THESE six people have muscles in excess; they are stacked, strong and have even been called scary. But how did they get this big? And why are their muscles so controversial? Come with us as we show you some of the most eye watering muscles we’ve ever had on the Truly channel, and the stories of how those muscles came to be.
Producers: Ruby Coote
Editor: Vanessa Nascimento
Producers: Ruby Coote
Editor: Vanessa Nascimento
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Muscles, muscles, muscles.
00:03These guys have got them in excess.
00:07The body isn't really meant to be
00:09between 330 and 350 pounds of muscle.
00:13They are stacked.
00:14I'm one of the biggest guys in the world
00:16to do the things I do.
00:19And no bigger biceps than Arnie.
00:22Sorry, Arnie.
00:24They are strong.
00:26You need to get on my back.
00:27Are you kidding?
00:28I'm not kidding.
00:3195% of the men in the gym
00:34will not be anywhere near lifting as heavy
00:36as I am going to be today.
00:38They have even been called scary.
00:41Literally, we had children scared of you.
00:44But how did they get this big?
00:46What do you recommend, bro? I'm trying to get huge.
00:49And why are their bodies so controversial to many?
00:53People constantly asking me about steroids.
00:56My voice is deep.
00:57People are questioning my gender.
01:00What?
01:01Let's see.
01:03I work out five to six days a week,
01:05about one and a half to two hours a day,
01:07depending on how much I'm yapping.
01:08Bodybuilder Craig is bursting with muscles.
01:11He's been fixated on growing his massive body,
01:14loving the perks that come with it.
01:16This is biggie big.
01:19He drives the ladies wild, just like his daddy.
01:22I just woke up and decided I want some muscles.
01:26Once I saw the progress,
01:27I just wanted more and more and more.
01:29You know, the tension I was getting.
01:31You guys probably saw that, the bus picture.
01:34That went kind of viral for a while.
01:36But he started out with a very different body
01:38to the one he has now.
01:40I was a toothpick in high school.
01:42I didn't start working out until I was 20.
01:45Going from 150 pounds to 350 pounds,
01:48that is quite a change.
01:51I mean, it's dramatic.
01:52Such a crazy comparison.
01:53I even liked my own pic.
01:54Being as huge as he is has its downsides.
01:57It's just kind of like a pyramid.
01:58You keep on going and going and going.
01:59You just tell yourself when it's enough.
02:02And you never want to stop
02:03because you are never satisfied.
02:05So you just keep on going.
02:07Negatives about being 350 pounds of muscle,
02:11I would definitely say it's like tying your shoes,
02:13taking a shower, going upstairs.
02:17Just the little things, but they add up.
02:20Your heart can only take so much weight on it.
02:22But I don't plan on being this big forever.
02:25I know there's going to be a certain time
02:27I'm going to have to relax.
02:29Bodybuilding to me is one of the hardest things
02:32a human being can do.
02:35And it's 24 hours a day.
02:37So if you're not eating, you're sleeping.
02:39If you're not sleeping, you're training.
02:40If you're not training, you're eating more.
02:42If you're not doing cardio,
02:43it's just like there's always something.
02:45You blink and you've got to do something differently.
02:48Maintaining that amount of muscle
02:50requires dedication in more than just the gym.
02:55I am at Stacks and Yolks.
02:57I am here for breakfast.
02:58It's meal one for me today.
03:00What do you recommend, bro?
03:01I'm trying to get huge.
03:02I eat about four to five meals a day
03:03and a shake or two here.
03:06Pretty much just consists of red meat, chicken,
03:10complex carbs and more rice, pasta, potatoes.
03:14I'm pushing 340 to 350 pounds,
03:16so I've got to keep it lean, keep it tight.
03:18You know, have to place it through the knife.
03:22Once you get to a weight of 340 to 350 pounds,
03:25your body does not want to be that big.
03:27Your body fights you every minute it can to get smaller.
03:33If my portions got smaller,
03:34I would just drop a lot of weight,
03:36probably look a lot sexier.
