Impressive
Health & Fitness, Inspiring - - Posted on December, 17 at 7:05 pm
The other night Mr. W. and I watched an older documentary (circa 2000) on Ronnie Coleman, 8 times Mr. Olympia. Though it wasn’t terribly entertaining, it was oddly captivating in reflecting the admirable simplicity of this great athlete. I’d consider myself a distant but long time fan of bodybuilding though I have never followed anyone in particular. This was my first glance at the phenomenal Ronnie Coleman and I must say I was I-M-P-R-E-S-S-E-D. Big time. And I don’t mean by his massive physique, though incredible, I mean I was blown away by his admirable character underneath the muscle & behind title.
Despite his assumed mega-salary from his long run as Mr. Olympia, Mr. Coleman continued to work 8+ hours a day as a police officer. He mentioned that his officer’s salary is but a small portion of his Mr. Olympia salary, but he does it because he loves it. At the time of the video he had been with the force for 10 years although I later read that he left a couple years later to become a full time athlete.
He works out at Metroflex gym, a rather ”normal” (read: crappy) neighborhood gym with raggedy old equipment. Ronnie mentioned that since owner Brian Dobson believed in him and helped him get where he is today he feels he owes it to Brian to keep coming to the gym. So there you have it folks, who needs an expensive trendy gym when a seemingly average gym was able to turn Ronnie Coleman into Mr. Olympia!
The video follows Mr. Coleman through some of his daily routines and workouts where you’ll hear him holler “Light weight, baby!” “Ain’t nuttin’ but a peanut!” and “Yeah buddy!” before he’s about to lift something heavy. Hilarous!
Other than his handful of flashy cars (which actually needed to be washed - no glitz & glamour for him) he seemed to live a very modest life in a house you certainly won’t find on Cribs. Further research told me he eats the same foods every day, does not drink, do drugs, or go out partying and prefers to maintain his simple life in Arlington, Texas rather than move to a flashy city. Boring…or wise? Apparently it works for him.
Ronnie seems so out of character for someone of his stature. Like I said, the video wasn’t terribly entertaining, but it certainly sparked my interest in learning more about this man who very quickly gained my respect. Very impressive indeed.
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