Dorian Yates' Top 10 Exercises for Building Your Best Physique (Plus His 2 Favorite Bodybuilders)

Bodybuilding legend Dorian Yates continues to watch over the sport from afar after retiring with six Mr. Olympia titles. In a YouTube interview, Yates revealed his top 10 exercises for building the best physique and named his favorite bodybuilders from the Men’s Open and Classic Physique divisions.

In addition to winning the Sandow trophy six times consecutively, Yates was responsible for denying countless IFBB Pro athletes from reaching the top of the mountain. His monstrous back development and overall mass ushered in a new era of bodybuilding.

Although he resides in retirement today, Yates doesn’t shy away from conversations about training or bodybuilding. Below he revealed his go-to exercises for building an impressive physique and explained why his favorite bodybuilders today are Hadi Choopan and Chris Bumstead.

Dorian Yates’ Top 10 Exercises for Building ‘The Best Physique’

Check out Dorian Yates’ top 10 exercise selections below:

Leg extensions
Squat/leg press machine
Nautilus pullover machine
Pulldowns
Bench press movement
Flye movement
Dumbbell lateral raise
Standing calf raise
Concentration curl
Cable tricep pushdown

Yates Names His 2 Favorite Bodybuilders of the Current Era from Men’s Open and Classic Physique

If he had to pick a favorite bodybuilder from Classic Physique, he’d choose reigning five-time Classic Physique Olympia Chris Bumstead, adding that he has no weak body parts and good proportions.

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“Well, I’d go for Chris Bumstead as not impressive in the way that probably myself and Ronnie, Jay, and so on, because we’re very big and ripped but he comes in good shape. He has very good proportions, no real weak body parts. Nice physique. So, I would say yeah, probably Chris Bumstead.”

As for the Men’s Open division, Yates gave credit to Hadi Choopan, who from the front, boasts top-notch conditioning levels. However, he believes due to Choopan’s short stature, people outside of bodybuilding would likely assume that ‘Cbum’ is the best in the world.

“The guys that’s in the Open, I mean, Hadi comes in good shape from the front, not from the back, but from the front he’s in good shape. But he’s very small, he’s a short guy, blocky, and so on.

I don’t think — no disrespect to anyone individually, but I don’t think people can really relate even if you showed that to the average guy on the street or the average gym goer that that’s the best bodybuilder in the world. I think they’d be a bit confused as to why that is.”

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He mentioned that if Chris Bumstead wants a true challenge, he might entertain a move up to the Men’s Open class.

“Yeah, they would relate to that [Chris Bumstead] because he’s a bit like Arnold or something like that,” said Dorian Yates. “Whether it would be worth making that jump to the Open, probably not because he’s so established and everything but if he’s looking for a challenge maybe that would be one,” shared Dorian Yates.

Yates isn’t the first person to suggest Chris Bumstead try out an Open class competition. Retired Men’s Open Pro Iain Valliere, who is also Bumstead’s brother-in-law, believes the Canadian champ could find success at just about any Open Pro show he enters.

Bumstead has teased the idea of competing in the Open as well. He joined his coach Hany Rambod and lightheartedly suggested that he wants to supersize his physique to 310 pounds and defeat Derek Lunsford at the 2025 Mr. Olympia.

Dorian Yates continues to provide enlightening content, whether it’s choosing 10 exercises or discussing his favorite bodybuilders of the current era, he makes it a point to connect with fans in retirement.