Since it’s Christmas, here’s something a little different…
Dorian Yates is one of the icons of bodybuilding. He won the Mr Olympia no less than six times, beginning in 1992. He differentiated himself by being clued in and disciplined about his training. He had possibly the most remarkable back that the world had ever seen. And, most importantly, he was born in Hurley, Staffordshire, in the UK.
There has been a recent resurgence in interest in Dorian’s training, as a result of a number of videos that have been released. Here’s a selection, along with some summary commentary:
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How to gain mass
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_rz4jc-oHc
Dorian explains:
- You have to go beyond what you’ve done before
- It’s not the volume that’s important for muscle growth, it’s the intensity
- You need four workouts to cover the whole body in a six day period
- Anyone who uses weights to change their body, whether to lose fat or build muscle, is bodybuilding
Pectorals and biceps
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y86TYYpaMoA
Dorian explains:
- Do your rotator cuff work as part of your warm-up – 2 sets of 10-12 reps
- Do three chest exercises, with 1-2 warm-up sets of 10-12 reps and 1 working set of 6-8 reps (mostly)
- Exercises: decline barbell bench press, shallow-incline dumbbell bench press and flat bench dumbbell flyes
- Do two biceps exercises, with 1 warm-up set of 10-12 reps and 1 working set of 6-8 reps
- Exercises: dumbbell concentration curl and straight barbell curl
Back
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe7pzbZQ0Gs&feature=related
Dorian explains:
- Do five back exercises, with 1-2 warm-up sets of 10-12 reps and 1 working set of 8-10 reps (mostly)
- Exercises: dumbbell pullover, close-grip pulldown, one-arm dumbell row, wide-grip cable row, barbell deadlift
- Take a day off after training back so your whole system recovers
Deltoids and triceps
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIHsjpP_ApQ
Dorian explains:
- Do four deltoid exercises, with 1-2 warm-up sets of 8-10 reps and 1 working set of 10-12 reps (mostly)
- Exercises: dumbbell shoulder press, side lateral raises, low pulley deltoid raises, reverse dumbbell raises
- Do three triceps exercises, with 1 warm-up set of 10-12 reps and 1 working set of 8-10 reps
- Exercises: triceps pushdowns, triceps extensions, seated triceps press
Legs
Dorian explains:
- Do three quadricep exercises, with 1-2 warm-up sets of 10-12 reps and 1 working set of 10-12 reps (mostly)
- Exercises: leg extension, leg press, hack squat (machine)
- Do two hamstring and two calf exercises, with 1-2 warm-up sets of 10-12 reps and 1 working set of 10-12 reps (mostly)
- Exercises: leg curl, stiff-legged deadlift, calf press, seated calf raise
- You can use a rest-pause technique with calves, adding two extra sets of 4-5 reps to create a macro set of c. 20 reps
- Taking legs to failure is very demanding on the overall system
But doesn’t high intensity training lead to injuries?
Dorian explains that he doesn’t believe his injuries were caused by his high intensity training methods but rather by his lack of rigour in taking care of small niggling injuries properly, which later became more serious as he tried to train through them.
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Dorian’s extra tips
Dorian explains:
- Start with a four-day split over six days, with days off after legs and back
- Adapt your training split if you need more rest
- Emphasise the negative element of reps or do additional negatives to stimulate the muscle
- Develop a decent level of cardiovascular conditioning to help you get through workouts and recover faster
- Do your cardiovascular training separately and not after your resistance training
- Eat 1.5g of protein per pound of bodyweight per day, over five smaller meals
- Monitor your carbohydrates and if you are putting on bodyfat then reduce them
- Take care of small injuries before they become chronic: make use of sports massage
- Monitor progress constantly and keep a journal, includng bodyweight and lift statistics
- Have short-term small, achievable goals that lead up to an overall long-term goal
- Beat the logbook every time
And there you have it.
