Six-time Mr. Olympia champion Dorian Yates is 62 and still in phenomenal shape. Years of dedicated training with no-nonsense exercises were the ticket to his muscularly dense aesthetic, which is worthy of bodybuilding legend status.
On June 14, 2024, Yates shared an Instagram post that features images of him on the beach. While still relatively lean, the biggest double-take-worthy feature of the post was how thick and detailed Yates’s back remains.
Fortunately for Yates’s fans and gym-goers alike, Yates did not post without sharing the exercises he used to build such a detailed back that has withstood the test of time. On June 5, Yates listed his five go-to, no-nonsense back exercises that built his physique alongside photos to show their effectiveness. Check it out below:
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Dorian Yates’s 5 Go-To Back Exercises
Below are the five exercises Yates says helped build his championship-worthy back:
1. Nautilus Pullovers
Training the lats in their fully lengthened position helps develop that dense thickness while also providing width. The Nautilus machine, in particular, likely helped Yates achieve a deep stretch at the bottom of each eccentric before contracting through his full range of motion.
The value of a machine, Nautilus or otherwise, is the stability it provides. If Yates trained pulldowns standing at a cable rack, he would have to stabilize the weight throughout each rep. While not always a negative aspect of lifting, the trade-off of having to stabilize weight is typically load.
In layman’s terms, a more stable setup likely means higher capacity to lift more weight and a better mind-muscle connection to place that load on the target muscle group being worked.
2. Underhand Pulldowns
The hand position of underhand pulldowns is the critical piece. By adjusting one’s grip, the potential for other muscles to help move the weight is lessened.
By performing pulldowns with an underhand grip, Yates can cue the movement, engaging the lats and then pulling from the elbows. This effectively makes the arms levers while moving the weight rather than participants in the exercise.
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Additionally, the underhand grip can help get a better feel for the lower lats, which will likely take the brunt of the load throughout the exercise. Maintaining the same torso position throughout the movement can allow for the lower lats to achieve a deep stretch in their fully lengthened position.
3. Barbell/Dumbbell Rows
Free weight rows are where muscle density takes priority. Depending on the row variation, a barbell or a dumbbell might be preferable.
For example, rather than using a T-bar row machine, which has a fixed handle that might not align with every person’s structure, leaning prone against an incline weight bench and using a barbell can achieve similar lines of pull as a T-bar to target the upper back musculature without compromising positioning.
Dumbbell rows are even more flexible. The hands can assume a more natural position during dumbbell bent-over rows, where a barbell would be fixed. Training unilaterally with dumbbells also helps quell strength and muscle imbalances.
4. Seated Cable/Machine Rows
Thickness of the mid-back offers that detailed aesthetic seen in Yates’s back posing. Seated cable and machine rows are the tools to achieve that.
Cable and machine rows both offer benefits the other doesn’t. The former allows for more flexibility in positioning and attachments, which can allow for different lines of pull or variety in hand position when executing the movement. However, seated cable rows typically lack stability other than where the feet are placed, which means the core is engaged much more than machine alternatives.
Machine rows are often chest-supported. That can allow for heavier loads and a better capacity to train to failure or to a few reps in reserve.
5. Hyper Extensions or Partial Deadlifts
The lower back is often neglected in comparison to the volume of mid- and upper-back training, but Yates does not forget. He also doesn’t overcomplicate.
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For that tight look and muscle separation throughout his low back, Yates relied on hyperextensions and partial deadlifts, both of which train the posterior without excess.
Hyperextensions are more challenging than they seem for those who have never attempted them, so prioritize form using only body weight before adding load.
Partial deadlifts won’t require much weight if the emphasis is on the muscle, not the movement. While stabilizing the lower back, allow the shortening of the lower back to be what moves the weight. A helpful cue can be to think of the ‘hands as hooks’ with the sole purpose of hanging onto the barbell.
Build Your Beach Bod
As Yates said in his Instagram caption: “There’s no magic exercises, the magic is the effort you put into the workout.” So, to achieve a beach bod like a bodybuilding legend, remember to commit to the effort of each workout and remain consistent.
Featured image: @thedorianyates on Instagram
