Many consider six-time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates to be one of the hardest-training athletes in the sport. It may be a surprise that Yates did not have the longest training sessions amidst his dynasty as one of the sport’s longer-reigning champions.
Yates’ Blood & Guts high-intensity training methodology does not require as many sets as traditional programs. Still, he argues his strategy is smarter and provides better results.
Yates was a guest on The Charlie Johnson Show and got to the point, elaborating on why human nature’s instinct to think more is better when working out.
In this case, it is not. You need the stimulus and recovery.
Yates was the number one bodybuilder in the sport from 1992 until his retirement in 1997. He only trained with weights for a total of four hours per week, even though it was his job to be the best bodybuilder on the planet.
Yates’s training philosophy called for performing a single set to complete failure or, in some cases, beyond failure, to properly create a hypertrophic environment. The standard routines of that era and before included three to four sets of several different exercises, which took much longer to complete.
Yates’ approach was different, and he stood atop the bodybuilding world. Despite spending less time in the gym, he remains revered by generations of fans.
If you’re not Mr. Olympia, surely you can do less than that, yeah?
—Dorian Yates
High-volume versus high-intensity training has been debated for decades. Which method works best for bodybuilding and building muscle mass? Many trainers and athletes focus on overall wellness and muscle performance as they age. A 2016 study indicated that Yates may be onto something, as researchers concluded that “muscular performance gains may be greater when using HIT.” (1)
As Yates said, starting out doing the minimum may be enough to stay in shape and protect muscle mass. He feels it wise to start regardless of age and experience, suggesting that new trainees or lifters over 40 could try something as simple as two workouts per week.
Yates is in his 60s and still has an impressive physique, which is secondary to him at this stage. “Quality of life as you get older; that is what I think now.”
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Reference
- Giessing, J., Eichmann, B., Steele, J., & Fisher, J. (2016). A comparison of low volume ‘high-intensity-training’ and high volume traditional resistance training methods on muscular performance, body composition, and subjective assessments of training. Biology of sport, 33(3), 241–249. https://doi.org/10.5604/20831862.1201813
Featured Image: @thedorianyates on Instagram
