Günter Schlierkamp – Complete Profile: Height, Workout And Diet

Gunter Schlierkamp is a retired IFBB Pro bodybuilder from Germany. He competed in the Men’s Open division and bodybuilding fans remember him for being one of the most prominent competitors of the 1990s and 2000s era. This article explores his biography, competition history, workout routine, and diet as well as statistics.

Günter Schlierkamp

Born: February 2, 1970
Birthplace: Olfen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, GERMANY
Residence: Hermosa Beach, California, USA
Nickname: The German Giant
Height: 6′ 1″ (185 cm)
Competition Weight: 297 lbs (135 kg)
Off-Season Weight: 330 lbs (149 kg)

Gunter Schlierkamp Biography

Early Life

Gunter Schlierkamp was born on Feb. 2, 1970 in Olfen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. He grew up on a family-owned farm where he learned the importance of hard work and a simple lifestyle.

Gunter turned towards bodybuilding when he was a teenager. The hard labor at the farm provided a solid foundation upon which he built the bodybuilder’s physique in the following years.

The German bodybuilder was inspired by iconic bodybuilders of his time. Exposure to bodybuilding magazines and documentary films compelled him to take the craft seriously as Gunter never turned his back on training.

Early Bodybuilding Career

Due to growing up at the family-owned farm, Gunter Schliercamp had functional strength and a hardened physique. With training, he was able to get a well-defined muscle mass and body composition of a bodybuilder. Within a few years, the German bodybuilder had built a stage-worthy physique.

At the 1990 German Championships, Gunter stepped on a competitive stage for the first time and competed in the Junior division. His perfectly built physique helped him secure a dominant win at the show. The win validated his potential in the competitive sphere and Shclierkamp started working towards the goal to become a professional bodybuilder.

A busy competitive schedule can make it difficult to make meaningful gains. Many bodybuilders use their off-seasons to gain muscle. Gunter Schlierkamp used a similar strategy to further his bodybuilding career. So instead of rushing things, the German bodybuilder took the next two years off and focused on building a complete package that would get him to the desired place.

He returned to competition at the 1992 European Amateur Championships and walked away with another dominant victory. One year later, Gunter’s dream came to fruition as he earned the IFBB Pro Card by winning the 1993 World Amateur Championships.

Shining in the IFBB Pro League

Gunter Schlierkamp’s success at the World Amateur Championships proved that he had the potential to compete against some of the most promising rising contenders around the world, and not only in Europe.

After turning pro, Schlierkamp continued to participate in bodybuilding competitions and enjoyed a great degree of success. Gunter’s Mr. Olympia debut came in 1994 with a 19th-place finish.

Schlerkamp thought his progress had reached a plateau in terms of physical development. He was fascinated to see generations after generations of American bodybuilders making consistent progress and had a burning desire to learn the process to achieve that. By 1996, he decided to make a move to the USA and elevate his career to the next level. 

Gunter Schlierkamp continued to participate in professional bodybuilding competitions till his retirement in 2006 and competed against some of the greatest bodybuilders of his era. Although he never won the Mr. Olympia title, the veteran bodybuilder achieved top-five finishes at the 2002, 2003, and 2005 Mr. Olympia.

Winning the 2002 GNC Show of Strength was the highlight of Gunter Schlierkamp’s athletic career. He retired from competitive bodybuilding following an eighth-place finish at the 2006 Mr. Olympia.

Competition History

• 1990 German Championships 1st, Junior Tall
• 1992 European Amateur Championships 1st, IFBB, HeavyWeight
• 1992 German Championships 1st, Heavyweight
• 1993 World Amateur Championships – IFBB 1st, HeavyWeight
• 1994 Grand Prix England – IFBB 8th
• 1994 Grand Prix Germany – IFBB 8th
• 1994 Mr. Olympia – IFBB 19th
• 1995 Canada Pro Cup – IFBB 2nd
• 1995 Grand Prix Ukraine – IFBB 10th
• 1996 Arnold Classic – IFBB 11th
• 1996 Night of Champions – IFBB 11th
• 1996 San Jose Pro Invitational – IFBB 9th
• 1997 Canada Pro Cup – IFBB 6th
• 1997 Ironman Pro Invitational – IFBB Disqualified
• 1997 Night of Champions – IFBB 9th
• 1997 San Jose Pro Invitational – IFBB 11th
• 1998 Grand Prix Finland – IFBB 6th
• 1998 Grand Prix Germany – IFBB 6th
• 1998 Night of Champions – IFBB 10th
• 1998 Mr. Olympia – IFBB 15th
• 1998 San Francisco Pro Invitational – IFBB 9th
• 1998 Toronto Pro Invitational – IFBB 6th
• 1999 Arnold Classic – IFBB 9th
• 1999 Ironman Pro Invitational – IFBB 5th
• 2000 Ironman Pro Invitational – IFBB 4th
• 2000 Arnold Classic – IFBB 6th
• 2000 JOE WEIDER’S WORLD PRO CUP 6th
• 2000 Grand Prix England 4th
• 2000 Mr. Olympia 12th
• 2001 Toronto Pro 6th
• 2001 Night of Champions XXIII 9th
• 2001 Mr. Olympia 15th
• 2001 British Grand Prix 10th
• 2002 Mr. Olympia 5th
• 2002 GNC Show of Strength 1st
• 2003 Mr. Olympia 5th
• 2003 English Grand Prix 3rd
• 2003 Holland Grand Prix 4th
• 2003 GNC Show of Strength 5th
• 2004 Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic 4th
• 2004 Mr. Olympia 6th
• 2005 Mr. Olympia 4th
• 2006 Mr. Olympia 8th

