This one item completely changes the game.

Bodybuilders are all about growing their muscle. Rather than worrying on how much weight is on the bar, they’re more focused on how their body will be effected by the hard work they put themselves through. Still, at some point that ego is going to kick in and a bodybuilder is going to want to push themselves a bit in order to obtain more than just beach muscles. No matter how you slice it, bodybuilding is as much about strength as it is about bringing about physical changes to the human frame. It’s perhaps you find so many powerbuilders in the game. One of those individuals was the eight time Olympia champion Ronnie Coleman.

With a background stemmed in powerlifting, Ronnie Coleman has always lifted heavy. For the man many regard as the best to ever compete, training has always been about pushing himself to the limit. Intensity is the name of the game when you’re looking to not only build muscle but strength as well. For a powerbuilder like a Ronnie Coleman, holding yourself back and playing it safe was simply not an option.

So what could have been the secret to Ronnie Coleman’s ability to train with extreme intensity? Smelling salts apparently.

The compound of ammonia has more uses than just to simply rouse an unconscious individual to wakefulness. For powerlifters smelling salts work as the perfect catalyst to push their lifting to the next level. It makes them more aware and wakeful so they don’t pass out during the heaviest lifts. Rather than putting average numbers in the gym, they’re striving to break through a plateau and achieve new feats of strength. With Ronnie Coleman having a background steeped in powerlifting it should come as no surprise that the all time great utilized smelling salts to push himself to the next level. Who knows. He could’ve used the same methods to push himself during his bodybuilding training. The video below demonstrates how Coleman used smelling salts to up his training intensity ten fold. Check it out.

Do you use smelling salts to enhance your lifting?

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