Markus Ruhl – Complete Profile: Height, Workout and Diet

Markus Ruhl is a retired IFBB Pro bodybuilder from Germany. He primarily competed in the 2000s era of bodybuilding and won several pro shows. He is a multiple time Mr. Olympia participant that is primarily known for his massive size and musculature. This article explores his biography, competitive achievements, diet, workout routine and statistics.

Markus Ruhl Statistics

Markus Ruhl Biography

Early Life

Born in 1972 and hailing from Germany, Rühl began bodybuilding in 1991 at the age of 19 after sustaining a knee injury playing soccer. His weight when he first began training was 140 pounds.

In 1995, he competed in his first amateur event, the Bachgau Cup in Babenhausen, Germany and won both the heavyweight and overall titles. That year, he also finished 2nd at the Grosser Preis von Hessen in Germany. In 1997, he continued his development and won both the Hessen and German National Championships.

Professional Bodybuilding Career

The win at the 1997 German National championships led to Markus Ruhl’s professional debut later that year. In his first pro event, he placed 10th at the German Pro Grand Prix in Offenbach, Germany, weighing in at 258 pounds.

After intense training and adding 7 pounds of muscle, Rühl competed in the Night of Champions in New York City in January 1998 and placed 9th overall.

A year later, after packing an additional 5 pounds of muscle to his frame (bringing his weight to 270 pounds), he ascended to 4th place at the Night of Champions. In the process, he qualified for the prestigious Mr. Olympia competition in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he eventually finished 12th.

In 2000, Rühl won his first championship in the professional ranks at the Toronto Pro Invitational.

He also placed 2nd at the Night of Champions that same year. Later in 2000, he achieved his first top 10 finish at the Mr. Olympia, placing 7th overall. After suffering through an injury plagued 2001, he finally took home the top spot at the Night of Champions in 2002.

A steady stream of top 5 finishes ensued between 2003 and 2007, highlighted by a 3rd place showing at the Arnold Classic in 2003 and 5th place finish at Mr. Olympia in 2004, his best performance at that event. During those peak years, Rühl often competed at the weight of 285 pounds.

Generally regarded as having some of the most powerful shoulders in the history of the sport, Rühl continued to compete professionally until his retirement in 2010, but remains actively involved in the sport today.

Mr. & Masters Olympia Results

1999 – IFBB Mr. Olympia: 12th
2000 – IFBB Mr. Olympia: 7th
2001 – IFBB Mr. Olympia: 14th
2002 – IFBB Mr. Olympia: 8th
2004 – IFBB Mr. Olympia: 5th
2005 – IFBB Mr. Olympia: 15th
2006 – IFBB Mr. Olympia: 8th
2007 – IFBB Mr. Olympia: did not place
2009 – IFBB Mr. Olympia: 15th

Titles Won

1995 – Bachgau Cup Amateur
1997 – German National Championships
2000 – IFBB Toronto Pro
2002 – IFBB Night of Champions

Markus Ruhl Workout

Markus Ruhl was one of the freakiest mass monsters in his prime. His size and musculature were the talk of the town and intimidated the competitors whenever he stepped on stage. So let’s find out how the German bodybuilder built the massive physique and the training principles behind his workout routine.

Most of us train to maintain good health and fitness level to effortlessly do daily activities, pursue hobbies that require physical strength and other attributes and liv a long and healthy life. However, bodybuilding is an extreme sport and although the athletes maintain excellent looking physiques, the arduous lifestyle puts a lot of stress on their bodies. Markus Ruhl does not cut corners in admitting this. His training philosophy and goals are best described by this simple and straightforward quote:

“I don’t do this to be healthy. I do this to get big muscles.”

Training principles

One of the most important aspects of Markus Ruhl’s training principles is working with heavy weights. He focuses on getting a good pump through the workouts and admits that only heavy weights give him a good pump.

The mass monster usually trained as per instinct and the pump he got from different exercises. After spending decades of his life training and learning more and more about bodybuilding, Markus Ruhl has reached a point where his body lets him know whether the training methods or exercises he is using are benefitting him or not.

The German bodybuilder does not believe in any fancy or fad driven training methods. Instead he relies on the most basic and compound bodybuilding exercises that don’t necessarily look glamorous.

“The most important lesson I’ve learned is that the most productive exercises are simple and compound,” Markus Ruhl once said.

Training methodology

Inducing muscle hypertrophy and getting larger muscles is broadly the end goal of a competitive bodybuilder. General strength, functional gain, flexibility or stamina are the attributes that often take a backseat. A lot of bodybuilders prefer training with lighter weights and high volume to force the muscles to grow.

However, Markus Ruhl never resorts to this method of training. He uses heavy weights to get a good pump. At the same time, he gives equal importance to maintaining a good form and technique. Ruhl ensures that he executes both concentric and eccentric parts of the workout with correct technique at a good pace. With this, he can build a better mind-muscle connection and focus more on growth.

