What Happened To Ronnie Coleman? For many, the eight-time Mr. Olympia is not just a bodybuilding icon, but the undisputed GOAT of bodybuilding. Today, at 59, the legend moves with the aid of crutches or a wheelchair, a stark contrast to the man who once dominated the stage. What series of events led to Ronnie Coleman’s injuries? Why have numerous spinal surgeries provided limited relief? Is a full recovery still possible? And crucially, what can we learn from his journey, both from his health challenges and his unwavering “Yeah buddy!” spirit? Join The Barbell as we delve into the story of Ronnie Coleman, exploring the heavy weights, the heavy toll, and the perseverance of a true champion.
Ronnie Coleman, the 8-time Mr. Olympia, celebrates his victory in 1998, marking the beginning of his legendary reign in bodybuilding.
The Genesis of Ronnie Coleman’s Injuries
Ronnie Coleman’s battles with injury began long before the bright lights of the Mr. Olympia stage. In his compelling autobiography, Yeah Buddy!, he recounts the first strike at just 17 years old during a powerlifting meet. Attempting a 500-pound squat, disaster struck. “Suddenly, something happened. CRACK,” he vividly describes. “I instantly felt like a giant flash of lightening penetrated my lower back, burning my entire backside.” This was the first, but far from the last, time Coleman would experience such agonizing pain.
His athletic pursuits at Grambling State University further compounded the issues. Walking onto the football team in his sophomore year and playing linebacker as a senior, Coleman endured neck and back injuries, learning to push through persistent pain. These early traumas set the stage for the more significant challenges to come.
A young and athletic Ronnie Coleman pictured during his time playing football at Grambling State University, showcasing his early dedication to physical pursuits.
Despite these accumulating injuries, Ronnie Coleman’s passion for strength sports only intensified. He entered his first bodybuilding competition in 1990 and turned professional just two years later. Remarkably, throughout the early to mid-1990s, while ascending in the bodybuilding world, Coleman simultaneously competed in powerlifting, participating in the Texas Deadlift Classic annually from 1991 to 1994. In 1994, at age 30, he deadlifted an astounding 727.5 pounds (330 kg.), a testament to his raw power even before his first pro bodybuilding title. Training with incredible intensity at the legendary Metroflex Gym in Arlington, Texas, Coleman became as renowned for his Herculean strength as for his developing physique.
“Eventually, despite my utmost caution and being at the chiropractor at least once a week, it was only going to be a matter of time before the injuries I had suffered [on] the football field and [on] the powerlifting team were going to be exacerbated and come back to bite me,” Coleman reflects in his autobiography. The breaking point arrived in 1997 during a squat session with 600 pounds, resulting in a severe herniated disc. In a revealing interview with Joe Rogan, Coleman vividly described the incident:
“I was squatting 600—I can remember like it was yesterday—I was coming up on rep number eight, and all of sudden—BOW!—it was a loud, gunshot sound. I’d do 600 for like 12-13 reps all the time. This time I took two weeks off [before that leg workout], and I thought I was still as strong as before I took the time off, but I wasn’t. I lost a little strength, and that’s why that disc snapped on me like that. I heard it and I felt it, but, you know, the athlete in you is like: Let’s go on and finish this up. Every time I finished up working out, doing legs, I always had a real bad pain in my back, every single time, but it would always go away in like an hour. This day it didn’t.”
Despite the excruciating pain, Coleman completed his leg workout. When the pain persisted, an emergency room visit and MRI confirmed a herniated disc, with doctors recommending immediate surgery. However, with his bodybuilding career on the cusp of superstardom, surgery was not an option in his mind. He took a mere two weeks off before returning to Metroflex Gym and, incredibly, to squatting again.
Ronnie Coleman’s Relentless Pursuit of Heavy Training
1998 marked the year Ronnie Coleman ascended to the throne of bodybuilding, winning the first of his unprecedented eight consecutive Mr. Olympia titles. As he reigned supreme, defending his title each year and traveling the world as bodybuilding’s global ambassador, the thought of surgery was continually pushed aside. And crucially, the intensity of his training never waned. Ronnie Coleman only pushed harder, growing larger and stronger year after year.
