Hi all,
A young fella in the gym shared with me that the great RC is still in a wheelchair, which is strange considering I’ve seen recent vids of him leg-pressing, extensions etc. He claims he was “100%” sure, didn’t want to believe it and nearly went back to my car for a quiet cry… ;(
But I suspected he didn’t quite know what he was talking about, seems like a nice kid but lots of people say, “I’m sure”, 100% etc and it ends up as, “That’s what I thought though”.
Anyone know his actual status?
Sadly he’s his own worst enemy -About to have anothe major surgery with part of his spine and intestines removed and despite that still training like a complete asshole, jerking all over the place etc…
No, NOOOOOOO, no. 
Does no good to say “I told you so”, because I never met the man, like the vast majority of his fans. But FUCK it, I could see during the many years of him doing B/O rows in that jerky fashion he would eventually mess up his lower back - it was ASKING for trouble.
And he was doing those in what, 2000? That’s when his first vid came out featuring him swanning around in his patrol car, it’s not as if he just performed a few crappy workouts, this was his form for a DECADE.
You know the scariest part about this, people? When you see a wrong, you KNOW it’s wrong, and nobody says jack shit because the person doing that wrong it is the top of his profession, so we write it off with, “Oh, that was a little cheat to get more weight on the bar”. We wrote it off with, “He’s a huge fella, those lower lumbars are strong as fuck so they MUST be able to handle a little cheat”. We all keep our mouths shut, or fingers away from keyboards, for fear of ridicule from fellow fans, such is RC’s authority. Or was.
Because it turns out the cheat wasn’t so little after all, whether in terms of repetitivity, weight/spinal-strength ratio.
Yes, he did it to himself, yes he has gotten too damn carried away, no he’s no Rich Piana but I’m sorry, I have to wonder, if more of us had spoken up, if an otherwise smart fella like Ronnie would have wised up earlier.
I have a lump in my throat thinking about RC in a frickken WHEELCHAIR. I am a man whose parents both spent time in one. When I think about all the guys who have died in the last 10 years, I am heartbroken for our sport, which was all about looking healthy when I first picked up a dumbbell SOOOOO long ago in the 80’s, and now is little more than a freakshow.
I just got diagnosed, provisionally, with a partially torn Supra, either caused or aggravated by impingement. After years of crappy advice in magazines and then the internet, I’m happy that’s the worst (that I know about) that’s wrong with me. I had the good sense all these years to progress CONSERVATIVELY.
Guys, I’m sorry for venting. But I LOVE this cosa nostra. I remember the old pictures of Steve Reeves, how he was ogled fondly by women, then moved to the 80’s, when Vic Richards, of course MUCH bigger, was idolised by guys. A decade later, girls would swoon over the US + UK Gladiators. You see the progression; I was looking forward, at this time of my life, to a time when science had progressed so far, the 400lbs bodybuilder would be viewed as APPEARING completely natty, and diagnosed without significant health issues. I want to look at the magnificent Morgan Aste, and feel CONFIDENT he’ll get to 85, as most of his long-lived French compatriots do.
I hope this all is a low point for This Thing of Ours. I hope Chemistry vaults forward in making PED’s as safe as breathing mountain air. 'Roid users, I’m not picking a fight with you, so please don’t assume this is an invitation to step outside. I’m looking FORWARD to a day when bodybuilding is prescribed by the medical profession in particular, and the wider community in general, as a means to enhance health.
I wish Ronnie a speedy, and full recovery.
Being the best in the world doesn’t come without risks. Do you think Ronnie would have changed what got him to the top of the heap, when an Olympia was on the line, if anyone said something? Doubtful.
Anyway, as you say - best wishes to big Ron.
Yup. This is something a lot of folks don’t seem to get. The sort of mentality that is going to produce someone like Ronnie Coleman is also the exact same sort of mentality that will trade years off their lives and health for success.
No, it’s not a healthy mentality, but not everyone is in a race to be healthy.
Very true.
You can also have the same mentality, but not the genetics to get to the top like Ronnie did. Its very hard on your body to be a pro bodybuilder these days.
I doubt this because, despite his condition, he said in a recent interview he regretted the 800lbs squat. But what he regretted was only doing two reps because he knew deep down he had four in him that day!
