Bodybuilding legends Ronnie Coleman and Arnold Schwarzenegger ruled their respective eras competing in the IFBB Pro League. In a recent YouTube video, Coleman took a closer look at Schwarzenegger’s best ‘old school’ lifts and offered to train with him in the future.
Schwarzenegger captured a total of seven Mr. Olympia titles throughout the 1970s-80s. Having shared the stage with mainstays like Frank Zane, Samir Bannout, and Sergio Oliva, Schwarzenegger was a giant among Golden Era bodybuilders. Despite setting his sights on other ventures in retirement, Schwarzenegger’s passion for bodybuilding continued as he co-founded the annual Arnold Sports Festival in 1989.
Decades following Schwarzenegger’s last contest, mass monster Ronnie Coleman reached the height of his pro tenure. He won the Mr. Olympia title in 1998 after receiving help from his rival Flex Wheeler, who introduced him to his long-time trainer, Chad Nicholls. In 2005, Coleman tied Lee Haney for the most Sandows ever won at eight.
Coleman, known for his strength, possesses a number of impressive lifts like a 2,300-pound leg press and 800-pound deadlift. This time, Coleman examined some of Schwarzenegger’s old-school lifts back when the 75-year-old was in his prime.
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Ronnie Coleman Reacts: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Craziest Old School Lifts
Check out Coleman’s take on some of Schwarzenegger’s lifts below:
“What’s going on guys, Big Ron here, a lot of you guys may already know, me and my buddy Arnold are really good friends so I thought it would only be appropriate if I did a reaction video to some of his old school lifts, so let’s get into it, yeah buddy!” Coleman said.
“He must got like 300 pounds on that — oh, that’s 225, oh light weight,” Coleman said watching Schwarzenegger perform incline bench presses. “That’s 225 I think. I think that’s 225, 275, lift it like it ain’t nothing but a peanut.”
Coleman credits Schwarzenegger for performing intense dumbbell flyes and a few other movements. Then he discusses the training intensity of past Mr. Olympia winners like Dorian Yates and Schwarzenegger.
“Rowing it like it ain’t nothing, and it ain’t, looking big and huge, oh yeah. No pain no game,” said Coleman. “[he’s] one of them [greatest of all time]. It’s between me, Dorian, and Arnold [for hardest training] I think we were some of the hardest trainers out there. Because Dorian was pretty hardcore.”
Before Coleman called it a day, he requested a training collaboration with Schwarzenegger to show the new generation of lifters ‘how it’s done.’
“Yeah guys, a little training session with all kinds of memories that got back up, days and hours of the gym, training really hard, hitting it really hard, going all out, these guys these days, they don’t do that. So Arnold, I think me and you ought to get together and show these guys how it’s supposed to be done, what do you say about that Arnold, yeah buddy, light weight,” Coleman said.
This isn’t the first time that Coleman has shared an exciting reaction video. He gave his raw take following a number of painful gym accidents last November. While he enjoyed most of the stunts and accidents, he used the video to urge people to lift safely and use spotters.
Coleman was impressed by Schwarzenegger’s old-school lifts, which showcased his power, skill, and stamina. He named Schwarzenegger as one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time, an opinion he shares with Samir Bannout, the 1983 Mr. Olympia winner.
Check out the full video below courtesy of Ronnie Coleman’s YouTube channel:
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