Why Ronnie Coleman Has Deteriorated

Ronnie Coleman is an EIGHT-TIME Mr. Olympia champion who has also won an Arnold Classic title and a record 26 IFBB pro contests. He’s deadlifted 800 pounds, squatted 800 pounds, and benched 200lb dumbbells. Ridiculous feats of human strength. In a world where bodybuilders are stereotyped as weak, Ronnie was among the best bodybuilders and powerlifters in the world during his prime.

Since 2007, Ronnie has had at least 6 surgeries on his neck, back, and hips. According to Muscle & Fitness:

•  December 2007 - Laminectomy of L4-L5 discs

•  July 2011 - Disc decompression of L3-L4 discs

•  December 2011 - Fusion of neck C4-C5-C6

•  July 2014 - Left hip replacement requiring 2 screws

•  August 2014 - Right hip replacement requiring 4 screws

•  July 2015 - Fusion of L3-L4 discs

TWO HIP REPLACEMENTS. Those are not simple surgeries. These are serious operations, with serious risks. And they’re the result of having moved far more weight than the human body was ever designed to do. It’s important for people to push themselves out of their comfort zones, but is it necessary to push your spine out of your body?

Ronnie says he doesn’t regret a minute of his body-breaking regimen. The dude’s training literally broke his back, but he says he wouldn't have changed any of it. Well, actually, he’s said that he wished he would have trained harder: “I know for a fact that I could have done four reps on that 800-pound squat instead of two, but I had two set in my mind before I even picked it up, so that’s what I did.” Honestly, it’s hard to believe that he would lie about wishing he had done more damage to his body. Ronnie is loved worldwide for his dedication to the sport and to his fans, and for the majority of his adult life, bodybuilding was his life. He could have gone the way of many of the bodybuilders of his era and rejoined humanity, but he didn’t. He gets props for that, but he clearly took it too far.

Ronnie lifted heavy-ass weights too often and too long. Most people see his 800 pound squats and don’t realize that Ronnie trained that hard everyday. His work ethic was insane (and he was a genetic freak who must have taken copious amounts of cool drugs), and his lift numbers reflected that. But now it's difficult for him to walk.

Now I’m not one to judge, but This is not worth it. Sure, many people have hip replacement surgeries. Many people have neck and back surgeries without having ever touched a barbell, I guess. And it’s fun to lift weights and get big. But if you end of walking around with 0 cartilage left in your hips, and then losing total use of your legs, you’ve done something wrong. If you’re still lifting weights the day before your 6th surgery, it’s no longer cool, it’s fucking sad. Weightliftingn is no longer a hobby or a job, it's an addiction. The scars of extreme bodybuilding can be mental, or in Ronnie’s case, physical. 

Stay healthy, bros. Don’t squat 800 pounds on the regular.