03:39Here's me in front of the club,
03:41relaxing in the hot tub, taking a leak.
03:44Another one of me in the club looking like a scrub.
03:46You got to zoom in on that.
03:49But it's taken more than just working out
03:51and eating loads to get as ripped as he is.
03:55I feel there's nothing wrong with steroids
03:58considering on how old you are
03:59and if you're not abusing it, you know,
04:01and you're using it for the right reasons.
04:03It's very common for bodybuilding,
04:05but I was always a huge believer
04:07in building your foundation first.
04:09Like, I have so many clients.
04:11They're like 18, 19, 20.
04:12Craig, I want to jump on.
04:13I want to jump on.
04:14What do you recommend?
04:15Bro, you still got a lot more growing to do.
04:18You know, get that natural muscle first.
04:20You know what I mean?
04:21And then take it to the next level.
04:22You know, that's what I've always been big on.
04:24I'm very proud of the journey.
04:26A lot of people, you know,
04:27are working hard doing stuff they don't love.
04:29So I get to wake up and do what I love.
04:31So I find it a blessing.
04:32All I can do is just keep on going up
04:33from where I'm at right now.
04:34Just better myself, you know, better everything.
04:37Keep on climbing.
04:38This fitness influencer has gone to extreme lengths
04:41to build her muscles
04:42with a fixation on one particular part of her body.
04:50I was bullied in school because of my legs.
04:54I was really skinny kid.
04:56I thought that I want to change the situation.
05:01I want to look different.
05:04And I thought to go to the gym.
05:08I started and I really loved it.
05:10Since that day, I still train.
05:14I love Brazilian type of body
05:16and those girls have small upper body
05:18but big thighs and big glutes.
05:20So I was like, I want to be like that as well.
05:24Due to her unusual physique style,
05:26people aren't always complimentary about her muscles.
05:30Some people find my body unproportioned
05:33and I mean, I understand why.
05:35I have no reasons to build up my upper body.
05:38I like the way I look,
05:40even though there is disproportion.
05:43It takes a lot to maintain her muscle tone
05:46with regular grueling gym sessions.
06:09I usually try to change my workouts.
06:12One week, me and my coach do heavyweight
06:16and another week is style dynamics.
06:19You don't have to create new exercises
06:21for building your body.
06:24You have to use basic movements,
06:26squats, deadlifts, walking lunges,
06:29leg press, leg curls, leg extensions.
06:34Same exercises as most of the people do,
06:37nothing special.
06:40There is no day for me without squats, you know.
06:43So I work with the weight I feel comfortable with.
06:46So like 100 kg is enough for me,
06:49like for 15 reps it's fine.
06:51But like Craig, it's not just exercise
06:54that has got her body this way.
06:57People constantly asking me about steroids
06:59and I'm not afraid to say that.
07:01One of the few athletes in like bodybuilding industry,
07:05fitness industry, who actually admits
07:08taking steroids because lying about it
07:11is like it's ridiculous.
07:13I don't recommend it to people,
07:15it's their choice but personally I do take it.
07:19I think most of the world is scared
07:22because like it's stereotyped thinking that
07:25if you're gonna start lifting weights
07:27you're gonna look like a man.
07:28I do take steroids, my voice is deep.
07:31So some people think that I look like a man
07:34plus my voice but if you're a natural athlete
07:37there is no chance for you to look like a man
07:40if you're natural, like no way.
07:44But for Bakar, all the effects of steroids
07:46and her work in the gym are worth it.
07:49When people come up to me in the street
07:51they don't talk about my glutes,
07:52they don't talk about the pose I do,
07:54they talk about how I like motivate them.
07:59I remember I posted one picture
08:01and it went really viral.
08:03Like it was all over the feed,
08:05on every sport page, sport account
08:08and they always commenting like she looks like a man.
08:12I'm not mad at them, I don't feel upset
08:15or you know, I don't have depression
08:18or stressed out about it
08:19because I understand that not everybody
08:21is gonna like me and it's fine.
