As the moniker 'The Shadow' suggests, sixtime Mr.

Olympia, Dorian Yates, could be regarded as the kind of competitor who would materialize from nowhere to surprise everyone with an ultra massive physique.
By: David Robson
Article Summary:

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Photos taken of Dorian in '93 showed a drastic improvement to '92. Dorian discusses the trials of muscle tears. Dorian: Apart from Ronnie nobody today could beat the '90s guys.

6 Time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates

As the moniker 'the shadow', given him during his competitive bodybuilding days, suggests, six-time Mr. Olympia, Dorian Yates, could be regarded as the kind of competitor who, though always ready to defend his title, would materialize as if from nowhere to completely surprise everyone with what he had worked tirelessly in the deep dark depths of his Temple training facility to create: an ultra massive physique, huge from all angles, which redefined ripped conditioning and heralded in a new term: 'granite hardness'. Credited with ushering in a new trend of extreme conditioning and size, thereby setting a formidable bodybuilding benchmark for others to follow, Dorian would never cease to shock and awe with the muscle density his physique displayed at its best. Always a larger competitor with excellent proportions for one of his size, there was never any doubt, to the objective, impartial observer anyway, that the UK residing Dorian would become one of bodybuilding's best, a fact reinforced upon his taking second at his pro debut, the 1990 Night Of Champions, with virtually no publicity and little hype surrounding his name. The stunning runner-up finish at his debut coupled with the previously unseen conditioning and size he presented strongly positioned Dorian as a front-runner for the 1991 Mr. Olympia, a title held by eventual eight-time champion Lee Haney. Proving his supporters right, Dorian placed second in a closely fought battle with Haney, an act that, upon Haney's subsequent retirement from bodybuilding,

signalled the Englishman's arrival as the man to beat in 1992. And so it was. With his first Mr. Olympia win, 1992 proved both a turning point for Dorian's career and for professional bodybuilding as a whole. With unmatched hardness and mass, which prevailed by a wide margin over his nearest competition, Dorian set a challenge to his fellow professionals, one that many accepted but, as history would show, none could win. If 1992 proved a career turning point for Dorian, 1993 would be his breakthrough year, a period where so widely would he distance himself from the competition that that year's Olympia would be a battle for second place, and his newly unveiled physique would send shockwaves throughout the bodybuilding world.

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Dorian At The 1996 British Grand Prix. 1993: a year where casual observers of FLEX Magazine would have choked on their protein shakes upon witnessing for the first time the, now famous, black and white gym shots of Dorian posing six weeks out from the '93 Olympia. If - before these photos were released - one had envisaged the ultimate bodybuilding creation that is what they saw in those photos. Needless to say, Dorian won the 1993 Mr. Olympia. He would continue unbeaten for the remainder of his career. A bodybuilding magician of sorts, Dorian is one bodybuilder who could rise to the challenge, silence his detractors and prevail, even if his training circumstances were less than ideal, and the contest itself was one of controversy. Such was the case when in 1994 and again in 1997 he persevered under what for many would have been intolerable conditions to win two Mr. Olympia titles. In '94, a few weeks out from his third Mr. Olympia win, Dorian, in performing the exercise credited with building much of his unmatched back thickness, reverse grip bent over rows, discovered he had torn his left bicep. Still able to train over the remaining weeks before the show, the damage being more psychological than physical at that point, Dorian prevailed over Shawn Ray at that year's Olympia to

take yet another crown. Fast forward to 1997 and Dorian is training at his usual haunt, his popular Temple Gym in Birmingham England, this time performing the old-fashioned barbell pullover/press, an exercise responsible for adding more triceps and back mass than possibly any other. On the fourth rep the snap could be heard from the other side of the gym: Dorian had torn his left triceps. Vastly more painful and restrictive compared to the biceps tear was this latest injury, the five-time Mr. Olympia, with his newly torn triceps, faced the possibility of early retirement. However, he continued his dieting and cardio for a further three weeks and competedand won his sixth and final Sandow. Since his retirement there has been much speculation as to the extent and number of Dorian's injuries and the circumstances surrounding his retirement. And those iconic 1993 gym shots are still being spoken of today, such was the profound impact they had on bodybuilders the world over. Wanting to get the inside word on these areas, his thoughts on bodybuilding today and his current training program, I contacted Dorian. The following interview resulted.

