Worth considering, the 800 lbs squat double was 4 weeks out from Mr Olympia, so he is dieted down quite a bit. Imagine what he could do after eating at a surplus for a bit and not being sub 10% bf.
@@Zurr-En-Arrh but Ronnie’s muscles are conditioned for larger rep schemes for all we know he could make the first four look the same and grind on the fifth
His squats were WAYY above parallel, with a super suit on. The fact it was 4 weeks out (from an Olympianwhere he didn't have the best condition at all) doesnt mean a whole lot. Dallas mccarver was stronger than ronnie Coleman in Every major lift. Kai green was likely close too. But regardless none of them would've done well at strongman. Too short and not enough endurance. Cardiovascularly and muscularly
One of the craziest things about Mariusz was his ability to improve his weaknesses. He would do bad at an event one year, then come back next year and score near the top. There are even stories from strongmen who competed with him that they would see him practicing with an implement when they went to lunch, and see him still practicing with it when they came back.
True. WSM 2005 Mariusz has almost lost the title because of fingal fingers. WSM 2006 he lost because of fingals. WSM 2007 he would beat world record in fingals but before him Wenta did it. Frame at Arnolds 2003 or 2004. He didnt manage to walk with it. Next year he was one of two athlets who finished the event. Such a machine.
@@thewitcher1990 Yeah! Phil Pfister also talked about how intense he was during competition. It was one event where they were gonna carry a rock/shield for distance. And when they practiced/warmed up with it. Mariusz couldn't handle it at all. But when it was game-time he just picked it up and ran with it like it was nothing.
Could Mariusz have been a top Olympia competitor? I think that's a possibility. I think the thing you really have to respect his ability to go into MMA well after his prime where he knew he wouldn't have the same level of success as he did in strongman.
In body building shape? No chance. If he actually trained for it? Absolutely would be a contender. He has the frame,work ethic, and discipline. Plus training not for it he still was putting up huge numbers relatively speaking
Another factor to consider is sometimes Marius would be so far ahead that he wouldn’t mill himself in an event and he’d stop with a few reps in reserve. If someone like Ronnie was more on his heels his numbers would’ve prob been even a lil better.
Ronnie and Mariusz were my heroes growing up. But Mitchell is forgetting that Ronnie's reps wouldn't have counted. Yes, he had good numbers, but he didn't do full reps on them.
I love these types of fun videos Mitch. I would agree with the masses here and say you were very kind to Ronnie here; we've seen bodybuilders compete before, and they typically need quite a bit of time to be able to deal with odd objects and moving events ie. tire flips, carries, fingers, and stones.
Yea...the dominator Pudz was the dominator for a reason. Not only incredible physical shape. He was a mad man in the competitions. High win % overall and weighed in prime around 320-330 which was insane at that time. Ronnie still coudlve been a good strongman. But he would have to completely change his way of lifting.
Yeah, Ronnie lifted heavy and did a little bit of powerlifting, but he didn't really care about strongman or that stuff. He was lifting heavy strictly to build muscle, that was the only reason, and to show off honestly. The one rep maxes were to show off in my opinion.
@@martinnilsson5295Not quite. He placed very highly at certain events (Apollons wheel in particular if I remember correctly) but very badly at some others, so his end result was only good enough for 4th place overall
Larry is very prone to injury, but no ones more prone than Ronnie which surprising. It's very very hard to hurt yourself as bad as him. It's pretty clear that the surgeons made many mistakes, or it never would have gotten as bad as it was. I know he's talked about the surgeons messing up a few times. He also worked out for years with multiped herniated disc and in extreme pain all over his body, yet he tried to force his weigh to continue lifting heavy, so Ronnie was stubborn too. Eventually he had to see a doctor because he couldn't walk even back then at certain points. Either way, injuries happen or can happen when you train that heavy, but you should still be able to make to competition day.
It can happen but we can't know what he could have done without getting the bicep tear. Getting a tear would have been horrific for him, as any athlete, so he backed away from it at that moment.
@@SageBoden He herniated his disc before he even won his first Olympia. He just trained through it and visited the chiropractor. He then tore his lat in 2006 which is one of reasons why he lost his title.
@@JM-lf1sl obviously not but if you can play the most athletic position then you’ll still be more athletic than the average 330 lbs man Mike Jenkins was also still pretty athletic at 400lbs, he would regularly win or place high in loading races, farmers and other moving events
I absolutely love these speculative videos. They're so much fun. I say that as a super Fan of both Big Ron and Mariusz. I was a bodybuilding fan first. It's entirely because of Mariusz that i became a strong man fan. He had the best of both world's as far as my teenage mind could reason. Thanks for all the interesting content Mitch. P.s. I'm happy to see big Ron in the comments, YEAH BUDDY - LIGHT WEIGHT.
I remember back in 1995, a body builder called Curtis Lefler (rip😢) competed in WSM. He was in contest shape, looked great but didn’t do that well. Worth a watch. MP was great but wasn’t there a schism in the sport during his heyday? Great video btw 😊
Mariusz get such short schrift. It's absurd. Then when people actually look at his record objectively they're like 'holy shit he won 50/69 international comps?' Just insanely successful. They think 'Big Z (who is incredible, no doubt) would've won more if there was no split, he's the greatest'--Pure conjecture. And in reality, when they actually did face each other in comps, The Dominator usually won. It's so crazy to me that people say he actually wasn't very good and just benefited from the split. Really? Fuckin' really, dude? Has anyone *ever* had a better W-L record while having dozens of big comps they'd competed in?
Mariusz is the greatest strongman of all time. When he did his first WSM he blew everyone out of the water and just got better and stronger. Compared to bodybuilding the career at the peak is less but the dominator was to fast, too strong and just a mental animal.
@@Ptownmarc Big Z Is The Greatest And The Strongest Strongman Of All Time But Yeah Mariusz Is Insane As Well In My Opinion He's The 3rd Greatest Strongman Of All 🇵🇱❤️💪🏻
i just love that there is never any hate in mitchells break downs. Its just not the angle hes coming from. I want to troll as I usually do but i wont lol cause im awesome
Old guy here, and old strongman fan. Pudzianowski is the most impressive strongman I've ever watched. Sure, you can discount loading and carrying events and say that Shaw or Z are the greatest ever, but dynamic events have always been part of Strongman. Pudz had an extra gear he could turn on and just dominate any competition. It was just insane to watch. Also, 50 wins? in 69 Competitions? Best all time, and by a lot. A little birdie told me that Pudz was a dickhead and hated by the other competitors, and that's why his accomplishments tend to get downplayed these days. But a 72% WINNING percentage? Come on. Ronnie would have had no chance, as bodybuilders can't move like strongmen.