08:24I know that like tomorrow there's gonna be another girl
08:26who's gonna be popular
08:28and everyone's gonna forget about me
08:30so I don't wanna be just a fitness model,
08:32I wanna, I want something bigger than that.
08:35So now I'm just working, I don't know,
08:38to motivate people, you know,
08:40to make them feel better about themselves.
08:45Some people go to theater,
08:47some people listen to music.
08:50When I feel too stressed out or like no mood,
08:54I'm always in the gym.
08:57It's kinda stress relief for me,
08:59it feels good, I love it.
09:00Like it's the part of my life right now.
09:04Fitness influencer Raki made a name for herself
09:07because of her extraordinary physique.
09:10But she wasn't always in shape.
09:13Before I started losing weight and training hard,
09:15I didn't like my body.
09:17I didn't wanna look in the mirror
09:18because I knew that I was big,
09:20I didn't like the way I looked,
09:21I didn't want nobody looking at me.
09:22But after about three to four weeks
09:24of just doing cardio, cardio, cardio, cardio,
09:26I've seen a major difference
09:28and that's when I got really excited.
09:31I didn't notice the masculinity building up.
09:35I think the first time I noticed
09:37was when a boyfriend of mine,
09:40every time he would try to impersonate me,
09:42he would do it in a very masculine way.
09:44Like if I said something, I was like,
09:45oh why you doing that?
09:46He would say, why you doing that?
09:48But also my attitude was changing.
09:50I was walking different,
09:51and I was like slamming things down,
09:54I'm slamming my bag down off the ground.
09:56It made me say, wait a minute,
09:58something might not be right here.
10:01Raki's fitness levels had led people
10:03to question her gender identity.
10:06It made me feel sad.
10:08It was tough because fitness was my saviour
10:10and it made me feel so good.
10:12But as I started getting criticised
10:14for having all these muscles,
10:16they started saying that I was masculine
10:18and it was devastating.
10:20People are questioning my gender.
10:23I never wanted to look like a man.
10:24Why would I want to be a man?
10:26I want to look like Superwoman,
10:27I want to look strong, you know?
10:29I started getting comments online
10:30that really, really hurt.
10:37It made me not want to go to the gym anymore,
10:40for real.
10:41I didn't want to go out.
10:42I didn't want to open my mouth around people.
10:44I started getting scared.
10:46There was a turning point
10:47when I decided to change my habits
10:49in order for me to feel better.
10:51I was smart enough to realise
10:52that there's always going to be haters out there.
10:55But actually, I loved my body.
10:57I just needed to find a way
10:58to embrace my feminine side
11:00within my gym life.
11:02So when I started gaining muscle,
11:04the type of clothes that I would wear,
11:05honestly, was like razorback,
11:08tank tops, shorts.
11:10Everything was black, GI Jane and militia.
11:13But never dresses, never skirts.
11:16But now, I wear all kinds of different colours.
11:19All kinds of different colours.
11:21Before, I was so focused on
11:23getting where I wanted to get
11:24that fixing my hair wasn't important.
11:26Wigs is like an outfit.
11:28I love my wigs.
11:31Now, I'm getting myself ready
11:32before I go to the gym.
11:35I'm still going to train hard,
11:36but the last thing you're going to expect is
11:38this bombshell coming in there,
11:39squatting, 10 plates.
11:41You know what I mean?
11:42I just started paying more attention to myself.
11:44And even when I wear sportswear now,
11:45I would wear the workout clothes
11:47but with heels on.
11:48So I'll turn that workout outfit
11:50into streetwear.
11:52My style now is the best it's ever been.
11:55Okay!
11:56My babe cave.
11:58Where would I be without my babe cave?
11:59I don't know.
12:00I'm so lucky to have a babe cave.
12:02You walk in there and everything is,
12:04you know, your favourite colour.
12:05For me, it needs to be pink,
12:07white, red, you know,
12:09anything that makes you feel happy.
12:12This is officially my babe cave spa
12:15where all my feminine dreams come true.
12:18How do you like it?
