Written by Ron Harris
05 October 2006
 

Seven-Time Mr. Olympia, Ronnie Coleman

By Ron Harris

 

A More Complete Picture of the Man

 

            Over the course of nearly two years now, I have painstakingly reviewed and analyzed Ronnie Coleman's two training tapes, "The Unbelievable" and "The Cost of Redemption" within these pages.  At times it may have come across in print as the adulation of a fan, and that isn't entirely untrue. I confess to being a fan and holding Ronnie in the utmost esteem for reasons ranging far beyond his incredible physique. He has proven himself worthy of the title of champion with a dogged perseverance and an unflappable work ethic, as well as having beaten a pack of talent over his seven wins that has included greats such as Flex Wheeler, Jay Cutler, Kevin Levrone, Chris Cormier, Shawn Ray, Nasser El Sonbaty and Dexter Jackson. It should be noted that he has beaten all these men at their very best, marking Ronnie as the greatest bodybuilder alive since Dorian Yates abdicated the throne in 1997- and it's a shame we never got to see the current incarnation of Big Ron go head to head with The Shadow in his prime.

Though Ronnie has columns and articles every month, it's through his training tapes that I feel I got to know him more closely. In fact, after having viewed them many times each, I now wish to close the book on the discussion of them by sharing what I learned about Ronnie Coleman from observing these selected bits and pieces of his life in and out of the gym, caught on camera for his fans to get a more complete picture of the man behind the freaky muscles. 

 

Ronnie Loves to Train

I have seen a few training videos, such as the last two from Jay Cutler, the one with Dennis James and of course Markus Ruhl's "Made in Germany." Thanks to my previous job with the "ESPN American Muscle" show, I was able to watch dozens of other top pros of the ‘90s train as we filmed them. Toward the end of my tenure, I even got to direct Flex Wheeler's "Mass Construction," shot at my gym in Pasadena, no less. One thing that sets Ronnie clearly apart from most of these other athletes is that he genuinely loves to train. Guys like Jay and Dennis do not show the type of enthusiasm Ronnie does for working out. It's obvious training is regarded more as a job, something that has to be done for a desired outcome, but they do not seem to enjoy the actual process itself.

            Right away, you might say that at least in the case of the videos, which are typically filmed just before a contest so the athlete is in great condition, the men are dieted down and low on energy and enthusiasm. If we saw them in the off-season, their dispositions in the gym would most likely be quite different. You would have a valid point, but Ronnie's most famous video, "The Unbelievable," was shot just five weeks away from the Mr. Olympia contest. In that tape, Ronnie was dieted down close to contest condition, with all the low-carbs and increased cardio this entails. Yet, Big Ron does not let the stress and fatigue rob him of the joy heavy lifting brings him. Dennis and Jay both brood miserably between sets, while Ronnie smiles and cracks his famous catchphrases. Speaking of the catchphrases, a lot of people like to poke fun at Ronnie for his now familiar utterances, oft repeated in his videos, such as:

"Light weight, baby!"

"Ain't nuttin' but a peanut!"

‘Yeah, buddy!"

"Everybody wanna be a bodybuilder, but don't nobody wanna lift no heavy-ass weight!"

            These are often hollered across the gym before launching into a heavy set, which in Ronnie's case is just about every set. They are certainly part of his psych-up, but they are also a strong indication that training is sheer fun for the big man. It may also be his job, but in Ronnie's case, he loves his job.  Statements other top pros have made revealed they did not or do not share the same love. Flex Wheeler was widely criticized by the hardcore crowd for saying several times that once his competitive career was over, he wasn't going to so much look at a weight ever again. He later retracted the statement, explaining that it was made toward the end of a contest prep period when his energy and enthusiasm were both at very low points. But I can say from watching Flex train a few times that he could take it or leave it. I always got the feeling that he dreaded the gym more than he looked forward to it.

