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Dorian's Q & A with Training Routine and Diet
DORIAN YATES' 2003 TRAINING PROGRAM
BODYPART EXERCISE SETS * REPS
DAY 1: MONDAY
Chest Hammer Strengh seated 1 + 8-10
bench presses 1 6-8
Hammer Strength incline 1 + 8-10
bench presses 1 6-8
Cable crossovers 1 6-8 or flat-bench dumbbell flyes
Shoulders Seated laterals 1 + 12 1 6-8
One-arm cable laterals 1 + 20 1 6-8
Triceps One-arm triceps pushdowns 1 + 15 1 8-10
Triceps pushdowns 1 + 15 1 8-10
One-arm reverse-grip pushdowns 1 8-10
or one-arm Nautilus extensions
Day 2: WEDNESDAY
Back Hammer Strength pulldowns 1 + 15 1 6-8
Barbell rows 1 + 12 or dumbbell rows 1 6-8
Cable rows 1 8-10
Rear delts Hammer Stregth rear-delt flyes 1 8-10
Lower back Hyperextensions or deadlifts 1 + 15 1 8-10
Biceps Alternate dumbbell curls or 1 + 15
dumbbell concentration curls 1 15
One-arm Nautilus curls 1 8-10
Day 3: FRIDAY
Quads Leg extensions 1 + 15 1 8-10
Leg presses 1 + 12 1 8-10
Hack squats 1 + 12 1 8-10
Hamstrings Stiff-leg deadlifts 1 8-10
* Dorian does one main set per exercise. The average bodybuilder may
prefer performing three working sets per exercise following a light
warm-up set.
+ Warm-up set.
Q: Do you still train as hardcore as you did when you were winning Mr. O titles?
A: I still train with the same hardcore stick-to-the-basics, never-give-less-than-100% work ethic that became my war cry in the '90s.
The program I currently follow is similar in format and structure to my classic plan of action from back in the day. Of course, my goal is no longer to win the Mr. Olympia title; instead, the priority is to maintain a reasonable level of muscle mass and to keep my bodyfat as low as possible.
Besides establishing new training goals, the cold hard reality is that injuries have impacted how I train. Most people in the bodybuilding community are well aware that I tore my left triceps tendon in 1997, and that injury not only hastened my retirement but also dictated the nuts and bolts of my revised bodybuilding training system.
In the wake of the triceps injury, I had the appropriate surgery and completed the prescribed rehabilitation and physical therapy. At the end of the day, though, I had to accept that my left arm would never be as strong as my right arm. A weaker left triceps equates to more wear and tear on my left shoulder during heavy free-weight pressing movements.
That's why I've ditched the dumbbell and barbell overhead shoulder presses and bench presses in favor of comparable machine exercises. Hammer Strength equipment effectively replicates the movement of the bar or dumbbells without the risk factors that come with balancing the weight.
The plan now, with all my travel and business commitments, is to get into the gym three days per week for weight training and to do 30 minutes of cardio on a stationary bike, treadmill or cross trainer.
I perform one warm-up set and one main set for most of my exercises. With one working set per exercise, you are totally focused on the intensity needed to trigger growth. You can also do each of these exercises in a more traditional way, with three working sets of eight to 10 repetitions, if you prefer.
Monday: Chest, shoulders and triceps I do my flat-bench presses and incline bench presses on a Hammer Strength machine, before moving on to either cable crossovers or flat-bench flyes, alternating between the two from one chest session to the next.
Fortunately, my weaker left arm does not preclude lateral movements, and so next it's seated dumbbell side laterals and single-arm cable side laterals to target medial delts. I finish the Monday workout with single-arm triceps pushdowns, two-arm triceps pushdowns and either one-arm reverse-grip pushdowns or one-arm Nautilus extensions.
Wednesday: Back, shoulders and biceps I train rear delts on Wednesday, sandwiched between upper/middle back and lower back. Once again, I select exercises that offer the ability to lift heavy weight with minimal risk of injury.