12:19When I am feeling very, very, very stressed out
12:23or a little overwhelmed with work,
12:26I get into my femininity
12:28and I get into my zone.
12:29Now, it's time for my self pampering.
12:32If you guys don't mind,
12:33you ain't got to go home,
12:34but you got to get the f*** out of here
12:36and let me get it together, right?
12:37I'll be back.
12:38I'm very, very, very happy where I am.
12:40It's really important because
12:42femininity is power.
12:44Power.
12:45It's power and that's your crown.
12:47You can be strong and be beautiful.
12:51This muscle queen has been given a nickname
12:53worthy of her gargantuan biceps.
12:56Hi, my name is Jackie.
12:58People know me as the she-oak from the Netherlands.
13:01The she-oak is big,
13:03but I'm not green.
13:04I'm big.
13:05Jackie began as a kickboxer,
13:07but recently moved to Amsterdam
13:09to pursue a career in pro wrestling
13:12where she became an instant hit.
13:14It was only when she came into wrestling
13:17that she really began to build her strength in the gym
13:20and her jaw-dropping muscles
13:22began to show themselves.
13:23Started there
13:26and keep building, building, building.
13:28I spent a lot of money on food every month.
13:32It's like 500 euros.
13:35I cook 450 grams at a portion of chicken.
13:39Well, I'm losing weight at the moment.
13:41I'm eating eight eggs a day.
13:44Spinach, some rice, some chicken.
13:48Nothing special. It's pretty sad.
13:50Clean, healthy food.
13:52Nothing more.
13:53It's good for the gains.
13:55Just like papaya.
13:56In three years time, I became world news
13:59because I'm big, curvy muscle
14:01and now bigger biceps than Arnie.
14:04Sorry, Arnie.
14:06I could pull up 200 kilos.
14:09This is just 30.
14:12Total 40.
14:14Not much, but it's only to get some warming up.
14:19But when we are in the gym,
14:21let's get loose.
14:23Once Jackie began making headlines,
14:26it was time for her to gain her very own hype man
14:29in the form of former wrestler Amr.
14:32Tonight, we have a special attraction
14:35for each and every one of you.
14:37She is the woman with the largest arms
14:40in the Netherlands.
14:41Maybe even the largest arms in the world.
14:45She is the psycho from Schagen.
14:48Our national She-Hulk.
14:50World famous on the internet and beyond.
14:54Ladies and gentlemen,
14:56here she is.
14:57She-Hulk Jackie!
15:02We saw Jackie and we were like,
15:03yeah, we have to do something with her.
15:06I just need to have you show up,
15:08flex the biceps, body slam some other girls,
15:11maybe body slam a guy.
15:13I want some.
15:15I want some.
15:16Maybe two or three.
15:17Jackie's larger than life muscles
15:19have been known to cause a stir.
15:21People can give me comments or reactions
15:25or that kind of stuff,
15:26but I must do it, so not them.
15:29So I must look at myself and not to other people.
15:34I call it internet heroes.
15:38Because they're always complaining,
15:41but they never stand in the gym.
15:43Never.
15:44Or face me at the ring or something.
15:46So I ignore them.
15:48But yeah, I don't care.
15:50I don't care.
15:51I must do it, not them.
15:53Today Jackie and Amir are practicing
15:56some new wrestling moves.
15:58How will she fare?
16:04Throw this arm away.
16:05Here?
16:06Yes, exactly.
16:08Then throw it out.
16:10Make it big.
16:11Grab this arm.
16:13Turn it around.
16:16Like this?
16:17Sorry.
16:18It's okay.
16:19I'm not hurting you.
16:20I'm not hurting you,
16:21but I can make it look like it hurts.
16:23Like this.
16:24Right, right.
16:25Okay, so lock up.
16:27Well, for you, if you want to improve,
16:29you just need more experience.
16:31Yeah.
16:32And we need to feel safe
16:34to have you in the ring with somebody else.
16:37Not just for the other person,
16:39for you as well.
16:40The matches are performances.
