Who are the coaches that really bring their athletes to the win?
While bodybuilding is highly regarded as an individual sport (you are your biggest competition), the truth is that every successful bodybuilder, especially in recent times, has a coach to guide them through their bodybuilding journey. Though the coaches are not the ones putting in the work or stepping on stage, they really help build and fine tune a bodybuilder’s physique through things like diet, organized training routines, and supplementation. With the advancement in exercise and nutrition science, coaches have become an indispensable part of a bodybuilder’s career.
Experienced bodybuilding coaches can help their clients make significant progress and can help them achieve results in the gym and on-stage. Some bodybuilding coaches have achieved celebrity status and are chased by athletes for their services, so who are the top bodybuilding coaches in the world?
Our team at Generation Iron has broken down a list of the best bodybuilding coaches.
The Best Bodybuilding Coaches
Neil Hill
Almost all the coaches on the list have been former bodybuilders. Their own experiences as bodybuilders enable them to put themselves in their clients’ shoes and improve their performance.
Neil ‘Yoda’ Hill is a popular name in the pro-bodybuilding community and counts stars like Flex Lewis, William Bonac, Mr. Olympia champ Big Ramy and many others as his clients. Neil’s Y3T training program has also made a mark in the bodybuilding world.
Dennis James
Dennis James is a familiar face in the bodybuilding world. He was a regular on the Mr. Olympia stage as a presenter and has also featured in the original Generation Iron movie giving tips to Roelly Winklaar and training alongside Dennis Wolf.
Dennis hosts his own bodybuilding show and has a supplement company. Although James has stopped competing, his current physique conditioning would make you think otherwise. Dennis’ truly puts his money where his mouth is.
Charles Glass
The Mecca of bodybuilding, Gold’s Gym, Venice is the home to renowned coach, Charles Glass. Glass is a former professional bodybuilder and now spends all his time in the gym training his clients. He’s very popular amongst the social media influencers and can be seen in many YouTube and Instagram posts.
Charles Glass steps into the Gold’s Gym at 4 am every day and spends most of the day training his clients. Glass has a unique training style where he uses many variations of the regular exercises to target muscles and to spark new growth. His clients include Flex Wheeler, Steve Cook, Guy Cisternino, Ben Pakulski, etc.
Chris Lewis
Chris Lewis jumped into the limelight when his client, the late Shawn Rhoden won the 2019 Mr. Olympia title. Lewis also trains the 2008 Mr. Olympia, Dexter Jackson who gives everyone a run for their money at the bodybuilding’s biggest show.
Lewis has a long list of clients including some online influencers. Lewis is active on Instagram and Youtube where he shares pictures and videos of him training his clients. You could follow him on Instagram and learn some of his techniques.
Hany Rambod
Hany “The Pro Creator” Rambod has a long list of successful clients including 7X Mr. Olympia winner Phil Heath, 4X Mr. Olympia winner Jay Cutler, 4X Ms. Figure Olympia winner, Nicole Wilkins, and 4X Mr. Olympia Men’s Physique champion, Jeremy Buendia. But perhaps his most famous clientele now is the Classic Physique Olympia champion Chris Bumstead, as well as Derek Lunsford, and of course Hadi Choopan.
Rambod’s clients have won a total of 25 Mr. Olympia titles and his clients have dominated their respective divisions in the same year bringing all the Mr. Olympia trophies to Hany. Hany has also worked with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his training program FST-7 is followed by many pros in the industry.
Best Bodybuilding Coaches Wrap Up
Overall, being a bodybuilding coach is a lot more work than people think. It is not just telling someone what to eat and when to eat it, but instead a bodybuilding coach will help mold someone into the best possible version of themselves that they can. A bodybuilding coach writes out diet, training, and supplementation regimens for each individual client, and watches them morph into their stage physique, and then reshapes them for the off season, only to start all over again when it comes time for another show.
Who do you think is the best bodybuilding coach of all time? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.
*Header image courtesy of Envato Elements.