Thank heaven that my injuries have not forced me to make major changes during my back and biceps workouts. I favor Hammer Strength machine pulldowns (I rely on a curl grip to allow my elbows to extend farther back at the midpoint, which promotes a more extreme stretch and contraction), barbell or dumbbell rows as the main mass builder, and cable rows with a wide overhand grip to add thickness to the teres major and rhomboids.
Next I dive right into Hammer Strength rear-delt flyes for one main set before closing the lat show with either deadlifts or hyperextensions (I switch back and forth between the two exercises for alternate workouts) for lower-back fine-tuning.
For biceps these days, it's alternate dumbbell curls and dumbbell concentration curls (flip-flopped between biceps workouts) and unilateral Nautilus curls, my favorite isolation exercise to push blood into the muscles for an extra pump.
Friday: Legs My lower-body routine has changed very little since the old-school training days, with leg extensions as the ideal warm-up for heavy compound lifts -- leg presses, hack squats and stiff-leg deadlifts -- to pack beef onto quadriceps and hamstrings.
Many people ask me how I can continue to train with the fire in the belly that made me a champion, but the simple truth is that I love the feeling of going all-out to test my limits of mental and physical strength. If I didn't love the struggle to push myself so hard, I would never have been a champion in the first place.
DORIAN YATES' DAILY MEAL PLAN
7-8 AM (BREAKFAST) Porridge made with one cup of oatmeal (complex carbs), 10 egg whites (protein) and one scoop of protein powder, blended and cooked.
9-10 AM Meal-replacement drink
11 AM Training
12 PM Postworkout carb drink
1 PM (LUNCH) Two chicken breasts, potatoes or rice and a green vegetable.
3:30 PM Protein shake or meal-replacement drink
5:30 PM (DINNER) 12 oz filet mignon, potatoes or rice and a green vegetable.
8-9 PM A small serving of porridge, made with one-half cup of oatmeal, six egg whites and one-half scoop of protein powder
DORIAN YATES' 2003 TRAINING PROGRAM
BODYPART EXERCISE SETS * REPS
DAY 1: MONDAY
Chest Hammer Strengh seated 1 + 8-10
bench presses 1 6-8
Hammer Strength incline 1 + 8-10
bench presses 1 6-8
Cable crossovers 1 6-8 or flat-bench dumbbell flyes
Shoulders Seated laterals 1 + 12 1 6-8
One-arm cable laterals 1 + 20 1 6-8
Triceps One-arm triceps pushdowns 1 + 15 1 8-10
Triceps pushdowns 1 + 15 1 8-10
One-arm reverse-grip pushdowns 1 8-10
or one-arm Nautilus extensions
Day 2: WEDNESDAY
Back Hammer Strength pulldowns 1 + 15 1 6-8
Barbell rows 1 + 12 or dumbbell rows 1 6-8
Cable rows 1 8-10
Rear delts Hammer Stregth rear-delt flyes 1 8-10
Lower back Hyperextensions or deadlifts 1 + 15 1 8-10
Biceps Alternate dumbbell curls or 1 + 15
dumbbell concentration curls 1 15
One-arm Nautilus curls 1 8-10
Day 3: FRIDAY
Quads Leg extensions 1 + 15 1 8-10
Leg presses 1 + 12 1 8-10
Hack squats 1 + 12 1 8-10
Hamstrings Stiff-leg deadlifts 1 8-10
* Dorian does one main set per exercise. The average bodybuilder may
prefer performing three working sets per exercise following a light
warm-up set.
+ Warm-up set.
Q: Do you still train as hardcore as you did when you were winning Mr. O titles?
A: I still train with the same hardcore stick-to-the-basics, never-give-less-than-100% work ethic that became my war cry in the '90s.
The program I currently follow is similar in format and structure to my classic plan of action from back in the day. Of course, my goal is no longer to win the Mr. Olympia title; instead, the priority is to maintain a reasonable level of muscle mass and to keep my bodyfat as low as possible.
