Ronnie Coleman’s career was nothing short of phenomenal, but it came at a great cost.

He conquered the bodybuilding world, but the damage followed him long after the applause. Chronic injuries, hip replacement, spinal surgeries, and ultimately, a physically limited life were what awaited his later years. The question remains: does Coleman regret the sport that defined him?”

Coleman has his share of regrets, but pursuing what he loves isn’t one of them. When asked if he had any regrets in his professional career, his answer was? Well, let’s hear it from him.

“The only thing I would change is the time when I was in there doing that squat. I was already deadlifting 800, and it was really heavy. So in case I'd be doing squats, I'd be like, oh man, I've only got two. So if I can just do two, I'd be all right. That's all that was on my mind,” said Coleman.

Ronnie Coleman was aiming for two reps on 800-lb squats right after that deadlift. But after the first rep, a realization hit him; he could’ve done much more.

“After that first rep, I'm like, damn, that was light. Oh, shit. So let me go a little bit lower. And I got my two, and I'm like, oh man, I could have done three or more. Till this date, I am still regretting it because I didn’t get that five," said Coleman.

Well, this isn’t the first time he’s said something like this. Back in 2018, in a Generation Iron exclusive, when asked about his biggest regret in life, Coleman admitted he could’ve done six reps, not just two.

That might be his only regret, but there was a time in his career that nearly took his life.

“I almost died,” Ronnie Coleman said about the darkest chapter of his life

Back in 2024, while having a conversation with Tommy Fury on his YouTube handle, Coleman revealed a tale of 2001, which nearly killed him, "The '01 when I almost died…Woke up exhausted… Woke up with exhaustion cause I tried to do the Arnold Classic that year.”

“And I found out the body only peaks once a year, and I thought I could do it twice, but it almost took me out. Never made that mistake again,” said Coleman. "I was on my way to the hospital. My nutritionist told me to grab a gallon of water, that's what I did, and I drank it."

Continuing the story, Coleman revealed that although he didn’t perform well in the pre-judging round, he and his team made sure to remove all excess water from his body, which ultimately became the key reason behind his victory.

Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Joyita Das