You don’t become “the King” by doing things the wrong way.
Yet, even though many of Ronnie Coleman’s bodybuilding tips make perfect sense, he’s also proven he isn’t the most astute exercise scientist on certain topics. Then again, when you have eight Mr. Olympia titles to your name, shouldn’t you automatically qualify as a subject-matter expert in the muscle-building game?
In a Q&A video published on YouTube on Nov. 4, 2024, Coleman unsurprisingly named the squat, bench press, and deadlift as his top three exercises. While that shouldn’t have come as a total shock given his well-documented history of dominating the Big Three, did the legendary bodybuilder leave some meat on the proverbial bone with his choices?
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Ronnie Coleman’s Affinity for the Big Three
Boasting an unparalleled combination of size, strength, and striations during his heyday, Coleman famously trained like a man possessed by the barbell. His methods for constructing a championship physique included plenty of compound exercises performed with substantial amounts of weight.
As he told former NFL star Shannon Sharpe in September, Coleman’s heaviest lifts include:
- Bench Press: 500 pounds for “five or six” repetitions
- Back Squat: 800 pounds for two reps (Coleman claimed he could have hit six)
- Deadlift: 800 pounds for two reps
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Focusing on those three exercises certainly helped the Louisiana native achieve unprecedented heights in his sport. After all, that trio covers several fundamental movement patterns—namely the squat, hinge, and press—all of which are essential for functioning at your highest level as an ordinary human, let alone someone vying for bodybuilding immortality.
But just because Coleman named the powerlifting staples as his top three doesn’t mean that’s all bodybuilders should follow suit if their primary goal is muscle hypertrophy.
Ronnie Coleman’s Big 3: What the Science Says
First, let’s start with the good.
When it comes to the best chest exercises, Coleman went with the tried-and-true bench press—a move that effectively engages your pectoralis major and pectoralis minor (plus your triceps). Widely viewed as the ultimate pec builder, research supports the King’s decision.
- According to a 2020 study comparing the barbell bench press to dumbbell flys, the former produced “higher muscle activation in the whole movement and the majority of the lifting phases for the pectoralis major, deltoids anterior, and triceps brachii.” (1)
- A more recent study published in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies examined the hypertrophy response across four muscles involved with the bench press. At the conclusion of the 10-week training program, researchers found that the pec major experienced the largest gains. (2)
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Now, it’s time to rain on Coleman’s parade. Though valuable, neither the deadlift nor the squat are the best choices for hypertrophy.
Sure, pulling 500-plus pounds puts you in an elite category for strength. However, there are plenty of disadvantages to deadlifts that can cap your muscle-building potential, including the time it takes to set up and perform them, and their taxing nature on your central nervous system. Plus, while the deadlift engages your hamstrings, glutes, and back muscles, it doesn’t necessarily isolate any of them particularly well to elicit a hypertrophic response.
What About Squats?
As for the final piece of the powerlifting-inspired puzzle? Squats are a bit more complicated in that they are effective at building muscle, but they may not be the superior choice depending on which body part you’re focusing on.
- A 2021 randomized control trial published in the Journal of Sports Sciences examined the impact of exercise selection on regional hypertrophy using smith machine squats and the leg extension machine. (3)
- The results showed that the three regions of the rectus femoris exhibited superior growth with the leg extension, while only the central region of the vastus lateralis grew significantly in the smith machine group.
Meanwhile, research shows you can your glutes just as effectively with hip thrust training as back squats. (4) So, if you want to maximize each body part—at least with your lower body—you shouldn’t limit yourself to one of Coleman’s favorite moves.
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References
- Solstad TE, Andersen V, Shaw M, Hoel EM, Vonheim A, Saeterbakken AH. A Comparison of Muscle Activation between Barbell Bench Press and Dumbbell Flyes in Resistance-Trained Males. J Sports Sci Med. 2020 Nov 19;19(4):645-651. PMID: 33239937; PMCID: PMC7675616.
- Lanza, M. B., Prado, G. C., Lacerda, L. T., Dinardi, R. R., Carvalho, L. H., Junior, Diniz, R. C., Lima, F. V., Chagas, M. H., & Martins-Costa, H. C. (2024). Muscle hypertrophy response across four muscles involved in the bench press exercise: randomized 10 weeks training intervention. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 40, 1417–1422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2024.07.054
- Zabaleta-Korta A, Fernández-Peña E, Torres-Unda J, Garbisu-Hualde A, Santos-Concejero J. The role of exercise selection in regional Muscle Hypertrophy: A randomized controlled trial. J Sports Sci. 2021 Oct;39(20):2298-2304. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2021.1929736. Epub 2021 Jul 10. PMID: 34743671.
- Plotkin DL, Rodas MA, Vigotsky AD, McIntosh MC, Breeze E, Ubrik R, Robitzsch C, Agyin-Birikorang A, Mattingly ML, Michel JM, Kontos NJ, Frugé AD, Wilburn CM, Weimar WH, Bashir A, Beyers RJ, Henselmans M, Contreras BM, Roberts MD. Hip thrust and back squat training elicit similar gluteus muscle hypertrophy and transfer similarly to the deadlift. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2023 Jul 5:2023.06.21.545949. doi: 10.1101/2023.06.21.545949. Update in: Front Physiol. 2023 Oct 09;14:1279170. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1279170. PMID: 37461495; PMCID: PMC10349977.
Featured Image: @ronniecoleman8 / Instagram