Besides establishing new training goals, the cold hard reality is that injuries have impacted how I train. Most people in the bodybuilding community are well aware that I tore my left triceps tendon in 1997, and that injury not only hastened my retirement but also dictated the nuts and bolts of my revised bodybuilding training system.
In the wake of the triceps injury, I had the appropriate surgery and completed the prescribed rehabilitation and physical therapy. At the end of the day, though, I had to accept that my left arm would never be as strong as my right arm. A weaker left triceps equates to more wear and tear on my left shoulder during heavy free-weight pressing movements.
That's why I've ditched the dumbbell and barbell overhead shoulder presses and bench presses in favor of comparable machine exercises. Hammer Strength equipment effectively replicates the movement of the bar or dumbbells without the risk factors that come with balancing the weight.
The plan now, with all my travel and business commitments, is to get into the gym three days per week for weight training and to do 30 minutes of cardio on a stationary bike, treadmill or cross trainer.
I perform one warm-up set and one main set for most of my exercises. With one working set per exercise, you are totally focused on the intensity needed to trigger growth. You can also do each of these exercises in a more traditional way, with three working sets of eight to 10 repetitions, if you prefer.
Monday: Chest, shoulders and triceps I do my flat-bench presses and incline bench presses on a Hammer Strength machine, before moving on to either cable crossovers or flat-bench flyes, alternating between the two from one chest session to the next.
Fortunately, my weaker left arm does not preclude lateral movements, and so next it's seated dumbbell side laterals and single-arm cable side laterals to target medial delts. I finish the Monday workout with single-arm triceps pushdowns, two-arm triceps pushdowns and either one-arm reverse-grip pushdowns or one-arm Nautilus extensions.
Wednesday: Back, shoulders and biceps I train rear delts on Wednesday, sandwiched between upper/middle back and lower back. Once again, I select exercises that offer the ability to lift heavy weight with minimal risk of injury.
Thank heaven that my injuries have not forced me to make major changes during my back and biceps workouts. I favor Hammer Strength machine pulldowns (I rely on a curl grip to allow my elbows to extend farther back at the midpoint, which promotes a more extreme stretch and contraction), barbell or dumbbell rows as the main mass builder, and cable rows with a wide overhand grip to add thickness to the teres major and rhomboids.
Next I dive right into Hammer Strength rear-delt flyes for one main set before closing the lat show with either deadlifts or hyperextensions (I switch back and forth between the two exercises for alternate workouts) for lower-back fine-tuning.
For biceps these days, it's alternate dumbbell curls and dumbbell concentration curls (flip-flopped between biceps workouts) and unilateral Nautilus curls, my favorite isolation exercise to push blood into the muscles for an extra pump.
Friday: Legs My lower-body routine has changed very little since the old-school training days, with leg extensions as the ideal warm-up for heavy compound lifts -- leg presses, hack squats and stiff-leg deadlifts -- to pack beef onto quadriceps and hamstrings.
Many people ask me how I can continue to train with the fire in the belly that made me a champion, but the simple truth is that I love the feeling of going all-out to test my limits of mental and physical strength. If I didn't love the struggle to push myself so hard, I would never have been a champion in the first place.
DORIAN YATES' DAILY MEAL PLAN
7-8 AM (BREAKFAST) Porridge made with one cup of oatmeal (complex carbs), 10 egg whites (protein) and one scoop of protein powder, blended and cooked.
9-10 AM Meal-replacement drink
11 AM Training
12 PM Postworkout carb drink
1 PM (LUNCH) Two chicken breasts, potatoes or rice and a green vegetable.
3:30 PM Protein shake or meal-replacement drink
5:30 PM (DINNER) 12 oz filet mignon, potatoes or rice and a green vegetable.
8-9 PM A small serving of porridge, made with one-half cup of oatmeal, six egg whites and one-half scoop of protein powder