Interview
[ Q ] The black and white gym photos that were taken of you in 1993 showed a
drastic improvement in muscle size compared to 1992, the year you set a new standard for mass and conditioning. What changes had you made to your training program and diet to progress this fast?

Everybody wants to know what I did that year, whether it was something special with training or, more likely some special drugs - that's what the usual conclusion is. It wasn't either of those, although my training did change a little bit - I did cut back on the volume slightly. The main thing was, I was really still learning how to prepare for a contest and I made a point of recording everything I did and also took pictures every week going into the show (the 1993 Mr. Olympia). What I realized is that for '92 I was in great shape but I was near enough in that shape five or six weeks before the contest and kept coming down in bodyweight, wanting to get harder. What I realized was happening was that I was just about as hard as I was going to get anyway. And if you are losing more weight at that point, what are you losing? I came to the conclusion that I was losing muscle. Although I was big and shredded in '92, I was competing well below my potential so, with that knowledge and all of my records, I decided the following year I would try to avoid that, basically the over dieting. So I was able to come in - between those two Olympia's - around 16 pounds heavier. I had a really good year of training so I probably was five or six pounds heavier, which at that level is a pretty respectable amount anyway. The other ten pounds of muscle came from simply not sacrificing

it, not deleting it during the dieting process.

[ Q ] How did your training help you to gain those extra five to six pounds you speak of?
Well, there was less volume. Also I got stronger, and was definitely bigger in the off-season. So I had made progress, which I was really pleased with. But that didn't account for the whole 16 pounds difference onstage.

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Dorian At The 1996 British Grand Prix.

[ Q ] So, for the record, exactly what did you weigh when those 1993 black and white photos were taken?
When those black and white photos were taken I believe I was weighing around 270 (pounds).

[ Q ] Very close to contest shape?

Near enough. I probably needed to trim down a little bit, but that year I actually competed at 257. The year before I think it was 240-241, the low 40s. So there was a big difference between those two years. It seems to me that everybody onstage today is 260 to 270 (pounds). Fifty pounds of that must be bullsh!t. I look at people who claim to be 260. Well, at my best I was 260 and they look like half my size. I just think a lot of people exaggerate these weights.

CLASSIC BODYBUILDING QUOTE "It seems to me that everybody onstage today is 260 to 270 (pounds). Fifty pounds of that must be bullsh!t." - Dorian Yates on various claimed bodyweights of today's bodybuilding competitors.

[ Q ] There is no way of proving it one way, or the other, anyway.

Yes, and at the end of the day it's not a weight contest, it's a visual contest. And it doesn't matter what you say you weigh, if you don't look that big then you don't look that big.

[ Q ] Did you have any idea at the time just how big of an impact the '93 photos
would have, even up to the present day?

They were actually for my own records so they were not supposed to be released and that explains why I'm standing there in my underpants and socks. I had just stripped off after training. They were just for my own records to look back on. I took them in the same spot I did the previous year and then Kevin Horton took them in to Peter McGough (former FLEX Magazine and Muscle and Fitness Editor-In-Chief). Of course they became probably the most famous physique photos ever; they are like iconic now.

[ Q ] When were the photos released and what impact did they have on your
competition at the time?

They were actually released in FLEX Magazine around the time of the (1993) Olympia. I remember Peter McGough having them in the office about six weeks before the Olympia. He had them almost immediately in his office (after the photo shoot) and made the point of subtly showing them to the other competitors who came to the office, which of course completely demoralized them.