He was an insanely explosive athlete for sure and phenomenal at any of the movement based events, like you mentioned. He also was very strong with any of the static events that were done for reps. When he was competing, strongman was mostly based around more these athletic type events, which was why he was so successful. However, he definitely seemed behind many of his peers later on in his career when it came down to very heavy or one rep max type stuff. It seemed like strongman deviated more towards this after he retired from the sport. The sport has also evolved by quite a lot since his reign and there is a much greater variety of talent compared to when he competed. I think he would be a top contender if he were to compete today, but I don't think he'd have been as dominant.
Having seen bodybuilders attempt Strongman events, it's hard to believe, as strong as he was, that Ronnie would be competitive. The physical test for American cops isn't that rigorous 😄 So I can't really see him doing that well at a high level Strongman contest. Would've been cool to see though.
Mate Ronnie smoke all u fat strongman this guy was strongman level strength being 6percwnt body fat no one is more disciplined then. U should stfu because ur nobody downplaying Ronnie. He would smoke u fat strongmen😂😂😂😂😂
As someone who stood on top of a step ladder and watched Mitch win World's Strongest Man, I confirm that Ronnie Coleman and Mariusz Pudzianowski were both very strong
I like the content on this channel it's about all aspects of strength, bodybuilding, PED's, powerlifting, strongman all analytical approach in every video I respect the work put into it it's not all about Michael hooper even tho it's his channel very respectable 🙏 you earned my follow from a fellow bodybuilder
That's actually pretty insane. I went into this video thinking that he could be the contender if he trained for it, but would stand no chance in bodybuilding condition, but you made a pretty strong case that he could have.
I am convinced not only that it is possible, but that he would certainly win first place if he had enough time to master the basics of the WSMan competition. Let's not forget that he was a top bodybuilder who, in order to become that, put his body through incredible volumes of exercises or muscle loads. In layman's terms, he could function for a long time under heavy load, performing some specific activity.
bro stepping on toes with this one for sure. Ronnie a fantastic athlete but Mariusz fans won't let this slide. Very generous to Ronnie too with some of the events considering "offseason ronnie" and not "hypothetical trained strongman ronnie"
Fantastic video. And gods, Marius' ability to move awkward heavy things was insane - at the risk of being obvious given 5x WSM. Makes me wonder how you'd think a/ Lou Ferrigno would have done at the original WSM had he been able to compete in all events (As best as I know, he was basically competing around filming for the Incredible Hulk - so let's imagine the producers gave him the week off to try and win)? He finished 4th as it was (and I've long felt he was a little cheated on the first event, having lifts discounted that were better than lifts given to others). But also, b/ How would Arnold have been able to do? Since, from what I've read/heard, he was invited before Ferrigno, but he was too close either after or before a bodybuilding comp and didn't feel he'd be competitive in the time-frame before the competition. Potentially also, how would either have done in the following handful of years potentially?
With all due respect to King Coleman and his monumental achievements in bodybuilding…I don’t think he would even be close to Mariuz in any of his 5 wins
I think Ronnie would have trouble stabilizing something like a heavy log or awkward object. His waist was so thin. A hypothetical heavy yoke would be very tough for him too imo.
If Ronnie had of trained for strong man specifically he'd of made Puzinowsk train harder and try harder at each event, it's really hard to give it more than a 50/50.
Pudzianowski may not have been great at the Final Finger's but he eventually improved and nearly won the event in 07. A 15 second improvement from the year before. I doubt just about anyone under 6ft tall, as Ronnie was, could have done better. It was also difficult to beat Mariuz in deadlift for reps or anything for reps. It could appear to be a weight that was at close to his maximum but still somehow manage many reps. I've never seen a competitor appear to dig down as deep as him.
I concur with your estimations here. I love Dorian Yates, but he was all glycolytic fast twitch as he could skip warm-ups and do things like rowing 405 as if it were a broom handle. He'd use all of his muscle fibers at once and wear them down very quickly, meaning no longevity during a competition. Ronnie had more endurance
going based off bodybuilder numbers is the craziest part because if Ronnie went full strongman you know he'd be 360 and putting up 9s in squat and deadlift
In Mariusz ' defense on some of the lifts vs Ronnie. Mariusz was doing them back to back on the same day or following day in the events. Ronnie was way more fresh on most lifts.
Pudzianowski best lifts: 295kg bench 415 kg deadlift (could do more) 395 kg squat Source: olimp sport nutrition channel, "Pudzianowski o sekretach Strongman", about 3rd minute
He would 100% set records in the strength scene. Dude was throwing insane number while close to 5% bodyfat right before the show. Ronnie at offswason 320 lbs + training for strength and blasting everything would have set some obscene numbers
Obviously there's no way to tell what would have happened and we can't turn back the clock, but others have analyzed the same thing and reached the same conclusion, which was that Coleman's strength in his prime was world-class at the time. One interesting thing is that Coleman didn't max out at his peak, everything was for multiple reps and he didn't go to failure on his heavier lifts, so we don't actually know just how strong he was or how much more he had in the tank. All that being said, it seems safe to say that if he had directed his energy toward strongman instead of bodybuilding and focused his training on strongman then he would almost certainly been competitive at the world level in the sport. Definitely an interesting what-if.
Ronnie would have had trouble with the stones because of his height, plus short limbs and big mass, also a key aspect of the grip hold is to have big hands. Ronnie has a small frame compared to all these guys (I know there have been some exceptions). His body wouldn't remain healthy for long. Also, I'm not buying at all that Ronnie woke up one day and made the 800 pound squat. He obviously was lifting very heavy, getting stronger with purpose, and we know he competed as a powerlifter, so he knew what he was doing (just to state that his ceiling wasn't much further). Just another opinion. Thank you for the great video!!