16:43Wrestling is performance.
16:45We make it big.
16:47Punches like that.
16:48Nobody has ever done a punch like this
16:50in real life.
16:53Here we have a little bobble head.
16:55It's like a Funko Pop of She-Hulk.
16:57And you're also a version of a She-Hulk, right?
17:01You're the real-life pro wrestling version.
17:04This is marketable because it's a strong woman.
17:09With traditionally masculine features.
17:12But we live in times now
17:14where it's really cool if a woman is strong,
17:17if a woman is independent,
17:19if she can hold herself in a fight, basically.
17:23We have other women who do wrestling,
17:26but for you,
17:29the way you look is on a different level.
17:33Most of the people, they say it's only fat,
17:36but they can touch it.
17:38And then they say, oh, it's hard.
17:40Yeah, of course it's hard.
17:42I train.
17:44I do a lot of weights, of course.
17:46And I'm a pretty big woman.
17:48So it's double.
17:51Everything is double.
17:59I don't care what people say about me
18:02because I must do it and not you.
18:07So I don't care about your reaction, comments.
18:13I want to go to WWE to get Nia Jax.
18:17I'm also a big woman.
18:19She's also big.
18:20So WWE, call me.
18:24This king of muscles has become an institution
18:27at the famous L.A. workout spot, Muscle Beach.
18:32Come on, man.
18:33Welcome in.
18:34Welcome to the White House, man.
18:35I was born in Austria, Vienna.
18:37I never met my real father.
18:39My father's Nigerian.
18:40My mom's Austrian.
18:41It was a very rough place to grow up as
18:44because it's very racist.
18:47I kind of broke up with my family.
18:50As you see, this is the beauty of Venice.
18:52It's all about sport, all about training,
18:55all about fitness.
18:56That's my seagull.
18:57You know, we just found each other.
18:59So every time I'm up here, she comes and she says hello.
19:02That's a beautiful thing, right?
19:04One of my business partners,
19:05he suggested to me that I go to Venice Beach,
19:07to Muscle Beach.
19:08He told me, he's like, go there, bro.
19:10This is your place.
19:11Stepping into Muscle Beach for the first time,
19:13Ike knew that he was going to find a place
19:16Stepping into Muscle Beach for the first time,
19:18Ike knew he'd found his place.
19:20I was homeless the first year I was out here.
19:23I was sleeping in the van.
19:24Here we have my mural.
19:27You can still find me in the back alley
19:29behind Muscle Beach next to Arnold.
19:31The famous workout spot even got him face-to-face
19:34with his muscle idol.
19:36I finally got to train with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
19:38The one and only.
19:39It's pretty cool, man.
19:40So here we are in front of the Temple of Shrimp,
19:43Muscle Beach.
19:44Now let's go see my mom,
19:45my friend Lexi, man.
19:46It's time to train.
19:49Oh, what's up, Lexi?
19:50What's up?
19:52How you doing?
19:53What happened to them?
19:55I met Ike in Venice.
19:57I was walking down Muscle Beach,
19:58and somebody invited me to train.
20:00He has a presence, you know?
20:02Oh, yeah, baby.
20:07Three.
20:08Nope.
20:10Push-up time.
20:11Yay.
20:12Who doesn't love push-ups?
20:14Okay.
20:15You need to get on my back.
20:16Are you kidding?
20:17I'm not kidding.
20:21You're about to witness some real magic.
20:25Next is a challenge.
20:28Today, Ike is putting his muscles to the test.
20:31Could this challenge be too much
20:34for this Muscle Beach institution?
20:37The challenge, 40 muscle-ups in 10 minutes.
20:41It's a very tough challenge.
20:42I'm 6'9".
20:43I'm 270 pounds.
20:4610 minutes.
20:47All right, let's go.
21:02That's 10 muscle-ups.
21:04Woo.
21:11Woo.
21:12It's already tough.
21:1414.
21:20That's a hell of a challenge, man.
21:25Halfway.
21:27Woo.
21:3526.
21:45Oh, man.
