. Then, four years later, in 2012, he also won the Masters Olympia, becoming the first bodybuilder to hold first place in both competitions. To this day, he remains the only one.
Jackson is the second-oldest bodybuilder, after Albert Beckles, to win a professional competition. The competition was the Masters Olympia, where he took the title at the age of 43.
In addition to placing fourth at Mr. Olympia, Jackson also took first place in the 2019 Tampa Pro Men’s Bodybuilding competition.