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Ronnie Coleman Set New Standard For Mr Olympia
In 1996, Dorian Yates set a new standard for
bodybuilding training videos with the release of his
hard-core tape "Blood and Guts". It's only
fitting that the video that raises that standard
should come from Dorian's successor to the throne of
Mr. Olympia, none other than Ronnie Coleman himself.
In "Ronnie Coleman - The Unbelievable",
Mitsuru Okabe has collaborated with the 3 Time Mr.
Olympia to create the most incredible display of
brutal, hard-core training ever witnessed. After
viewing the tape for the first time, I had to question
if Coleman is even human because the workouts he
performs only 5 weeks away from the 2000 Mr. Olympia
contest are anything but.
Mike Quinn once commented that his competitors have to
beat him in the gym first if they wanted to beat him
on stage. If this is true, I can't imagine anyone
beating Ronnie Coleman for a long, long time because I
sincerely doubt if anyone is putting out the kind of
intensity and effort that he is.
The video chronicles a week of Coleman's preparation
for the Mr. Olympia contest. A true training tape, it
includes four workout sessions that cover every
bodypart. The video begins with a delts and trap
training session. Ronnie states that his goal while
training for the Mr. Olympia is to use the same
poundages that he routinely uses in the off-season
even though he is limiting the amount of calories and
carbs that he normally takes in.
During his deltoid workout, Coleman easily performs
Seated Military Presses with 315 pounds for 12 reps.
After the basics are out of the way, Ronnie
demonstrates his version of Giant Sets as he applies
them to the Side Lateral Raise exercise. His
incredible delts look like oversized coconuts as he
pumps them up with set after set. The workout
concludes with 200 pounds Dumbbell Shrugs as he trains
those massive traps that threaten to reach up and
touch his ears.
After the workout, we watch as Ronnie gets ready for
work as a police officer with the Arlington, Texas
police department. The sight of the 285 pound Mr.
Olympia as he arrives at a domestic disturbance is
hilarious. Having Ronnie arrive at your door has to be
quite a sobering experience.
Coleman's dedication is evident as he works his
training and diet around his work schedule. He is on
the treadmill for an hour when he wakes up at 7am and
then again when he gets home from a long day at work
at midnight. In between, he can be seen eating his
home-cooked chicken in the squad car as he attempts to
get his meals in on time.
The second workout on the tape is an incredible back
training session. Beginning with Deadlifts, Ronnie
warms up with several sets before displaying
world-class powerlifting strength as he pulls a
gargantuan 805 pounds off the floor for 2 reps! Has
this ever been done by a bodybuilder before, let alone
5 weeks out from a contest?? Barbell Rows with 495
pounds are performed next with relative ease
considering they are done after the Deadlifts. Wait,
he's not finished yet! Rows with the end of the
barbell in the corner finish the workout. We watch in
amazement as he rams up 12 plates (540 pounds)for an
amazing 9 reps! Ronnie delivers the most quotable line
in the video as he states, "Everybody want to be
a bodybuilder but don't nobody want to lift no heavy
ass weights!"
The next workout on the video is for chest and
triceps. Everyone knows how strong Chris Cormier is in
the gym. I recall watching the "Road to the
Olympia 99" tape and being very impressed when
Chris did 5 shaky reps with 200 pound dumbbells on the
Dumbbell Bench Press exercise. You can imagine how
amazed I was when Coleman manhandles the same weight
for an easy 12 reps. I'm telling you, this guy is not
human!
All of Coleman's workouts take place in the Metroplex
Gym in his hometown. After seeing so many of
bodybuilding's "superstars" with their
support "teams" working out in some of the
most glamorous gyms in the country, I was shocked to
see Mr. Olympia himself training alone in a hard-core
gym with NO support and NO help. Ronnie doesn't even
have a training partner throughout the tape and he
often has to call for gym owner Brian Dobson to come
from behind the front desk to give him a spot. Of
course, that doesn't stop him from performing some of
the most mind-blowing workouts ever as he prepares to
win another Olympia title.
The video concludes with a leg workout that has to be
seen to be believed. A true proponent of basic
exercises and heavy training, Ronnie demonstrates what
intensity is all about as he begins with the Front
Squat exercise. In what has to be some of the most
incredible training footage ever filmed, Coleman pumps
out reps in the Front Squat with 585 pounds! You will
watch in amazement as the bar bends under the strain
of the weight and Ronnie's head looks like it's going
to pop off from the tension. After 4 reps, Ronnie
drops the bar but comes back in the next set to pump
out an easy 10 reps with a mere 495 pounds.
Super heavy Hack Squats are next and Ronnie wraps up
the workout by doing Walking Barbell Lunges in the
parking lot of the gym. Coleman looks like a
modern-day Hercules as he toils under the hot summer
sun walking the length of the parking lot with 185
pounds on his shoulders.
Even more amazing than Ronnie Coleman's strength and
physique is his attitude and character. There is never
a hint of self-pity or despair during this incredible
display of superhuman workouts. Ronnie truly loves
bodybuilding and I could not imagine him any happier
than he is when he is lifting heavy weights and
pumping up. Throughout the video, he routinely lets
out exultations of "Light Weight!" and
"Yeah buddy!" as he psychs up to lift these
incredible poundages.
The video concludes with Ronnie's tribute to gym owner
Brian Dobson. He touchingly refers to Dobson as his
own personal "angel". Ronnie states that he
believes everyone has a purpose in life and his
purpose was to be Mr. Olympia. When Brian Dobson
approached Ronnie in 1989 and offered him a free gym
membership if he would enter a bodybuilding contest,
he set into motion a series of events that have
culminated with Ronnie Coleman as 3 time Mr. Olympia
winner and one of the biggest and most intense
bodybuilders on the planet. We should all be thankful!
This is what Ronnie Coleman himself had to say about
my review of the video.
Wow John that was one incredible review, it brought
tears to my eyes, I'm surely gonna frame it when it
comes out in the Magazine. Thanks a whole lot bro, I
really and truly do appreciate that you appreciate the
hard work and dedication that went into making that
video. I did have a lot of fun making it and now I
know it was well worth it from that review.
By Ronnie Coleman
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