ANyone else watch Dorian’s IG? While he tore god knows how many things during his reign, he knew enough to walk Away and hasn’t touched a weight in a considerable while. Yoga, hiking, biking,… focusing on actually being healthy despite what he realizes he put himSelf through to be the best.
I loved watching Ronnie back in the day but damnit I wish he could gain some healthy perspective.
S
I don’t share y’alls perspective. I see a man who is still doing exactly what the fuck he wants to do with his life, and ignoring the critics. He’s consistently said that if he could take it all back, he wouldn’t, or he’d work harder/beat himself up more. He’s living the dream.
You think he’s his own worst enemy? The man who is his worst enemy is the man who lets his thoughts and fears keep him from chasing his dreams. Most people are never better at anything than mediocre. I’d rather be paralyzed from the waist down from surgery, after winning the Olympia 8 times, when I"m 50, than have my soul paralyzed by fear my entire life. You guys don’t seem to see how rare and beautiful it is to have a guy like Ronnie in our world. I, for one, envy the man. I’ve got plenty of regrets. He doesn’t seem to have a lot. He’s a crazy motherfucker for sure. We should all be so lucky.
My point was the same as Stu above, I just meant now, 2018. -He’s had several nasty surgeries, and a triple neck fusion! for that alone he should be training ultra strict, focus on the contraction, zero jerking etc or not at all… just do hiking, swimming etc.
I believe he also has something nuts like 8 kids to provide for 
I love those 90s clips btw and totally agree that to dominate any field let alone be absolute no1 in any endeavour your have to be prepared to get batshit crazy once on a while
I gotta say that if you look at it from a different perspective, it’s his inate nature that led him to become a champion. It’s the same thing that drives him to do things like these. I wouldn’t even compare his actions to Dorian. He is who he is. He’s not Dorian. Ronnie’s probably not the kind of guy who goes tripping on DMT in search of the meaning of life either.
I emphathise because I have a very high risk tolerance myself, though not as high as guys like him. 10 years ago this was a necessity for business and it paid off. Today I still do high risk investments within reason on my own time for entertainment even though I don’t have to. If I don’t do what I do, I may end up going skydiving, racing cars or attempting to listen to U2’s Joshua Tree album without having an aneurysm.
So, I don’t know. Maybe if he wasn’t the type of person to end up in a wheelchair at this age, he would also simply be a cop right now instead of a multiple Olympia champion.
He’s posting videos of himself doing jerky heavy seated shrugs on Instagram, and another pic of him standing, so I think yes he is walking.
Obviously only Ronnie can say if not was all worth it for him. Would anyone know his name if he was just another Texas cop putting in hours to take care of his many kids?
It’s an individual thing, but I can say that I certainly beat the hell out of myself for 20+ years in the gym, and I feel the effects, so I do think it’s a decent question. I’ve changed my own training plenty since injuries sprung up, which is why I bring up Dorian.
S
Yeah I’m just saying there’re lot of “maybes”. I think the veteran lifters he’s surrounded by probably have been telling him to ease up on the form too but he’s still doing stuff like these. So maybe Ronnie’s still just being Ronnie.
If he can’t frickken WALK at 55, then it’s all been for nothing. A big, fat ZERO.
IF he can’t walk.
Could he regain mobility? Well, you should see some of the stuff they can do with Stem-Cell treatment, pretty frickken groundbreaking. And he probably has the cash to bankroll it.
Will it work? We don’t know. Are we talking about a few months in a wheelchair while they operate and put Humpty Dumbass back together? If so, no problem. Are we talking about him never leaving that wheelchair?? Then the price has been too damn high.
And all you people talking about ‘Perspective’ and “Well RON thinks it was worth it”, I think your Recycle Bins are due a good feed.
Walking is one of the most basic, fundamental joys of life. We take it for granted because we can always do it, well, try having a cold for a couple of days, bedbound. After 48 hours you will likely fling aside your sheets, shoot out of bed, and take a few steps outside out of sheer NEED to be upright. You guys never give your ability to walk any thought, and why should you?
Get a few Whiskies inside the big man, and see if he still thinks it was all worth it. I suspect your actual answer will be a lot different to the brave face he puts up on YouTube.
@alexbstronger: I really hope you’re right, and this entire discussion is all speculative. I look forward to actually seeing him up and about 
Given that Ronnie still trains how he used to, IMHO id say he has zero fucks given.