In a recently resurfaced video, Ronnie Coleman reminded fans why he's called 'The King.' The 8-time Mr. Olympia was seen easily pressing heavy dumbbells, leaving fans in awe with his display of strength.

Although due to his physical setbacks, he recently switched to his “light weight” training regimen, his workouts during competition still shocked fans.

On March 21, one such exercise resurfaced when the bodybuilding legend himself shared an old clip of himself performing intense dumbbell sets.

He captioned the video as, “12 EASY reps with the 200-pound dumbbells!!”

While for many that number must be impossible to achieve, for Coleman, the situation was distinctive as he said, “Yeah buddy, Ain't nothing but a peanut!”

Still, he thinks committing to such intense movement needs one’s mind to be ready first.

On January 24, 2026, the legend shared another short clip of himself doing chest presses with two 200 lb dumbbells for 12 reps.

Though for him, the movements were not that tough, he gave a safety warning to his fans with the caption:

“These 200lb dumbbells weren’t no joke!! You gotta get your mind right before attempting weight like this…that’s why it ain’t nothing but Light Weight Baby!!”

And no one can deny that very few can prepare themselves for a 200-pound dumbbell press as Coleman did, and that's brought him praises from Lou Ferrigno, another dominating bodybuilding force during the 1970s and 80s.

During his appearance at the Menace podcast on September 1, Ferrigno said, “My opinion of overall, Ronnie Coleman. That man did bent-over rows for 500 pounds. A 200-pound dumbbell, I never seen a human like that.

When I saw him for the first time backstage, I got scared looking at him. I’ve never seen a human being look like that. You talk about the most powerful man? I think Ronnie hands down”.

While his 200-pound dumbbell workout is no joke, Coleman himself reveals 3 other exercises that helped him build his Mr. Olympia physique.

Ronnie Coleman's top 3 workouts during the Mr. Olympia era

On November 4, 2024, on his own YouTube channel, Coleman also revealed his top 3 favorite workouts that helped push him towards 8 Mr. Olympia titles.

He said, “My top three exercises happen to be deadlifts, squats, and bench press. The top three exercises of my life! Yeah buddy!”

The three exercises were:

• Deadlift: 800 for 2 reps
• Bench press: 500 lbs for 5 or 6 reps
• Squats: 800 for 2 reps

And there is no doubt that these movements had played a vital role in Ronnie Coleman's career. Coleman is considered to have one of the best backs of all time, and his tree trunk legs were evidence that he chose his workouts strategically.

Even now, when Coleman walks with the help of a wheelchair, he continues to amaze his fans with light exercises.

So, which exercise of Coleman do you like the most?

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Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Ashvinkumar Patil