68 Ronnie Coleman Quotes: Flex Your Muscles and Ready Yourself for These Powerful One-Liners

Ronnie Coleman, now 58 years old, has enjoyed a lifetime of success in the bodybuilding scene, but there is more to him than muscle. Discover the many parts of Coleman beyond flexing by reading these 68 quotes.

Ronnie Coleman, known as "The King," is a professional bodybuilder, businessman, and social media personality, but this career was not his initial plan for his life.

After graduating from Grambling State University in 1984 with an Accounting BSC in hand, he could not find a job in the field and so became a police officer. It was there that one of his work colleagues suggested he go into bodybuilding.

Entering the professional world of bodybuilding, Coleman was not an overnight success. Still, with a slow climb to the top, he began raking in wins. He took home his first of many Mr. Olympia titles in the late 1990s, which he held consecutively for eight years.

Learn more about this famous bodybuilder by reading the 68 quotes below.

Ronnie Coleman’s quote: "When you hit failure, your workout has just begun.” | Image: AmoDays

Popular Ronnie Coleman Quotes

"Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder." — Ronnie Coleman

"I quit working in the police force full time only after I won my third Mr. Olympia." — Ronnie Coleman

"Lightweight ... Yeah, buddy!" — Ronnie Coleman

"I love you all. Y'all made me have the best life that a guy could ever have. I could have never done it without you all." — Ronnie Coleman

Ronnie Coleman’s quote: “Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder." | Image: AmoDays

"Never underestimate the power of wide-grip pull-ups to develop width and size." — Ronnie Coleman

"When you hit failure, your workout has just begun." — Ronnie Coleman

"I know that in order for something to work for me, it has to be extremely powerful." — Ronnie Coleman

Ronnie Coleman Quotes Full of Useful Information

"Just take it year by year." — Ronnie Coleman

"You have to train the best way that is suited to you, a way that will allow you to progress." — Ronnie Coleman

Ronnie Coleman’s quote: "Different things work for different people." | Image: AmoDays

"Get proper training right from the beginning. It prevents injuries and avoids wasting your time with misdirected effort, which is what most people generally don't understand. Give it your all from day one." — Ronnie Coleman

"Just because your triceps have fallen behind your biceps doesn't mean you should back off your triceps workouts." — Ronnie Coleman

"Competitive bodybuilding is a niche sport, but bodybuilding is for everybody." — Ronnie Coleman

"What I've always tried to do is pick short-term goals." — Ronnie Coleman

"I am not a trainer; hence I cannot advise youngsters on the use of supplements or the way to build their bodies. But I can tell them one thing that I did - find a good, honest trainer." — Ronnie Coleman

Ronnie Coleman’s quote: “Perfecting your form and technique at early stages will go a long way.” | Image: AmoDays

"Time between sets should be short and just long enough so that you are sufficiently recovered to hit the next set hard." — Ronnie Coleman

"If you take a hammer and hit something over and over again, it's gonna be destroyed. I don't wanna destroy my body cause I want my body to last me as long as it possibly can. If you train hard and push it every day, your body is going to wear out. So I give my body time to recover." — Ronnie Coleman

"Bodybuilding is about building your body. Whether you do it to maintain your fitness levels, climb Everest, run the marathon, or be a competitive bodybuilder is up to you." — Ronnie Coleman

"Different things work for different people." — Ronnie Coleman

"Nutrition is 150 percent of the bodybuilding formula. It's that important." — Ronnie Coleman

Ronnie Coleman’s quote: “Time between sets should be short and just long enough so that you are sufficiently recovered to hit the next set hard.” | Image: AmoDays

"Your body produces a lot less testosterone each and every single year, no matter who you are. We are all human; nobody is superhuman." — Ronnie Coleman

"Perfecting your form and technique at early stages will go a long way." — Ronnie Coleman

Inspiring and Motivational Ronnie Coleman Quotes

"I've attained my mass basically by training hard and very, very heavy." — Ronnie Coleman

"If you always do what you've always done... you'll always get what you always got." — Ronnie Coleman

"You can't do this if you're not dedicated and determined and have a strong faith. Because it's extremely hard, especially trying to work a job and do it." — Ronnie Coleman

Ronnie Coleman’s quote: “Hard work and training. There's no secret formula. I lift heavy, work hard and aim to be the best.” | Image: AmoDays

"The next thing I would have to go with is diet because it is so hard and mentally tough. By comparison, the training is the easiest of them all because it's my hobby as well as my job." — Ronnie Coleman

"I always say to myself right before a tough set in the gym, Ain't nothin' to it, but to do it." — Ronnie Coleman

"There were some tough times, and when those came up, I just used my mental strength to push through, knowing that my mind-controlled everything." — Ronnie Coleman

"People actually go out of their way and say a prayer for me to do this. That really means a lot. I put my heart and soul, and when they pray, it makes me work even harder and harder and harder." — Ronnie Coleman

"To have your job as your hobby - life don't get better than that." — Ronnie Coleman

Ronnie Coleman’s quote: “It is important to have people believe in you. With this support, what you can achieve is limitless.” | Image: AmoDays

"Progress takes time and discipline." — Ronnie Coleman

"When you love something as much as I love bodybuilding, you don't have to do much extra to push yourself; it just happens." — Ronnie Coleman.

