Ronnie Coleman
If the ten best bodybuilders of all time were to line up side by side, I believe that Ronnie Coleman’s immense proportions would cause him to stand out from the rest. Not only is Ronnie massive, he has the strength to go with it. No doubt, Ronnie is genetically endowed with an enormous ability to build muscle size and strength, but his eight year reign as Mr. Olympia suggests that his genetics were complemented by effective training.
Analysis of a Bench Press Workout
As you shall soon see when analyzing one of Ronnie’s workouts, he did basic exercises in a manner that included an effective balance between training volume, training intensity, and heavy lifting. To demonstrate this, I have provided a breakdown of the bench press portion of one of his chest workouts. This analysis includes workout variables such as how many sets, how many reps, and his total workload for each set and all sets combined. In addition, the percentage of weight he used in relationship to wMhis single rep max is listed for each set, and his lifting form and rep speed are addressed.
The video of Ronnie’s workout is shown first, followed by a written analysis of the workout variables.
The statistics and analysis of Ronnie’s workout are provided below:
Total Sets = 5
Weight, Reps, and Workload
Set 1: 135 pounds x 20 reps = 2700 workload pounds
Set 2: 225 pounds x 16 reps = 3600 workload pounds
Set 3: 315 pounds x 12 reps = 3780 workload pounds
Set 4: 405 pounds x 10 reps = 4050 workload pounds
Set 5: 495 pounds x 5 reps = 2475 workload pounds
Total workload for all sets combined = 14,070 pounds
Total reps = 63
Percentage of Single Rep Max for Each Set
It’s hard to say what Ronnie’s single rep max is for the bench press, but based on his ability to do 10 reps with 405 pounds, and five reps with 495 pounds, he could probably bench somewhere in the vicinity of 550 pounds, but this is just an estimate. Assuming he could bench about 550 pounds for one rep, his workout percentages for each weight of each set are calculated below.
Set 1: 135 pounds = About 25% of single rep max
Set 2: 225 pounds = about 41% of single rep max
Set 3: 315 pounds = about 57% of single rep max
Set 4: 405 pounds = about 73% of single rep max
Set 5: 495 pounds = about 90% of single rep max
Notice that the amount of weight that Ronnie uses in relationship to his single rep max is pretty low for his first three sets, but he uses those sets to do a lot of reps and accumulate a substantial amount of training volume.
How Hard Does Ronnie Push?
Ronnie has a fantastic feel for achieving the right training state in order to produce positive results. What do I mean by achieving the right training state? I am referring to his feel for working out hard enough, but not too hard. This ability often plays an enormous role in regard to a lifter’s success. In Ronnie’s case, it’s important to realize that he did 20 reps on his first set with 135 pounds, but he probably could have done 80 reps. He did 16 reps for his second set, but he probably could have done close to 50 reps. For his third set, he did 12 reps with 315, but he probably could have done around 18 to 20 reps, and I wouldn’t be surprised if these are conservative estimates. It wasn’t until he reached his fourth set that his training intensity increase to the point where he came within a rep or two of failure, and only when he reached his fifth and final set did he push to a point of true high intensity training by pushing to failure with a very heavy weight.
Some people make the mistake a wearing themselves out on the first couple sets when pyramiding up to heavy weight over the course of four or five sets. Ronnie does not make this mistake. In spite of the fact that he performs a lot of reps when doing his first three sets, they are nowhere near being high intensity sets. I point this out because it is important to understand that just because Ronnie does 20 reps with 135 pounds for his first set, it wouldn’t be wise to imitate him by doing 20 reps with 135 pounds on your first set unless you are as strong as he is. Wasting your strength on your warm up sets will greatly hinder your strength when performing your final sets with heavier weights.
Translating Ronnie Coleman’s Workout to Your Strength Level
If you are a 300 pound bench presser, and you want to do 20 reps like Ronnie does, then start with 25% of your single rep max like Ronnie does. If you do this, you will be using 75 pounds for your first set which you will find to be ridiculously easy. Your second set would be done with 125 pounds for 16 reps; your third set would be done with 170 pounds for 12 reps; your fourth set would be done with 220 pounds for 10 reps, and your last set would be done with about 260-270 pounds for five reps.
If you are an intermediate with a 200 pound bench press, the equivalent poundages based on percentages for each of the five sets would be 50 pounds, 80 pounds, 115 pounds, 145 pounds, and 180 pounds. It’s ok to do a lot of reps for your first sets of a pyramid as long as the weight is light in relationship to your single rep max. Don’t be afraid to start out with very light weights when working up to a very heavy weight as this is what Ronnie does.
Rep Speed
Ronnie incorporates fast rep speed into his workout; especially when doing his first three sets. His fast rep speed is apparent when you look at the time it takes him to complete each set:
Set 1: 20 reps in 19 seconds
Set 2: 16 reps in 15 seconds
Set 3: 12 reps in 12 seconds
Set 4: 10 reps in 12 seconds
Set 5: 5 reps in 12 seconds
Total lifting time for all five sets combined = 70 seconds
When you look at the time it takes Ronnie to complete a set, you can see that he does about one rep every second during his first four sets. It takes about a half second to lower the weight, and a half second lift it, and this remains fairly constant throughout every rep of every set for his first three sets and slows down just a little bit when he reaches 405 pounds on his fourth set. The only variation you’ll see in Ronnie’s reps is that he lowers the bar slowly on his first rep to find his lifting groove and to feel a stretch. After his first rep, he lifts and lowers the bar rapidly throughout the rest of the set.
Ronnie is an explosive lifter when doing bench press. Even on his last set of five reps, which takes about 12 seconds, he does his first three reps in four seconds. The last two reps take eight seconds out of a twelve seconds set. The break down of rep speed for each rep of his last set is as follows:
rep 1: 2.2 seconds (he always lowers the bar slow on his first rep)
rep 2: 1.2 seconds
rep 3: 1.2 seconds
rep 4: 2.5 seconds
rep 5: 5.5 seconds
Ronnie’s fifth set is the only set where his rep speed slows down at the end of the set. His rep speed remains constant from the upward push of the first rep to the last rep for each of his other sets.
Bench Press Form
If you watch closely, you will notice that Ronnie’s bench press form is specific to bodybuilding and is generally different than the form a powerlifter would use. For the most part, Ronnie brings the bar down all the way to his chest, but he appears to stop two to three inches short of lockout at the top of his lifting motion. This is in contrast to some powerlifters who are adamant about pushing all the way through the whole range of motion to develop a strong lockout at the top of the lift. Notice also that Ronnie does not pause at all at the bottom or the top of the lift. The absence of a pause at any point during the lift produces constant tension on the pecs which is the goal of a bodybuilder who’s main objective is to train for size, shape, and a pump. This is in contrast to many powerlifters who tend to pause at the bottom of their bench, as well as at the lockout position to refine the form needed for a legal competition lift.
The width of Ronnie’s grip is in agreement with the common philosophy that as the bar is lowered to the chest, the hands should be directly over the elbows so that the forearms are vertical and perpendicular to the floor. Ronnie also lowers the bar to his lower pecs while holding his chest high and pushes the bar straight up. Note that he does not appear to arch his back to accentuate the height of his chest as many powerlifters do.
Ronnie Coleman has definitely developed a formula for achieving massive strength and size. If your quest is to maximize your own strength and muscle size, taking a good hard look at the details of Ronnie’s training may help you improve our own training. In the next article, I will do an analysis of a bench press workout by Eric Spoto. Until then, best of training to you.