He's 5 10, he was a beast for a body builder and for powerlifting lifts, but applicational strength, he'd get destroyed. His cardio compared to someone like Marius is night a day. He could probably thrive in amateur strongman.
And Mariusz was about 6ft 😅 He's listed at 6'1 or 6'2 but keep in mind, athletes tend to be reported as taller than they are, my friend met him and they were about the same height, 6ft tall. Like that was his main comment haha, he thought he was taller 😂 With that being said Mariusz is a completely different level of strong, yeah Ronnie was great, and he would have been able to compete at pro level probably. But I don't think he would beat Mariusz or any of the greats.
@@jakzimny6752 I used to know someone from the gym years ago that went to the Mohegan Sun strongman grand prix. Anyway, he said that Mariusz in real life was about his height, around 5'10" or so. He was listed as 6'1" for a while and then later 5'11" lol. He was definitely under 6', in the 2006 WSM he was about a head shorter than Phil Pfister, who is listed as 6'6".
@@oglocbaby520 a lotta dudes are lowkey delusional on height ngl. They couldn't tell a two inch difference if their life depended on it. Marisuz is def six foot at least, prolly not 6 1. Your friend is prob just not able to see a two inch difference
Ronnie was a powerlifter before bodybuilding. That's why his numbers were like that. He took a very power-lifting approach to bodybuilding and it's no surprise it crushed him.
I mean if his grip really was competitive and since he likely would have been good at rep events, I might agree with those but sometimes it can take a long time and require a lot of specific strength to get the moving events up to speed (literally). And things like yoke and stones feel like sth you just have to train for. That said, I could absolutely see him having been a contender if someone had offered him that free gym membership for competing in strongman instead of bodybuilding.
If Ronnie Coleman would have turned up in his Mr. O shape he wouldn’t even have made it into the final due to the hideously low body fat which would have 1) resulted in ZERO energy; and 2) would have made him extremely susceptible to injury as well. If, however, he was give some time to train for strongman (let’s say 6 months), I would’ve given him the benefit of the doubt (just ‘cus he’s him). [edit: is that a realistic take? Probably not, but it’s fun to speculate]
I admire both Ronnie and Mariusz, both being very gifted and extremely hardworking. However, I don’t believe Ronnie could beat Mariusz in strongman the same way as Mariusz couldn’t beat Ronnie in bodybuilding.
I think people are seriously underestimating Ronnie. His training sessions were high intensity and for a long period of time. His strength is similar too.
I'm not sure on the conditioning part. I've read that Ronnie would be out of breath walking just short distances at his peak when he weighed over 300.. There's a book by a reporter who spent a long time on tour with these pro Bodybuilders including Ronnie a this peak .Dorian explained to the author how intensely exhausting it was carrying that amount of body mass since he had experienced being around 300nas well. So whilst he was incredibly strong in the gym, I'm not sure how well he would have lasted such an event with such a variety of all body moves in such a short space.
Yeah, all the steroids and insulin they take are crazy. I read something similar. He was so out of breath just walking that he could barely breathe a few times. Hard to believe he was that out of shape. I think that was 2006 when and later when he was winding down. No chance he was that bad off earlier in his career. The lifting alone would have made his cardio better than that. I mean there are 300 pound fat guys who can jog a little at times. He should not have been out of breath like that at only 300. Shows you what those drugs do.
@@billj4525 I think also that all that muscle mass must take a toll. The oxygen demands hauling around such a lot of lean muscle mass on a 5'11 frame must have been exhausting .
@@michaelzhao9851 i actually have the book in storage ..I'll dig it out and check the name. Can't remember the title. The author was a guy who had never trained with weights and wanted to learn more about Dorian post his career and why England hardly recognised him as one of their greatest sporting heroes. He then traces to following pro bodybuilding around the world with pros ,attending various shows hosted by Dorian ,etc. The book ends when he does an actual back training session with Dorian and speaks a about how strange it was to him to experience Dorian's precise knowledge in an actual training session .
As a bodybuilder no chance in Hades for Ronnie, but I could guess that if he trained for the WSM he could have been competitive, but I dont see him anywhere near the podium. His height would have not helped him at all either. Marius is probably one of the shortest WSM winners if not the shortest and that lack of height hurt him in several challenges. It was the blend of power, speed and explosiveness that made Marius such as a force in these competitions.
Not a chance. I love Ronnie but they are different practices. Like trying to make an Olympic diver into and Olympic swimmer. Both use a pool for different reasons.
Agree. I could agree a bit more with Mitch if he had taken more caveats. He said moderate training for strongman and still in shape for Bodybuilding. If he had assumed more extensive training for Strongman and being able to go to AT LEAST 20-25% bodyfat percentage, then sure, give it a chance in one of the years. But in bodybuilding shape it would be unfathomable.
I agree wholeheartedly, I came from powerlifting to strongman and lost many events to guys i was much stronger than just because strongman implements are weird and awkward, if you havent trained with them you probably arent doing too well
@@budadi Mitch is talented. I don't want to minimise his effort, work ethic, etc - he does put in the work on top of his talent. But to your point, the fact that he has done so well in strongman with so little preparation is exactly what makes him "worse than random commenters" in evaluating it. For him it was easy, so he has a lopsided view of how much skill can be a differentiating factor or how difficult some of the movements can be - because for him they were easy.
Pudzianowski getting disrespected once again... The 2002 & 2003 wins were against Big Z for example, not Bob the Builder. And that would be peak Ronnie. What Mitch says about 2005 is quite unlikely too because we are talking about a 41yo Ronnie at this point, that would make Coleman the oldest WSM winner by 2.5 years (over Big Z at ~38.5) as well as the shortest. So yeah, Ronnie is an absolute legend but WSM winner in the 2000s? Super-unlikely. I think Mitch potentially missed something here: I believe Ronnie could be a more likely WSM winner in the mid to late 1990s. Remember Ronnie is born in 1964... so he would be in his early 30s at that point. Sure, Magnús Ver Magnússon was around that period too but aside MVM nobody was super dominant in that period. So Ronnie would have decent chances against Jouko for example in 1997.
as a former police officer myself, dont give ronnie the pass on passing the physical fitness test for officers out of hand, many departments only require the initial one and you never have to pass another. Lots of officers are slim when they start and get pretty fat on the job from poor diet and lots of seat time in a car, and couldnt run 200 meters if their life depended on it.