            In contrast, at the Mr. Olympia victory seminar in 2003 (when it was a real question and answer format with the three Olympia champions), unlike this past year's big let-down (a gathering of over a dozen random pros that turned into a big bitch-fest about the Challenge Round and the lack of money in the sport), Ronnie told the audience he would always train hard, long after he quit competing. And as for quitting, compare Ronnie's attitude to Jay Cutler's. Jay has gone on record at various times to say he planned on retiring by the age of 32 or 33 (he turns 33 this summer, by the way), indicating a desire to make as much money as quickly as possible and then get out while he was still young and in good health. Not that there's anything wrong with that attitude- you have to respect, in particular, his desire to keep the damage to his body minimal, but it again shows you that bodybuilding is more of a business venture to Jay than a passion. 

Ronnie is about to turn 41, and has made no mention of wrapping up his career anytime soon. "I will keep winning the Olympia as long as God wants me to," he has said.  

            But the bottom line is that Ronnie Coleman loves to train. It's in his blood. He was lifting heavy for many years before he ever contemplated becoming a bodybuilder in his mid-twenties, competing many times as a powerlifter in the decade preceding his first appearance onstage. For him, nothing could ever take the place of the challenge enormous amounts of heavy iron provide. The gym is his proving ground, his playground and his sanctuary.  He even has a very well equipped home gym, in contrast to other bodybuilders who may have only a treadmill or stationary bike in the garage. Ronnie loves the gym so much he just had to have one 20 feet away from where he sleeps, for God's sake! For those of us who share that same love of training, even though we know Mother Nature never intended us to look anything like Ronnie, he is still one of us.

            Ronnie is perfect proof of this bit of wisdom: "Find a job you love, and you will never have to work another day in your life."

 

Boring Life? More Like Consistent

            Ronnie's videos did not capture any of the many guest appearances he does around the world throughout the year, which must include many exotic locations and interesting people to meet. What they do is give you a good idea of is his daily routine. In "The Unbelievable," we followed a week in his life while he was still employed full-time as an officer for the Arlington, Texas, Police Department. Ronnie's life consisted mainly of work, working out, eating and sleeping- and that was it. Two years later in the second tape, "Cost of Redemption," Ronnie has left that job and is now a full-time professional athlete. From what I could figure, the only thing that really changed is that a couple of his daily meals are eaten at Outback Steakhouse and Black-Eyed Pea restaurants, rather than out of Tupperware in his patrol car. 

By all accounts, Ronnie does not go out much, except to a few Dallas Cowboys or Mavericks games in the off-season when he's not yet in his Olympia prep mode. You never hear about Ronnie going out club-hopping. He doesn't drink, he doesn't use recreational drugs and though unmarried, he has maintained two long-term relationships over the course of his bodybuilding career so far. One was with fellow pro bodybuilder Vickie Gates and currently with IFBB fitness pro Alti Bautista. Surely, with his status in the bodybuilding world, his physique, and let's be honest since we're talking about what attracts many women to a man, his considerable income, he could have a different "girlfriend" every week, or even keep a constant harem of five or six women at his beck and (booty) call, if he were so inclined. But that's not Ronnie. 

            I'm sure his Christian faith has something to do with it, but Ronnie chooses to lead a simpler life, free of drama and upheaval. He stays right there in quiet Arlington, Texas, close to his family, rather than live in a faster-paced, glitzy city like Los Angeles or Las Vegas. There are a few pro bodybuilders with a reputation for partying and going from woman to woman constantly, even moving from state to state several times. Ronnie's life may not seem as exciting compared to theirs, but this "boring" life is actually one of his most powerful "secret weapons" in being the dominant bodybuilder of his time. His life is incredibly consistent.

Think about it. If you've seen the last video, you know he eats the same exact meals every day. He doesn't even waste mental energy deciding what he's going to eat! Ronnie's day-to-day life is geared entirely toward making him a better bodybuilder, rather than seeking the next thrill or different type of pleasure. If you were to really look into the personal lives of many bodybuilders who had a very brief moment or moments of success and then fell out of the sport like shooting stars, you'd find that partying, volatile romantic relationships, legal problems and substance abuse often played major roles in why they didn't last. Ronnie has been on top of his chosen sport for seven years running now, and I wouldn't count out another seven years. Success has been defined by some as nothing more than doing the right things, consistently over a long enough period to bring about the desired outcome.  If that's true, then Ronnie Coleman is a true role model for others to pattern themselves after.    

