Despite a heated rivalry, Ronnie Coleman believes Flex Wheeler was crucial to his bodybuilding success. In a recent Nothin’ but a Podcast, Coleman credited Wheeler for introducing him to coach Chad Nicholls and disclosed some of the dietary demands that led to his first Mr. Olympia title.
Ronnie Coleman is widely regarded as one of the best bodybuilders of all time, having earned a total of eight Mr. Olympia titles, tied with fellow legend Lee Haney. During his respective tenure, Coleman laid waste to the Men’s Open division, defeating icon after icon en route to cementing his legacy in the 1990s and 2000s. He was led by Nicholls, who now trains William Bonac and Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay.
In addition to his bodybuilding achievements, Coleman was held in high regard for his impressive feats of strength. Considered one of the strongest bodybuilders to ever compete, ‘The King’ recorded a shocking 2,300-pound leg press and turned heads by smoking an 800-pound deadlift.
While enjoying retirement, Coleman remains infatuated with the sport. In his spare time, he’s trained with fitness influencers and most recently, started a podcast with 212-turned-Men’s Open star Derek Lunsford. In their latest undertaking, Coleman looked back on how Wheeler introduced him to one of the sport’s most accomplished gurus, Chad Nicholls.
Ronnie Coleman Talks Meeting Chad Nicholls Through Flex Wheeler: ‘He Changed Everything I Was Doing’
According to ‘The King,’ his first Mr. Olympia title was made possible thanks to Wheeler. After being introduced to Nicholls, Coleman said his contest preparations were drastically altered.
“It was the same way for me and the guys coming up; a lot of people don’t know it – but Flex Wheeler is pretty much the reason why I won the Olympia because he turned me on to Chad Nicholls. He was like, ‘Hey man, who are you working with?’ I’m like, ‘Dude, I’m doing my own thing.’ He’s like, ‘You need to call this guy Chad Nicholls.’ I’m like, ‘Chad Nicholls…’ yup. He gave me his number I called Chad but Chad didn’t pick up the phone. I said, ‘Flex why’d you have me call this guy Chad he didn’t pick up the phone.’ He says, ‘Nah, he’s just like that man. Call him again, and he’ll call you back.’ He called me back and the rest is pretty much history. I won my first Olympia that year by hooking up with him,” Ronnie Coleman said.
Coleman shared that his food intake exploded as he went from eating a half-pound of food to a whole pound.
“I was doing my own thing pretty much,” shared Coleman. “He changed everything I was doing, everything. Everything. I went from doing like an hour to cardio a day to two hours. I went from eating half a pound of food with every meal to a whole pound. I went from training maybe 45 minutes to an hour a day to about maybe an hour, an hour and a half, sometimes an hour and 15 minutes of training because I was trying to do some of everything. I was working all my body parts as much as I could. All my weak ones, especially!”
“I went from working calves maybe once a week to three times a week, working abs maybe once a week to maybe three times a week, he changed pretty much everything I was doing. Had I not gone with him, I wouldn’t have never ever figured that out on my own. I went from probably eating 400 grams of protein a day to 600. I went from eating like 400 grams of carbs a day to like 100, so it was — major changes going on and he pretty much changed everything I was doing. I would have never ever figured that out on my own for sure because I had no idea that you could put on a lot of quality muscle from eating food, had no idea whatsoever, I’m not going to lie.”
“A lot of people think it’s the drugs was going to put on all that size, no. You had to eat. You can take all the drugs in the world but if you ain’t eating you will not grow. I learned that the hard way,” said Coleman.
Wheeler, who won four Arnold Classic titles, took part in a Cutler Cast appearance to reflect on his career. Looking back on his epic battle with Coleman at the 1998 Mr. Olympia, Wheeler said he ‘didn’t put everything into’ his performance and was ‘ashamed’ of himself. He believes one of his biggest mistakes while competing was chasing the size of Coleman instead of focusing on his own strengths, like aesthetics and conditioning.
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Coleman’s gratitude to Wheeler shows that even in a competitive sport like bodybuilding, there can be comradery and mutual respect.
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