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“He Can Hardly Walk”: Former American Bodybuilder Saddened By 8x Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman’s Condition In 2020

Published 01/02/2023, 3:00 PM EST

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When erstwhile American bodybuilder Robby Robinson had a conversation about modern-day bodybuilding, he had a bold take on it. Robinson spoke about how far modern-day bodybuilding has come and how most of them today are focused on their mass. He believes that is what has led to a decrease in the popularity of the beloved sport, and also brought harmfully affected the health of bodybuilders. He provides the example of one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time to prove his point.

In a YouTube clip shared by the channel ‘Generation Iron, Fitness and Bodybuilding Network’ from July 16, 2020, Robinson talks about the evolution of bodybuilding, what he believes the present-day bodybuilders are doing wrong, and why focus on mass is not important, but rather unhealthy. In the middle of making this point, he mentions an 8xMr. Olympia Champion to point out a heartbreaking truth about the legend. Who did Robinson mention and why was he disappointed with him? Let’s find out.

Robinson expresses his grief about Ronnie Coleman suffering after retirement

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Robinson made a brave claim about Ronnie Coleman, one of the greatest, and his struggle to walk. He said, “I hate to say this, but I’m very disappointed in Ronnie, to see him come out like that. It hurt my feelings really, to see him come out there where he can hardly walk”, Robinson paused to express in disappointment in exasperation. He continued, “I think it’s an exaggeration, that’s just overdoing that. That’s his life, that’s his body, but I don’t know…”

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The topic didn’t initially start with Ronnie Coleman. It was a question about modern-day bodybuilders and the general decline in bodybuilding standards from the 1980s and 90s. What could possibly have been the reason and what are these bodybuilders not doing that the ones before them were?

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Robinson answered, “My honest opinion, I think everybody trying to get too big. They keep getting bigger and bigger…….. look like they are pregnant”, sharing his disapproval with the modern-day ‘Big is Better’ approach. He continues, “I mean to me that makes bodybuilding look bad. Even Arnold said that. You are taking away from something that’s a great art form and making it look like you are 9 months pregnant. That don’t make sense to me”.

The misconceptions of the ‘Big is Better’ notion and Coleman’s woes post-retirement

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Arnold Schwarzenegger had also previously talked about the misconceptions of the ‘Big is Better’ approach. Right after Mr. Olympia 2022 concluded, Schwarzenegger spoke in a YouTube video about how Big Ramy missed out on his third consecutive title because he tried to increase the size of his arms and that compromised his triceps. This made him lose out on the perfect symmetry. Schwarzenegger believed all Ramy needed to do was stay in shape from last year.

Robinson time and again drew attention to the fact that a bodybuilder is supposed to be uniformly shaped with a beautiful body, not to show off their large muscles to awestruck people. He did, however, like Coleman when he was younger, and had just started bodybuilding.

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WATCH THIS STORY – From Arnold Schwarzenegger To Ronnie Coleman – Here Are Some Of The Best Protein Shake Recipes

Ronnie Coleman suffered several injuries after his retirement and has undergone many surgeries. While a lot of people like Robby Robinson believe, it was because Coleman pushed himself too far by gaining excessive mass during his bodybuilding days, others believe it was that exact kind of discipline and boundary-pushing attitude that makes champions. What do you think? Let us know.

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Written by:

Tanmay Roy

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Tanmay Roy is a US Sports author for EssentiallySports. He has done MBA and B.Tech in Civil Engineering.
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Edited by:

Anupama Ghosh