What is crazy about Ronnie is he was pushing that weight while also being so incredibly lean. Generally a higher body fat allows for greater strength, so just imagine what he could push in bear mode.
I would have guessed Ronnie was taller. Strongmen are tall and big so Marius looked shorter than he really was. I think the power output over a minute was Marius' big advantage, strong, but high output over the time period too. Good comparison and interesting to consider.
@@DavidVirtanen with most bodybuilders I'd tend to agree but Ronnie was pretty unique in that he was putting up way higher numbers than his competition. He wouldn't have been competitive in his olympia shape but if he trained... who knows?
The real question with Ronnie is if he could remain uninjured in strongman, especially given his affinity for Winstrol. There is no question that Ronnie had the raw, static strength to handle WSM weights, particularly if he was at his normal, still low BF%, instead of at his leanest contest shape.
@@mitchellhooperstrongman You said it well in the video, with his height don't think ronnie could've won any wsm. but I do know is that you're going to set world records and win wsm more than 5 times... thanks for your amazing content! much love from Iran. 🤘
@@mitchellhooperstrongman Possibly Gary Taylor and Pudz slightly under 6'.Vytautas Lalas would've been the first but then power stairs for the last event in 2012, ☠️
If Ronnie was fully hydrated and properly trained for strongman I think he'd surprise everyone. Would he be beat one of the GOATs of the sport? Probably not. His height is a factor, it'll definitely affect his technique, maybe not so much on this iteration of WSM but any sort of medley requiring loading could cost him seconds.
This is an interesting breakdown, but the interesting thing is all of Ronnie's best known lifts came from a time when he would be extremely weak relative to his max. If he actually trained for-and more importantly, ATE for-strongman, I think he's a serious contender. Its not even just off season vs in season, imagine if he was never cutting and ate like a strongman fulltime, allowing his muscles to just grow year round. I see him being a monster.
I think I would have had that 2005 Strongman title too...Yeah Buddy
Yeah Buddy!
Ya for sure....
Your a legend ronnie 😀
Light weight
Ain't nothin but a peanut
Worth considering, the 800 lbs squat double was 4 weeks out from Mr Olympia, so he is dieted down quite a bit. Imagine what he could do after eating at a surplus for a bit and not being sub 10% bf.
He also said he thinks he could have done 5 reps and regrets stopping at 2!
Def not maybe like 1 more because at the second rep it was slowing down@@zarbins
@@Zurr-En-Arrhsome people are hard grinders
@@Zurr-En-Arrh but Ronnie’s muscles are conditioned for larger rep schemes for all we know he could make the first four look the same and grind on the fifth
His squats were WAYY above parallel, with a super suit on. The fact it was 4 weeks out (from an Olympianwhere he didn't have the best condition at all) doesnt mean a whole lot.
Dallas mccarver was stronger than ronnie Coleman in Every major lift. Kai green was likely close too.
But regardless none of them would've done well at strongman. Too short and not enough endurance. Cardiovascularly and muscularly
One of the craziest things about Mariusz was his ability to improve his weaknesses. He would do bad at an event one year, then come back next year and score near the top. There are even stories from strongmen who competed with him that they would see him practicing with an implement when they went to lunch, and see him still practicing with it when they came back.
True. WSM 2005 Mariusz has almost lost the title because of fingal fingers. WSM 2006 he lost because of fingals. WSM 2007 he would beat world record in fingals but before him Wenta did it.
Frame at Arnolds 2003 or 2004. He didnt manage to walk with it. Next year he was one of two athlets who finished the event. Such a machine.
@@thewitcher1990 Yeah! Phil Pfister also talked about how intense he was during competition. It was one event where they were gonna carry a rock/shield for distance. And when they practiced/warmed up with it. Mariusz couldn't handle it at all. But when it was game-time he just picked it up and ran with it like it was nothing.
Could Mariusz have been a top Olympia competitor? I think that's a possibility. I think the thing you really have to respect his ability to go into MMA well after his prime where he knew he wouldn't have the same level of success as he did in strongman.
In body building shape? No chance. If he actually trained for it? Absolutely would be a contender. He has the frame,work ethic, and discipline. Plus training not for it he still was putting up huge numbers relatively speaking
What frame? He‘d be shorter than the shortest top athletes today
Frame? He's way too short
He wouldn't have been close, he may be better Statically but those times Static strength wasn't given a shit
@@Vipinnnn17 Ronnie was a starting football player in a D1 division university. Athletically, he is better than the WSM competitors.
@@jasonito23 nonsense
I’m sure with focused training he could have been a very competitive strongman, but him beating Marius at WSM is a leap of faith I cannot make
Another factor to consider is sometimes Marius would be so far ahead that he wouldn’t mill himself in an event and he’d stop with a few reps in reserve. If someone like Ronnie was more on his heels his numbers would’ve prob been even a lil better.
Ronnie and Mariusz were my heroes growing up. But Mitchell is forgetting that Ronnie's reps wouldn't have counted. Yes, he had good numbers, but he didn't do full reps on them.
I love these types of fun videos Mitch. I would agree with the masses here and say you were very kind to Ronnie here; we've seen bodybuilders compete before, and they typically need quite a bit of time to be able to deal with odd objects and moving events ie. tire flips, carries, fingers, and stones.
Yea...the dominator Pudz was the dominator for a reason. Not only incredible physical shape. He was a mad man in the competitions. High win % overall and weighed in prime around 320-330 which was insane at that time. Ronnie still coudlve been a good strongman. But he would have to completely change his way of lifting.
Yeah, Ronnie lifted heavy and did a little bit of powerlifting, but he didn't really care about strongman or that stuff. He was lifting heavy strictly to build muscle, that was the only reason, and to show off honestly. The one rep maxes were to show off in my opinion.
He did nothing at heavier shows like the Arnolds
@@martinnilsson5295Not quite. He placed very highly at certain events (Apollons wheel in particular if I remember correctly) but very badly at some others, so his end result was only good enough for 4th place overall
Think Larry Wheels, Larry is super strong in the gym, but has never managed to even get to a world class strongman contest without getting injured.
Well said !