[ Q ] Clearly you yourself knew the amazing progress you had made between '92
and '93 so you would have know that, had this progress been made known, it would have sent shockwaves through the other competitors.

Yes I would have guessed the impact, but it wasn't a plan of mine. It just happened. Of course they did have an impact because Peter McGough told me what the guys were saying, so it was a psychological advantage. It wouldn't matter if they were as confident as h#ll; they still weren't going to beat me. If you undermine people's confidence they turn up at the contest trying to get second place.

[ Q ] And the incredible thing was it wasn't even planned; it had just fallen into
place for you.

Yes, well most things about my image are not conceived or planned; it's just me and just the way it is.

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It's Just Me And Just The Way It Is.

Dorian At The 1996 British Grand Prix.

[ Q ] Many feel that 1993 was your best competitive year. Would you agree with
this?

Well I was injury free, and I think most people look at the black and white photos and say, "F@ck, that's what I would like to look like." From my critical perspective I don't think they were 100 percent contest stage perfection, because I still needed to be a little drier and a little sharper, but most people would be happy with that. Actually, most people told me that I should have come onstage looking like that.

[ Q ] At least as far as fullness goes very few, if any, have shown that kind of size
in photos. Do you think, all things considered, your size in these photos has yet to be surpassed?

Yes: fullness, roundness and proportion, it is all there. Just perhaps the degree of granite-like shredded-ness I used to go for was not quite there, but it wasn't far off. But it was definitely better than the condition the guys are coming in these days though.

There is none of that (granite hardness) anymore. Some of the guys who are coming in now are really disappointing, to me anyway. I don't want to single anyone out for criticism; it is across the board. It seems that the guys of the '90s were going much more for condition. It seems now they are just trying to come in bigger and fuller but they have a soft look to them.

[ Q ] It is felt that the sheer level of mass you presented in 1993 marked a turning point for professional bodybuilding, where the more massive physique took precedence, in the judges' eyes, over any competitor less than 250 pounds, ripped. Did you, indirectly, encourage competitors to seek a more massive look, to stay in the game so to speak?
In a sense, yes, because I came in with the kind of size that people had never seen before, but let's not forget that I came in with super conditioning as well. So the thing is, I could have come in bigger as those black and white photos showed. I could have come in at 270-275 still in very good condition, but I chose to come in under that because I chose to be totally shredded. When I was getting ready for a contest I was not thinking size, I was thinking I want to come in shredded, so shredded that people are going to be shocked. That's the mindset I had. So it is correct to say that I came in with a new level of muscle size, but that was also combined with super conditioning and that's not what's happening now. I believe in those black and white photos taken six weeks before the Mr. Olympia that I'm in better condition than most of the guys today hit the stage at. It is very disappointing. You see guys in amateur contest who are much better conditioned than the professionals. To me the professionals should be better. Just because they are bigger, it doesn't mean they are better.

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To Me The Professionals Should Be Better.

Dorian At The 1996 British Grand Prix.

[ Q ] So you were aiming for optimal conditioning and the size you were able to maintain pre-contest was a natural consequence of the training you did in the final months and weeks leading into the show?
I trained for size in the off-season, but when it came time to get ready for a contest it was all about coming in shredded. The glutes must be striated, with the lower back shredded, no water anywhere, no loose skin. Like you are covered in cling-film.

[ Q ] For you to drop 12 pounds from 270 back to 257, as you mentioned before,
exactly what was lost in the process? It seems to me you were already ripped in the before photos.

There was a little bit of body fat there but it was mainly water, which needed to be dropped for me to get super dry. There wasn't much body fat in those pictures. Just coming in a little dehydrated you can easily lose ten pounds; that's not a lot on a 260 pound person.

[ Q ] Can you describe the circumstances surrounding the '93 photo shoot with
Kevin Horton? How did the crew respond to your new physique?

It was directly after my workout and I stood in the same area of the gym I did the year before so we could get a good comparison: same light, same everything.

[ Q ] Were there many people in the gym at the time?