Ronnie Coleman (born May 13, 1964) is an American retired professional bodybuilder. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest (if not the greatest) professional bodybuilders of all time. Ronnie won the Mr. Olympia title for eight years in a row and held the record for most wins as an IFBB professional with 26 titles before Dexter Jackson took that title.
The extreme weights he used over the course of his career competing as a powerlifter and then a bodybuilder took a toll on his body, and since 2007 he has had to undergo a series of surgeries, and retire in 2009.
Although he has not competed since retiring, he regularly appears at events as an ambassador of the sport and has the chance to see and evaluate new IFBB pros. Subsequently, he has been able to watch the bodybuilders who are competing nowadays, with a keen eye.
In a recent interview, Ronnie said that he is not very impressed with today’s top physiques. He was asked to compare today’s top bodybuilders with the guys that competed back in the 90’s. And to say the least, today’s bodybuilders won’t like his answer.
“No, I don’t see it. They wouldn’t make to top 5”
When he was told that Dorian Yates thinks that Brandon Curry would not place in the top 6 with his physique, if he was competing in the 90’s, Ronnie agreed with Dorian.
“Conditioning is not the same. Look at those guys. I mean, nobody looks like they’ve been on a diet, like a real diet diet. Nobody looks in shape.
They look okay, you know. You put them next to guys like me, Flex, Kevin, and Shawn, guys like that, you’re like ‘Woah that’s a big difference. They wouldn’t beat any of the guys I faced.”
When asked why does he thinks that, Ronnie said that today is a completely different era. The guys are not trying real hard to look the best they can because everyone around looks mediocre, so the whole standard about how a top pro should look, goes down.
According to Ronnie, one exception is Phil Heath. He said that Phil could easily compare and compete against all the great bodybuilders back in the 90’s
What do you think about Ronnie’s criticism ?
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