 

            Training Does Not Change

            This is related to what was just discussed, but Ronnie's training is also remarkably consistent.  He has said that the way he trains now is exactly how he has been training ever since he started bodybuilding, down to the exercises and body part split. He doesn't have heavy days and light days for muscle groups, or break the weeks or months of the year up into different phases.  Many pros train very differently in the off-season, focusing on more basic free-weight movements, heavier weights, and low reps. When they are anywhere from 12 to 16 weeks out from a contest, their workouts start to shift toward more isolation movements, more cables and machines, and lighter weights and higher reps. The only way you would know whether Ronnie was in the off-season or dieting for the Olympia, by watching him train, was by seeing how lean he was. Those fundamental movements like squats, bench presses and deadlifts are still being done, and still being trained heavy, right up until show time. You also need to keep in mind that he includes isolation movements, but he can do both types of exercises every week because he trains each body part twice a week (see sidebar, "Body Part Workouts").  Few men can handle this workload, mentally or physically.

            Another maxim Ronnie proves with his training program is "Keep It Simple, Stupid!" Other bodybuilders are constantly searching for better ways to train, and that's fine, but in doing so there's certainly a lot of wasted or misdirected effort. Ronnie found what works for him, and stuck with it, never doubting himself or feeling the need to hire a trainer to push him in the gym and dream up innovative new angles and exercises to maintain his interest.

            A final area of training Ronnie keeps more constant than most other pros is his dedication to year-round cardio. While Chris Cormier is another man who comes to mind who hits his cardio 12 months a year, these guys are the exception. You can tell by the excessive body fat and how easily they get winded just walking two feet in an expo hall, that many pros don't do a lick of cardio in the off-season. A common justification for this is that cardio impedes size and strength gains. If that were true, Ronnie could probably be competing at 360 pounds and bench-pressing 700 for 12 reps if he only stayed the hell away from that Stepmill!

 

            Conclusion

            Thanks to a little over five hours of video footage, those of us not fortunate enough to be within Ronnie Coleman's inner circle of friends and family have nonetheless been able to get a very good glimpse into his character and disposition. Ronnie is a great champion, a fearless warrior, a man's man and a man of honor. As bodybuilders, we're lucky to have such a man representing our sport as champion. Long may he reign!

 

Official web site:

www.bigroncoleman.com

 

SIDEBAR

Body Part Workouts

 

Chest

The Unbelievable

Flat dumbbell press

Incline dumbbell press

Flat dumbbell flye

 

Cost of Redemption

Flat barbell bench press

Incline barbell bench press

Decline barbell bench press

 

Back

The Unbelievable

Deadlift

Barbell rows

"Corner" T-bar rows

 

Cost of Redemption

Cable pull-downs to front

Behind-neck cable pull-downs

Seated cable rows

Dumbbell pullovers

 

Shoulders

The Unbelievable

Seated military press

Dumbbell lateral raise, up and down the rack

Barbell front raise

Rear delt machine

Dumbbell rear laterals

Dumbbell shrugs

 

Cost of Redemption

Seated dumbbell presses

Superset: Machine lateral raises and overhead press

Dumbbell front raises

Standing cable rear laterals

Bent-over cable laterals

Barbell shrugs

 

Biceps

The Unbelievable

One-arm dumbbell preacher curls

Overhead front double biceps

 Cable curls

 

Cost of Redemption

Machine curls

Alternate dumbbell curls

Cable curls

 

Triceps

The Unbelievable

Superset: Skull crushers/close-grip bench press

Two-arm seated overhead dumbbell extension

Dumbbell kickback

 

Cost of Redemption

Seated overhead single-arm dumbbell extensions

Machine dips

Cable pushdowns

 

 Legs

The Unbelievable

Front squat

Hack squat

Parking lot lunges

Lying leg curls

Seated leg curls

 

Cost of Redemption

Leg extensions

Squats

Leg press

Standing one-leg curls

Stiff-leg deadlifts