WATCH: Forever Swole! Retired Pro-Bodybuilding Who Are Still Massive

Still Massive: Jay Cutler, Markus Ruhl, and Dennis James

Bodybuilding isn’t for everyone, that’s the cold hard truth. Simply lifting some weight from time to time isn’t enough to bring about massive change. You must have that kind of obsessive passion that pushes you to the brink.

Bodybuilding has always been about dedication. But lifting heavy weight and growing your muscle is no simple task. It requires you to follow a strict diet, hit the gym every day, and be diligent about almost every physical and dietary choice you make. Make no one forces a person to build muscle, to follow a plan, to look to become superior to just some average Joe on the street. It’s a choice one makes to improve and become the best version of themselves that they can be.

Genetics also make a significant difference in how long a bodybuilder can keep a massive and shredded physique. For the rest of us mortals, we have to take a back seat and realize it’s impossible to have every one of your engines firing on all cylinders forever. At least that’s what conventional wisdom will tell us.

While many bodybuilders have their day in the sun, a time where they were at their best with very few as their equal, there always comes a time where a competitor must bow out from the sport and allow the next generation to take over. In their retirement we have seen many bodybuilders shrivel away into shadows of their former selves, losing all the massive muscle they trained so hard to attain.

But not every bodybuilder is created equal. While there are many bodybuilders that lose their gains completely for one reason or another, there are those who remain diligent and still choose to maintain their muscle, albeit to a lesser extent than when they were at the height of their powers.

The following video showcases Jay Cutler, Markus Ruhl, and Dennis James, some of the most massive bodybuilders and what they look like after many years of post-retirement life. It’s a very interesting look at just how much effort goes into bodybuilding every single day.