As one of the most accomplished Mr. Olympias of all time, it’s hard to point out flaws in the training technique of Dorian Yates. However, in a recent YouTube video, exercise scientist Dr. Mike Israetel did his best, critiquing Yates’ famous ‘Blood and Guts’ high-intensity workout.
“Dorian Yates, one of the greatest Olympians of all-time, six times people showed up to the Mr. Olympia contest with hopes and dreams and desires and prayers and wishes and expectations of winning and six times, they were all denied by the one man they called ‘The Shadow.'”
In the 1990s, Dorian Yates laid waste to some of the most aesthetic bodybuilders of his era. From Flex Wheeler, and Shawn Ray, to Kevin Levrone, Yates proved himself on the sport’s greatest stage, often in the face of adversity and injuries.
Yates’ mass and unparalleled conditioning paved the way for him en route to collecting six Mr. Olympia titles. He utilized a failure-based training approach, where his focus was intensity instead of achieving volume through a fixed number of sets. Below, Dr. Mike Israetel examines the training frequency and form Yates used throughout his tenure.
Exercise Scientist Analyzes Dorian Yates’ High-Intensity Workout
First, Dr. Israetel discussed Yates’ workout frequency, arguing that he could have found more success in the sport if he trained five days a week instead of four.
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“45 minutes four times a week… I wonder if that includes warm-ups. I think Dorian emphasized recovery a lot which is really good. I think that if he would have trained a little bit more, maybe five days a week, maybe he could have been even better.
I know it’s a little rude which I understand, it’s a little confusing when some worthless nobody like me says somebody else ten times better than me at the very thing I want to be good at could have done it better. It’s a weird vibe but it’s also true.”
As for Yates’ form during exercise, Dr. Israetel had no complaints, adding that even as the set went on, there were no noticeable drop-offs in technique.
“Generally, I agree this is really good stuff. Full range of motion, good control on the eccentric, anything I say here would be super nit-picky,” shares Dr. Israetel. “As the set progresses, the only change is the reps get a little slower. There’s no technique change, there’s no ego bullshit.”
During his critique, Dr. Israetel offered fans a tip on going to ‘super failure’ with lengthened partials.
“For you guys to try in the gym, is instead of having someone help you lock that full shit out, when you can no longer lock it out, go as much as you can. When you can barely move at all, then the set is over. Super failure integrated with lengthened partials.”
Although Dorian Yates managed to reap benefits from very few sets, Dr. Israetel says that might not be the best solution for most people.
“This has some interesting lessons in it. On the critical side, you might need more sets to failure or closer than Dorian did because once he got really big and strong, each set was so stimulative he didn’t need that many of them nor could he recover from that many. You probably need more sets. That’s the criticism.”
Israetel emphasized that Yates displayed excellent technique and effort during his workouts, which both played a role in his success on stage.
“The things to take away that are really insightful here. There’s a couple of them. One: Dorian did really good technique. Unless you think you got some kind of fucking ace of spades out on him, do good technique too motherfucker. Because a lot of people that treat Dorian as a spirit animal rightfully so, for hard training, also suck dick at technique and are terrible.”
“Dorian’s trying and then on top of that, he tries some more and on top of that, when you think he’s done, he’s still trying and then it’s forced reps and he’s still trying. If relative effort, the ability to push yourself to your limits is a problem for you, I only have one solution. You go on YouTube and watch the Blood and Guts Dorian training DVD from start to finish,” says Dr. Mike Israetel.
At 62 years old, Dorian Yates hasn’t slowed down in retirement. He recently showed off his massive quads and calves in a social media update. He also shared insight into his current training routine, revealing that he works out his lower body and upper body for 45 minutes once a week.
Even today, it appears Yates approaches exercise as he did when he ruled the roost as a Pro. While it worked wonders for Yates on stage, Dr. Israetel contends that most people need additional sets for muscle growth unless they have their intensity locked in.
RELATED: Dorian Yates On Diets, Muscle Growth, And HIT Workouts: “Tailor It To The Individual”
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