Gunter Schlierkamp Workout

Gunter Schlienkamp’s broad and muscular physique was the outcome of decades of training and working on the farm. Initially, he trained by studying magazines and learning from his peers, but once the German bodybuilder decided to become a pro, he was a lot more organized with his training.

At the peak of his bodybuilding career, Gunter Schlierkamp trained under legendary bodybuilder Charles Glass to achieve his full potential. ‘The Godfather of Bodybuilding’ thoroughly studied Schlierkamp’s physique and helped him bring the weaker parts to par with the more developed parts of his physique.

To achieve a more balanced physique, Charles Glass guided the German bodybuilder through heavier weight training and incorporated intensity-building methods like drop sets in his workouts to focus on muscle contraction and inducing hypertrophy.

Charles Glass worked in conjunction with bodybuilding coach Chad Nicholls, who was primarily tasked with taking care of Schlierkamp’s nutrition. Under Charles Glass and Chad Nicholl’s joint guidance, Schlierkamp gained 30 to 35 pounds of lean muscle mass, the results of which can be seen in his consistent top-six finishes on the Olympia stage.

Schlierkamp was always a big believer in intense and heavy training and once said about his workout routines:

“That’s how you have to train to see the changes and really kind of do intense workouts instead of doing half workouts or where we do a second body part on the day.”

A typical week of training in Gunter Schlierkamp’s routine looked like this:

Monday – Back

• Front pulldowns – 4 sets of, 8-12 reps
• Hammer Strength one-arm rows – 4 sets of, 8-12 reps
• One-arm dumbbell rows – 4 sets of, 8-12 reps
• Hammer Strength pulldowns – 4 sets of 8-12 reps
• Lumbar crunches – 3 sets of 10-12 reps.

Tuesday – Chest

• Incline presses – 4 sets of 5 -10 reps
• Bench presses – 4 sets of,5 -10 reps
• Hammer Strength presses – 4 sets of, 5 -10 reps
• Incline flyes – 4 sets of, 8 -12 reps

Wednesday – Legs

• Leg extensions – 4 sets of,12-20 reps
• Leg presses – 4 sets of, 8 -10 reps
• Reverse hack squats – 4 sets of, 8 -12 reps
• Front squats – 4 sets of 8 -12 reps
• Lying leg curls – 4 sets of 8 -12 reps
• Seated leg curls – 4 sets of 8 -12 reps

Thursday – Rest

Friday – Shoulder

• Dumbbell side laterals – 4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Dumbbell front raises – 4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Wide-grip upright rows – 4 sets of 8 -12 reps
• Smith machine front presses – 4 sets of 5 -12 reps
• Dumbbell shrugs – 4 sets of 10 -12reps

Saturday – Arms

• Rope pushdowns – 4 sets of 8 -12 reps
• Cable overhead triceps extensions – 4 sets of 8 -12 reps
• Barbell curls – 4 sets of 8 -12 reps
• Dumbbell curls – 4 sets of 8 -12 reps
• Machine dips – 4 sets of 8 -12 reps
• Hammer curls – 4 sets of 8 -12 reps

Sunday – Rest

Gunter Schlierkamp Diet

Gunter Schilerkamp is highly regarded for being one of the biggest and most muscular bodybuilders of his era. His intense training helped induce hypertrophy while a carefully crafted diet plan fuelled his body and provided the necessary nutrition to grow and sustain the muscle mass.

He followed a high-protein diet during his bodybuilding career and ate five to six meals every day.

Here is an example of Schlierkamp’s full day of eating:

Meal 1

• 12 eggs whites
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 cup dry oatmeal
• fruit

Meal 2

• 14oz of steak
• 2 large potatoes
• green vegetables

Meal 3

• 16oz of chicken breast
• 3 cups brown rice
• vegetables

Meal 4

• 14oz of lean fish
• 2 large potatoes
• green vegetables

Meal 5

• 90 grams of whey protein (sometimes cottage cheese)

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