Ronnie Coleman's Best & Worst Bodybuilding Tips

Ronnie Coleman’s Finest & Worst Bodybuilding Suggestions

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They name him “the King” for a cause. Ronnie Coleman, eight-time Mr. Olympia winner and purveyor of family staples like “Yeah, buddy,” had among the best physiques to ever grace a bodybuilding stage. 

  • Coleman popped a squat into bodybuilding’s seat of energy along with his first Olympia victory in 1998. Only a 12 months prior, Coleman had positioned a modest ninth. He’d proceed to maintain the throne heat and rack up Sandow trophies till 2005. 

However his bodybuilding recommendation leaves a bit extra to be desired. Certain, Coleman obtained a couple of issues proper, and we’re going to begin with these — however you’ll additionally discover three nuggets of knowledge from the King that haven’t stood the take a look at of time.

Listed below are a few of Ronnie Coleman’s finest and worst bodybuilding suggestions ever. 

Ronnie Coleman Bodybuilding Suggestions


Good: Ab Coaching

Coleman’s period got here to an finish virtually 20 years in the past now, which makes relationship footage from his prime tough. Throughout an interview from his aggressive years, Coleman touched on his philosophy concerning ab training:

  • “I do abs each different day,” Coleman defined. “I attempt to hit them no less than 3 times per week, and I combine up my workouts rather a lot.” 

In terms of ab coaching, it is a stellar tip from Coleman. Core exercises is usually a bit boring, however you do have to carry out a certain quantity of it every week to make sure your abs get greater and stronger. 

The way you allot that weekly quantity quota is usually as much as you. Hitting your core 3 times per week with fewer actions is a good way to make sure you aren’t slacking on ab coaching. And to Coleman’s credit score, some research have proven that recurrently rotating workouts results in higher power features than sticking with the identical strikes for too lengthy. (1)

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Good: Muscle Development Rules

Regardless of a couple of iconic coaching movies, together with 800-pound deadlifts and squats — Coleman advised NFL tight finish Shannon Sharpe he might’ve squatted 800 for six, by the best way — the King was no ego lifter. In actual fact, his philosophy on muscle hypertrophy comports fairly effectively with what we all know at this time. 

Right here’s Coleman speaking to bodybuilding journalist Greg Merritt for FLEX journal:

  • “My three most hallowed coaching rules are to make use of essentially the most weight doable; with essentially the most right kind; via a full vary of movement.”

The sacred texts, certainly. Coleman’s three-pronged treatise on muscle development is difficult to argue with, even 20 years on from his final Olympia win. 

Lifting heavy allows progressive overload, (2) coaching a full vary of movement maximizes development potential, (3) and, in fact, good approach is important to creating strong mind-muscle connection and decreasing harm threat. Coleman was on the cash with this one.

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Good: Train Choice

Bodybuilders revere a well-developed back — Coleman’s was his calling card. The again is an intricate net of muscular tissues that you may’t hope to adequately practice with one or two workouts. Coleman’s method to bodybuilding train choice doubtless helped separate him from the pack on this regard.

It’s a semi-common follow now, however Coleman would carry out two distinct back workouts every week, one emphasizing thickness and the opposite width. Right here’s a pattern, courtesy of FLEX:

Ronnie Coleman Again Thickness Exercise

Ronnie Coleman Again Width Exercise

FLEX says Coleman would carry out every exercise as soon as per week. We couldn’t agree extra with this method — research present twice-weekly coaching optimizes muscle development (4) and barely various the workouts to focus on weak points and keep selection may also help you keep away from boredom. 

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Dangerous: Squats for Supersets

Coleman misplaced the plot a bit on this one. The King believed squats have been the last word leg train (they are) and that squats have been, “best for supersets.” They don’t seem to be.

  • “No different place permits such a fast and simple transition from one train to a different,” he continued.

To his credit score, you will get a whole lot of work accomplished within the squat rack, positive. When deciding on for supersets, you’ll usually wish to pair actions that received’t demand an excessive amount of of your cardiovascular system or that work completely completely different muscular tissues.

Apart from supersetting squats with, say, lateral raises, there aren’t many different leg workouts price spending your beneficial relaxation intervals on. In actual fact, squats are so demanding on their very own that you’re higher off simply sitting down and taking a breather. 

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Dangerous: Coaching for the Pump

Bodybuilders revere the pump. All-time nice Arnold Schwarzenegger even regarded it as, let’s say, his second favourite feeling ever. Coleman took issues a step additional and, mistakenly, thought-about a very good pump a muscle-making must-do: 

  • “A muscle receives the utmost profit provided that you may really feel it being pumped and burned,” Coleman told FLEX. “As quickly as that sensation fades or shifts, you’ve gone too far. I by no means go to failure.” 

There’s loads of proof on the contrary on-line — Coleman trained to failure no less than among the time. However taking his phrases at face worth, what he’s saying right here is misaligned with modern, evidence-based hypertrophy science. 

  • Coaching for a pumped sensation is an efficient indicator that the train you’re doing aligns together with your physique posturally, but it surely isn’t indicative of productive lifting. In any case, you might curl five-pound dumbbells for 100 reps in a row, get a loopy pump, and construct exactly zero mass from it. 
  • Research inform us that coaching to failure isn’t essential to induce muscle development, although many bodybuilding coaches endorse it for machine or cable exercises particularly. (5)

Coleman’s phrase about load shifting is on level, nevertheless. You don’t wish to really feel an train in your joints as an alternative of your muscular tissues, however you additionally shouldn’t chase the pump on the expense of rigidity and development. Based mostly on most of his different recommendation, Coleman understood this simply positive.

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Dangerous: Protein Consumption

At the hours of darkness ages — earlier than social media, in fact — bodybuilding lore was fairly wild, particularly when it got here to vitamin. There weren’t many protein consumption calculators flying round, so that you needed to go off of what you heard in a weight room or learn in a muscle magazine. 

Absurdly excessive protein consumption solutions have been pretty frequent, and Coleman’s personal benchmark was no exception. 

  • Throughout one interview shortly after his aggressive years, Coleman famous that his protein consumption quota was two grams of dietary protein per pound of physique weight.

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