Larry is very prone to injury, but no ones more prone than Ronnie which surprising. It's very very hard to hurt yourself as bad as him. It's pretty clear that the surgeons made many mistakes, or it never would have gotten as bad as it was. I know he's talked about the surgeons messing up a few times. He also worked out for years with multiped herniated disc and in extreme pain all over his body, yet he tried to force his weigh to continue lifting heavy, so Ronnie was stubborn too. Eventually he had to see a doctor because he couldn't walk even back then at certain points. Either way, injuries happen or can happen when you train that heavy, but you should still be able to make to competition day.
Ronnie was never injured while competing all his injuries are later in life through his training and repetition
It can happen but we can't know what he could have done without getting the bicep tear. Getting a tear would have been horrific for him, as any athlete, so he backed away from it at that moment.
@@SageBoden He herniated his disc before he even won his first Olympia. He just trained through it and visited the chiropractor. He then tore his lat in 2006 which is one of reasons why he lost his title.
FYI, Ronnie played 4years as cornerback in college at Grambling State. He is very athletic.
Mike Jenkins Played Football At University And Guess What? He Was 400 lbs Not 200 lbs Skinny Weak Guy
@@DavidVirtanen he played guard, not corner
Cornerback is the most athletic position in all major sports
@@dantethunderstone2118 Yeah, giant Ronnie would in no way be able to play CB. Typically dudes that weigh like 180 and are fast AF play CB.
@@JM-lf1sl obviously not but if you can play the most athletic position then you’ll still be more athletic than the average 330 lbs man
Mike Jenkins was also still pretty athletic at 400lbs, he would regularly win or place high in loading races, farmers and other moving events
That was going to be my comment
Pudzianowski was a BEAST, with all the respect but no chance for Ronnie on WSM stage.
Do not respect a glorified cheater roid user
Steroids and anabolics in the world of strongmen? Who would have thought xD
@K3R0wNiK everyone in strongman are natural and vegan everyone knows that
@@percy66 which one? Ronnie or Mariusz?
@@RageDaug both
They're both legends in their own disciplines, but I can't see either winning in the other's.
BUT!!!!!....could marius have won the Mr. Olympia?
Yes
Yes, 100 %
Could Mariusz have won a 6th WSM?
Not at olympia level in my humble opinion he was a absolute freak but he does not have some of the proportion of the absolute best in that field
@@idk13539doubt it cause Jay cutler and Ronnie Coleman were at neck and neck
3:07 I beg your pardon. Thats 800 SOLID ASS POUNDS to you sir 😂
HAahahahhaha
I absolutely love these speculative videos. They're so much fun. I say that as a super Fan of both Big Ron and Mariusz. I was a bodybuilding fan first. It's entirely because of Mariusz that i became a strong man fan. He had the best of both world's as far as my teenage mind could reason. Thanks for all the interesting content Mitch.
P.s. I'm happy to see big Ron in the comments, YEAH BUDDY - LIGHT WEIGHT.
If you say, “yah buddy” in the mirror four times, Ronnie will appear!
How About Yeah Mate? 😏🇬🇧
@@DavidVirtanen Ja Freund! No wait, that summons Markus Rühl.
😂😂😂
I tried it. But he didn't appear. :(
@AbsoRuud76 that's because I did it right before you and he appeared at my gym to make me lift "light weight."
These comparison videos are fun!
You were extremely extremely generous to Ronnie here😂😂
Yeah I don’t think he’d be close to a podium finish any year
@@Heidinn217 good that we have ppl who can tell us theire expert view
@@flow1188 lmao ikr
He was more than generous!! 😂😂
His back injuries might have been too much for strongman.
Hey, two inches is a big deal (some would even say too big a deal)!
As a man, I know what you mean.
i wish i had 2 more inches (both ways)
Huge deal
That's huge 😂
I remember back in 1995, a body builder called Curtis Lefler (rip😢) competed in WSM. He was in contest shape, looked great but didn’t do that well. Worth a watch. MP was great but wasn’t there a schism in the sport during his heyday? Great video btw 😊
I look forward to Ronnie's reaction to this video ("Yeahhhh buddy!").
Pretty cool video. Both of them would have done amazing in both Strongman and Bodybuilding!
Mariusz get such short schrift. It's absurd. Then when people actually look at his record objectively they're like 'holy shit he won 50/69 international comps?' Just insanely successful. They think 'Big Z (who is incredible, no doubt) would've won more if there was no split, he's the greatest'--Pure conjecture. And in reality, when they actually did face each other in comps, The Dominator usually won. It's so crazy to me that people say he actually wasn't very good and just benefited from the split. Really? Fuckin' really, dude? Has anyone *ever* had a better W-L record while having dozens of big comps they'd competed in?
Well Said Champ Polska Gurom 🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻
Mariusz is the greatest strongman of all time. When he did his first WSM he blew everyone out of the water and just got better and stronger.
Compared to bodybuilding the career at the peak is less but the dominator was to fast, too strong and just a mental animal.
@@Ptownmarc Big Z Is The Greatest And The Strongest Strongman Of All Time But Yeah Mariusz Is Insane As Well In My Opinion He's The 3rd Greatest Strongman Of All 🇵🇱❤️💪🏻
I love these types of videos you do 💪🏻
i just love that there is never any hate in mitchells break downs. Its just not the angle hes coming from. I want to troll as I usually do but i wont lol cause im awesome
Mariusz pudzianowski the man, the legend. Unmatched domination.
Great video! This is quality content!
Old guy here, and old strongman fan. Pudzianowski is the most impressive strongman I've ever watched. Sure, you can discount loading and carrying events and say that Shaw or Z are the greatest ever, but dynamic events have always been part of Strongman. Pudz had an extra gear he could turn on and just dominate any competition. It was just insane to watch. Also, 50 wins? in 69 Competitions? Best all time, and by a lot. A little birdie told me that Pudz was a dickhead and hated by the other competitors, and that's why his accomplishments tend to get downplayed these days. But a 72% WINNING percentage? Come on. Ronnie would have had no chance, as bodybuilders can't move like strongmen.
Rumour has it that Mr.P stood up to stronger people and went away for a bit. Much recommended if so.
@@keeslissenberg2781What?
