Objectively, I think Phil is an easy shoo in for the top 5 because his shoulders were huge, round, and separated, and they look good from any angle. But I agree Phil will be on here for many other body parts
Sohan Saha this is where bodybuilding gets interesting. In isolation, Phil has great looking AND BIG shoulders, but if I’m looking at him on stage I’m rarely ever looking at them apart from his RDB. Kind of like Ronnie’s shoulders in that they’re great and you really notice them if you crop the rest of him out, but you leave the whole physique in the frame and they just get lost in the mix and don’t really reappear unless you go down the list and do a body part by body part analysis on him. In contrast, with a guy like Kevin it’s like SHOULDERS immediately even as he’s just waltzing onto the stage.
Levrone had the sickest delts AND triceps. Even when he came off the roids (mostly) after 2003, his "natural" body had such a beautiful and impressive structure for his delts/triceps/biceps.
If he ever actually arrived in shape, he'd be a lot smaller. I hate it when people compare his weight to Ronnie coleman's weight, because ronnie was so much more shredded.
The synthol comments about nasser reminded me of something: i like hadi Choopan but I think his shoulders look a little off too, like he may have some synthol in there
@@alemarioluiginator no it fucking isn’t!!! Hadi and most pros have small amounts of synthol or hylaurinic acid in a bunch of sites. Just look at Hadis shoulders last Olympia compared to year before. He looks the worst in training vids during off season. Him and Justin Rodriguez are the most obvious among the elite right now.
5:31 that split between his upper and lower pecs is amazing I’ve never seen separation so pronounced in someone’s chest. Awesome conditioning on this guy.
I simply want to say thanks my friend, a brilliantly put together video with excellent honest commentary. Love your channel and I eagerly await the next installments. Thank you from Belfast N Ireland
Hi Tom, im one of your fan. You videos have always provided top quality content and i always appreciate your hard work put in each videos. I have one suggestion that you should cover “the most complete bodybuilders” count down from 10 (or how many as depending on your opinion). I have searched the youtube and it has already “the most aesthetic which mainly is about the overall shape” “the biggest - mainly about size” “the greatest - about their impact and achievements”. What i mean by the most complete is i think this will be a suitable sequel after the series of body parts to see who have the most complete physics which mean have all the strong body parts. For example big ron is great in every body part but for his mid section, calves and triceps or phil is not known for his mid section and narrow structure. What i mean is that a bodybuilder that have no or least weak body parts and it should come in size, shape, developments, aesthetics, should to waist ratio, .... i had this idea in mind for a quite long time but my resource, time and knowledge wont let me do this topic perfectly and i think you are the one who is best suit for this one. Hope my comment and idea catch your attention. Many thanks!!!
It’s really cool how you got Arnie to guest at the end of every video. You must have some serious pull in the bodybuilding industry. ;) New to the channel, been binge watching since I found it.
I think one big reason Levrone was so great all around was he was one of less than a hand full of BB'rs that were Herculean & Apollonian at the same time. Great addition adding Roland C. in there. Wow, Some amazing delts with a lot of detail!
Tom can you make a video on the top legendary bodybuilding photographs, just got back from Valutainments Flex Wheeler interview and that black and white photo of Flex is just perfect 💪
Hear me out - Levrone’s shoulders (on their own) don’t blow me away. If I see him relaxed next to other guys - they don’t blow me away….. then the fucking guy poses - and the delts just stand out in every pose. Front double side chest rear poses most muscular - Kev’s shoulders stand out in every single pose he hits. Absolutely phenomenal
Tom ur video is good, I just feel like u can't leave Phil out when him and levrone look exactly the same in most poses and they the only ones with the 3d factor to their shoulders
Totally agree man. I noticed over the years that guys started having giant standout delt’s instead of biceps and tri’s. Shoulders are cool but there’s nothing like a big set of arms. The big shoulders make huge arms look much smaller than they really are.
@Southside Kettlebell Totally valid! Aesthetics are subjective but it's undeniable that you can't be a decent mass-monster without freakishly huge delts. And for people with narrow frames (like me) who want to look wider there's no 50 ways to do that: you have to bulk your shoulder girdle up
@@MeesterJ Depends on the legend. You had plenty of guys who had insanely oversized bis and long heads of the triceps with decent chests and shoulders.