Markus Ruhl training split 1

Markus Ruhl does not follow a rigid training program. His training routine and splits change periodically depending upon the goals and how his body feels doing those exercises. However, some things are common in his workout split irrespective of the changes they undergo periodically.

Markus Ruhl emphasizes more on compound exercises that involve more than one muscle group. At the same time, he stimulates the muscles with isolation exercises whenever needed. The German Nightmare does not lean too heavily in favor of machines or free weights.

Back in the day, Ruhl would rely more on machine exercises when he was closer to the competition. Weights on the machines move along a fixed trajectory and eliminate the need to engage the stabilizing muscles. This helps focus more on the target muscle group without worrying about balancing or managing the weight. As a result, the chances of training injuries greatly reduced.

At the peak of his competitive bodybuilding career, Markus Ruhl trained five to six days a week. He did not train less than two days in a row ever and also avoided training more than three days without a rest day in between. He 

He had one day dedicated to every muscle group in the body and adhered to it without compromising. The training sessions were usually a mix of high-volume and heavy weight training with isolation and compound exercises.

Here is the example of Markus Ruhl’s training routine:

Day 1 – Chest

Marlus Ruhl’s chest was arguably one of the best in the history of the sport. The fuller pecs with excellent details and striations grabbed the attention whenever he removed the shirt. Ruhl’s chest training was simple.

He included a few heavy pressing movements that helped build the upper body pushing muscles like pectorals, anterior deltoids and triceps. Isolation exercises like pec deck flyes and cable crossover would help get a pump and add more detail to his full and muscular chest. Once again, Markus Ruhl employed high volume and heavy weights.

Typically, the chest workout would include: 

• Hammer Strength Chest Press – 5 sets of 8 to 15 reps
• Incline Smith Machine Bench Press – 5 sets of 10 to 15 reps
• Standing Cable Chest Flyes – 5 sets of 10 to 15 reps
• Push-Ups – 5 sets of 15 to 20 reps
• Pec Deck Flyes – 5 sets of 15 reps

Day 2 – Back

As mentioned before, Markus Ruhl is a huge proponent of simple compound exercises. Back is one part of the physique that is primarily stimulated with compound pulling movements. Barring a few exceptions, there are very few isolation exercises to work it.

Compound pulling exercises are broadly divided between two categories – vertical pull downs and horizontal rows. While vertical pulling movements help build a wide back that perfectly tapers down into a narrow waistline creating the desired look,  rows impart thickness and a more 3D appearance to the back.

Markus Ruhl’s wide and thick back is the proof of a complete training routine that incorporated both types of movements. He kept the back training incredibly simple but excruciatingly intense.

The back workout consisted of:

• Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns – 5 sets of 8 to 15 reps
• One Arm Machine Rows – 5 sets of 10 to 15 reps
• Hammer Strength Lat Pulldowns – 5 sets of 10 to 15 reps
• Bent Over Barbell Rows – 5 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Bent Over Dumbbell Rows – 5 sets of 8 to 12 reps

Day 3 – Shoulders

Markus Ruhl’s shoulder training aimed at working all three shoulder heads – anterior, posterior and medial / lateral deltoids for complete development. To achieve this, he performs isolation and compound exercises.

The shoulder routine in Markus Ruhl’s training split looked like this:

• Smith Machine Overhead Press – 5 sets of 10 to 15 reps
• Reverse Pec Deck Flyes – 5 sets of 12 to 15 reps
• Lying Cable Upright Rows – 5 sets of 10 to 15 reps
• One Arm Cable Lateral Raises – 5 sets of 10 to 15 reps
• Stranding Smith Machine Shrugs – 5 sets of 15 to 20 reps

Day 4 – Rest Day

Day 5 – Legs

Ignoring half of your body is a rookie mistake that many novices make. An experienced and elite bodybuilder like Markus Ruhl does not ignore the lower body. Ruhl’s massive quads were one of the more developed parts of his physique. He targeted all major muscles like quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and quads with several isolation and compound exercises,

Here’s what the leg workout looked like:

• Leg Extensions – 5 sets of 10 to 15 reps
• Leg Press – 8 sets of 6 to 15 reps
• Hack Squats – 5 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Lying Leg Curls – 5 sets of 10 to 15 reps
• Single Leg Press – 5 sets of 10 to 15 reps
• Seated Calf Raises – 5 sets of 15 to 20 reps
• Standing Calf Raises – 5 sets of 15 to 20 reps

Day 6 – Arms

Arms respond best to moderate weights and high volume as they are a relatively smaller muscle group. Markus Ruhl performed a handful of proven isolation exercises to get the most out of arms training. He stimulated the triceps regular and overhead exercise to stimulate the muscle from different angles for complete development. Biceps training was relatively simple with one free weight and tone cable machine curls exercise.

