As someone who has followed the sport from the 80's IMO guys like Ronnie ruined the sport. I am a fan for sure he was a great champion. But the stuff he could do and did do was not healthy for him or the guys who grew up looking up to him. Back then, the rumor was 18iu of growth a day, but honestly, now that's not even close to what these guys use. That much growth over time will literally kill you. Plus he was a genetic beast, so guys are trying to compare with him and have to go even further to do that.
For me I always like the physique of these golden era guys more anyway. Once you got to the Ronnie vs Jay days the sport got too much about what your willing to risk to win.
Unfortunately, most elite athletes are willing to do whatever it takes to win long before they ever became elite. No matter what sport. So at some point, you have to make the individual decision on whether the risks are worth the rewards. Think about sports like drag racing...one wreck and bad things can happen. But there is no shortage of people who are willing to take that risk.
Genetic best is the truth. I honestly think Coleman was the greatest all-time. Not sure we will ever have anyone like this again. (My opinion). Unlike most, I was able to do what Ronnie did and more. I out-benched him, out-squatted him, and also had an 800lb deadlift. However, John Inzer was the guy I looked up to. I could easily compete with Ronnie in the strength department when he was at his peak.
Now,this rumor that Ronnie used 18iu/day? From an interview he did, he claimed he did 4iu. "Ronnie Coleman: “Just drop the drug, drop to cold turkey pretty much. And the GH was the same way. We're getting in like 4 IUs a day." In any case, 18iu was not normal during that period of time, and most never did much more that10iu/d. 3-8iu/d was a more common dose since it was relatively new in sport.
Analyzing Ronnie Coleman's steroid cycle in the 90's, which included 1500-2000 mg of steroids per week, 4 IU of GH and 30 IU of insulin for carb loading.
moreplatesmoredates.com
Surgery count: Coleman has had 13 total surgeries: nine on his back, two on his neck, and two hip replacements. Coleman clarified that his back issues started before bodybuilding, revealing he first injured his back during his sophomore year playing football, followed by a neck injury. What made it worse is that he never treated the first injury. Untreated disc problems can lead to osteoarthritis developing in the spine. So in Ronnie Coleman's case, leaving his disc herniation untreated for a decade while continuing to lift extremely heavy weights likely accelerated both disc degeneration and the development of spinal osteoarthritis throughout his spine. Osteoarthritis, normally, is strongly influenced by genetics. While genetics explains 40-70% of risk, that means 30-60% is explained by environmental factors. Joint injuries like ACL tears/disk injuries etc can cause osteoarthritis to occur earlier in life. We do know from research that weight training helps protect joints and the spine against osteoarthritis. Even with a previous injury. Based on what we know about untreated injuries and spinal degeneration, the answer is very likely yes—Coleman probably would have developed significant spinal problems even without the heavy lifting.
Back to the high doses of HGH, while there's evidence high-dose GH increases mortality risk, most data comes from vulnerable populations, and definitive evidence in healthy. adults using bodybuilding doses remains limited. So there is NO evidence that high doses of HGH will increase mortality in bodybuilders. So we can't assume from research on critically ill patients and children with long-term health problems that the same will happen to a healthy bodybuilder. Coleman has admitted to anabolic steroid use and HGH, but has always been very vague on what he used. All the stuff I have seen on the internet are people's guesses. About 1:10seconds Colemen talks about steroid use. He's very vague and says she was not taking massive amounts; he was just gifted and spent years lifting heavy weights. He also got everything from a doctor, tested 3-4 months, and cycled off cold turkey....all under a doctor's supervision.
Modern Era (2011–Present)
