“You Look Kind of Small”: After Taking the Judges’ Comments to Heart, Ronnie Coleman Left Them Stunned With His Monstrous Transformation in 2002

Ronnie Coleman has the greatest winning streak of Mr. Olympia to his name. The legendary bodybuilder dominated the stage eight years in a row from 1998 to 2005. However, in 2002, The King was second-guessed by the judges who commented that he looked “small.” What it led to was a change of focus for the bodybuilding legend.

Instead of getting discouraged, Ronnie used it as fuel to push himself for the bigger (pun intended).

The tough words worked as pre-workout

In his latest workout video with Derek Lunsford, he recalled receiving some critical evaluation from the judges in 2002 Mr. Olympia. Although The King was victorious in the contest, judges felt that he looked smaller than usual. “You look kind of small”, the judges told him. They even suggested that he should reevaluate his agenda for the next one. 

For Ronnie, who had always prided himself on his size and strength, the remarks were a tough one to swallow. Regardless, “I said okay, they want to go to war. I’ll take them to the war” is what the King recalled telling himself. So, he went back to the gym with a renewed sense of purpose, determined to push himself harder than ever before.

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The 2003 Mr. Olympia competition was a critical moment for Ronnie. He had already won the title five times in a row. Winning his sixth in a row was still an unbelievable feat for many as most bodybuilders resort to retirement due to multiple injuries. But here was Ronnie unperturbed by passing remarks. In fact, Ronnie’s physique was bigger and better conditioned than ever before. The judges were impressed, and he won his sixth.

How did Ronnie Coleman train for Mr. Olympia in 2003?

The greatest view for The King came after the toughest climb. Ronnie’s training regimen was intense, even by bodybuilding standards. Spending several hours a day at the gym, he admitted to lifting an additional 40-50 pounds of weight in his training regime. King’s insane diet included six such meals of a pound of grilled chicken breast with half a cup of rice. The 8x champion also went several surgeries to maintain his humongous size. This was not all!

The incredible Ronnie added approximately 250 pounds (or more) for a pull-down workout and still found it not enough. Ronnie summed the incredible experience as “I was crazy that year.” And that, he was!

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