Jessie James West, youtuber and fitness influencercontinues to push himself to break into the world of competitive bodybuilding, and in his channel’s latest video, he enlists perhaps the greatest trainer ever to help him prepare for competition: eight-time Mr. Olympia champion and bodybuilding legend, Ronnie Coleman, aka “The King.”
West travels to the gym where Ronnie Coleman has trained for 33 years to perform the icon’s high volume chest workout and soak up all the wisdom you can.
8 times Mister Olympia, absolute legend of bodybuilding, benchmark in the world of fitness and, without a doubt, the biggest and strongest bodybuilder in history, Ronnie Coleman. In fact, an athlete like him hasn’t been seen since his retirement in 2008 when he last took the stage. And his chest, yes, it was from another planet: huge, strong and defined.
To help West get a “juicy” pump in his pecs, Coleman makes him do a lot of bench press workstarting on a flat bench with a barbell, then moving up to an incline bench press, and finally swapping the bar for a pair of dumbbells.
West is a week away from his competition, so Coleman gives him some advice based on how he would prepare for the competition, including switching to lighter weights in his workouts and making sure he was getting enough protein. Although he never got stuck on tracking the macros from him: “The only thing I have counted has been protein and carbohydrates”says.
When asked if he feels the same passion for bodybuilding now as he did back in the day, Coleman answers yes without hesitation. “My favorite thing in my whole life,” he tells West. “As long as you have passion, you will never work a day in your life.” She adds that keep exercising every day for 45 “quality” minutes, and you’ll keep training for the rest of your life. “He might even die in the gym”joke.
Philip Ellis is News Editor at Men’s Health, covering fitness, pop culture, sex and relationships, and LGBTQ+ issues. His work by him has appeared in GQ, Teen Vogue, Man Repeller and MTV, and he is the author of Love & Other Scams.