He was an insanely explosive athlete for sure and phenomenal at any of the movement based events, like you mentioned. He also was very strong with any of the static events that were done for reps. When he was competing, strongman was mostly based around more these athletic type events, which was why he was so successful. However, he definitely seemed behind many of his peers later on in his career when it came down to very heavy or one rep max type stuff. It seemed like strongman deviated more towards this after he retired from the sport. The sport has also evolved by quite a lot since his reign and there is a much greater variety of talent compared to when he competed. I think he would be a top contender if he were to compete today, but I don't think he'd have been as dominant.
@@Ezratal If the stories about P are true, he stood up to maffia and spend time against his will after that.
He was incredible and fun to watch. Pudzianowski's strength and win rate for his size (especially compared to current strongmen) is so impressive
I enjoy this kind of speculation. It reminds me of those barber shoppe scenes in the movies.
Having seen bodybuilders attempt Strongman events, it's hard to believe, as strong as he was, that Ronnie would be competitive. The physical test for American cops isn't that rigorous 😄 So I can't really see him doing that well at a high level Strongman contest. Would've been cool to see though.
He squatted 800 4 weeks out of a show which means he's at least less then 10 percent body fat he definitely has the genetics to win
@@Royalman39No he didnt. It was off season with wraps and suit. Still impressive though ofc
Mate Ronnie smoke all u fat strongman this guy was strongman level strength being 6percwnt body fat no one is more disciplined then. U should stfu because ur nobody downplaying Ronnie. He would smoke u fat strongmen😂😂😂😂😂
7:28 I used to love those days of strongman there marious was a beast!!!
As someone who stood on top of a step ladder and watched Mitch win World's Strongest Man, I confirm that Ronnie Coleman and Mariusz Pudzianowski were both very strong
I like the content on this channel it's about all aspects of strength, bodybuilding, PED's, powerlifting, strongman all analytical approach in every video I respect the work put into it it's not all about Michael hooper even tho it's his channel very respectable 🙏 you earned my follow from a fellow bodybuilder
I fucking love this video. Marius and Ronnie are 2 huge idols of mine. I really wish we could get Mariusz on a podcast at some point.
When super Mario started WSM comp his weight was 275 lb and was killing it.he gained weight later in WSM career.
Ronnie competing in WSM2005 is like Wide Pavlo now. Technique trumps brute force in strongman
That's actually pretty insane. I went into this video thinking that he could be the contender if he trained for it, but would stand no chance in bodybuilding condition, but you made a pretty strong case that he could have.
Objectively he’s not as far off as you’d think. Too many unknowns, but would be amazing to find out
I am convinced not only that it is possible, but that he would certainly win first place if he had enough time to master the basics of the WSMan competition.
Let's not forget that he was a top bodybuilder who, in order to become that, put his body through incredible volumes of exercises or muscle loads. In layman's terms, he could function for a long time under heavy load, performing some specific activity.
bro stepping on toes with this one for sure. Ronnie a fantastic athlete but Mariusz fans won't let this slide. Very generous to Ronnie too with some of the events considering "offseason ronnie" and not "hypothetical trained strongman ronnie"
Mariusz will always be my favorite strongman of all time. Dude was an absolute freak of nature back in the day.
Fantastic video. And gods, Marius' ability to move awkward heavy things was insane - at the risk of being obvious given 5x WSM.
Makes me wonder how you'd think a/ Lou Ferrigno would have done at the original WSM had he been able to compete in all events (As best as I know, he was basically competing around filming for the Incredible Hulk - so let's imagine the producers gave him the week off to try and win)? He finished 4th as it was (and I've long felt he was a little cheated on the first event, having lifts discounted that were better than lifts given to others). But also, b/ How would Arnold have been able to do? Since, from what I've read/heard, he was invited before Ferrigno, but he was too close either after or before a bodybuilding comp and didn't feel he'd be competitive in the time-frame before the competition.
Potentially also, how would either have done in the following handful of years potentially?
I think there is an Age difference but a showdown between Ronnie Coleman and Jon Pall Sigmarson at WSM finals would have been beyond Epic!
With all due respect to King Coleman and his monumental achievements in bodybuilding…I don’t think he would even be close to Mariuz in any of his 5 wins
I think Ronnie would have trouble stabilizing something like a heavy log or awkward object. His waist was so thin. A hypothetical heavy yoke would be very tough for him too imo.
If he was competing he would do things differently. You're thinking of Ronnie weeks out from a show again.
i absolutely love your shirt ! "don't be a can't" !!!!
If Ronnie had of trained for strong man specifically he'd of made Puzinowsk train harder and try harder at each event, it's really hard to give it more than a 50/50.
On your t shirt under "Don't be a can't" you should have a picture of Billy Butcher from 'The boys'
It definitely would've been interesting to watch. Also would've if Shaw had been in a couple more with Marius.
I look up to u every day Mr hooper, thank you for inspiring me
Ronnie just needs to shout "Yeah buddy!" To get that boost for his strength and stamina, guaranteed win.
Pudzianowski may not have been great at the Final Finger's but he eventually improved and nearly won the event in 07. A 15 second improvement from the year before. I doubt just about anyone under 6ft tall, as Ronnie was, could have done better. It was also difficult to beat Mariuz in deadlift for reps or anything for reps. It could appear to be a weight that was at close to his maximum but still somehow manage many reps. I've never seen a competitor appear to dig down as deep as him.
I concur with your estimations here. I love Dorian Yates, but he was all glycolytic fast twitch as he could skip warm-ups and do things like rowing 405 as if it were a broom handle.
He'd use all of his muscle fibers at once and wear them down very quickly, meaning no longevity during a competition. Ronnie had more endurance
going based off bodybuilder numbers is the craziest part because if Ronnie went full strongman you know he'd be 360 and putting up 9s in squat and deadlift
In Mariusz ' defense on some of the lifts vs Ronnie. Mariusz was doing them back to back on the same day or following day in the events. Ronnie was way more fresh on most lifts.
Pudzian ❤❤❤
Pudzianowski best lifts:
295kg bench
415 kg deadlift (could do more)
395 kg squat
Source: olimp sport nutrition channel, "Pudzianowski o sekretach Strongman", about 3rd minute
He would 100% set records in the strength scene. Dude was throwing insane number while close to 5% bodyfat right before the show. Ronnie at offswason 320 lbs + training for strength and blasting everything would have set some obscene numbers
Obviously there's no way to tell what would have happened and we can't turn back the clock, but others have analyzed the same thing and reached the same conclusion, which was that Coleman's strength in his prime was world-class at the time.
