Throughout his career, bodybuilding legend Ronnie Coleman was revered for his shocking size and muscularity. In a recent video, Coleman reacted to having his biceps compared with rising Men’s Open talent Nick Walker.
“Big Ron here. We’re in the office today. I’m doing a reaction video to Nick Walker. He supposedly has some body parts kind of similar to mine… I can’t wait to see this shit. Man. Let’s go,” Ronnie Coleman said.
Ronnie Coleman is arguably the most successful bodybuilder walking the earth. En route to winning eight Olympia titles, Coleman competed against countless icons like four-time Olympia winner Jay Cutler, Flex Wheeler, Kevin Levrone, and Shawn Ray. Coleman, who dominated the sport for eight years, was eventually dethroned by Cutler in 2006.
During his tenure, Coleman’s blend of conditioning and size overpowered his competition. He’s long stepped away from competing but inspired several mass monsters to enter the sport following his departure. One of which was Nick Walker.
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It didn’t take long for fans to notice Walker’s freaky size. He led a successful rookie season last year when he won the 2021 New York Pro and Arnold Classic titles consecutively. In his first-ever Mr. Olympia appearance, the 28-year-old walked away in fifth place. His confidence has soared in the last few months leading up to 2022 Olympia. And while Walker indeed sports huge arms, Coleman doesn’t believe they were on par with his.
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Ronnie Coleman Laughs Off Arm Comparisons With Nick Walker: ‘It’s Not Just About Being Big’
Before Coleman’s reaction, he listened to an older episode of Fouad Abiad’s Bro Chat podcast featuring Nick Walker. Abiad asked Walker if he has any comparable body parts to the eight-time Mr. Olympia. Initially, bodybuilder Justin Shier suggested that Walker’s biceps rivaled Coleman’s.
“I think Nick’s arms. I think so,” says Shier.
After Abiad said he had no similar body parts to Coleman, Walker gave his thoughts on the topic.
“My arms are lethal weapons,” Walker said.
Suffice to say, Coleman found the interaction hilariously inaccurate.
“That’s comical. What the fu** are they talking about!? I shouldn’t be in no way [in] this conversation.”
Iain Valliere, Abiad, and Walker all agreed that Coleman’s bicep peaks made his arms stand out during his career. Abiad clarified that the short peaks made Ronnie’s arms look better. According to Justin Shier, Walker’s biceps were comparable to Coleman’s during his reign. However, the eight-time O winner added that it takes more than size to be the best at bodybuilding.
“Don’t forget it’s about separation guys. Don’t forget. You gotta have some separation,” says Coleman. “It ain’t about being big, it’s about being symmetrical and shapely.”
While Walker thought his biceps were bigger than Coleman’s, Abiad shared that he doesn’t have nearly as much detail as the former Open class king. Valliere specified that Nick’s arms were bigger, but Coleman’s arms were more conditioned with better separation.
“It ain’t about size. We ain’t doing the size show. We’re doing bodybuilding guys,” Coleman said. “He’s [Nick Walker] big now, I’ll give him that. I just don’t see him beating Ramy. I don’t see that at all.”
Ronnie Coleman gave his thoughts on the nearing 2022 Olympia contest before wrapping up the video. The marquee show takes place in less than two weeks. Coleman believes Walker is likely to slide into the top 10 but wouldn’t place him ahead of the reigning champion Mamdouh ‘Big Ramy’ Elssbiay, Bradon Curry, William Bonac, and Hadi Choopan.
“I really truly think they probably going to give it to Big Ramy again. See I can’t see him [Nick Walker] beating Brandon [Curry], Hadi [Choopan] — yeah, I can’t see him beating him. Can’t see him beating [William] Bonac. I would put Nick in the top 10. I’d put him behind all the other guys like Bonac, Ramy, Hadi, Brandon, I see him behind those guys, so about fifth or sixth.”
Back in October, Coleman gave his official Olympia predictions for this year. He went so far as to congratulate Ramy on his title defense in two weeks. As for Walker, Coleman predicted he will probably finish in fifth again as he did in 2021.
This wasn’t the first time that Coleman was involved in an ‘arms race.’ In their respective primes, Coleman and Jay Cutler compared the size of each other’s biceps. By a fine margin, Coleman’s 23.5-inch guns eclipsed Cutler’s 22.5-inch arms.
Coleman respects Walker’s progress in the IFBB as well as his impressive arms. However, as far as quality is concerned, Coleman doesn’t believe “The Mutant’s’ arms would hold a candle to what he brought back in his heyday.
You can watch the full video below:
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