Ronnie Coleman was revered for his monstrous physique and strength during his bodybuilding career. In a recent YouTube video, Coleman reacted to some of reigning Mr. Olympia Hadi Choopan’s most impressive gym lifts.
“What’s going on guys? Big Ron here. I’ve seen my boy Hadi Choopan been doing a lot of work over the years and finally got himself a title. I thought it would only be appropriate if I did some reaction videos to some of his training, so let’s get into this, yeah buddy,” said Coleman.
During his tenure, Coleman dominated the Men’s Open division for nearly a decade. Nicknamed ‘The King,’ Coleman brought unparalleled size, conditioning, and firepower to the world’s brightest stages. He routinely pushed and defeated heavy hitters in the category such as Jay Cutler, Flex Wheeler, and Kevin Levrone.
Coleman wasn’t just known for his skills on a bodybuilding stage. Throughout his career, he made headlines for recording stunning feats of strength. He’s deadlifted 800 pounds for reps and has leg pressed over 2,300 pounds.
A pioneer of freaky mass, Coleman collected eight Mr. Olympia titles from 1998-2005. He was well respected for his intense training style which often incorporated heavy weight for a high number of reps. Despite retiring in 2007, Coleman’s impact on the sport is undeniable. Given his experience and expertise, his opinions regarding the Men’s Open division are often sought out.
In the wake of the 2022 Mr. Olympia contest, Hadi Choopan claimed gold while Derek Lunsford, a former 212 Olympia champ, finished runner-up. The contest was close and in Coleman’s opinion, Derek Lunsford now has the potential to take out Choopan this November. In his latest endeavor, however, Coleman isn’t looking at the Olympia contest. Instead, he examined some of Choopan’s greatest lifts inside the gym.
Bodybuilding Legend Ronnie Coleman Blown Away by Hadi Choopan’s Greatest Lifts
The video starts with Choopan performing a series of cable exercises.
“Show me how you got that title, show me all the thickness you got there, let’s go, let’s do this, light weight.”
Then, Coleman reacted to Choopan firing off reps of heavy barbell curls.
“Get them arms as big as possible. That’s a big-armed dude. Let’s go Hadi. Let’s do this. What you got going on? Just playing around in the gym right now,” said Coleman. “Let’s show them how it’s supposed to be done. Yeah, buddy! Big thick chest, big thick arms, lifting that light weight baby, like it ain’t nothing. Ain’t nothing to it but to do it Hadi, you got this.”
Coleman watched Choopan hit huge barbell squats and reps on the leg press machine, an exercise Ronnie was famous for in his prime.
“Let’s go, you got this,” said Coleman. “Hard work always pays off. Now you got the title buddy.”
“Who is going to be the Mr. O in 2023. Those were some impressive lifts. Congratulations on the title Hadi, I’m looking forward to seeing you on the stage later this year. Yeah buddy.”
In retirement, Coleman is a busy man but makes time for fun reaction videos, usually in response to impressive lifts or gym fails. In addition to looking at the Open Mr. Olympia’s latest lifts, Coleman recently assessed four-time Classic Physique Olympia Chris Bumstead’s best feats of power. Coleman was most impressed after Cbum managed to deadlift 600 pounds with relative ease.
Though, it’s not just top-tier bodybuilders that Coleman keeps an eye on. He’s also given his reaction after watching four-time World’s Strongest Man Brian Shaw demonstrate some of his craziest exercises performed on camera. Overall, Coleman was stunned at the strongman’s abilities on the car deadlifts and truck pull.
With the 2023 Mr. Olympia contest approaching in November, fans expect that it will be another unpredictable contest. Choopan will again aim to fend off his teammate Lunsford, third-place 2022 O finisher Nick Walker, and frontrunner Samson Dauda, who recently claimed gold over ‘The Mutant’ at the recent 2023 Arnold Classic show.
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