Ronnie Coleman established his sheer dominance as an ace bodybuilder when he won the prestigious title of Mr. Olympia for eight consecutive years. To reach such great heights needs indomitable courage. He had his fair share of hurdles in the form of medical injuries, but none were strong enough to hold him back.

Like his bodybuilding glory and accomplishments, injuries became synonymous with Ronnie. His legendary success came at a cost, and that was his health. From his college days to now, the 58-year-old has battled many injuries. And recounting one such injury, Ronnie travels back in time.

Ronnie’s tolerance for pain

Ronnie has exceptional pain tolerance. And substantiating it further, he speaks of a time when he herniated his disc. Such was his passion for the craft that he left no stones unturned to give his best.

Speaking with Joe Rogan, Ronnie opens up on one of his injuries. For the bodybuilder, the day started as usual; he was, as he quotes, “squatting 600.” But as he was “coming up on rep number eight,” things went unexpected. Narrating further, he adds,” I heard a loud gunshot.”

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As an unfortunate turn of events, Ronnie herniated his disc. Not pushing his body much, this time, he “took a couple weeks off.” During the practice, he felt as if he was still strong. But unfortunately, he wasn’t “this time.” He, as he quotes, “lost a little strength.” 

Ronnie Coleman and his struggle with injuries 

Bodybuilding is not child’s play. It pushes the body to limits that are unimaginable to the common. In a demanding sport like bodybuilding, the bodybuilders often push themselves to extreme limits. In an attempt to do so, they increase their chances of injury. Sometimes severe injuries like Coleman had!

Throughout his bodybuilding career, Ronnie had a tough battle with his spine injury. He had to undergo multiple surgeries to pursue his passion for the sport. In 2018, Ronnie had to get operated on for the tenth time to get fix the broken screws in the spine.

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Such was the condition that he was not even sure whether he could walk! He adds, “the last three surgeries been really bad and caused a lot of damage to my body.” The times were tough, but Ronnie was tougher.