# Ronnie Coleman's training split



## nick500 (Dec 12, 2005)

THE RONNIE HORROR SHOW

The Most Brutal Workouts in History

EXERCISE POUNDAGE SETS REPS

MONDAY

Back

Deadlifts 805 4 6-12

Barbell rows 585 3 10-12

T-bar rows 585 3 10-12

One-arm dumbbell rows 200 3 10-12

Biceps

Barbell curls 200 4 12

Seated alternate dumbbell curls 90 3 12

Cambered-bar preacher curls 150 3 12

Standing cable curls 200 4 12

Shoulders

Military presses 315 4 10-12

Seated dumbbell presses 170 4 12

superset with

Front dumbbell raises 60 4 12

TUESDAY

Legs

Squats 800 5-6 2-12

Leg presses 2,500 4 12

Parking-lot lunges 315 2 100 yards

Stiff-leg deadlifts 315 3 12

Seated leg curls 200 3 12

WEDNESDAY

Chest

Bench presses 500 5 12

Incline barbell presses 405 3 12

Flat dumbbell presses 200 3 12

Flat flyes 130 4 12

Triceps

Seated cambered-bar extensions 215 3 12

Seated dumbbell extensions 170 4 12

Close-grip bench presses 350 4 12

THURSDAY

Back

Barbell rows 585 5 10-12

Pulley rows 400 4 10-12

Machine pulldowns 350 3 10-12

Front pulldowns 350 3 10-12

Biceps

Incline alternate dumbbell curls 90 4 12

Machine curls 200 3 12

superset with

Barbell curls 200 3 12

Standing cable curls 200 4 12

Shoulders

Seated dumbbell presses 170 4 12

Front dumbbell raises 60 3 8-25

Machine presses 250 3 8-25

FRIDAY

Legs

Leg extensions 300 4 30

Front squats 585 4 12-15

Hack squats 900 3 12

Standing leg curls 125 3 12-15

Lying leg curls 200 4 12-15

SATURDAY

Chest

Incline dumbbell presses 200 4 12

Decline barbell presses 500 3 12

Incline dumbbell flyes 130 3 12

Decline dumbbell presses 170 3 12

Triceps

Lying cambered-bar extensions 215 4 12

triset with

Machine dips 360 4 12

triset with

Seated cambered-bar 215 4 12

extensions

ADDITIONALLY

Calves (Twice a week)

Donkey raises 450 4 12

Seated raises 270 4 12

Abs (Four times a week)

Crunches 3 Failure

SUNDAY

Rest

* The poundages listed represent those that Coleman often uses for

heavier sets. At times he goes even higher, but these poundages are

"typical" for him and no one else.

* Coleman has used the same schedule and workouts throughout his career,

except that, in order to utilize all of his favorite exercises,

consecutive muscle-group workouts are not identical. These are his

standard exercises, but one unlisted movement may be substituted per

workout.

RELATED ARTICLE: FULL RANGE OF MOTION

Strength is my goal in training and the basis of my muscle gains, but it's never at the expense of getting a full range of motion with every repetition. Anytime someone asks me what I feel is the most important technique in the performance of an exercise, that's always my answer. In order to work every fiber in a muscle and allow it to pump itself to its maximum capacity with blood, it must be fully stretched, then fully contracted. Feel that stress all the way, and that muscle has no choice but to grow.

--Ronnie Coleman

RELATED ARTICLE: HEAVY, BUT STRICT

Regardless of how heavy I lift, the preeminent principle in all of my training is to work the muscle as best I can. That is efficiently accomplished by applying maximum resistance (weight), so the muscle is exhausted as quickly as possible and the target muscle--not ancillary muscles or leveraged joints--do the work. Every rep is therefore performed in a very strict manner, and the success of this is gauged by the fullness of the pump in that muscle.

--Ronnie Coleman

RELATED ARTICLE: I NEVER MAX OUT

People seem to be awed at how strong I am, but my lifts mentioned in this article and those you see on my video are not my max. I can always do more, but I would have to strain and cheat, which does not necessarily build strength or mass. Furthermore, I would be risking injury. By keeping my squats, for example, down around 600 pounds for 12-15 reps precontest, and my deadlifts down around 750 for five or six reps, I maintain control at all times and build honest strength and mass.

--Ronnie Coleman

RELATED ARTICLE: STRENGTH

Bodybuilders often disdain any emphasis of strength, claiming that ours is the pursuit of quality, not quantity, but strength has value in many aspects of bodybuilding.

* Progress We all need a quantitative base from which we can measure our improvement. Keeping track from one workout to the next of how much more we're able to lift with the same exercise, or how many more reps we can get with the same weight, enables us to keep track of our progress.

* Strength versus size The two are related. An increase in strength indicates an increase in size. Even though the latter may not be obvious, if a muscle becomes stronger, it has to have become bigger.

* Motivation What is more inspiring than hitting a new personal record with one of your lifts? When that happens, I can't wait to get back into the gym and keep it going.

* Intensity Facing an extremely heavy lift forces me to concentrate even harder on proper execution of the movement, which means I have to put everything into the muscle that's being worked. The heavier the lift, the cleaner the form.

--Ronnie Coleman


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## mark300 (Feb 22, 2006)

Very interesting and good read that. I'm sure he is super human lol.

Cheers for that Nick.


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