The Dorian I Know - Reflections On the 6-Time Mr. Olympia

It’s been 30 years this year since I first met Dorian Yates at his debut contest back in July 1985 and we’ve remained friends ever since; both of us being there for the other when it mattered, with my good self getting the bigger piece of that supportive pie. Given our relationship, I’m often accused of bias in singing his praises, but if you knew him like I do, you’d be the lead tenor at the Sistine Chapel every Sunday morning. Against our history, I’m often asked to sum up my fellow Brit, so here goes.

Dorian Yates’ rock-hard, 260-pound-plus physique broke new boundaries in size and condition, and took him to six Mr. Olympia titles (1992-’97) before injury forced him into retirement. But as good as his physique was, the real force that allowed him to flex into bodybuilding immortality was his mental strength and fortitude. Debate may rage over which bodybuilding legend had the best physique, but for sheer iron will, it can be argued that the Brit with grit had no equal.

During his career, Yates took discipline, preparation and courage to new levels— and all of these attributes were fueled by his mental powers, not the motions of muscle being exercised.

PEAK-A-BOO

His plan for contest peaking was precision balls-to-the-wall training for nine months, followed by contest dieting for slightly less than three months. The diet was constructed so that two weeks before the event, he was at his desired bodyweight and body fat levels for the day of the contest. In short, he would be in contest shape two weeks before the contest. Unlike most of his peers, the ramifications and gamble of trying to lose “those last few pounds” in the last seven days were not applicable to him. He was on the button two weeks out, and from then on in he was literally “waiting” for the contest.

For the first two weeks, Dorian would train as he normally did. Seven days out, he would start circuit-type training to deplete carbs. Then in the last few days, he would start the carb-loading process to attain optimum muscle fullness, while manipulating water levels for maximum dryness and hardness. He eschewed a guru and “last-minute, mumbo jumbo, voodoo tactics” and did all his prep on his own. Let it be said, no one ever achieved a better combination of hardness, dryness and fullness than Dorian Yates. When he stood onstage, it was like you were looking at a statue carved out of granite, and his skin was so tight it looked like it had been painted on.

MAKING OF A LEGEND

With his six Olympia wins, Dorian Yates dominated the sport in the ‘90s during a period when the muscularity of all top pros seemed to take a quantum leap forward. In a 17-contest pro career, he won 15 and was second in the other two (1990 Night of Champions to Momo Benaziza and 1991 Mr. Olympia to Lee Haney). But Dorian Yates’ greatest legacy will be his training philosophy. His physique was the result of a detailed and scientific plan of approach, of a depth that had previously been unknown. Prior to his emergence, the most popular training system had been those along the lines of twice-daily workouts, six days a week, wherein each body part was trained twice a week with up to 20 sets per muscle group. He set new standards with short and intense workouts comprising one all-out set for each exercise. Furthermore, he trained only once a day, four times a week. With this philosophy, he avoided committing what he saw as bodybuilding’s number-one sin: overtraining. Which was an extension of him understanding that the most important component of the muscle-building process is allowing adequate recuperation time to recover and then grow between workouts.

He was also a forerunner in partnering cardio work year-round with bodybuilding. By doing cardio year-round, he raised his metabolism and became a more efficient fat-burning machine. So going into the pre-contest, fat-losing period, his metabolism was already revved up, and he was able to eat more calories in the pre-contest period. So for him, there was no kamikaze crash-dieting route that was followed by some pros. Thirteen weeks out or so from a contest, he would begin his diet and lose no more than two pounds a week, as he glided in to hit his required bodyweight two weeks before flexing hostilities began.

From the outset of his journey, Yates set the course for his bodybuilding career: he went against all previous dictums and did it his way. Totally his way. In following that path, he became the first— and so far, only— bodybuilder to ever hold the Mr. Olympia title while living outside the United States.

HE IS A THROWBACK

And yet, there’s a feeling among many who hark back to pre-1990 days that Dorian Yates ruined the sport— that somehow he took us away from that supposed era of idealized physiques, and ushered in the age of the freaks built by chemicals. The paradox is that Yates— in training application and spirit, in overcoming peers with better genetics, in training like a beast for every ounce of muscle— was totally in tune with that more innocent age when work ethic was the main prerequisite for success. In terms of in-the-trench credentials, there is a strong argument that he was the ultimate, in the true sense of the following word, body-builder.

Most will agree there was something about Dorian Yates that made him different from the archetypal bodybuilder. Onstage he created an aura— a winning aura. He strode on like an athlete with no exaggerated swagger, hit his poses (practiced to perfection) and then strode off— job done! With his calm and purposeful nature, he personified a kind of working-class-hero nobleness that all who saw him recognized. His physique, teachings and personality all combined to make him the force he was and is. Today, 18 years after his last contest, he remains one of the most popular and inspirational bodybuilders the sport has known. In everything he achieved, and how he achieved it, he really was a “different” bodybuilder; so different that I doubt we’ll ever see his like again.

DORIANISMS

Despite his unflinching game face, Dorian Yates’ humor is of the— like his physique— dry nature. Here’s a sample of his quotes.

When asked why he never jumped up and down or got emotional when he won:

“Because it never came as a surprise to me that I won.”

His post-contest answer to the question of when did he first feel confident that he had this [1996] Olympia won:

“About 12 months ago.”

In response to the author telling him that he’d never seen him look more relaxed, 48 hours prior to a contest [1993 Mr. Olympia]:

“You’d be fucking relaxed if you looked like this 48 hours before a contest.”

“There’s no such thing as instinctive training. If you followed your instincts, you wouldn’t think of getting under a 500-pound squat bar … you’d go down to the pub, have a couple of beers and start chasing women.”

Dorian Yates, now 53, is married to Gal and they live in Marbella, Spain, where they recently opened their own DY Gym. He still trains four times a week, and is in cut shape at about 240 pounds. He has his own supplement company, Dorian Yates Nutrition. To learn more, visit dorianyatesnutrition.com.

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