Kevin Mark Levrone – Complete Profile: Height, Workout And Diet

Kevin Levrone is a retired professional bodybuilder from the USA. He primarily competed in the 1990s and the 2000s era of bodybuilding and won a total of 23 professional bodybuilding titles during this period. Levrone is considered among the greatest bodybuilders who never won the Mr. Olympia title. This is his complete profile, biography, workout routine, diet, and statistics.

Kevin Levrone

Born: July 16, 1965
Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Residence: Los Angeles, California, USA
Nickname: Maryland Muscle Machine
Height: 5′ 11″ (180 cm)
Competition Weight: 240 lbs (110 kg)
Off Season Weight: 260 lbs (120 kg)
Arms: 24″ (60 cm)
Waist: 32″ (82 cm)
Chest: 57″ (144 cm)
Calves: 19,5″ (49 cm)
Thighs: 33,5″ (85 cm)

Kevin Levrone Biography

Early Life

Kevin Levrone was born on July 16, 1965, in Baltimore, Maryland. His father was an Italian-American while his mother was African-American. Kevin was one of the six siblings. The family had to endure a lot of hardships, which resulted in him having a tough childhood.

When Kevin was still a kid, both his parents died due to cancer and soon a few other family members suffered a similar fate. The incident was extremely traumatizing for the siblings and Kevin Levrone turned toward the weight room to distract himself from the tragic turn of events.

According to Kevin Levrone, bodybuilding training helped him get out of the dark place he found himself in after the death of multiple family members. The form of cancer that killed his parents and other family members was particularly aggressive and young Kevin was worried he might have to meet a similar end.

His training was a part of his pursuit of becoming healthy and keeping illnesses at bay. Additionally, he felt that getting stronger would help him survive in a world where he no longer had his parents to protect him.

Levrone’s cousin served in the military. His discipline and fitness level inspired Kevin to aggressively pursue a bodybuilding lifestyle. He started competing in local bodybuilding shows and earned his IFBB Pro card by winning the 1991 NPC National Championships. He dominated the heavyweight division and also became the overall champion.

Bodybuilding Career

Kevin Levrone made his professional bodybuilding debut with a resounding victory at the 1992 Grand Prix Germany. He scored podium finishes in the next two pro shows and won the 1992 Night of Champions to gain momentum before heading into the 1992 Mr. Olympia.

The Baltimore native pushed aside several top contenders at the 1992 Mr. Olympia en route to a runner-up finish behind Dorian Yates. The remarkable performance transformed Levrone into an instant sensation.

However, the young bodybuilder’s career took an unfortunate turn in the following months. Levrone suffered a gruesome pectoral tear while attempting a 600-pound bench press in the gym which had a serious impact on his bodybuilding career.

‘The Maryland Muscle Machine’ had to undergo immediate surgery to reattach the pectoral muscles. However, he contracted a serious infection while recovering from the surgery which made the process that much difficult.

Levrone was forced to take a long break from weightlifting but still managed to make a successful comeback the following year. He achieved several top-five finishes in 1993 and defended the top spot at the 1993 Grand Prix Germany.

During his 13-year-long storied career, Kevin Levrone won a total of 23 professional bodybuilding competitions and achieved top-three finishes at several others.

“The Uncrowned King of Mr. Olympia”

Kevin Levrone participated in the prestigious Mr. Olympia competition a whopping 13 times and achieved top-five finishes in 11 of those appearances. This included several top-three and top-two placings.

But despite the consistency, the Olympia title always eluded him. The only two occasions when the Maryland native placed outside of the top five were at the 2003 (6th place) and 2016 Mr. Olympia (16th place) – when he was well past his prime.

Levrone competed against bodybuilding greats like Ronnie Coleman and Dorian Yates during the prime of their careers and gave them a tough fight in each one of his Mr. Olympia appearances.

It would not be wrong to say that in an alternate reality where Dorian Yates and Ronnie Coleman never competed, Kevin Levrone would probably be a dominant Mr. Olympia.

Retirement and comeback

Despite the competitive abilities, the desire to compete eventually fades away and that time came in Kevin Levrone’s life in the mid-2000s. Following a third-place finish at the 2003 Show of Strengths Pro Championship, Kevin Levrone stepped away from competition.

Although he did not officially announce his retirement, Levrone took more than a decade off and returned for a one-off showing at the 2016 Mr. Olympia.

