Try Dorian Yates' Training Program for Olympia! | Hardworkout Magazine
Key takeaways
- Dorian Yates won Mr Olympia six times in a row in the 1990s while training only one hour, four days a week.
- Yates trained 4-6 sets per muscle group to failure, and hit each muscle group once every 6-7 days on a four-day split.
- The first exercise for each muscle group used three sets: 50% of the top weight for around 15 reps, 70-75% for 10-12 reps, and one heavy working set of 6-12 reps.
- The percentages in the programme refer to the weight used on the final working set, not to one-rep max.
- Yates' approach built on the High Intensity Training ideas of Nautilus inventor Arthur Jones and bodybuilder Mike Mentzer.
Who is Dorian Yates, and what is High Intensity Training?
Dorian Yates is a former professional bodybuilder who won Mr. Olympia six times in a row in the 1990s. Most people with an interest in bodybuilding are well aware of this massive bodybuilder from England, who was a strong proponent of High Intensity Training (HIT). He trained only one hour, four days a week, but with maximum effort and enough recovery between workouts.
If you search for Yates on YouTube, the famous training video Blood and Guts will most likely appear, which was filmed in the hardcore basement gym Temple Gym that he owned in Birmingham, England, where he trained to achieve the winning physique of Mr. Olympia year after year. His approach to training was inspired by [Arthur Jones](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ArthurJones(inventor)), the inventor of Nautilus training machines in the 1970s, who was also considered the founder of High Intensity Training. In addition to [Mike Mentzer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MikeMentzer), who was a professional bodybuilder in the 1970s and a strong advocate of this training method.
Dorian Yates' Training Method
This training method is not recommended if you are a beginner, and you should have experience with heavy strength training. It is also important to maintain recovery days, as both muscle fibers and the nervous system need time to recover and rebuild. You must, of course, also adjust the weight you train with based on your starting point.
Dorian Yates trained 4-6 sets per muscle group, with few repetitions and to failure on all exercises. He trained each muscle group every 6-7 days, with a four-day split program.
How should you warm up before a Yates-style session?
Before such a workout, it is very important to warm up to avoid strains and injuries. Dynamic warm-up and [mobility training](https://hardworkout.no/mobilitetstrening-treningsprogram-for-bedre-mobilitet/) are a good way to prepare the body for training.
The first exercise for each muscle group was performed with 3 sets, of which the first two were warm-up/build-up to the last heavy working set. The next exercises only had two sets.
How heavy should each set be in Yates' system?
On the first set, the weight was 50% of what he was going to lift on the last working set, with around 15 repetitions. He used this set as specific warm-up, with slow and controlled repetitions. Set number two was to be around 70-75% of the last set, with 10-12 repetitions.
The last working set was to be even heavier, with anywhere from 6-12 reps. He often had more reps on the last set when training legs. All sets were performed with slow and controlled movements, no matter how heavy and painful it was. (See the Blood and Guts video to see the intensity of the training).
Why do you need a training partner for this programme?
When he had lifted to failure on the last training set, he received help from his training partner to squeeze out a few more reps, using assisted reps and negatives. Therefore, it is an advantage if you have a training partner when you start this program.
Are you ready for a Heavy Duty workout?
Training Program: 4 Sessions Per Week
The training program is taken from the book: A Portrait of Dorian Yates: The Life and Training Philosophy of the World’s Best Bodybuilder.
- Day 1: Shoulders, traps, and triceps
- Day 2: Back and rear shoulders
- Day 3: Rest
- Day 4: Chest, biceps, and abs
- Day 5: Rest
- Day 6: Legs (front, back, and calves)
- Day 7: Rest
Warm-up: 10 minutes of cycling and then dynamic warm-up of the muscle groups to be trained.
What do the percentages in the programme refer to?
The program does not list the number of kilos but intensity in terms of % of max. It is not % of 1 RM, but % of the weight on the last set.
The rest time indicated in the program is minimum; take longer breaks as needed, especially before the heaviest sets.
Session 1: Shoulders, traps, triceps, and abs
- Shoulder press in Smith machine
- Seated lateral raise
- One-arm lateral raise in cable
- Shrugs with dumbbells
- Triceps pushdown with bar
- Lying triceps press with EZ-bar
- One-arm triceps press in cable
- Crunches
- Reverse Crunches
Session 2: Back and rear shoulders
- Lat pulldown in machine (every other week he started with the weight he had on set 2, so that the last set became even heavier)
- Bent-over row with bar
- One-arm row
- Cable row (overhand grip)
- Reverse flyes in machine
- Reverse flyes with dumbbells
- Back extensions/hyperextensions
- Deadlift
Workout 3: Chest, Biceps, and Abs
- Incline bench press with barbell
- Machine bench press
- Incline flyes with dumbbells
- Standing cable flyes