One interesting thing is that Coleman didn't max out at his peak, everything was for multiple reps and he didn't go to failure on his heavier lifts, so we don't actually know just how strong he was or how much more he had in the tank.
All that being said, it seems safe to say that if he had directed his energy toward strongman instead of bodybuilding and focused his training on strongman then he would almost certainly been competitive at the world level in the sport. Definitely an interesting what-if.
It’s fun to consider, for sure
Ronnie would have had trouble with the stones because of his height, plus short limbs and big mass, also a key aspect of the grip hold is to have big hands. Ronnie has a small frame compared to all these guys (I know there have been some exceptions). His body wouldn't remain healthy for long. Also, I'm not buying at all that Ronnie woke up one day and made the 800 pound squat. He obviously was lifting very heavy, getting stronger with purpose, and we know he competed as a powerlifter, so he knew what he was doing (just to state that his ceiling wasn't much further). Just another opinion. Thank you for the great video!!
Mariuz having a 72% win rate in his professional career is insane
2005 WSM was awesome. Really want to see it back in China again.
He's 5 10, he was a beast for a body builder and for powerlifting lifts, but applicational strength, he'd get destroyed. His cardio compared to someone like Marius is night a day. He could probably thrive in amateur strongman.
And Mariusz was about 6ft 😅 He's listed at 6'1 or 6'2 but keep in mind, athletes tend to be reported as taller than they are, my friend met him and they were about the same height, 6ft tall. Like that was his main comment haha, he thought he was taller 😂
With that being said Mariusz is a completely different level of strong, yeah Ronnie was great, and he would have been able to compete at pro level probably. But I don't think he would beat Mariusz or any of the greats.
@@jakzimny6752 I used to know someone from the gym years ago that went to the Mohegan Sun strongman grand prix. Anyway, he said that Mariusz in real life was about his height, around 5'10" or so. He was listed as 6'1" for a while and then later 5'11" lol. He was definitely under 6', in the 2006 WSM he was about a head shorter than Phil Pfister, who is listed as 6'6".
@@oglocbaby520 a lotta dudes are lowkey delusional on height ngl. They couldn't tell a two inch difference if their life depended on it. Marisuz is def six foot at least, prolly not 6 1. Your friend is prob just not able to see a two inch difference
@@oglocbaby520 look at marisuz next to legit 6 2 Eddie hall, and it's an inch or two in difference
Ronnie wasn't 5'10". He was a legit 5'11"+. Actually fairly close to 6'. I wouldn't be surprised if he and Mariusz were the same height
These are a lot of fun!
Ronnie was a powerlifter before bodybuilding. That's why his numbers were like that. He took a very power-lifting approach to bodybuilding and it's no surprise it crushed him.
Wow, I can close a captains of crush 3 (natty, does some strength training, BJJ for years) pretty easily. I have massive hands tho
I feel like that was a great comparison and accurate as well. 🤙
I mean if his grip really was competitive and since he likely would have been good at rep events, I might agree with those but sometimes it can take a long time and require a lot of specific strength to get the moving events up to speed (literally). And things like yoke and stones feel like sth you just have to train for.
That said, I could absolutely see him having been a contender if someone had offered him that free gym membership for competing in strongman instead of bodybuilding.
If Ronnie Coleman would have turned up in his Mr. O shape he wouldn’t even have made it into the final due to the hideously low body fat which would have 1) resulted in ZERO energy; and 2) would have made him extremely susceptible to injury as well.
If, however, he was give some time to train for strongman (let’s say 6 months), I would’ve given him the benefit of the doubt (just ‘cus he’s him).
[edit: is that a realistic take? Probably not, but it’s fun to speculate]
Starting poll to invite Ronnie on the channel.💪
I believe by figuring out strategy on the non gym-lift events and in off-season condition he certainly would have a good chance of winning WSM.
Mariusz is the goat. Ronnie could have trained for strongman his entire life and still probably wouldn’t be able to beat him.
I don’t agree!
I admire both Ronnie and Mariusz, both being very gifted and extremely hardworking. However, I don’t believe Ronnie could beat Mariusz in strongman the same way as Mariusz couldn’t beat Ronnie in bodybuilding.
Maybe this will give you some perspective on how unbelievable Mariusz was: th-cam.com/video/fICFdDXgjKU/w-d-xo.htmlsi=JLIYKlyCTG0zt4fX
I think people are seriously underestimating Ronnie. His training sessions were high intensity and for a long period of time. His strength is similar too.
I'm not sure on the conditioning part.
I've read that Ronnie would be out of breath walking just short distances at his peak when he weighed over 300.. There's a book by a reporter who spent a long time on tour with these pro Bodybuilders including Ronnie a this peak .Dorian explained to the author how intensely exhausting it was carrying that amount of body mass since he had experienced being around 300nas well.
So whilst he was incredibly strong in the gym, I'm not sure how well he would have lasted such an event with such a variety of all body moves in such a short space.
Yeah, all the steroids and insulin they take are crazy. I read something similar. He was so out of breath just walking that he could barely breathe a few times. Hard to believe he was that out of shape. I think that was 2006 when and later when he was winding down. No chance he was that bad off earlier in his career. The lifting alone would have made his cardio better than that. I mean there are 300 pound fat guys who can jog a little at times. He should not have been out of breath like that at only 300. Shows you what those drugs do.
@@billj4525 I think also that all that muscle mass must take a toll. The oxygen demands hauling around such a lot of lean muscle mass on a 5'11 frame must have been exhausting .
I’m curious about the book’s name.
@@michaelzhao9851 i actually have the book in storage ..I'll dig it out and check the name. Can't remember the title.
The author was a guy who had never trained with weights and wanted to learn more about Dorian post his career and why England hardly recognised him as one of their greatest sporting heroes.
He then traces to following pro bodybuilding around the world with pros ,attending various shows hosted by Dorian ,etc.
The book ends when he does an actual back training session with Dorian and speaks a about how strange it was to him to experience Dorian's precise knowledge in an actual training session .