"Hard work and training. There's no secret formula. I lift heavy, work hard and aim to be the best." — Ronnie Coleman

"My biggest competition is always myself. I mean no disrespect, but I do not look at any of the guys as being my competition for the simple reason that I can't control how they're going to look. I can only control how I look." — Ronnie Coleman

"My supplements are similar to my training - I always commit to being a better version of myself." — Ronnie Coleman

Ronnie Coleman’s quote: “Knowledge is the real power.” | Image: AmoDays

"Recovery is not a gift from clinicians, but the responsibility of us all. We must become confident in our own ability to change our lives; we must give up being reliant on others doing everything for us. We must have the confidence to give up being ill so that we can start being recovered." — Ronnie Coleman

"It is important to have people believe in you. With this support, what you can achieve is limitless." — Ronnie Coleman

"Train harder and grow bigger." — Ronnie Coleman

"Knowledge is the real power." — Ronnie Coleman

"I don't know how well-known it is, but I had back surgery in '07, and it took about two years to recover." — Ronnie Coleman

Ronnie Coleman’s quote: “My biggest competition is always myself. | Image: AmoDays

Ronnie Coleman Quotes about His Own Experiences

"I've never really considered myself as being the best bodybuilder. I always try to let the people decide that. I just try to do the best I can do at whatever it is that I'm doing." — Ronnie Coleman

"The more I have to do, the better off I am." — Ronnie Coleman

"I'm a bodybuilder, so we do a lot of stuff on repetition." — Ronnie Coleman

"As my athletic career was coming to an end in 2007, I asked myself, do I want to work for somebody, or go out and make a difference?" — Ronnie Coleman

"Where I'm from, Bastrop, Louisiana, you played football, basketball, and baseball; you ran track - and that was about it." — Ronnie Coleman

Ronnie Coleman’s quote: “I've been in pain for so long now I'm just used to it.” | Image: AmoDays

"It's almost better than winning the lottery because you worked for it. It's like something you want all your life, but you never thought it would happen, and all of a sudden it did." — Ronnie Coleman

"I've had back problems basically my whole career." — Ronnie Coleman

"I'll be a diehard bodybuilder until my last breath, but I want my brand and the movement we are creating to touch all aspect[s] of the fitness community. I always train heavy, and it worked well for me. I always train heavy and put on size for a competition. Most people would be worried about an injury, but if you're gonna worry about it so much, it's gonna happen anyway." — Ronnie Coleman

"I used to think that my career was to be a police officer, and that is what I was put here to do. But I always kept the faith and always worked hard on my goals, and I finally found out on September 25, 1998, why I was put here - (God) called me here to be Mr. Olympia." — Ronnie Coleman

"No dessert. I don't do dessert." — Ronnie Coleman

Ronnie Coleman’s quote: “Even at the age of 12, I knew I had to become a bodybuilder.” | Image: AmoDays

"There are times I have to diet 16 weeks at a go, and I had to miss out on stuff I love, like burgers and birthday parties." — Ronnie Coleman

"I take about 12 weeks to get ready for a show. But I train all year round." — Ronnie Coleman

"I'm not really one to sit around and relax and take it easy. I always like having something to do. Even though I'm not competing, I'm going to be making a lot of appearances, doing guest posings and seminars." — Ronnie Coleman

"I've been in pain for so long now I'm just used to it." — Ronnie Coleman

"It's hard to be at your best and to know exactly what is your best at all times because even when you do see yourself, you think you could be better, and you often feel that there is something you could have done differently." — Ronnie Coleman

Ronnie Coleman’s quote: “I loved challenging myself every day. The weight room was my therapy for everyday life stresses.” | Image: AmoDays

"I have fans from every level of the fitness world, whether it's the elite competitor or just someone living a healthy lifestyle, and it's been my goal since day one to make sure that my brand has something to offer everyone." — Ronnie Coleman

"I eat chicken and rice, steak, and baked potato. That's it." — Ronnie Coleman

"I've always been a big guy - I was much larger and stronger than my peers when I was 13 years old." — Ronnie Coleman

"I endorsed supplements for about 15-20 years and made a lot of people a lot of money, so I figured I should do my own line and make my own money." — Ronnie Coleman

Ronnie Coleman’s quote: “A day in the life of Ronnie Coleman mainly consists of eating, training or sleeping.” | Image: AmoDays

"Most people know who I am. Then I get the people who don't know who I am and just want to take a picture with a guy with muscles. I get more people that know me than anything." — Ronnie Coleman

"It is a lot of pressure to prepare for Mr. Olympia." — Ronnie Coleman

"Training has always been a hobby, and my whole life has revolved around training. It's something I truly love doing. I wanna do what I wanna do, and this is something I wrestled with because I have to make many sacrifices to do what I wanna do." — Ronnie Coleman

"Even at the age of 12, I knew I had to become a bodybuilder." — Ronnie Coleman

"I loved challenging myself every day. The weight room was my therapy for everyday life stresses." — Ronnie Coleman

Ronnie Coleman’s quote: “I work out every body part twice a week, and that is what helps me stay in shape.” | Image: AmoDays

"I've been training so long, it's second nature to push myself to the limit." — Ronnie Coleman

"I'm focusing on my muscle. I'm just trying to get the weight up. I'm trying to build muscle." — Ronnie Coleman

"A day in the life of Ronnie Coleman mainly consists of eating, training or sleeping." — Ronnie Coleman

"I work out every body part twice a week, and that is what helps me stay in shape." — Ronnie Coleman

Ronnie Coleman’s quote: "I’ve been training so long, it's second nature to push myself to the limit." | Image: AmoDays

While Coleman has enjoyed a lifetime of achievement, this did not come without sacrifice; many of it targeted at his body, which has suffered many injuries that he still struggles with today.

Coleman isn't shy about his battle with his body. In 2018, he took to Instagram, letting his fans know that his back surgery had gone successfully. At this time, it was reported that this was the tenth time he had gone into surgery for his back.

Many are willing to pay the price for this level of success, but are you? If so, you will need to access your fighter within. To help with this process, read these 60 "Mulan" quotes to bring out your inner warrior.