In 2000, preparing for his third Mr. Olympia victory, Coleman achieved staggering feats of strength, deadlifting 755 lbs for four repetitions, and then 800 lbs (362.9 kg) for two reps. In 2003, in the lead-up to his sixth Olympia win, he squatted 800 lbs for two reps. These mind-boggling lifts weren’t part of his routine training but were performed specifically for workout videos, which were later released on DVD. However, they underscored his commitment to heavy lifting in all aspects of his training. Even his standard workouts were incredibly demanding; for instance, in 2003, he was filmed bench pressing 495 pounds for five reps.
Ronnie Coleman, even at 41 years old in 2005, demonstrates his incredible strength by squatting 585 pounds for 10 repetitions, showcasing his unwavering dedication to heavy lifting.
Focusing on the barbell squat, the exercise Coleman himself identified as the culprit for his teenage injury and the 1997 herniated disc, it’s clear his dedication to heavy squats never diminished during his competitive years. This writer witnessed him squatting 585 pounds for a grueling 10 reps in 2005 (as captured in the photo above) before his eighth and final Mr. Olympia victory, pushing himself to the point of a nosebleed. This feat is roughly equivalent to his 2003 single rep max, but this time performed without a squat suit and even without a spotter, at the age of 41. The following year, at 42, he front squatted 495 pounds for 10 reps. Coleman’s leg training was legendary – twice weekly, alternating back squats in one session and front squats in the other, always pushing the limits of what seemed humanly possible.
For a comprehensive look at Ronnie Coleman’s most impressive strength achievements, explore How Strong was Ronnie Coleman?.
Ronnie Coleman’s Long Road of Surgeries
Ronnie Coleman’s final Mr. Olympia competition was the 2007 Mr. Olympia. It was only then, after years of deferring treatment and having secured eight Mr. Olympia titles and countless heavy training sessions, that he finally addressed his persistent back pain with the spinal surgery initially recommended a decade prior. This surgery marked the beginning of a long and arduous series of procedures, none of which ultimately provided lasting relief. He underwent hip replacement surgery on both hips in 2014. In December 2015, after a lengthy flight to Russia, Coleman experienced an alarming increase in back pain. Within two days, he was reliant on crutches for mobility, a necessity that continues to this day for walking any significant distance. The following month, back in Texas, he underwent a 13-hour back surgery, which Coleman describes as the turning point where “everything was downhill from there.”
In 2018 alone, Coleman endured three spinal surgeries – his 8th, 9th, and 10th. These included a vertebral fusion, a procedure to repair broken screws from a previous surgery, and finally, a surgery to replace all screws with larger, more robust ones.
Despite undergoing his third surgery in 2018, Ronnie Coleman maintains a positive attitude, giving a thumbs up, reflecting his resilience and determination.
In a candid interview following his third surgery in 2018, Coleman expressed concerns about the effectiveness of his treatments and the surgeon involved:
“I don’t know if [walking without crutches] will ever happen because I’ve had too much damage done to my body from all these surgeries. A lot of it has to do with the way the surgeon performed the surgery; and the surgeon that I’ve had the last three surgeries has been really bad and caused a lot of damage to my body. So I don’t know if I’ll be able to walk, but I’m gonna give it my best shot. But I think if that surgeon had to perform these surgeries right then I would have been walking a long, long time ago….Just the way [the surgeon] did everything and performed everything it was like he was kind of doing these surgeries to make money, ’cause every surgery I’ve had done was like $300,000 to $500,000. The last three surgeries I had I spent almost $2 million dollars.”
The surgeries didn’t end in 2018. In 2020, due to a broken socket, he underwent a second set of hip replacements! In total, Ronnie Coleman has had an astonishing 13 surgeries: two on his hips, two on his neck, and nine on his back. He has undergone procedures on all 25 spinal discs. His entire spinal column is now fused, except for a single disc that is currently herniated. In his 2020 interview with Joe Rogan, Coleman described the extent of the hardware in his spine: “I’ve got 14 screws, two cages [to hold discs together], two rods about this long [18 inches] in there, too.”
