The biggest sacrifice for true legendary status?

When many people speak of the greatest bodybuilders in the world there’s no doubt that at the head of the list is eight time Mr. Olympia champion Ronnie Coleman. The man was an absolute beast, a genetic freak with the kind of raw strength that any bodybuilder, weightlifter, or powerlifter could appreciate. Coleman was the king when he was competing and dominated his competition for eight straight wins before eventually relinquishing the title to rival Jay Cutler.

With so many years of competition under his belt it’s still great to see that Coleman is still in the gym working hard despite all of his recent physical setbacks. But it’s starting to become cause for concern these days. Coleman recently stated on his Instagram that he’ll be going in for yet another surgery which will put him out of commission for some time. Check out his posting below.

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Always pumping it up at Metroflex doing these late night sessions. I have to say I do love them because I’m practically in the gym alone with no distractions whatsoever. There are no bikini babes in here, no one on a machine when I need it so there’s no waiting on no one to get off a machine when I need it. I’m just in and out for the workout and back home asap so that I can eat my food and do whatever I need to do after that which is most of the time email. I’m coming down to my final workouts before my next surgery which is next week and I’ll be off from training for a very long time. But for right now, it’s still on like a marijuana bong. YEAH BUDDY!!!!!!!!!!

A video posted by Ronnie Coleman (@ronniecoleman8) on Jan 28, 2016 at 11:49pm PST

When one speaks of sacrifice in this sport – not many people think of THIS kind of physical cost. Ronnie Coleman pushed his body to the limit like none other before or after him. This may have lead to some (okay, more like a lot) of surgeries down the road. But in the end only Ronnie Coleman will know whether that kind of sacrifice was worth it to him or not.

Regardless, despite the fact that Coleman isn’t actually competing in bodybuilding these days it’s still a downer to see that his body seems to constantly failing him these days. For a man who was once on top of the bodybuilding world it’s regrettable to see the toll that lifting has taken on his body. Despite that Coleman made the decision to pursue this lifestyle and there are no doubts that the man doesn’t regret a thing. After all, only a few people in the world could ever claim they were the best at whatever they did. That’s perhaps the best consolation prize he could ask for.

The entire Generation Iron team wish him the best as he heads off into surgery once again. And we know from past experience that this will only keep him out of the gym for a short while. He always jumps back in. You can’t keep a beast like Ronnie Coleman out of the gym for too long.

What do you think about Ronnie Coleman undergoing another surgery? Let us know in the comments and forums. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.