Barton Horvath was the star of the first issue of Your Physique, the issue that began Joe Weider’s fitness magazine legacy.
2 of 20
October 1944
Joe Weider put himself on the cover of this issue. To save money? Save time? He does have a killer physique though, so that must be why.
3 of 20
September 1945
Jack LaLanne on his first, but certainly not his last, issue of Weider fitness mags.
4 of 20
April 1949
Steve Reeves was a star for many years. Here is one of his first covers when simplicity was its finest.
5 of 20
October 1949
Women don’t often grace the cover of Muscle & Fitness anymore, but until the 90s it was common. Particularly if it was a male and a female on the cover. (If you saw our 15 Worst Covers of All TIme, you’ll know what we mean.) Val Njord stole the show this month, one of the first women to be on the cover of a Weider mag.
6 of 20
June 1955
Clarence Ross on the beach. Still simple, but you can see that we were starting to add more headlines and content to the issues.
7 of 20
July 1968
The moment you’ve all been waiting for: Arnold Schwarzenegger in his first cover appearance.
8 of 20
October 1978
Robby Robinson competed well into his 50s and was a champion, so how could we not include him here?
9 of 20
December 1979
Muhammad Ali was and always will be a champion.
10 of 20
April 1981
Even though Arnold was the star of “Pumping Iron” back in the 80s, we can’t forget about Franco Columbu. Who do you think won that arm wrestling match?
11 of 20
July 1982
We shared the cover of M&F featuring “Conan the Destroyer,” so here is the issue featuring “Conan the Barbarian.” Which one did you like better?
12 of 20
May 1983
Steve Reeves was proof that you can still train and diet in your 50s to keep up with looking close to how you did in your 20s. What’s your excuse?
13 of 20
April 1989
Lou Ferrigno will always be one of our favorite cover guys, he’s been on too many of our issues to even count, but we knew you would ask so the answer is 17 covers.
14 of 20
July 1997
Of all the Arnold specials we’ve ever put together, this was the most massive: 90 pages plus a poster. Unfortunately, six of those 90 pages were dedicated to a Batman & Robin preview. We apologize if it got anyone excited. We truly had no inkling it would be one of the worst films of all time.
15 of 20
February 1999
As we mentioned earlier, women don’t often get a shot at a cover, but Carmen Electra did back in 1999. Check her out again now in the April issue.
16 of 20
June 2002
The first of five M&F covers (and counting) for Dwayne Johnson is the only one published pre-shoulder tattoo, and delivered the Brahma Bull’s full training program. And yes, even in that shirt he can still whup your candy ass.
17 of 20
February 2004
This cover was big, bold and like nothing you’d ever seen before — just like Ronnie Coleman himself.
18 of 20
July 2009
A big Hollywood star as a badass character on a really strong red background made this cover great.
19 of 20
March 2012
Terry Crews: This was a landmark for Terry Crews—his second cover within 12 months—and also saw him taking the No. 3 spot on our list of the best Hollywood arms of all-time. Crews was edged only by Lou Ferrigno (No. 2), and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
20 of 20
July 2012
Bruce Lee: Accompanying our never-before-seen photos of Bruce Lee was a collection of stories from the people who knew him best—plus our own modern-day take on his training methods aimed at getting you lean, ripped, and athletic.
Barton Horvath was the star of the first issue of Your Physique, the issue that began Joe Weider’s fitness magazine legacy.
October 1944
Joe Weider put himself on the cover of this issue. To save money? Save time? He does have a killer physique though, so that must be why.
September 1945
Jack LaLanne on his first, but certainly not his last, issue of Weider fitness mags.
April 1949
Steve Reeves was a star for many years. Here is one of his first covers when simplicity was its finest.
October 1949
Women don’t often grace the cover of Muscle & Fitness anymore, but until the 90s it was common. Particularly if it was a male and a female on the cover. (If you saw our 15 Worst Covers of All TIme, you’ll know what we mean.) Val Njord stole the show this month, one of the first women to be on the cover of a Weider mag.
June 1955
Clarence Ross on the beach. Still simple, but you can see that we were starting to add more headlines and content to the issues.
July 1968
The moment you’ve all been waiting for: Arnold Schwarzenegger in his first cover appearance.
October 1978
Robby Robinson competed well into his 50s and was a champion, so how could we not include him here?
December 1979
Muhammad Ali was and always will be a champion.
April 1981
Even though Arnold was the star of “Pumping Iron” back in the 80s, we can’t forget about Franco Columbu. Who do you think won that arm wrestling match?
July 1982
We shared the cover of M&F featuring “Conan the Destroyer,” so here is the issue featuring “Conan the Barbarian.” Which one did you like better?
May 1983
Steve Reeves was proof that you can still train and diet in your 50s to keep up with looking close to how you did in your 20s. What’s your excuse?
April 1989
Lou Ferrigno will always be one of our favorite cover guys, he’s been on too many of our issues to even count, but we knew you would ask so the answer is 17 covers.
July 1997
Of all the Arnold specials we’ve ever put together, this was the most massive: 90 pages plus a poster. Unfortunately, six of those 90 pages were dedicated to a Batman & Robin preview. We apologize if it got anyone excited. We truly had no inkling it would be one of the worst films of all time.
February 1999
As we mentioned earlier, women don’t often get a shot at a cover, but Carmen Electra did back in 1999. Check her out again now in the April issue.
June 2002
The first of five M&F covers (and counting) for Dwayne Johnson is the only one published pre-shoulder tattoo, and delivered the Brahma Bull’s full training program. And yes, even in that shirt he can still whup your candy ass.
February 2004
This cover was big, bold and like nothing you’d ever seen before — just like Ronnie Coleman himself.
July 2009
A big Hollywood star as a badass character on a really strong red background made this cover great.
March 2012
Terry Crews: This was a landmark for Terry Crews—his second cover within 12 months—and also saw him taking the No. 3 spot on our list of the best Hollywood arms of all-time. Crews was edged only by Lou Ferrigno (No. 2), and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
July 2012
Bruce Lee: Accompanying our never-before-seen photos of Bruce Lee was a collection of stories from the people who knew him best—plus our own modern-day take on his training methods aimed at getting you lean, ripped, and athletic.
