Ronnie Coleman
Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman is an American retired professional bodybuilder. Mr. Olympia wins a total of eight which makes him the second Mr. Olympia in history after Lee Haney with Mr. Olympia titles. Ronnie Coleman has been lifting weights since he was 13 years old and began competing at the age of 21. In his prime, he was one of the largest bodybuilders in the world, weighing over 300 pounds (136 kg). After retiring from competitive bodybuilding, Coleman transitioned to a career in fitness training and became a successful businessman with his own line of nutritional supplements and fitness equipment. In November 2020, Coleman underwent successful surgery to repair a torn quadriceps tendon. The Mr. Olympia title is widely considered to be the pinnacle of achievement in professional bodybuilding, and Ronnie Coleman is widely considered to be one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time. His success has inspired many other athletes to pursue a career in bodybuilding. Thank you for your question!
8x Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman has had a number of surgeries over the last few years.
King Coleman is undeniably one of the most successful bodybuilders who ever lived. However, that with a tremendous struggle behind the bar and doing what was necessary to be the best, injuries are unfortunately always close in hand.
In addition, Coleman has had his share of setbacks due to hard training which has led to multiple back surgeries.
In the following social media posts and two days ago he heads in for the 6-hours surgery.
“We just received word that Ronnie came out of surgery just fine! He is resting and recovering now.”
?Thank you for all of the support!#Ronniecoleman”
“I’m praying to God that this surgery is very successful and it is my last. I also appreciate each and every prayer you guys are giving me too. Much love to all of you guys from the bottom of my heart. I love and appreciate your Love very very much. This will be the first time that I’ll be worried about a surgery out of all the 7 surgeries I’ve had in the past. Also, this will be the first surgery that I’ll be having my intestines removed in order to put them in a cage around my L4-L5 discs. I’m just hoping they perform the same way once they are put back inside my body. ”
– Ronnie Coleman
Ronnie Coleman’s Career
Coleman’s fellow officer Gustavo Arlotta suggested he attend the Metroflex gym, owned by amateur bodybuilder Brian Dobson. Dobson offered Coleman a free lifetime membership if he allowed Dobson to train him for the upcoming 1990 Mr. Texas bodybuilding competition.[17] After training for Mr. Texas, Coleman won first place in both the heavyweight and overall categories. He also defeated Dobson himself. Coleman won his first competition as a professional, the Canada Pro Cup, in 1995. The following year, he won the contest again, then went on to win the 1997 Russian Grand Prix. He also participated in powerlifting competitions in the mid-1990s.[18]
His rise at the top in the professional circuit of bodybuilding was relatively slow: for his first participation at the Mr. Olympia contest (the most prestigious worldwide) in 1992, he wasn’t ranked; then in 1994 he placed 15th, then 10th in 1995, 6th in 1996, and 9th in 1997 when Dorian Yates won his sixth and last title before retiring.[19] The following year, Kenneth Wheeler was favored to become the 10th individual Mr. Olympia titleholder, with predominant competition coming from Nasser El Sonbaty, Kevin Levrone, and Shawn Ray. However, Coleman—whose Night of Champions victory earlier in the year had considerably elevated his esteem in the bodybuilding world—brought substantial improvements to the stage and went on to defeat Wheeler by three points for his first Mr. Olympia win.[19] Coleman defended his title all the way through the 2005 contest, earning a total of eight consecutive victories and tying Lee Haney as the winningest Mr. Olympia in history. In 2001, he became the first man to win both the Arnold Classic and the Mr. Olympia titles the same year (only Dexter Jackson has repeated this feat, in 2008). Coleman’s reign as Mr. Olympia came to an end in 2006 when Jay Cutler, the three-time consecutive runner-up heading into the contest, finally earned his first win. It was only the second time in contest history that a reigning multi-champion Mr. Olympia had lost his title (as opposed to retiring). The previous instance occurred when Arnold Schwarzenegger defeated Sergio Oliva in 1970. Coleman made his final Mr. Olympia appearance in 2007, placing 4th.
Coleman’s success as a professional bodybuilder has led to many product endorsements and other opportunities in his career, which he has traveled the world to promote.[20] He has made many guest appearances at gym openings around the U.S. When training, he preferred to use free weights rather than machines in order to maximize his flexibility and range of motion. He has made three training videos: The Unbelievable,[21] The Cost of Redemption,[22] and On the Road.[23] In these videos, he gives tips for more experienced weightlifters, while warning against overexertion and improper form.
Coleman supports the Inner City Games, an organization co-founded by Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1991. He was the recipient of the 2001 Admiral in the Texas Navy Certificate Award from Texas Governor Rick Perry for outstanding achievements in bodybuilding and for the promotion of physical fitness.[24] In 2011, he launched Ronnie Coleman Signature Series, a company that provides sports nutrition and wellness products for bodybuilders and other athletes.[25]
The extreme weights Coleman used over the course of his career competing as a powerlifter and bodybuilder, such as squats and deadlifts with 800 lbs, took a toll on his body and he has undergone numerous surgeries since 2007. These include two hip replacements and various attempts at alleviating chronic pain from damaged intervertebral discs.[26] He has continued to train despite his deteriorated condition, but can only use light weights now, to try to prevent muscle loss as of 2018,[27] and some of his surgeries (each one costing between $300,000 and $500,000) had such poor outcomes that he may never be able to walk unassisted again.[28] Coleman uses a wheelchair if he has to travel long distances.[29] However, he has said that he does not regret his choices and admits that he was determined to be the best bodybuilder at any cost; he said that, if anything, he regrets not having done even more to consolidate his legacy.[26]
In 2018, Vlad Yudin documented Coleman’s life and career in the Netflix documentary Ronnie Coleman: The King.[15] For the film’s credits, rapper Quan made a song called “Flexin’ on Them (Ronnie Coleman)” inspired by Coleman’s bodybuilding career.[30]