These exercises composed the arms workout:

• Single Arm Dumbbell Curls – 5 sets of 10 to 15 reps
• Cable Triceps Pushdowns – 5 sets of 10 to 15 reps
• One Arm Machine Preacher Curls – 5 sets of 10 to 15 reps
• Machine Triceps Pushdowns – 5 sets of 10 to 15 reps

Day 7 – Rest

Markus Ruhl Training Split 2

An alternate training split in Markus Ruhl’s workout routine looked like this:

Day 1 – Chest

• Incline Smith Machine Press – 5 sets of 4 to 12 reps
• Incline Dumbbell Flyes – 5 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Straight Arm Dumbbell Pullovers – 5 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Machine Press – 5 sets of 8 to 12 reps

Day 2 – Back

• Lat Pulldowns – 5 sets of 6 to 12 reps
• Bent Over Dumbbell Rows – 5 sets of 8 to 10 reps
• Seated Cable Rows – 5 sets of 6 to 10 reps

Day 3 – Arms

• Machine Preacher Curls – 5 sets of 8 to 10 reps
• Dumbbell Curls – 5 sets of 6 to 10 reps
• Cable Triceps Pushdowns – 5 sets of 8 to 10 reps
• Cable Curls – 5 sets of 6 to 10 reps
• One Arm Overhead Dumbbell Triceps Extensions – 5 sets of 8 to 10 reps
• Camber Bar Overhead Triceps Extensions – 5 sets of 6 to 10 reps

Day 4 – Rest Day

Day 5 – Legs

• Leg Press – 5 sets of 4 to 12 reps
• Lying Leg Curls – 5 sets of 10 to 20 reps
• Hack Squats – 5 sets of 4 to 12 reps
• Leg Extensions – 5 sets of 10 to 20 reps

Day 6 – Shoulders

• Dumbbell Shrugs – 5 sets of 6 to 12 reps
• Dumbbell Shoulder Press – 5 sets of 4 to 16 reps
• Upright Rows – 5 sets of 8 to 10 reps
• Dumbbell Lateral Raises – 5 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Dumbbell Bent Over Lateral Raises – 5 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Dumbbell Front Raises – 5 sets of 5 to 12 reps

Day 7 – Rest Day

Markus Ruhl Diet

At approximately 285 lbs, Markus Ruhl used to be a hulking figure with huge muscle mass. Needless to say, he needed to eat a lot of food to sustain and maintain the muscle mass. Although his caloric intake has significantly reduced after retirement, the German bodybuilder ate a staggering 7000 calories per day to refuel his body.

Irrespective of how big you are, it is never easy to eat so many calories every single day, years after years. Eating all those calories from clean food sources makes it all the more difficult. But as we all know, greatness does not come easily.

“Eat crap and you will look like crap. It’s not easy to eat so much good food all the time, but this is what it takes to get huge. Unless you do this, don’t bother wasting your time training hard, or else it will just be for nothing.”

Markus Ruhl followed the high-calorie diet without falling off the wagon, which helped him build a massive physique. He ate most of the calories through whole organic foods. Eggs, beef and chicken are primary sources of protein in the German bodybuilder’s diet. He gets the fats from nut butters, avocados and egg yolk. Meanwhile, rice, oatmeal and potatoes are the main carbohydrate sources.

Typically, the veteran bodybuilder aimed to consume at least 400 grams of protein and 800 grams of carbohydrates every day.

At the peak of his bodybuilding career, Markus Ruhl’s full day of eating looked like this:

Meal 1

• 6 Whole Eggs
• 3 Cups Egg Whites
• 2 Cups Oatmeal
• Fruits

Meal 2 – Pre-workout Meal

• 10 to 12 ounces of Chicken Breast
• 3 Cups Brown Rice
• Vegetables

Meal 3 – Post-workout Meal

• 3 Scoops of Whey Protein
• 2 Bananas

Meal 4

• 10 to 12 Ounces of Steak
• 3 Cups White Rice
• Vegetables

Meal 5

• 10 to 12 Ounces of Chicken Breast
• 3 Cups Sweet Potato
• Vegetables

Supplement Stack

Markus Ruhl supplemented his diet with a few dietary supplements. Eating 400 grams of protein through whole foods is not an easy task. Ruhl fulfilled his protein requirement through Whey protein powder and also fueled his workouts with creatine. He also used glutamine to improve digestion and immune function of the body.

Primary supplements in Markus Ruhl’s diet included:

• Whey Protein
• Creatine
• Glutamine

Markus Rühl Gallery

To Conclude…

Winning the Mr. Olympia trophy is the ultimate career goal of every professional bodybuilder. However, it is a rarest of rare accomplishment that eludes a vast majority of them. Ruhl is the perfect example of someone that may never have touched the Olympia gold but still created a lasting legacy for himself with hard work and consistent efforts.

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