Kevin Levrone’s comeback announcement became major news at the time and stirred up the bodybuilding world. He was 51 years old at the time and there were a lot of burning questions about his performance heading into the event.

But despite being way older than most competitors, Kevin Levrone brought an unbelievably impressive physique to the stage. Although he finished 16th at the show, the veteran bodybuilder received a lot of praise for pulling off a feat that had never been attempted before.

Experts noted that the Maryland native’s lower body looked a little underdeveloped compared to his upper body. However, Levrone later revealed that he had a severe case of tendonitis which stopped him from doing squats or other heavy lower-body movements to bring the legs at par with the upper body.

Career outside Bodybuilding

After informally retiring from the competition in 2003, Kevin Levrone tried his hand at several crafts like acting, singing, and dancing. He also played several sports and launched his supplement brand shortly before announcing his 2016 Mr. Olympia comeback.

 

Competition History

• 1991 Junior Nationals – NPC, HeavyWeight, 2nd place
• 1991 Nationals – NPC, HeavyWeight, 1st place
• 1991 Nationals – NPC, Overall Winner
• 1992 Grand Prix Germany, 1st place
• 1992 Grand Prix England, 2nd place
• 1992 Chicago Pro Invitational, 3rd place
• 1992 Night of Champions, 1st place
• 1992 Mr. Olympia, 2nd place
• 1993 Grand Prix France, 3th place
• 1993 Grand Prix Finland, 2nd place
• 1993 Grand Prix Spain, 3rd place
• 1993 Grand Prix Germany, 1st place
• 1993 Mr. Olympia, 5th place
• 1993 Grand Prix England, 3rd  place
• 1994 San Jose Pro Invitational, 1st place
• 1994 Grand Prix France (2), 1st place
• 1994 Grand Prix Italy, 1st place
• 1994 Arnold Classic, 1st place
• 1994 Mr. Olympia, 3rd place
• 1994 Grand Prix Spain, 2nd place
• 1994 Grand Prix Germany, 2nd place
• 1994 Grand Prix England, 2nd place
• 1995 Mr. Olympia, 2nd place
• 1995 Grand Prix Spain, 1st place
• 1995 Grand Prix Germany, 1st place
• 1995 Grand Prix England, 2nd place
• 1995 Grand Prix Russia, 1st place
• 1996 San Jose Pro Invitational, 1st place
• 1996 Arnold Classic, 1st place
• 1996 San Francisco Pro Invitational, 1st place
• 1996 Mr. Olympia, 3rd place
• 1996 Grand Prix Spain, 3rd place
• 1996 Grand Prix Germany, 4th place
• 1996 Grand Prix England, 4th place
• 1996 Grand Prix Czech Republic, 2nd place
• 1996 Grand Prix Switzerland, 3rd place
• 1996 Grand Prix Russia, 5th place
• 1997 Arnold Classic, 8th place
• 1997 Mr. Olympia, 4th place
• 1997 Grand Prix Hungary, 1st place
• 1997 Grand Prix Spain, 1st place
• 1997 Grand Prix Germany, 1st place
• 1997 Grand Prix England, 1st place
• 1997 Grand Prix Czech Republic, 1st place
• 1997 Grand Prix Finland, 1st place
• 1997 Grand Prix Russia, 2nd place
• 1998 San Francisco Pro Invitational, 1st place
• 1998 Toronto Pro Invitational, 2nd place
• 1998 Night of Champions, 2nd place
• 1998 Mr. Olympia, 4th place
• 1998 Grand Prix Germany, 2nd place
• 1998 Grand Prix Finland, 2nd place
• 1999 Arnold Classic, 2nd place
• 1999 Mr. Olympia, 4th place
• 1999 World Pro Championships, 3rd place
• 1999 Grand Prix England, 3rd place
• 2000 Arnold Classic, 3rd place
• 2000 Mr. Olympia, 2nd place
• 2001 Mr. Olympia, 3rd place
• 2001 Grand Prix England, 1st place
• 2002 Arnold Classic, 5th place
• 2002 Grand Prix Australia, 4th place
• 2002 Mr. Olympia, 2nd place
• 2003 Arnold Classic, 5th place
• 2003 Mr. Olympia, 6th place
• 2003 Show of Strengths Pro Championship, 3rd place
• 2016 Mr. Olympia, 17th place
• 2018 Arnold Classic Australia, 13th place

Kevin Levrone Workout

Kevin Levrone’s impeccable physique was a function of his profound training philosophy and a carefully crafted workout routine. Levrone refrained from performing a higher number of reps and adhered to a 6-8 rep range for the majority of his exercises.