21:46I might be at my max.
21:47It's bad.
21:48You want some water?
22:05It's too much.
22:18That's it.
22:23I didn't beat the challenge,
22:25but I still did 44 in 10 minutes.
22:28I'm spent.
22:30I'm at my limit.
22:32I'm sweating, and I have a hard time
22:34collecting my breath to speak.
22:36I see myself, like, in the things I'm doing now,
22:40totally shifting towards the acting.
22:43If you know how to lose and come back,
22:45you can only end up as a winner.
22:47And that's the whole philosophy of life.
22:50So I can reach people, and I can be positive,
22:52and I can be inspiring.
22:54Don't be afraid to fail.
22:55You're gonna fail, and it's gonna be tough,
22:57but it's gonna be beautiful.
23:01The final muscle master of the episode
23:03is professional bodybuilder Brittany.
23:05I'm ranked 13th in the world.
23:07I think I will be able to accomplish
23:09at least top five this year.
23:11This is one of my favorite trophy prizes.
23:15So probably almost 100 girls altogether.
23:17I won out of everybody.
23:19Brittany is a bodybuilding competition aficionado.
23:24And Brittany isn't the only fitness fanatic
23:26in her household.
23:28My boyfriend's name is Julio,
23:30and we met at the gym.
23:32We both train really hard.
23:34After training, we started dating,
23:36and now here we are.
23:38I've tried in the past dating somebody
23:40who wasn't into bodybuilding,
23:42let alone fitness,
23:43and it just doesn't really, it doesn't match.
23:46We both train together every day.
23:50Who would win a bodybuilding contest
23:53between my boyfriend and I?
23:56I mean, if I had to answer, I'd say me, of course.
24:00I've probably been prepping for about seven weeks now.
24:04Actually, eight or nine.
24:06Today, we're going to go to my local gym,
24:09and we're going to train some back,
24:12which is one of the things that the judges
24:14have asked me to improve on.
24:17Bodybuilding isn't about how much weight you can pull.
24:20It's about how you pull the weight.
24:22So if we're doing things incorrectly,
24:24you're not going to get the same effect
24:26as if you're doing them correctly.
24:28So today, I'm going to try to set a PR
24:30on lat pulldowns.
24:3295% of the men in the gym
24:34will not be anywhere near lifting as heavy
24:36as I am going to be today.
24:39At least three reps on the handstand.
24:44At least three reps on the hammer-loaded
24:48lat pulldown machine.
24:50I'm going to try to pull these at least twice.
24:53It's basically four 45-pound plates
24:56on both sides of the machine.
24:59It's important to accomplish PRs.
25:02That way, you know that you're improving
25:04and you're getting better.
25:05If your strength is the same,
25:06is your physique really improving?
25:08Can Brittany beat her personal record?
25:10OK, come on.
25:12Ooh.
25:17Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on.
25:19It wasn't that bad when you were still assisting.
25:21You let go and took me with it.
25:24It's true.
25:30OK, you ready?
25:43Ooh.
25:52That was nice and ugly, huh?
25:56I am really proud of Brittany's determination.
25:59She's one of the strongest person I know.
26:02Hey!
26:04She inspired me to be great as well.
26:07What I love about Florida the most,
26:10it's almost always sunny,
26:12and I love the accessibility to bodybuilding.
26:16I think it's important to let people know
26:19that when you start anything in life,
26:22there's going to be plenty of people
26:24that tell you no, that tell you you can't.
26:27I think it is important that you chase your goals
26:30and you don't let anybody tell you no.
26:36The horizon for me would consistently be
26:39continuing to get better at my practice in bodybuilding
26:44and continuing to try to be number one.
26:47I'm excited for where I am right now,
26:49but even more excited for the future
26:51because I know I'm not anywhere near
26:53where I'm going to end up being.
26:55So every day is definitely something
26:57to wake up and be excited about.
27:03So whose muscles impressed you the most?
27:06Let us know what you think in the comments below.
27:09And please like and subscribe for more videos like this.