Former Mr. Olympia Champ Ronnie Coleman's Condition Improving After Blood Infection

Eight-time Mr. Olympia champion Ronnie Coleman has taken a "step forward" amid his recovery from a life-threatening battle with sepsis, his family said on Friday.

Coleman's family provided the update in a post shared to his Instagram.

"Ronnie's doctors have managed the source of his bloodstream infection and are now treating it directly— an encouraging step forward," the Coleman family wrote. "He also recently underwent a successful, minimally invasive heart procedure to support his overall quality of life.

"With these developments, our focus is beginning to shift from critical care to recovery."

The Coleman family went on to identify sepsis as "the condition that nearly took Ronnie's life."

The condition is defined by the nonprofit Sepsis Alliance as "a life-threatening emergency that happens when your body’s response to an infection damages vital organs."

Coleman's health status was first addressed in a June 30 post on his Instagram, where his family shared in a statement that he had been admitted to the hospital "due to a serious medical condition."

The Coleman family has since provided regular updates as to his status. The latest post also announced the launch of "Ronnie Strong," a website selling limited-edition merchandise. According to the organization, 50 percent of net proceeds from merchandise sales will go to the Sepsis Alliance.

Coleman, who turned 61 in May, won eight straight Mr. Olympia titles between 1998 and 2005 to tie with Lee Haney for the most in the bodybuilding competition's history. He retired from professional competition in 2007.

The former bodybuilder, who has previously said he spent more than a decade working out through a herniated disc in his back, has undergone more than a dozen surgeries on his spine, neck and hips since his retirement. Coleman said on his YouTube channel in January that his goal was to walk without crutches within the next year.