Ronnie Coleman Today: Life Beyond the Stage
Today, Ronnie Coleman’s mobility remains limited. He can walk short distances without crutches, but nerve damage in his back causes his legs to weaken quickly. Despite these challenges, his commitment to fitness endures. He continues to work out regularly, albeit with lighter weights, and adheres to a modified bodybuilder’s diet of three meals a day, a reduction from the six or more he consumed during his competitive era. He celebrated his 59th birthday on May 13th. Coleman has also achieved success as an entrepreneur, owning a thriving nutritional supplement line. He is happily married with four young daughters. Recently, he listed his longtime home in Arlington, Texas, for sale as his family of six seeks a larger living space.
Ronnie Coleman in 2023, pictured at Metroflex Gym, demonstrating his continued dedication to daily training at 59 years old, embodying his enduring passion for bodybuilding.
Joe Rogan, in their interview, questioned Coleman about his continued weight training, asking, “Does it give you any pause at all knowing that you’ve been through all these surgeries?”
Coleman’s response was resolute: “No, when you’re doing something that you truly love and enjoy doing, that’s what you look forward to doing all the time, regardless of how you feel. Of course, I’m still in pain and all that kind of stuff.”
Rogan followed up, “Are you in pain all the time?”
Ronnie confirmed, “Yeah, but long as I’m doing what I love doing I’m okay. You take that away and I won’t be okay.”
Ronnie Coleman remains proactive in seeking solutions to alleviate his pain and improve his mobility. Since October 2020, following Rogan’s suggestion, he has undergone repeated stem cell treatments and hyperbaric therapy at a clinic in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. After one treatment session, he shared on Instagram: “As long as I have a plan I have a chance. As long as I’m alive I have a chance to survive and overcome this obstacle.”
What Happened to Ronnie Coleman: Lessons from a Legend
Ronnie Coleman’s story prompts reflection: What can we learn from his journey? Many believe there are crucial lessons to be gleaned. While Coleman shares the record of eight Mr. Olympia wins with his idol Lee Haney, Haney, famous for his mantra “Stimulate don’t annihilate,” advocating for moderate intensity, remains remarkably fit at 63. Arnold Schwarzenegger, with seven Olympia titles and no known mobility issues at 75, famously bikes to Gold’s Gym daily. Phil Heath, also a seven-time Mr. Olympia, is still in excellent condition at 43. Dorian Yates, a six-time Olympia winner celebrated for his high-intensity training and heavy weights in the 90s, experienced muscle tears but avoided free-weight squats after his early training years and now, at 61, is an avid cyclist and yoga enthusiast.
Was it the relentless heavy squats that compromised Ronnie Coleman’s mobility? He points to a 1997 squat session as the origin of his first herniated disc. However, he doesn’t solely blame heavy weights, citing genetics and, particularly, the complications from surgeries as primary factors. He continued heavy lifting for a decade after the initial disc herniation. Would early surgery in 1997 have altered his trajectory? It’s impossible to know. Perhaps he would be more mobile and pain-free today. However, given the limited success of subsequent surgeries, it’s also possible that earlier intervention might have accelerated his decline or even prevented his legendary Mr. Olympia reign.
Ronnie Coleman at his peak, age 35, triumphantly winning the 1999 Mr. Olympia, an image that captures his legendary physique and dominance in the sport.
What if Ronnie Coleman had adopted a training approach similar to Dorian Yates or Phil Heath, forgoing free-weight squats on the professional stage? What if he had avoided heavy deadlifts altogether? What if he had embraced Lee Haney’s philosophy of “stimulate, don’t annihilate,” prioritizing moderate weights over constant strength testing? He might possess Arnold’s mobility at 75. But then, he wouldn’t be Ronnie Coleman, the icon celebrated as much for his awe-inspiring strength two decades ago as for his unparalleled physique.
Does Ronnie Coleman harbor regrets? He expresses only one. Reflecting on the 800-pound squat he performed in 2003, he confided that his only wish was to have attempted more reps after the initial two. Focused on achieving two reps, he felt upon racking the bar that he had more in reserve. His sole regret is not pushing further, not setting an even higher benchmark. That encapsulates the essence of Ronnie Coleman’s drive.
“I did it my way,” the eight-time Mr. Olympia told me a few years ago, crutches resting beside him. “This is what worked for me. This is the price I paid to be a legend.”
Further Reading
Ronnie Coleman Health Update: Stem Cells and Hyperbaric Therapy
Ronnie Coleman, Natural? Exploring His Drug-Free Period
Lower Back Injury from Lifting: Prevention and Treatment Guide
