Dorian Yates Discusses His Prison Training Routine, Growth Hormone, and How To Get ‘Visible Changes’ in Physique During Contest Preps

Despite his troubled past, Dorian Yates never let it stop him from conquering the highest mountaintops of bodybuilding. In a recent interview shared on August 13, 2024, Yates reflected on training in prison and discussed growth hormone as well as how he prepped for Mr. Olympia contests. 

Dorian Yates is a six-time Mr. Olympia winner. His accomplishments in the sport turned him into an icon, and his physique has stood the test of time; athletes today still celebrate his ironclad Mr. Olympia reign, which he led for six consecutive years before sailing off into retirement. Nicknamed ‘The Shadow,’ Yates kept a low profile throughout his bodybuilding tenure, but when he did show up on stage, he left a path of destruction in his wake. 

He denied a crop of the most aesthetic bodybuilders a chance at touching the Sandow trophy. In retirement, his efforts and training prowess are highly respected. Instead of focusing on a set number of reps and sets, Yates utilized a failure-based approach to lifting weights, a training philosophy he inherited from the late Mike Mentzer and Arthur Jones. 

Even though he didn’t participate in the infamous Birmingham riots in England, Yates found himself in the back of a patrol car drunk. He served three months in prison and in that time, sculpted his physique with a program solely based around dumbbell and barbell work. Below, he details how he trained in the penitentiary before laying out how he would prepare for the sport’s biggest event of the year. 

Dorian Yates Talks Prison Training Routine, Growth Hormone, and Prepping for Mr. Olympias

According to Yates, he was stronger than just about everyone during his stay in prison. The guards allowed him and others to use barbells and dumbbells, mentioning that powerlifting movements were allowed, such as the bench press, squat, and deadlift. 

“I was pretty much stronger than everyone in there except for a couple of guys that were like much bigger and heavier than me,” shares Yates. “It’s just barbells and dumbbells. It was powerlifting. They wanted us to do bench press, squat, and deadlift. You have some dumbbells, if the prison officer liked you he said yeah go ahead and do your silly dumbbell flyes or whatever you want to do.” 

Out of the 300 men incarcerated, Yates had one of the best physiques, which fueled him to continue his training efforts outside of prison. 

“I realized with 300 guys in there I had the best physique and it was something I really enjoyed and I could be good at it and it was positive,” explains Yates. 

Even though he didn’t directly participate in the riots, Yates said he was in the ‘wrong place at the wrong time’ which led to him being arrested. 

“It was six months because I got jailed during the riots in Birmingham and I wasn’t in the riot. I’m not saying I’m not the kind of lad that wouldn’t be in it or getting into trouble. I’m sure I’ve done something in all my years that could have put me.

Not this day, we weren’t doing anything. We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, drunk, and got picked up by police. And basically, anyone that got arrested on the streets during the civil unrest in Birmingham, you were given six months, it was just standard.” 

He adds that growth hormone wasn’t accessible or popular until the mid-1980s after Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s time on stage. 

“You can look at the physiques, yeah. If you want to go back historically. You look at the 70s but as far as growth hormone coming in and competitors using it, I would say probably around the mid-80s,” said Yates. “Growth hormone wasn’t around when Arnold was competing so those guys were just using regular steroids and testosterone. It probably didn’t come into use, synthetic growth hormone didn’t come into use till the mid-80s.” 

To prepare for the Mr. Olympia competition, Yates said it was impossible to stay in supreme shape year-round. It was most important to make ‘visible changes’ to his physique during the months away from the stage. 

“We wouldn’t call it a camp. We’d call it prep, like a competition prep. You may go somewhere else but normally guys just train where they normally train,” said Yates. “Definitely not [in shape year-round]. Yeah, you’d be in decent shape but you need a period of the year, the majority of the year in bodybuilding to make some visible change in the physique.” 

“As you get more advanced, this is diminishing returns, right? It’s not like boxing where you peak in your skills I guess for a contest. The majority of bodybuilding, let’s say if you compete once a year, nine months of the year will be working on building.

He underlined that ‘the art’ of bodybuilding is acquiring muscle while losing fat simultaneously. 

“You need that period of time to make any significant change in your muscle size which is what will change your appearance. So, in order to do that, you need to be training heavy, you need to be eating sufficient calories and not getting out of shape and getting fat. But you can’t keep near-to-contest shape, that’s not sustainable for any period of time. You’d feel weak. As you get towards the contest you get more weak and more vulnerable to injury.” 

“When you get ready for a contest, maybe three months, you’re slowly reducing your body fat and you can’t do it too quick because if you lose weight too quick you lose muscle. So two contradictory goals, muscle mass and reduced body fat,” he shared. 

Given his success at the highest level and the adversity he faced in his youth, Dorian Yates inspires those around him. Bodybuilders today continue to take lessons from his illustrious career, sacrifices, and training practices. 

RELATED: 6x Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates Explains Why He Always Includes Deadlifts on Back Day

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