While some may not agree with this method, it is important to know that one size does not fit all. Levrone’s physique responded well to heavier weights and low reps. He did not follow any other methods like drop sets or forced reps to push beyond failure. Instead, his workouts only included straight sets.

But Levrone compensated the lower range with a higher number of sets. He performed quite a few variations for all the muscle groups and the total number of sets performed for each exercise was relatively higher.

The Maryland native loved to challenge himself with heavier weights. Despite the unfortunate pectoral tear that threatened to end his career at a point, Levrone never backed down from training with heavy weights.

For many, training heavily often comes by sacrificing form and technique. Kevin Levrone was different from such ‘heavy lifters’ in that regard. Although he always trained with heavier weights, the veteran bodybuilder never went down the slippery slope of compromising form to a level where moving weights becomes a primary objective, and stimulating the muscles takes a backseat.

‘The Maryland Muscle Machine’ adhered to strict form irrespective of the weight he chose and performed controlled reps in all sets.

While most people prefer doing light isolation exercises to warm up and then proceed to do the heavier compound exercises, Kevin Levrone did exactly the opposite. He started the training session with heavier compound exercises and worked his way downwards so that the lightest isolation exercise served as the finisher to his training routine.

A typical training week in Kevin Levrone’s workout routine looked like this:

Monday and Friday 

Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps

• Flat barbell bench press – 4 sets of 6-8 reps
• Incline barbell bench press – 4 sets of 6-8 reps
• Machine press – 4 sets of 12-15 reps
• Cable crossovers – 4 sets of 12-15 reps
• Dumbbell press – 4 sets of 6-8 reps
• Lateral raises –  4 sets of 12-15 reps
• Shrugs – 4 sets of 12-15 reps
• Close grip bench press – 4 sets of 6-8 reps

Tuesday and Saturday

Legs, Calves and Abdominals

• Hack squats –  4 sets of 6-8 reps
• Leg Curls –  4 sets of 6-8 reps
• Leg press – 4 sets of 12-15 reps
• Standing calf raises – 4 sets of 12-15 reps
• Seated calf raises –  4 sets of 12-15 reps
• Cable crunches – 4 sets of 25 reps
• Leg raises – 4 sets of 15 reps

Wednesday and Sunday

Back and Biceps

• Straight-arm cable pulldowns – 4 sets of 6-8 reps
• T bar rows -4 sets of 6-8 reps
• Bent-over dumbbell rows 4 sets of 6-8 reps
• Seated cable rows– 4 sets of 12-15 reps
• Machine rows – 4 sets of 12-15 reps
• Incline Dumbbell curls – 4 sets of 12-15 reps
• Dumbbell curls – 4 sets of 6-8 reps
• Preacher curls 4 sets of 12-15 reps
• Cable curls – 4 sets of 12-15 reps

Kevin Levrone Diet

Kevin Levrone followed a simple whole-food diet and even refrained from using dressings and sauces in his meals. Interestingly, he never adhered to the standard bulking and cutting diet that most bodybuilders do.

The Maryland native often bulked up to the competition weight, starting a few months before the competition date. According to some of his interviews, Levrone was never fond of red meats. Fish and chicken were his preferred sources of protein. He maintained a low-carb diet for the majority of the year and focused on eating clean all year round.

When he was not cutting weight, Levrone often used sauces and salad dressings to make his meals enjoyable. Kevin Levrone has always been a huge believer in the benefits of dietary supplements and includes them in his meals to this day.

A typical day of eating during the peak of Kevin Levrone’s bodybuilding career looked like this:

Meal 1

• 2 whole eggs
• 10 egg whites
• ½ oatmeal

Meal 2

• 12 oz. fish
• 1 cup cooked rice

Meal 3

• 12 oz. chicken breast
• 1 cup cooked rice

Meal 4

• 12 oz. fish
• 1 cup cooked rice

Meal 5

• 12 oz. fish
• 1 cup cooked rice

Meal 6

• 12 egg whites OR Steak

To Conclude…

We all have heard someone say their craft or the work they do helped them overcome a dark phase in life and set them on a path to live a fulfilling life. Kevin Levrone experienced the loss of loved ones at an age no one should have. But he transformed the adverse situation into an opportunity to grow into one of the greatest professional bodybuilders in history.

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