I feel like many BBer’s have “invisible” shoulders that just like you said “get lost in the shuffle” because there’s so much else the eyes are drawn to; many times it feels like shoulders are just an anatomical necessity, a ball and socket joint and nothing else. They can seem more like “shoulders” than “deltoids”, a three headed muscle group. Good DELTS pop out like a good pair of biceps - they’re showy and proud and demanding of your attention. Wolf, Ruhl, Roelly, and Levrone really epitomize this type of delt development and I’m glad you included them here. Delts - NOT THE OVERALL SHOULDER GIRDLE - receive too little attention and it’s because most of the time they just blend in and “looks like it should be there” like the scapulas.
RIP Dallas McCarver. He’s smoking the current Mr.O in the shot which leads me to believe that had Dallas survived, he would of been our current and most likely the youngest Mr. Olympia of all time. Sad he never got a chance to live that out. Rest In Peace brother....
@Baldur I don't like what I am saying, but it is a harsh truth - he died due to his own stupidity. He prioritized drugs over training, his dosages were insane, you could see that from how much his face was swollen with water retention and how insanely huge his shoulders were while being so young. Maybe if he wasn't as oblivious, he would have still lived and maybe eventually became a Mr.O.
3:20 - Holy shit, this dude must have absolutely crushed it with the ladies in that kinda shape... That has got to be one of the most aesthetic male bodies I've ever seen. Dude, you couldn't even make a Ken doll or GI Joe with a more appealing and sculpted male muscular form. and 11:29 is just crazy badass.
You know when I saw Nasser is 3rd then I immediately thought that either Markus or Phil or Kevin didn't make the list. Then I thought it will be a tie between Kevin and Phil. I must say, not including Phil onto this list is quite interesting, to say the least. Although I see the points you've made regarding that choice but I don't agree: if a certain bodybuilder has like 5 top 3 bodyparts in history (Phil is a good contender for bi, tri, forearms, delts and traps or hams lets say) then he is just that good. No need to level the playing field artificially by saying that he'll have his time to shine, unless there's a rule that every bodybuilder may enter with only their best bodypart. It is what it is: some guys out there are/were just too good for the rest, it's not even fair. Other than that, this is a pretty neat list. I guess Juan Morel could have been mentioned with Kuclo and Lenartowitz as he has boulder shoulders and thus he is pretty epic in the hands clasped, but I'm fine with this list. Waiting for the rest and I hope there's at least one PS expert among your 40k+ subs who will eventually make a Frankenstein-monster out of the chosen bodyparts :)
Good choice for # 1. Kevin hands above the rest. Also very good research in mentioning Newman who had awesome delts and if not 4 cancer wouldve been a sure Mr. O.
Hey, Tom! When you are done with this series, maybe take into consideration a few topic ideas if you have not done them already. -Top bodybuilders in 70s, 80s, 90s,2000s, 2010s and a follow-up video of them competing against each other -Top underrated bodybuilders -Virtual showdown of all Olympia winners and Arnold Classic winners (I know there are a lot but hey...) and a follow-up video of them competing against each other -Top underrated bodybuilders -Best posers -Best ambassadors -Top unfortunate retirements -Virtual showdown and top 10 >could have been bodybuilders< from other sports (boxing, wwe, powerlifting) -Top bodybuilders (regardless if they still compete or not) in their best shape that are over 50 years -Top men`s open bodybuilders under 212 pounds -Top Master`s Olympia winners and showdown against each other -Top overrated bodybuilders -Top untouched full potentials -The direction the sport is going in Thank you for the quality content. Greetings from Romania!
Nah, that photo doesn't look like it was taken in 1977. That looks like early/mid '80s fashion to me so I'd say he was at least in his late teens when this photo was taken.
Yeah I know he probably warrants a spot. But everybody already knows how great Phil is. Not too many people know about Roland's or Pakulski's shoulders
That pic of a teenaged Kevin is proof of the fact that genetics play the most important role (apart from hard work) when it comes to peak potential in bodybuilding. So many folks think that simply using gear will give them Arnold's chest, Platz's wheels, or Roelly’s arms. That's not how it works. Gear will certainly help you if you work hard, but it will only take you so far.