As a bodybuilder no chance in Hades for Ronnie, but I could guess that if he trained for the WSM he could have been competitive, but I dont see him anywhere near the podium. His height would have not helped him at all either. Marius is probably one of the shortest WSM winners if not the shortest and that lack of height hurt him in several challenges. It was the blend of power, speed and explosiveness that made Marius such as a force in these competitions.
Could you do this type of video but for Lee Priest?
Static events he could have been competitive. But Mariusz would have killed him moving.
Not a chance. I love Ronnie but they are different practices.
Like trying to make an Olympic diver into and Olympic swimmer. Both use a pool for different reasons.
Mitch was definitely too kind here, there's no way Ronnie was doing this good.
Agree. I could agree a bit more with Mitch if he had taken more caveats. He said moderate training for strongman and still in shape for Bodybuilding. If he had assumed more extensive training for Strongman and being able to go to AT LEAST 20-25% bodyfat percentage, then sure, give it a chance in one of the years.
But in bodybuilding shape it would be unfathomable.
@@prgnify i believe he could have done amazing with training but with the numbers we've there's no way he was doing this good at such events
I agree wholeheartedly, I came from powerlifting to strongman and lost many events to guys i was much stronger than just because strongman implements are weird and awkward, if you havent trained with them you probably arent doing too well
So yall compete and have won wsm? Hm lets see, Mitch or some randoms in the comments.
@@budadi Mitch is talented.
I don't want to minimise his effort, work ethic, etc - he does put in the work on top of his talent.
But to your point, the fact that he has done so well in strongman with so little preparation is exactly what makes him "worse than random commenters" in evaluating it. For him it was easy, so he has a lopsided view of how much skill can be a differentiating factor or how difficult some of the movements can be - because for him they were easy.
Given all of his injuries, I don't think Ronnie's joints or connective tissue would have been strong enough to withstand the demands of Strongman.
Pudzianowski getting disrespected once again... The 2002 & 2003 wins were against Big Z for example, not Bob the Builder. And that would be peak Ronnie. What Mitch says about 2005 is quite unlikely too because we are talking about a 41yo Ronnie at this point, that would make Coleman the oldest WSM winner by 2.5 years (over Big Z at ~38.5) as well as the shortest. So yeah, Ronnie is an absolute legend but WSM winner in the 2000s? Super-unlikely.
I think Mitch potentially missed something here: I believe Ronnie could be a more likely WSM winner in the mid to late 1990s. Remember Ronnie is born in 1964... so he would be in his early 30s at that point. Sure, Magnús Ver Magnússon was around that period too but aside MVM nobody was super dominant in that period. So Ronnie would have decent chances against Jouko for example in 1997.
“Thats light! Yea buddy!”
as a former police officer myself, dont give ronnie the pass on passing the physical fitness test for officers out of hand, many departments only require the initial one and you never have to pass another. Lots of officers are slim when they start and get pretty fat on the job from poor diet and lots of seat time in a car, and couldnt run 200 meters if their life depended on it.
Great video. It would be helpful to give lb and kg for all numbers!
Great suggestion! Would definitely be hard to keep it all straight but I can try!
I may be wrong but wasn't atlas stones double points back in them days?
I'm sure it was at some point but can't remember when
What is crazy about Ronnie is he was pushing that weight while also being so incredibly lean. Generally a higher body fat allows for greater strength, so just imagine what he could push in bear mode.
The legs during a Truckpull are just there to hold position? I dont know about that 😅
I would have guessed Ronnie was taller. Strongmen are tall and big so Marius looked shorter than he really was. I think the power output over a minute was Marius' big advantage, strong, but high output over the time period too. Good comparison and interesting to consider.
Think off season ronnie on static strength he would of been up there, but moving events i think he would of massively struggled
Massive what ifs make for an entertaining comment section. Well played crab king, well played.
Im sorry but he wouldn't even make the final
Ikr Not Even Close bodybuilders Are All Show And No Go 😂😂😂
@@DavidVirtanen with most bodybuilders I'd tend to agree but Ronnie was pretty unique in that he was putting up way higher numbers than his competition. He wouldn't have been competitive in his olympia shape but if he trained... who knows?
Ronnie was that strong as a side effect of training 99 percent bb, if he dedicated himself to strong man who knows.
@@DavidVirtanen Ronnie is stronger than most strongman in leg strength 😂. He legpress 2000 pounds easily
Many strongman crying under 2000 pounds
@@Manusia.satu1 Only In Your Dreams Clown 🤣🤣🤣
Mariuz would destroy Ronnie. Both would be stronger today though, if training specifically for more static strength.
The real question with Ronnie is if he could remain uninjured in strongman, especially given his affinity for Winstrol. There is no question that Ronnie had the raw, static strength to handle WSM weights, particularly if he was at his normal, still low BF%, instead of at his leanest contest shape.
He was squatting 800lbs four weeks out of mr olympia! Imagine what would happened if he pursued his powerlifting run...
Agreed! Do you think he could have won WSM?
@@mitchellhooperstrongman You said it well in the video, with his height don't think ronnie could've won any wsm.
but I do know is that you're going to set world records and win wsm more than 5 times... thanks for your amazing content! much love from Iran. 🤘
1:44 "We don't really have many world's winners under 6 feet."
there are actually no wsm winners under 6 feet
Technically no… but I guarantee there are a few inches added to some guys.
@@mitchellhooperstrongman Possibly Gary Taylor and Pudz slightly under 6'.Vytautas Lalas would've been the first but then power stairs for the last event in 2012, ☠️
If Ronnie was fully hydrated and properly trained for strongman I think he'd surprise everyone. Would he be beat one of the GOATs of the sport? Probably not. His height is a factor, it'll definitely affect his technique, maybe not so much on this iteration of WSM but any sort of medley requiring loading could cost him seconds.
answer: yah, buddy
This.
This is an interesting breakdown, but the interesting thing is all of Ronnie's best known lifts came from a time when he would be extremely weak relative to his max.
If he actually trained for-and more importantly, ATE for-strongman, I think he's a serious contender. Its not even just off season vs in season, imagine if he was never cutting and ate like a strongman fulltime, allowing his muscles to just grow year round. I see him being a monster.
Truck pull relies on arm strength? Didnt Mitch win by 3 seconds while letting go of the rope 3/4th of the way through?
Pudzian was the legend. And looed like a proper man.