Bodybuilding is 99% about genetic and profesionnal steroids cycle (that what the best coach in BB are known for and paid for, they are chimecist nnot actual trainers) the remainging 1 % is food and trainign, bjt i can guarantee you when you watch all these motivation type videps and everyone says food is number one blabla it's pure bs. Ronnie coleman with a basic cucle and ez training would still be top 5 pf all time no prob, the additionnnal work ethic won him the number one spot but genetics matters more than anything, you will never beat someone more gifted than you period. Just take a look at phil heath, until he ruined his mid section he was winning everything without giving a dman in the gym and probably dieting no more than 3 months before the show
How phil isn’t on there baffles me, when I first thought of best shoulders I thought of markus and Phil and for him to not be top 10 with how 3D they look is crazy
Tominator, you make top notch videos! i would like to see one where you only use contest pics tho, because a lot of gym/photoshoot/selfie photos are not very flattering to the athletes, due to no tan, no pump, bad lighting, etc...anyways, well done once again!
Thanks! I'd say that contest photos are the least flattering though usually because guys often sacrifice fullness to come in more conditioned, only to be washed out by the bright lights
Great vid as always. I'm most likely in the minority on this, but I prefer how you did it in the "best poses" series, where you just went through your favorites without being limited to a fixed number of entries, then named the best at the end of the video. I felt like that introduced me to a lot of names I otherwise wouldn't have known, plus it allowed for all sorts of different eras and physiques to be included in the discussion rather than just the freaks. That said I understand why you chose to go with a top 10 here. Long videos are labor intensive to make and often times ineffective at generating views. In any case this is not a complaint as I was just stating my personal preference when it comes to video format. Always looking forward to your new vids.
Yeah it's not only that but they get too repetitive and it's kind of a cop out where you don't have to commit to anyone. Ordering it is more arbitrary and a lot more difficult but also more fun
10. Ben bukowski 9. Roland cziurlock 8. Dennis wolf 7. Dallas mccarver 6. Jay cutler 5. Ronnie Coleman 4. Roelly winklaar 3. Nasser el sonbaty 2. Markus ruhl 1. Kevin levrone
Phil should've been here... He should have been second "atleast"... He's better than Jay, Ronnie and Roelly. He's even better than Kevin in most of the mandatories from a shoulders point of view. He was robbed on this list💔 But great video
I would have had Nasser a bit lower on the list but honestly gotta say its hard to argue with this list, Im reallying looking forward to the future top 10s!
I think I’d switch 1 and 2. I wouldn’t say Ruhl’s are prettier but my god they’re undeniable haha. Was surprised by a few other guys that got left out but I really enjoyed this list
Amazing video bro and really good picks...but cmon man...i agree with 99% of the things you say but.....phil heath should have no doubt be at least in the top 5 if not top 3.
Nasser after 1999 threw the bucket, stopped dieting and started to prepare and finish off alone that unfortunately plunged into Synthol After being robbed in 1997 nasser was only disgusted by bodybuilding, besides, he had no money to prepare due to the separation with his wife.
Wtf phil not even in top 10, come on bro, he's got the best delts ever along with levrone of course, rest of your picks are spot on i guess, you don't exclude the best out there just because he's gonna top other body parts list, i think phil and kevin tie for the 1st spot on the delts list
I think if your reasoning is flawed then your list is no good. What you said about having a weaker bodypart next to a bigger body part makes it stand out that much more, is like saying the pretty girl with the ugly fat friend next to her is the prettiest in a beauty contest, even prettier than the truly beautiful model standing amongst other beauties. Makes no sense, you can't do that. It just leads to more issues with confining that is already inherently difficult to judge, you should still be able to have somebody who's in perfect balance win, because they could STILL HAVE THE BIGGEST SHOULDERS regardless whether they don't sick out simply because THEY ARE LARGER AND MORE DETAILED. I mean just because nothing stands out as huge(because there's no weak body parts)doesn't mean the body parts aren't larger still or superior in size and detail to the one that looks huge in the other person with a weak body pay next to it. Like #10 yes his shoulders look huge because he has weak biceps making shoulders look substantially bigger but that DOESN'T MEAN that they are larger and better than a guy who didn't make the list because "they didn't stand out" you should be avle to look at them and tell which are bigger relative to each guys weight height how they look relative to the other guys in the lineups they are in or competing with. It's critical that you take into account that if they have a weaker part next to it that it could make it look larger than it really is so just do more comparisons on side by sides with other guys n do the same with guys who are prisoner but will seem like they would make the cut. You just can't let that have such an effect on the list because its wrong.
